ok, lets do the weird sci-fi track!!

hiya!

wow, nothings even been glued yet and people are liking it , good sign!

thanks for all the ace comments, its what its all about
ember, yep i could probably do it on my own but wheres the fun in that, i class this as a group effort, same as the other 2

i checked out trains, and i´ll probably go for 1:160 (some random letter!) for price reasons, i found some stuff for less than 100 dollars, the smañlñler stuff is massively expensive (and ....err you can´t see it!! )

mr dog and bluey..blade runner will be watched again at some point this weekend... i was going to start experimenting with the tower lighting the other day but have to figure out the best way to cut small squares in pvc first, lighting is really important and as you and rally p point out. if its done well you have 2 tracks for the price of 1 (day and night) (not that this has cost anything at all so far!)

the digital idea is great, but scares me to death..i don´t really understand it..never seen it and its a bit like a dark magic to me. however!.....i love the idea of some kind of flipper than sends you into the pit or not...maybe it could be independant..a foot switch...you spin round the gantry. foot switch, wham you down into the intestines of the city, a bit like putting distortion on the guitar solo!

which brings me to davoq and ember2---the city underbelly....instead of raising it (remember it mostly steel and will weigh)i´m thinking of opening out its foundations for use., i already said i want to continue the curve of the dome down, and so instead of making a blown up pit , why not show off the meat and bones of the city. the massive tubes suck nutrients from the ground. the ground offers the fuel for the life above, so lets use the underground for more than a passing tunnel ride. lots of sci fi films sink into the depths of the city for the working class ghettos, i think this is our chance. the fibreglass base itself is well built with wooden trusses keeping the parts together, it could be modelled at 1:40 ish so that the cars can spend a while down there without bothering the eye, . a bit uncomfortable for deslots as it is just above ground level but hey!, and will be great for cool lighting ...and smoke!

so minidora and dead pedal, suspended is a must, definately for the train, up high, but i love doing bridges and metal structures so either within the pits or out side at the rocket level, something will have to happen.....

sounds like we´re moving to this flipper switch situation...flip and you go underground, no flip and its a surface track...could be cool...

by the way. the cheapy trains at 1:160 are mostly old american goods trains....i´ve found a missile carrier, but no cityslicker commute stuff.. any one seen anything cheap at that scale??...amtrack doesnt really cut it swinging around at 100m altitude

again thanks for the motivation...this is a group effort, i´m just doing the spade work!

sig

Sig, I believe the 1:160 scale trains officially fall in the the N scale category. But as you say, the letters all seem rather random anyway.

I like the idea of the flipper to send you either across the table or down into the pit. Is there any way this can be randomised do you think? Imagine how cool, car comes in around the top gantry of the pit, does a donut or two (we know you love 'em) and then at random shoots off to the back of the city or heads down into the bowels of the earth. Might take someone with some electronics ability to do it.

Oh... And I remember your comment after viewing the Gucci Guilty ad. How about this couple in N scale or these folks in HO. There are many others like them, made by Noch. (I knew those train folks were a bit strange )

ember, love those little figures, a defo must, and yes i have my doubts about train guys too!

ok so me pedal, would it be possible to link a scaley flipper section (curved) to a remote button, without needing the expensive, controlers, power pack and digi cars...just the flipper section and a switch?? if so i´ll go for it

in the meantime the bowels have been dug out, the original structure of the base is well made and we can incorporate it into the idea, i´ve taken the domes down into the ground and put my lamp down there to help with the ambience....obviously all mocked up at the mo, but we can start to see the possibilities i think....bridges and tubes all over




you can see in the last 1 the 1:32 is 50cm from the 1:160 ish base of the towers but because at the moment the buildings are very neutral, we can get away with it....needs very clever use of architectural detailing methinks

wot d ya reckon?

The extra perceptual depth is going very helpful, I think. Certainly will help make the cars look a little less grounded. Like they're not stuck with being earth bound.

Should be able to keep the bridges fairly neutral and still have them seem structurally sound. Keep things open and 'light' like classic victorian steel railway bridges.



I'm guessing this sort of structure is right up your alley. It's both beautiful and practical and somehow timeless.

is that the forth bridge ember?, if so i heard they´ve got to dismantle it!...its too rusty

anyway found this and thought of you


mr zook, yep except the junk yard would appear to be my house!

theres also these

boston holland and porto





or then we could go all calatrava also, i´m a big fan too

QUOTE (sig @ 2 Oct 2010, 22:34) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>is that the forth bridge ember?, if so i heard they´ve got to dismantle it!...its too rusty...

Excuse me, but the Forth Bridge is in excellent condition. The Forth Road Bridge is a different story...



This track build is fascinating, by the way.

Edit:

You might find the short-lived new toll building inspiring:

you would love my shop then,I build 4x4 rockcrawlers
Calatrava designed a glassbottomed foot bridge that spans the sacramento river in redding(100kL south of me)

QUOTE (sig @ 2 Oct 2010, 06:17) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>ok so me pedal, would it be possible to link a scaley flipper section (curved) to a remote button, without needing the expensive, controlers, power pack and digi cars...just the flipper section and a switch?? if so i´ll go for it
Well it certainly is possible, but might be more difficult on the Scalextric one. The flipper moves back and forth with two actuators and fires every time a car goes through. I believe SCX Digital and Carrera have spring returns on their flippers and only one actuator so might work better for the idea.

That bridge is beautiful ZOOK. Reminds me a bit of the Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin.

thanks for the info folks

leo oh yes, thats right its something to do with the cables on the suspension bridge no?, got my mental pictures a little mixed up there love the lighting on the booth, got some bluish plastic left over fr4om the printer that i dismantled so could be good for the sinister garage area!

wow mr zook, any pics of your stuff...my ideal job or what, do you have a site?
like the illuminated calatrava too, could be a way of giving a bit of extra light to the pit areas.

mr pedal, i´ll look into that, just drawn out a redesign with 3 of the flipper things, could provide a much more entertaining play experience as you basically pick 1 of 3 different routes

anyway i reckon lighting is pretty damn important, so even before fixing anything to the boards i´m going to experiment a bit with illuminated towers and towers with illuminated rooms, and see how that affects the overall feel..
heres the big central tower



height and intensity (and colour of the bulb can be changed later, its done very simply cutting lines in the pvc drain tube with one of those very fine cutting disks, gives an ok effect.

if the bulb is lower the light diffuminates as it goes up giving the idea that the top of the tower is further away...which is nice

jury still out on the bridges, the massive pit interior trusses will definately be victorian steel, but the gantries and crossings could be different, the main crossing could be calatrava, whereas the secondary stuff underneath a bit more grim??

keep the flow going please its all good

cheers sig

Tower lighting test is looking good Sig. But, might I suggest a colder light colour might work better. I figure the colder light colours would highlight the modernity of the upper city and keep warmer light colours for the grimey underground.

As you assumed the first two pics were the Forth Bridge. The third one was from a modern rail bridge in NSW.

Boys, you've certainly come up with some beautiful bridge samples. But you forgot this one.
http://www.canalscape.net/Liverpool%20Link...0Bridge%201.jpg

Hooray, so far so good! It may be a bit of information overload...but here is a massive blog with some unusual pics: http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2007/12/ca...y-futurism.html

cheers,
Bob

that is one excellent resource mr b drive, just about everything covered in there great eye candy, could spend ages but these i found in the first half hour, loving the train, maybe a goods train on the track and a commuter shuttle slung underneath?

ember, yep i know the bulb is actually a low consume fluorescent but the camera makes it look bright yellow, need to work on my white balance me thinks

first vehicle!...spot the bits!

cut disolvent bottle
f1 1:43 maclaren
2 x screw boxes
2 x fluo tube starters
handle off glass cleaner bottle
rivet
3 x chassis off diecast cars
4 x steel cut off disks
bits of wood
broken bits of toy crane
flying fortress gun ball

every sci fi track should have a transporter truck ...this one transports a mobile power supply for generating the extra boost for the rockets
quite pleased , but my pistol is bust so fine painting and aging not possible at the mo...probably needs a few bright orange logos too

add a few thunderjet decals and...

...and another thing- gonna try this idea for one or 2 of the gantries, needs to be straight though, its some stuff they use to reinforce rendering on houses i think, bit rough on the tyres, but nice transparency