Hot Springs as an AsiaNrail module

Several years ago I rebuilt one of my Ntrak modules to include a junction between the Ntrak Mountain division track and AsiaNrail.  When I did this, I also had the idea that the module could be used as part of an AsiaNrail layout without using the Ntrak part.  The scenery was designed to be appealing from either side.  So far this module has been used in several joint Ntrak / AsiaNrail layouts and several Ntrak layouts without AsiaNrail.  With this upcoming week long exhibit at the Hiller Aviation Museum, the Ntrak layout will not be there so the opportunity is here to try out this concept.

Most AsiaNrail modules are no sky board, viewed from both sides.  So I made a profile board to replace the sky board for this layout, shown in this photo.  This covers the open back side of the hills where the turnout motors are.  The plan is for this module to be at the end of one of the branch lines.

Subway construction site details

Another item that I picked up on my visit last year to the Tomix store in Saitama was kit number 051 from their Diorama Collection.  I had seen two story prefab buildings like this on construction sites in Japan so wanted one of these for the subway construction site.

Here in the states these things tend to be single story mobile home looking things that are towed from site to site.  This is where the bosses hang out and have their meetings and such.

There was more in the kit than what the photo on the box suggest.   3 outhouses, 2 stacks of pallets, 6 sheets of material, and 3 stacks of girders.  There is also a sticker set.  The building is the only thing requiring any assembly and that was quite easy.

The office and a container from a TomyTec truck were placed over the screws that secure the construction staging area across the street from the subway site.  Extra tower crane sections, vehicles, figures, and details from the TomyTec set fill out the scene.

I recycled some of the old fence that was replaced in the last post.  I cut it into sections of steel deck plate which were stacked waiting to be installed.

This is what they look like after some paint and being installed in the scene.  Notice that some of the decking has already been installed on the concourse level of the station.

The truck the container came from got a new flat bed deck and another stack of those steel deck plates.  Another stack of steel deck plates was attached to one of the cranes to show the truck being unloaded.  Brass wire was used to make the cable saddle for the stack being moved by the crane.

Here is an overall view of this scene with one of the cranes.  Black thread was used to simulate the cables. 

The cranes are the tallest things on the module and I remove them for storage. 

I still think there should be something more substantial to the base of the crane but do not know what it should be.

The outhouses from the TomyTec set were placed around the site.  These things are normally pumped out once a week and I have included that function in this little scene.

More construction site fencing

It's been quite awhile since I posted anything on this blog.  I have continued to be active in the hobby mostly working on my American prototype home layout.  Not having had an opportunity to display my Japanese prototype modules I have not been motivated to do any work on them either.  We do have our annual week long exhibit at the Hiller Aviation Museum coming up at the end of this month so I am now getting the modules ready for that event.

Last year my wife and I did spend a month in Japan splitting the time between Tokyo, Kyushu, and some places in between.  While there I did pick up a few more things for the Musashi-Koyama modules.

The first one is TomyTec number 052 from the Diorama Collection, construction fencing which I bought while visiting the Tomix shop in Saitama.

Larger construction sites in Japan have folding gates with a rail high enough for large vehicles to pass under when the gate is opened.  I took this photo in Tokyo last year as a reference for modeling construction fencing and gates.   We walked past this spot many times over a 2 week period.

This set includes several long and short fence sections, an open gate, and a closed gate.  The support pieces need to be cut off from the spues and glued to the fence and gate sections.

Here I am test fitting this new fencing in place of the walls that I had scratch built from styrene sheet.  The opened gate can be seen in the background.  Once placement is finalized the new fencing will be secured with adhesive.