Well guys, I'm back... Benchwork is all in and I am doing elevations today.
Here is the final trackplan. I decided to keep my first fairly simple to get lots of practice. This will give me time to scratchbuild my garages and other items while i still get to run cars fairly quickly.

Keeping momentum moving forward is important and Not taking on more than I am ready for is also critical.
This plan seemed to fit the bill.
The arrows are wrong except on the front straightaway. follow track from front where pit lane is to right. cross under track and begin climb of 7" to the back corner of the L........descending from there to the backstretch.
Its simple yet appealling with enough elevation and turns to keep it interesting and give me good practice.

Opinions?
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Racetrack1A.jpg

Outstanding!

Looks sweet! :)

Will it be two or four lanes? What kind of track? Love the detail in the mock-up.

'doba

nice!can't wait to see pix!!!

Its a 2 lane Scaley Sport Digital so i can run up to 6 cars but 4 is likely the most i will ever see at 1 time.
There is not a ton of room and more than 5 wouldnt even fit unless they were all Much skinnier than me :)

I'm glad you guys like it!!

as to the mock up, i just dressed it up a little in Paint because it makes things a bit cleaner. I like to get these plan things dressed up for sharing ;)

The pit grandstand area will be scratchbuilt along the lines of this photo.
While it will be used as inspiration, I will make it my own :)http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Club-Igualadapitgarage-amazingslot.jpg

Had someone make a few suggested track changes.

Any thoughts on this one over the other?

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/slofo_tile_221.jpg

Nice job! I like the second layout better. It seems a bit smoother with more scenic opportunity adjacent to the overpass. A nice sloping hillside might be just the thing around there to give the track some added dimension and to keep cars from falling behind the upper track.

I'm a traditionalist when it comes to track design - I always assume clockwise direction like the vast majority of F1 tracks have. But your track looks like it will work nicely either way.

The digital tracks are a lot of fun.

I agree, the second one is smoother making it also faster.............The question is, do I want to make it a fast track (this is where i am in turmoil) The need for speed vs common sense. Its 1/32 and these are 50.00 cars...........How fast is fast enough because if i can build up too much speed, the potential damage increases exponentially.

Nothings ever easy is it LOL ;)

I like it. Makes me want to re-think the curves on my layout.

How did you add such a large pic (Grandstands) and still keep it under 50 KB?

Nightshade

The biggest danger to cars is from falling to the floor. If you keep them on the table you should be in pretty good shape. A good catch fence around the perimeter is needed. I use clear lexan for my perimeter walls. It's set into a groove that's cut in the wood edge that encircles the table. The lexan is loose enough to move when cars hit it and that absorbs most of the impact energy. Being clear it also gives your scenic'd track much better visual appeal in the room.

I also used soft scenery techniques in the areas where the cars were more likely to run off the course. This consisted of carved styrofoam covered with a thin layer of caulk before painting and texturizing. It works very well for HO and the cars actually bounce off it softly. You can use similar techniques, like inlaying tan carpet for sand traps to save the bodywork on your cars. You can mount billboards on flexble plastic rods instead of dowels or nails. The same goes for supports for screening based fences. Another option would be to create stiff crash walls but affix them to the table top with those little neo dot magnets aligned with strategically placed nail/screw heads flush with the surface. A wayward car would move a whole section of wall but it would be very easily snapped back into place. The number of magnets used would determine how much "give" the barrier has. But whatever you do you'll still run the risk of broken mirrors and wings. When multiple cars wreck you never can tell what will happen. The occassional car still does find a way to cartwheel over the wall. That's racing.

As to pictures....I use a free photo editor call irfanview
www.irfanview.com
You can resize and when you hit save it will ask for a quality percentage. i generally run it around 70 % for forum use and this will put a 640 x 480 around 42-48 kb or an 800 x 600 at around 85 kb
Its a very easy program to learn and a fast download. Check it out, it has worked for me for 3 years now!!


ROFL "Thats Racing" Is true!!
Heres a clinic for soft rock technique called Frocks.
Australian Model railroaders use these alot.
Repairing rocks os much easier than replacing wings!! ;)
http://members.westnet.com.au/mjbd/html/foam_rocks_-_frocks.html

Those frocks look like they would still have a hard crust that would make a big mess when struck by a car. The caulk skin technique works well with foam rubber too, but it's a little harder to achieve a natural look. I would try the frock technique but instead of joint compound use latex siliconized caulking painted on. You'll end up with a squishy rock formation that's very gentle on your cars. I've used a simliar technique to turn non-slip rug padding that has a geometric shape into a concrete block wall. As a matter of course I also use rubber cove molding for pit walls and barriers. You can glue multiple thicknesses together using contact cement to get a thicker wall.

"use latex siliconized caulking painted on."

AFX...do you have a name brand for that stuff? I really like the look of the frocks (thanks TGtycopro!). It's exactly the look I'm wanting to go for on my layout.

I can't wait to start ripping the foam out of our leather furniture! Wait, maybe I should wait until the wife leaves for a weekend...then blame the dog. :thumbsup:

Nightshade

If you're asking about the siliconized latex caulking, any brand will do. I've used the DAP brand (http://www.dap.com/) which is sold at Home Depot and Sears Hardware. The least expensive DAP product is Alex Plus (http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=2) and it works fine. If you want something designed for greater than a 35 year service life and with better flexibility their higher end products like DynaFlex 230 (http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=4) work very well.

AFX,

Many thanks on that.

'Shade

Can't wait to see the finished product. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: rr

Shade, you are welcome :)
AFX, good point on the crust and caulk may be a good route. I may simply try some of that spray paint that looks like stone on some bits of foam and carved styrofoam followed by some creative weathering to see how that works when i get to that point which will be bot too far in the distant future I hope.

I did start on my Pit garages last night and got 5 doubles cut out or 10 garages in total. in 1/32 this adds up and the total length of the garages will be over 4 feet long and I may add another 2 if i have the room.On top of this will be a grandstand Tower complex and a catwalk for the flagman.(this will take a while to complete!! LOL )
I recieved my first 2 F1 cars. Ferrari (schumaker) and A Renault (allonzo) in digital. These look like they will be alot of fun to drive!!:)

TG,

Let me know how that goes with the spray paint. If I get there before you, I'll post some pics of my feeble attempts as well.

Anyone know how to do water? I am thinking of using that Woodland Scenics stuff, but am wondering if I should paint the bottom of the lake blue-green first....this liquid water stuff is clear, right?

Nightshade

Shade, I use a product called Envirotex2. Its a 2 part clear gloss and works great. Some of the train guys have complained about the woodland scenics instant water product not drying well and this causing cloudy affects etc.
Envirotex has worked for me for years...If it aint broke , dont fix it ;)

Now the question is, what kind of water are you doing....river, creek, pond, deep water etc.
Deep water you want to paint very dk, flat black working to dk blue med green/blue to earthy lighter sandy tones in shallow if you will do shallow shore with affects. Remember to do some affects in the water in shallow like logs on the bottom, rocks etc. One nice affect is to add rip rap rock built along a shore. Do this after you pour the envirotex. It helps to cover any creeping that you may get from the product where it glosses up along the banks edge.

Let me know what you are doing and I'll help any way I can.
If you want a windblown affect you can stipple.

TG,

Thanks, I'll look into it. I actually have had the the chance to see quite a bit of different colors of water in my time....the blue green of the lake at my cabin in Minnesota (glacier lake that is clear down to 15' - 20', the deep blue of the Missouri as you go from Souix City into South Dakota (which is much clearer than it is where I grew up in Omaha), to the muddy waters down here in the south, and the turquoise I see when I go to the time share in Destin, FL. The lakes in Korea are pretty too.

I'm thinking a blue-green with some lighter, shallow areas by the shore line. Definetly fresh water though. I would also like to try my hand at a water fall. I kind of want this layout to be a melding of pure, pristine nature and the smell of good 30 weight and diesel as the cars and trains zoom, zoom by! :thumbsup: Good idea bout the rip rap and logs. I am planning on having a fishing boat out there, so structure will help with the bass fishing, and a pebbled bottom with running water will do well for the walleyes! :p

When I get to that point, I'll look you up. I plan on doing a model before plunging into it on the table. I am also planning to do a little 3-D and make a depression where the lake will be as well. Actually try to give it some depth.

I'll let you know how the model turns out and then we can go from there.

Nightshade

Doing a Mock up is always a good idea :)
You can do a mock up of your entire slot track if its not too big.
1.5 or 2 inches to the foot seems to be about right for most model rr's and should work for slots as well............Hmmm sioux falls.....might be heading through there on Saturday if I get this job I am on completed.
I'll be on vacation for a week regardless.. either in South Dakota or here LOL
If i dont get the job finished in time I told wifey to take her parents and just go ahead. I'll stay home and work on slots LOL

Well, work caught up to me for a while but i finally managed to get back up and finish those elevations getting the rest of my risers in etc.

I also cut my masonite backdrop panels cut and primed (in the basement) next step is to put them in place along with some crash barrier walls. ( I am going to try something.
I bought track clips for putting 2 pieces of track together to make a 4 lane. They have a brad hole and I thought i would butt them up to the track, tack it down and then put an 1 1/2 " piece of masonite into these.

After finishing my risers and the priming I put the track back together to make sure things were going to work out ok..............And then I just had to run a few laps :thumbsup:

I had not test drives The F1 cars i recieved last month so the choice of which to run was EZ :)

Heres a few pictures. The benchwork will get a fascia down low and another fascia board up on the upper shelf to cover the lighting. It will be aprox 6" up top and about 10 below. The Fascia will Be made of Masonite and Painted Black down below and have some checkered fabric hanging to the floor below this..........Above the 6" Fascia will be painted Black and have a Checkered border along the bottom 2"..........On top of the shelf will be a Point to Point On30 narrow Gauge Logging Railroad set in the depression Era.
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Slotcarroom001.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Slotcarroom002.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Slotcarroom005.jpg

Nice looking benchwork.

Where are requisite 4x4 legs that slot car hobbyists are so fond of? :)

LOL.......didnt know slot guys like to kill entire forests for benchwork ;)

I use 2x2 lege with T nut/bolt combination set in bottom. This makes leveling an EZ proposition.
This Benchwork is all 1x3 and 1x4 with 2x2 legs. It will hold my 200 lbs and not flinch a bit. Plenty strong for my needs (and likely most anybody's that isnt landscaping with Lead ) :D

Man those Scalextric F1 cars are FAST!!!!!!!!!! I couldnt max out my throttle with these cars and that was brand new outa the box with no break In time. I do not dare run these again without some cornering protection.......Man would I love to drive one of the real ones a few times around the circuit ;)

Hey Todd,
That layout is looking good!!! :thumbsup:
Nice to see the real pictures!!! :)
Greg

Guess I started that one. In Chitown we believe you should be able to support the house with your slot car track should it fall into the basement from an earthquake. Look away AFXToo, look away!.... :p

http://www.planetofspeed.net/PhotoPost/data/3012/1PICT0928-med.jpg

Just funnin' with ya. :wave:

We must also remember that Chicago is the 'Windy' city, so the slot car tracks must have the meat to handle the westerly's coming from beautiful Iowa/Minnesota and that lake effect in the winter...... :thumbsup:

I'm just wondering why you haven't added footings to it yet..... :p

Man you better get some real tires under them Logs..............those lil things probobly arent even speed rated :D :D :D

Quite frankly, Slott V, you really aren't helping AfxToo's constitution any.

Between your "legs of elephantitus" and AMX's prejudice towards those poor asian made power supplies, I'm surprised he hasn't gone into shock.

I bet we've driven him to sniff Ultimax Racing Oil when no one is looking. If he only knew that Thomas H Oyl is actually an elixer of life and, when sniffed with a non-asian made straw, will allow him to improve an extra 2 seconds in time when he races.

:thumbsup:

Nightshade- You are a pot-stirrer aren't you? I love the way you tie all of these threads together.
Jim

That's serious old growth forest product there! Those legs would definitely make the centerfold of Al Bundy's Biggins magazine. Maybe you should top it with a 12 inch thick butcher block top for the race surface.

You do know that now you will likely be personally targeted by mutant tree huggers. Hmmm. Is that a spotted owl feather I see on the floor?

I don't know Afx. Let me call up Prudhomme and see what he thinks..... ;)

Oh, and Jim....shhhhh! I was hoping they wouldn't notice......

:rolleyes:

I started work on my Barrier walls.
Heres an example of the High walls that will be used on the outside of the track.(lower wall will be used on inside and for pit walls in some area's)

It is made from 1/8" masonite painted white (2 coats) and will be siliconed directly to the tracks edge (mock supports will be added later)

Ads are printed on HP premium Matte Photo paper. After placing ads the top and bottom were wasked, ads removed and the barrier sprayed with 3M super 77 spray adhesive. Ads were then set and then masking tape removed.

Thoughts, questions, ideas????

NOTE - A HUGE Thank you to Dr.Vanski over at Slotforum for creating these banners sized for our 1/32 tracks
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/MyBarriers1.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/MyBarriers2.jpg

Hey Todd,

Looks good! :) :)

Does that masonite come in colors?

What size (height) did you cut them to?

Greg

Greg, the Masonite is uncolored 1/8" thick...........I painted it 2 coats........Both sides.
The Masonite is cut to 1 5/8" Height for High Walls and I'll cut my Low walls at 1 3/16".

The Scaley Sport track is a tad thicker than 1/4".........In area's where I will widen the track somewhat I will use 2 thicknesses of Masonite and 1 thickness of Sandpaper laminated together. This makes for a very good track to edge transition.

I have been advised Against siliconing directly to the track so am going to use a couple of other idea's

In area's where the mounting will not be seen i will use small L brackets epoxied to the masonite and screwed to the surface.
Other area's I will glue walls directly to laminated track extensions (shoulders) and Drill & Pin in other area's as required using a small bit And piano Wire (this is last resort type mounting only for critical viewing sites with no other mounting options. I'm not even sure I will need to get this drastic but i can if i have to ! ;) )

I have posted some advert banners in our yahoo File site for safe keeping Greg and will be adding more over time.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digital_Scale_Racing/

Well I started making a mess today...........I'd like to get this back corner work out of the way and determine if I will need to build an Upper shelf extension and mount lighting............Time to play in the Mud!! :)
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SouthWallBarrier01.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SouthWallBarrier02.jpg

Just to let you know that on my website, for ages, you can also find some cool banner ads sized for your HO layouts and 1/32 layouts

http://slotcar.zanzaman.com/billboards_fullpages/billboard132_1.gif

Started work on the back corner yesterday.
Added some distant hills on the backdrop. This will get plaster coated, several layers of ground foam in various colors & some small trees and shrubs scattered around and then a fence......(layers to give depth to the scene). We will see how it turns out :)

The Wall in this case was glued directly to the Foam 1/2" Insulation .
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SouthWallBarrier01.jpg

Here are some of the tree's that will be used. They are Heki N scale tree's that I have improved.(see the scenery thread for a short how to)

These run around 20 bucks for 100 of them
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/TreeImprovementTutorial006.jpg

Made a little headway
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SouthWallSlots006.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SouthWallSlots004.jpg


Also built my first Billboard to give a little added Depth to that backdrop. I just need to determine where i'll place this one. I'll need a few of these for this particular segment...... :)

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SlotsBillboard12.jpg

It's looking great! What are you using for the fence and posts?

Posts are 1/8" wooden dowels painted...........Fence is a Laundry bag for lingerie..I bought 1 at a garage sale new in the pkg for 10 cents. I got around 15 l/f of 8' high (scale)fence. sticker price was 99 cents for the pkg new. I spray painted it primer grey.
No idea who sells them..........maybe wallmart or kmart.

Well, i have managed to get a couple more billboards built and the fence completed.
I need to determine what I want to do with the grassy gnoll on the left and I need som fence hanging signs for advertising. I did make up 1 long banner underneath the big billboard which is for FELKER (my favorite tile saw company who actually did sponser an ARCA car a couple years ago) I do need some more though..........any idea's??
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/SlotsSouth002.jpg

Ive placed 2 more lengths of Backdrop along the back(out of the picture)...both industrial scenes, and 1 cut out ready to go in. Again these will have some flats used in front of them to add depth and maybe a Hay Bale Wall or possibly a stone wall with fence poles sunk into the top of it..........I am open and listening to any and all suggestions thrown out though so please feel free to toss idea's at me.......the more the merrier :)
I'll take a shot of the new stretch of backdrops once i get my Basic foamwork done. They are about 30" per section so another 5' is ready and soon closer to 7 1/2' will be seeing landscaping work.

Also, i am playing around with an Idea for lighting...........We shall see how it works out. I have enough material for 4 streetlights if they work. We 'll see.:)

Oh 1 more thing, I found the lingerie laundry bag at Wallmart for 99 cents. Soon i'll have another few feet of fencing...........At least i know now that they are available and not discontinued ;)

Looks great with the backdrop and a great job on the billboards. It's coming along great. Is visibility of the track a problem on the graddy knoll? If not, then grandstands, outhouses, food concessions, etc. would look great. If visibility is a problem then maybe a campground, a park, cemetary, etc.
Jim

Visibility shouldnt be a problem for the most part (unless i start adding lots of tall timber tree's ;) )
Since this section is at the front of the layout I am in no hurry to do further development at this point......something will come to me, or one of you guys will push the right button with a suggestion :D

Yesterday i spent a little time thinking about Lighting...........One must have lights around a race track...yes??
Well, i priced them out and some are pretty spendy...others, not so bad but not great looking.
I wanted something with a more modern look for general lighting around the course itself...........Floodlights are what I am thinking for the infield area.

Anyways, I had some items laying around so grabbed up some 1/8" brass tubing, some radio shack bulbs, some house Bell wire (22agw solid) and some soldering equipment.
Old Razor Blade handles have always intrigued me and I knew that one day I would find a use for them.............Now was the time.
I put a bend in the 1/8: tube and soldered a wire connector (trimmed) and a lead wire from it for the ground. Since only 1 wire would fit Up the inside diameter of the tube I used the brass tube for the ground. I soldered a length of wire to the base of the brass also. The positive lead went up through the tube.
I cut a schick razor handle and hollowed out the inside where the ribs are. I then cut a piece of thin tin from a Shoestring Potato can and cut and molded to fit inside the razor handle to act as heat shield and reflector.I cut another piece of this same tin and formed as a cover to snap in Over the wire connections that were taped for ease of bulb replacement.
I then mixed up some JB KWIK Epoxy and put all this together.
Once this cured I painted the works with Primer Grey spray paint.
After this dried I hooked it up to a 9V battery to test my handy work.

What do you think??
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/light3.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/light6.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/light007.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/light010.jpg

Coming around the corner now and working the backstretch I needed something to give added depth, afterall, those industries in the backdrop are big big and HUGE :D
Since most tracks emply some type of view blocking fence SOMEWHERE if not 3/4 of the way around for the smaller tracks I thought it would be a good place to use a nice old looking board by board fence........Add to the a concession stand or 2 built as partial buildings or semi flats and we start to get a little better perspective going on
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/backdropfence002.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/backdropfence003.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/concession7.jpg

Here are some photo's for you to use on your track..........slap them on building walls, fences, telephone poles etc
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Montageracehandbillposters.jpg

And heres a few for concession stands
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/Montage2concession.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/Tileguy86/montageconcessioncondimsigns.jpg

Great Post TGtyco pro. I would expect this kind of detail out of a railroader!

The factory is a perfect fit for the backstretch. Thanks for the clip art. I'll use the racing posters.

Jim

Your post got me motivated and wound up to get going again, just hope mine comes out as well as yours, but by the look of your pic's I don't think it's gonna happen.

You've got some impressive modeling skills and thanks for sharing.

Thank You for your kind comments. :)
I just recieved my package from Games Workshop with the Razor wire i ordered.....Time to get out the paints & Airbrush and distress this stuff a bit.
Hopefully by Sunday evening I'll have this section of building and fencing Planted and be ready to move on down the backstretch a little further :)

Is there anyway to get a look at the pictures that were once in this thread?