What a hoot!
That tipping can is too funny. What a jerk to do that to that young woman in there! Someone should call the cops!
The current challenge is to run the wires undetected, into each outhouse without drilling though the piece of tile. I only have the one piece and don’t want to crack it drilling it.
But, like Frank Zappa’s group, necessity is the Mother of Invention. I determined that the trailer will have a hose for a pump-out with a catchment placed into the wooden base of the stationary can. The “hose” is the power cable and I made fittings to let it go into the wooden base and milled and drilled the bottom of the base to accept the wires into the can. Was a PITA working with the tiny pieces of brass, copper, and aluminum and many pieces shot around the garage never to be seen again.
The wire into the tilting can will be contained in a “curb bumper” (shaved plastruct) that runs from the wood to the back of the tile and the space will be designated as “trailer sump dump” give the bumper purpose. I can also drill through the plastruct to mount a sign.
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BTW, total outlay for the project is $4.30, including tax, for the container of CA shown in the picture. Everything else has been on hand for years. The trailer was a raffle prize from 2018 that had never been out of the box.
this is such a riot.
All done.
I think you are. Mission accomplished. With two days to go !
Humor, definitely skill, attention to detail, imagination, and some story lines built right in. Who could ask for more ? !
Todd,
If there were an award for most fun yours would win. I have always appreciated the humor included in your pike. Its one if the first I really started paying attention too. You have so much fun going on and this will fit right in
Thanks guys. Will get some pics this weekend.
Live from the workshops of the Tortoise & Lizard Bash Garden Railroad…, I give you…
“THE CAN”
Total outlay was $4.30, including tax, for a tube of CA.
Todd this is just a great scene. I cant wait to see where you stick it on your layout. Your entire pike is the “party pike” and this will fit right in. This just has the feel of having copious amounts of liquid propulsion involved
Thanks guys.
For those who don’t know…,
If you “right click” on the video, select “Copy video URL,” paste that into your browser line, and click “enter,” you can see the video in full screen. This is the only way you will see the detail.
I figured out how to use Linda’s phone and do direct uploads so can do longer videos. Now if I could just do smoother videos… (I don’t have a cell phone and refuse to get one.)
Again, if you “right click” on the video, select “Copy video URL,” paste that into your browser line, and click “enter,” you can see the video in full screen. This is the only way you will see the detail.
Some final pictures and a description of how some/why some things were done.
The tile was a left over cut piece that was actually earmarked for a bank base replacement that was unnecessary. It had beem up in the loft for years and was just about the right size to contain the vingette. I wanted to use something that was thin so it could sit on the ground near flush, and I didn’t think a sheet of acrylic (also a consideration) would have the strengh without arcing over during transport messing stuff up.
Spray adhesive was used to cover the tile and playground sand, used in my Chameleon Caverns Hot Tub area, was hand sifted onto it. Once dry, a second coating of sand was added to ensure that all spots would be covered, and to add some dimensionality (bumps). A piece of granite-bearing roofing paper was cut as an approach and also received the adhesive/sand treatment.
The people, outhouse platforms, and parking curb were stuck down using Marine Goop as was the cable that feeds the slow motion motor which was stuck along the back of the tile. The parking curb is a piece of rectangular Plastruct that has had its top edges rounded out with sand paper. The sand/adhesive was first scratched off of the area before this was applied. The electrical wire for the light in the outhouse travels down this piece of plastic so I did not have to drill the tile.
The Goop reacts a bit with the spray adhesive softening it up and leaving some voids and shiny spots in the dirt, especially around the feet. After it had thouroughly dried, I mixed some Titebond III and a bit of water and used an artist’s brush to apply the mixture to these areas avoiding the shoes/parking curb. I sprinked more sand onto the glue and all of the shine (and wire along the back of the tile) disappeared.
The outhouse rooves are Plastic sheeting cut to size and painted using ceramic-bearing Header Paint, as were the cans. The rooves received an alcohol/ink mixture to make the look dirty. The rooves are held in place using short pieces of Plastruct I-beam with a bit of the web filed out. They then adhere to the cans in the same way that original clothes pins worked. This makes them easily removable to work on the interiors as necessary. Note that they are vented, as all outhouses are/should be, by lifting that portion of the roof over the door.
The piece of brass “L” catches the guy if he should happen to be falling off. But he works best a bit before this and holds his ground just fine.
A bit of action. Mr. Speedy is trying to get out of the way before the door opens on him and he gets knocked over. But it always stops just short of hitting him. The dog poop is a piece of solder that was curled then heated with a torch to get just the right look.
The “dump hose” actually works out to be about 3-1/2" diameter in scale so is not far off. The fittings are brass/copper/aluminum bits. This is actually the electrial wire for the slow motion motor.
The extension of the doorway and dump sign will hide the rotating mechanism from view when in place on the railroad.
A sign placed along the other side of the outhouse hides this side of the rotating mechanism from view. The wire that connects the rotating mechanism to the outhouse and pulls it over is actually a single strand of electral wire “teased” out of a bundle of 24-gauge. It is about 1/2 the diameter of the 10# monofilament I was using and is like working with a hair. I had to color the end loops red just to be able to see it. I also did this inside the outhouse, but the abrasion where it turns against the cotter pin quicky wore through and it snapped in short order. Maybe I’ll find some lighter monofilament for this later in time.
Pull your tongues back in your mouths…, she’s taken.
The monofilament is attached toward the bottom of the “far side” and as the side lifts, its point of attachment comes closer to the cotter pin creating slack in the line. When the outhouse tips far enough, the door “flys open” pulling out the slack. The points of attachment and placement of the girl took several trial and errors to get everything just so without rubbing. The “hooks” that hold the wire and monofiliment to the door/walls are actually short lengths of 12 gauge solid wire that are curled back and forth a couple time and placed in a vice with one end between the jaws (don’t squeeze tight). The “bottoms” that stick up above the jaws are then hammered flat and become the point of attachment to the surface while keeping the hook from lying over when you CA them in place.
The lantern is an Ozark Miniature piece with an GOW bulb placed where the bead would sit. The wire runs straight back then down the back of the cotter pin so is unnoticable. The hook that holds the lantern is the same wire that I used for the wall hooks. This hook had to be glued to the very back of the bent over cotter pin and the gaps filled with CA to keep from snagging the monofilament as it passes through.
The “toilet paper” is a piece of white round Plastruct wrapped with a piece of paper that had been sliced to scale using a paper slicer. The “IN USE” sign provides a bit more animation as it swings about (always a good thing). Both door pulls are left over sprues from the Kadee coupler shims.
This shows how the door mechanism is attached within.
Finally, this is how it all plays out:
Awesome and Ingenious.
cute animation