Tecko Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 Thanks @southwestforests for the complement. But those guys sure know how to make models don't they. They make it look so real. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 Photograph of the bridge's bumper rollers. Built another set of four bumper rollers but for lateral movement this time. Only used the rollers from the microswitch actuators this time. Added the vessel traffic lights to the centre of the span. There are several containers on the balconies. These are made from block timber and painted. Here they are drying on my window sill. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 12, 2018 Author Share Posted January 12, 2018 (edited) Used 3 mm MDF board, 2 mm clear Perspex, and white card to build the hut walls. I was surprised how well the Perspex can give that glass window effect (slight reflection and parallax error). The four tabs at top of walls is for positioning the roof. Added split bamboo skewers for railings, and fly screen for mesh. Started to paint the span with a home mixed, Bridge Grey oil enamel. Found some washers that fit over the LED nav; lights. Now they look more like beacons. Added railings for the road and footpath. Gave that a paint. Will paint road later. To be honest, at this point of model making I felt really good on how the span turned out. Edited January 12, 2018 by Tecko Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 You should feel good. Great job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 14, 2018 Author Share Posted January 14, 2018 Thank you @phantom for encouragement. to continue: Since the console interior is to be another diorama, I decided to add a touch of drama by adding Power Status Indicators. Each DC voltage source has two LEDs. Green for all okay; Red for 'blown fuse'. Also cleaned up the terminal strips and made new set of printed numbers (1-60) for them. Then I installed the Power Supply Unit into the console. At this stage, the console was at the museum. To cut down on double handling, I got the console delivered to my place. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 Doweling the frame. Does not look like it used over eleven metres of 6 mm square timber for the towers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 16, 2018 Author Share Posted January 16, 2018 The pulley wheels I wanted were too expensive (to buy ten of them). So I came up with an alternative by solder-sweating different sized washers together. My first attempt had too much solder, but got it right after that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted January 17, 2018 Share Posted January 17, 2018 Nice punt. Looking pretty spiffy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 17, 2018 Author Share Posted January 17, 2018 Thanks @Slartibartfast for kind words. to continue: Designing and constructing the pulley wheel brackets. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 The towers are not actually in place in these photographs. They are just positioned to see how it will look, and how close the span bumpers would get to the towers. The towers have to be installed at the same time as the road surface. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Impressive workmanship there Tecko It will surely be a masterpiece when completed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Thanks @Trojan Thunder for your vote of confidence. I sure hope it will actually work. to continue: Added gangway and painted the towers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 Created traffic lights with large 5 mm LEDs (easier to see from a behind point of view). They turned out over scale, but I am sure the Ballina Museum can live with it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 I discovered before installing the towers that once they are in, the span cannot be removed for repairs. There won't be enough room to pass above the pulley wheels. So I cut off the lateral bumper rollers (the hidden side) and replaced them with removable ones. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 Prepared road base. Installed the necessary span and traffic lights wiring along bridge girders. Assembled road, towers and traffic lights in one go. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 Took me a few days to add all the matchstick posts and split bamboo skewer railings. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share Posted January 24, 2018 (edited) Tilted display table on edge to ease the working on the wiring harness. Wires from bridge got terminated and then harnessed to where the Control Box will be. Edited January 24, 2018 by Tecko wrong image Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Nicely done. Anyone who works on the wiring in the future will very much appreciate your neatness. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thanks @Slartibartfast for your complement. _________________________________________________ Then I had the fiddly job of painting the railings. I do not plan to paint the bridge to appear weathered, but as if brand new and unpolluted. It is something I learnt to appreciate from doing some architectural rendering in my youth. So, I gave the rest of the bridge a cement grey colour. The road will be painted to appear as concrete (with gravel). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
southwestforests Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Oh, what's a useful adjective I hadn't heard in a while? How about spiffy. And for certain sci-fi fans the somewhat phonetically similar, shiny. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 @southwestforests, thank you for thoughtful, funny, adjectives. Very complimentary. ____________________________________________ Throughout this project I continue to do Internet research. A friend emailed me a photo taken of a computer screen by her iPhone. It revealed a few things I was still not clear about. There was the matter of what did the swing-gates look like. The scale of the cars is known, but how did they look in comparison to the whole bridge. Finally, what did the concrete road look like from above. Decided to splatter dark grey paint onto the cement colour. It turned out horrendous. So then I used the dry brush method to lighten up the dark patches. Afterwards, I kept alternating between dark and light paint with a fine brush until I was happy with the results. Painting the span took longer than painting the rest of the road. It was difficult to get into the central areas. The edges of the span and bridge have a metal plate (silver painted area). The hole you see on edge of road is for the fine (0.7 mm) bridge cable which goes through the display table. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 Since the console will be a wiring diorama of sorts, I decided to add a touch of drama by painting bits here and there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tecko Posted January 29, 2018 Author Share Posted January 29, 2018 Created a new wiring harness for the console. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 On 1/27/2018 at 4:05 PM, Tecko said: Caution Bridge may ice in cold weather. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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