Battle of Hoth module

Another of my passions, apart from model railroading, is mounting and painting plastic kits. I especially like those old Star Wars plastic kits that were sold as merchandising at the same time that movies were released. I collect all MPC and AMT/ERTL kits sold during the eighties and nineties and when I feel I need a rest from trains, I use to take one of the pending boxes I have and I build the model.

I was in total lack of inspiration to decorate an end loop for my modular layout after I did the "Rice fields" and "Mine" modules, so I decided to make a break and mount the following kit about the Battle of Hoth:

When I opened the box I realized all figures were really small, they could match with our N scale train models. Searched in internet, and this is a 1:156 scale kit. So... why not to mount this diorama in my loop?

These are all the pieces in this kit, very easy to assemble as most of them are complete and you only need to cut them from the blister:

The most time consuming task was to paint each figure:

I was missing some important parts to be represented in the diorama, but thanks to thingiverse.com and the designs made by other people I 3D printed the following pieces:

Shield Generator: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1174989

Millenary Falcon: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1559425

Ion Canon: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2173641

Tunnel portal and Echo base entrance: designed by my own

Then I started building the "Echo base" as a kind of box, including illumination, RGB leds which allow me to make some nice special effects, and the Millenium Falcon, X-Wing and a couple of Snow Speeders:

And started planning the disposition of all elements:

Mountains reliefs were created using cardboard strips and hot glue, and all covered with plaster cloth. To make the rock walls you can put plaster and, while it is still soft, press with a crumpled aluminum fold:

I wanted this module to be interactive and very visual, so I installed red micro leds in the tip of the AT-AT Walker heads and a green one in the tip of the Ion Cannon:

I also tried for the first time to simulate explosions, fire and smoke following this guide: https://spikeybits.com/2014/10/hobby-how-to-make-explosions-smoke.html

Basically you need filling/stuffing material, normally used for stuffing for soft toys. Craft shops have this, but I bought a pillow in a poundshop which was filled of this material. To shape these fibers I made first a structure with chicken-wire. After painting it with black, yellow, orange and red paint insert a tea candle light. These tea candles are available in ebay and aliexpress and they are very cheap. The final result surprised me:

With everything in place, I covered the whole layout with Woodland Scenics Flex Paste together with Soft Flake Snow. You can check this video demonstrating the application of these products:

I installed an Arduino UNO and connected all lights plus a sound shield to it, and programmed everything to reproduce short scenes of the Battle of Hoth when a train passes or you move closer your hand to the front of the module like "using the force". Sorry because this video was recorded when the module was not finished yet:

Here you have some photos of the finished module:

Building scenery, last work of the year.

Finally, is time to start building scenery. Track has been tested and works everything ok. I plan to start building all the scenery of the upper part of the layout, from top to bottom.

I had in mind to try to reproduce Yamadera (山寺) which is a temple complex sited in Yamagata prefecture. I was there in Spring this year, and for me is the most beautiful and charming place in Japan despite there are many other places also with a magnificent atmosphere like Osore-Zan.

Here you can see a review of my visit to Yamadera in my last trip to Japan:
http://merodeandojapon.blogspot.com.es/2015/10/sabado-16-mayo-2015-yamagata.html

First of all I took some photos I did myself as inspiration:

And some more I found on internet to see also the color of the rocks from the other side of the temple. Shape will be different due to the place I have in the layout, but I want to keep the essence of the place so anyone who has been there can recognize it in my layout.

Temple buildings will be also different, as I'm using the Tomytec temple set and not scratch building them.

First of all I placed two terrace made in wood at the height where I want the temple and main gate. Continued making the stairs using PVC Foam of 2mm thickness, cutting step by step and gluing it:

The 2mm steps are a little bit out of scale, but using 1mm PVC foam was too much work and I would have needed 1000 steps as the real temple!!

I'm using the technique of glued cardboard strips to shape the basic forms of the rocks. It's quite simple, just cut strips from a cardboard box and glue them with a hot glue gun and a stapler to fix crossing strips:

Once you are happy with the results, cover it with plaster cloth and add some rock castings in place:

Now fill with plaster the spaces between castings and add plaster in places where you want more thickness. You can model the plaster, but work really fast because plaster dries in few minutes. Don't prepare too much plaster, is better to do work small zones individually. If you don't want a smooth finish, just hit plaster gently with your fingertip and surface will turn in a more coarse aspect. While plaster is still wet, carve some holes or cracks with any sharpened tool or model it with a spatula:

Now wait until it's completely dry and do not try to paint it until next day. For painting I used a mix of different techniques. Some airbrush painting I already know from my plastic models experience, and others taken from Woodlan Scenics or some friends who have experience with scenery.

This is step-by-step of painting my rocks:

1) I wanted some carved zones in an ocher and clear color as it is in reality, so directly airbrushed this zones:

2) There is a zone made with concrete, not natural. This has been also airbrushed in a concrete color. Using some variants of ocher also all the rocks have been slightly airbrushed.

3) Now I changed of technique, using the "Leopard Spot" and the Earth Colors from Woodlan Scenics. You can find very instructional videos in their web site, but basically you tint with diluted colors (proportion 1/16 or a little more) 1/4 of the rock for each color. This is in case you are using 3 colors for this first step (white, concrete and ocher) like me, and leave 1/4 with no paint. If you are using 2 colors, then paint 1/3 of the rock with each.

4) Second step of the "Leopard Spot" technique is to wash the entire surface of the rock with a predominant color, in my case Raw Umber as I feel this is the most similar color of Yamadera rocks in general. In this case the paint has to be diluted in double proportion than the previous, 1/32.

5) I still wanted some more contrast, so I decided to make another wash with Slate Gray. Black is too much strong for the rocks I'm modelling. I had to dilute strongly this color, a proportion like 1/50 or maybe more. At the same time I was applying the was I was removing the excess with a kitchen towel paper, turning the edges of the rock in a much more clear color. I liked the final effect, so no dry brush technique was used.

After this step I used again the airbrush to paint stairs and water. Stairs needed some dry brushing in a light gray color. There's still work to do, like putting water effect resin and all covering, bushes and trees. But I'm really happy with the results at this point, taking into account this was my first scenery:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!

メリークリスマス！！よいお年を！！

Tokyo Monorail Diorama

This year I went to Japan and stayed one week in Tokyo. I took the Monorail every day because my hotel was in Tennozu Isle. I used to take the monorail to Hamamatsuchô, next station from Tennozu Isle and end of the line, and there change to Yamanote Line, the circular train line in Tokyo that takes you to almost any place. It is also the best connection between Tokyo and Haneda airport, much better than Narita with the N'ex or the Limousine Bus. Also last year stayed in the same hotel (Dai-Ichi Hotel Seafort) and took the monorail daily. I really recommend you that hotel in Tokyo, it has incredible views, HUGE rooms and beds (in comparison to the rest of Japanese hotels...), the monorail station is inside the same building with lots of restaurants, convenience stores, pharmacy, and the monorail is free to catch with a Japan Rail Pass exactly as the rest of JR lines.

I was in Popondetta, a railway shop in Akihabara, and sow the display model of the monorail in N scale. I had to buy it, as I like to collect all the trains I get on during my trips to Japan. It's just a static plastic model, there is no commercial model with motor, but anyway I'm in love with it and every time I see it all my memories from Tokyo come to my mind.

My first idea was to motorize it and put it in my layout, but I realized that I would loose the interior details of one of the cars as the motor is impossible to completely hide. Other options like a hidden motor with wires to pull from it also seemed too much difficult for me. Apart from that, I didn't find a suitable place for it my layout, it would have been too anachronistic and out of its environment .

So I took my own photos, searched some more on Internet and decided to make a diorama recreating the views I had from my room of it, with a certain level of freedom.

I began with the bogies, thinking it would be an easy start. But I couldn't be more wrong. Each bogie has 24 pieces and most of them have to be glued. Some of them are so tiny that it is mandatory to use thin tweezers. There are 6 cars, 2 bogies per car... 288 pieces!!!!

But bogies are functional and slide in a very smooth way though the beam.

I made my best to paint bogies also realistic: primmer, black wheels, metallized chassis, ... but you can save all this work, because it will never be seen!!!!!!! Bogies stay hidden inside the skirts....

Then I continued with the seats, hopping not to to have more than one piece and having just to paint it.... error again!!!! The almost invisible seats come with no armrests which have to be glued and are even smaller than the smallest part of the bogies... AND THERE ARE A LOT OF SEATS!!!!!

Instructions are not very prolific... enough to mount it but not for the painting schema. But taking a look to my own photos I painted them red, steel for the armrest supports and handles, and beige simulating the textile cases they have nowadays (the red you see in the photos is mistaken due to the tone the camera took).

Next step was the skirts. I wanted a metallized look, but weathered with the mud they actually have.

Illumination was a bit difficult for me. The standard led strips, those you can cut in groups of 3 led, don't fit the length of the cars, so I built my own strip, just one with the length of all the cars with all the led soldered on it. It's also a good way to keep all cars attached to each other. I attached the led strip to the interior roof with double sided tape before closing them with the floor and seats. I preferred to use sunny white led, like old lights. Wires run through a hole in the pillar.

Also inside the car I glued some people, just cheap figures bought in ebay. May be 100 N scale people costs something like 10€ or less. Quality is awful, but inside the cars you can't see the details and it isn't worth to waste more money in good figures to put there.

This warm light also adds contrast with the planned cold light of the street lamps. The diorama will have a road in the back, a wide side walk done with Evergreen textured sheet and small angles, and the water of the the canal as I was able to see every day in Tokyo from my room window.

It was the first time for me simulating water, so following some tutorials, I painted the base in blue tones and added Vallejo Water Efects product. I thought it was possible to recreate calm water with it, but it's specially intended for brave waters and for calm waters there is another special product. Anyway, now I'm happy of the result and I would do it again in the same way, despite Tokyo bay water is normally calm.

Vallejo Water Effect just applied

Two hours later starts to dry and become transparent

Completely dry

And finally, added some details like a hot potatoes stand, guard rails and road fences from a Kato kit, people, cars, painted in white the water scum... Here there are some final photos, even though in the future I will probably add some more people and scenic details because I see it too empty of life. Also a methacrylate case and a backdrop would be cool...