Boston EMS A-6

01/03/17

Boston EMS Ambulance 6

The base model features a plain white cab from Boley, and box from a cheap matchbox toy. I have modified where the lights are and added a few to more closely match the prototype. I first made the decals on my computer, applied them and added a couple coats of clearcoat to protect the model while being worked on.

I first drilled out all the holes for lighting to be installed on the body. When completed it will feature almost 50 functioning LEDs. Then I soldered all of the lights and installed in the body. Here you can see the wiring for the body partially complete.

Because the cab is made of a cast steel material it proved to be much more difficult to drill then the plastic body. After breaking a small drill bit off and not being able to get it out or drill through it, I decided just as easy to just buy a new donor cab of eBay. Here you can see the new cab which is undecorated with the interior that I detailed.

Just bits and pieces slowly coming together. 

Starting to tie in wiring to the main board. You can see in the picture the Decoder, sound modul, light bar, body and cab being pieced together.

Starting The Car System

12/19/16

After over a year in design and construction, I have finally started my favorite and most important part of what will bring this module to life. The Car System. Based on the ideas and lessons I've learned from Faller and their car system, I have made some changes and hope I can improve the reliability and operation to what I'm looking for. 

The first step for me was to layout where all roads, direction of travels and lanes of traffic in the quadrant I was working on would be. I always use light pencil marks because it is often changing as this process continued. Using a 4' strait edge, various squares and radius tools are essential here to me because I am very particular about smooth operation of the vehicles. This is most crucial in the long straight sections because the vehicles will tend to wobble if the guide wire is not very strait. The corners can have slightly different radius just like prototypical roads, very rarely are two corners exactly the same.

Once I had all the layout for lanes of traffic, the next step was to cut the grooves for the magnet band to be installed. I am hoping that by keeping the grooves tight, I can save on touching up the road surface up and reduce cracking later. I used my dremel with a cutting/routing bit with a depth tuning attachment and radius tool. I found in the past modules that the less I cut free hand, the longer it takes, but the end result is worth it.

When all of the grooves are cut I started to lay the magnet band into the grooves to insure proper alignments and cut depths. I did not glue any of the band in at this point allowing for changes to be made. One note here; leaving 5cm or so gap cut at the end of the run of magnet band is a good practice if you plan to continue the road later on.

I made sure to test all of the routes with all of the different vehicles I had to make sure the corners are exceptable to the vehicles you plan to use and that the magnet band is installed with the correct polarity. Then the turn modules can be marked out.

This is a turn module I built using a piece of pipe, a servo and some pieces of metal. You can also see I have used painters tape over the tracks so the vehicles can pass while testing.

All of the main magnet guide band has been installed and locations marked out. I also started construction on the bus stop and a taxi stand.

Once all of the turn sections were installed and tested I used styrene to cover the access holes so I do not have deep fills to make with the road plaster material.

I decided to use styrene for the spots between the rails as well. I thought it offered much less messy installation and easier removal later over the plaster alternative.

In the space on the outside of the rails I experimented with Auto body filler (Bondo) to build up the gap because I've found in the past making large fills with plaster can start cracking when the modules are transported. 

Working on the Railroad

7/24/15
Last Updated: 1/28/16

After much wood working to get to this point, there's still a lot to do before the real "modeling" can begin. The lower deck railroad rails has only been a main focus because I cannot permanently mount the top deck until its ready. Once the top deck is installed the rails will be largely inaccessible. 

For this reason I decided to install wooden round stock as guard rails so if there is ever a problem with the trains, it would be much less likely they would fall to the floor. The rails also needed a base of ballast because I would be difficult to reach in later for scenery.

9/16/15

Once the lower deck rails were installed, I fixed in place the top deck. I drilled and soldered in the feeder wires for the rails before permanently fixing the top deck because access would be impossible in most spots.

After the deck was fastened I started drilling access holes and installing bus wires directly under the lower deck rails. Because of the complex automated control of the module using infrared and other voltage controls I decided against DCC Systems for now. I did however, install the wires (14awg) in a way that would allow one connection and I could run DCC equipment. 

This is the main controler (ArduinoUNO) with a relay shield. Because only one relay was needed for the fairly simple lower deck train controls, I desoldered the other three relays from the Arduino and they will operate in isolation.

10/15/15

After all of this infrastructure for the upper and lower deck rails were completed, next power supply had to be installed. Because I wanted the trains isolated from main power supply for voltage drop reasons I decided to just use a stand alone MRC 15V transformer. For main power I am using a PC 450 watt power supply.

10/21/15

After everything was connected to AC power in via a MRC1300 transformer and had some trouble I found the coil was faulty and it was replaced with an old Aurora 14v DC powerpack as a temporary solution to keeping the project moving forward.



MBTA GreenLine Train

 

08/01/15

 

 

MBTA Green Line Train

 

 

 

 

The next step in this extensive build will be the base work for the future MBTA Green line rail system that will traverse the new module. I have lived around Boston my whole life and it was only a thought but after my trip in the fall to Amsterdam, I was inspired by the GVB system and made me take a second look at the modeling possibilities I had right in front of me. The MBTA's Green line. Because the track is set into the city streets, this part has to be laid out and installed before the top deck is permanently fixed. Because this requires cutting completely through the 1/4" base, it had to be done half and half so I did not lose the close tolerances needed for this to work effectively and also be realistic as possible.

 

Starting to Take Shape

 

5/15/15 

 

 

Now that I've been able figure out just how much space I can use, a frame has been assembled and the deck has been cut to size its time to start the fun part. Fitting models and planning infrastructure. I used a large sheet of paper to make erasing changes easier till I find a plan I'm happy with then transferred some rough street and sidewalk limits to the deck using a pencil. Many times in the past I've used a thin micron pen or sharpie to do planning but that can make it confusing later when cutting and easier to make mistakes. I've found it easiest to just run over only the line you want to cut with a marker one at a time so that you can see it better. The smaller structures are very easy to move around and modify to fit in the spaces available once streets and rails are in but the new larger structures I've acquired, I feel its best to put them together with tape and try to see where they can fit.

 

    In order to fugure where I stand with available space for the deck I needed to make cuts and install the lower deck for the lower train level. Once that part was cut and glued in place along the front I installed cork and rail because it would be difficult to install it once the deck was fixed to the frame.

 

Once I was happy with the rail placement on the part of the lower deck that would be visible, I started on the 75% of the rail you will never see! Its a bit of extra work but it will allow me to give the effect of more realistically longer trains in a small space. The only other option (which I also tested) was two reversing units and I could only fit 1 modern era locomotive and two cars. 

 

 

 

I have also kept working on the future T Green line train rails which will need to go in before the top deck can get fixed in place.

 

 

 

 

 

A New beginning!

 

3/16/15

 

A New Beginning with Lessons Learned!

 

After moving the modules around for 3 years including 3 model shows and moving residences 3 times last year they have held up well. The original built modules were well built but there was definitely room to improve on areas that we had difficulty with. I have decided rather then keep making extensive structural upgrades, I would start fresh and design a whole new project.

 

The main thing that is noticeable is that the new project will consist of one large module, rather then a few smaller ones. The reason for this was although the modules were designed to work together, the more features that were added, (streets, rails, turns) the more the joints effected reliable operation. The old modules were around 3' long and 2.5' deep, and were designed for easy transport. The new single module will be 8' long and 2.75' deep.

 

 

In addition to the size changes I decided to change from a MDF Fiberboard to a double sided plywood to help with how it is effected by the construction adhesives and temperatures or moisture.

 

 

 

Once the plywood was cut to size and temporarily attached to the frame, I used a large piece of paper I purchased from the local craft store to lay out the new design. I find it easier to do this because you can change the lines with an eraser rather then having crossed out lines that can be confusing when its time to make cuts. It is also handy for remarking limits that are covered by paint or scenery.

 

Due to the size of the new module, to make transport easier I added 2 removable handles on each side. I also limited it to 8' because of the ability to fit in a standard 8' pickup bed or trailer. check back soon for updates!

Out with the old, In with the New

 

3/09/15

 

 

Out with the old, in with the new!

 

 The spring season is here and change is on the way. I learned yet again, many lessons including its best not to rush construction of new modules before a model show because you won't get the quality you are after. I gave this all a lot of thought and drew up many sketches and I have come to a decision. I am going to completely dismantle all of the modules, and save what I can. I am starting the redesign from the ground up. It will include a whole new base system and rather then being a few separate modules, it will be just one. Incorporating everything that I have learned to redesign the whole process and some new products and ideas.

 

 

Here you can see some of the last pictures I took of the modules. They were good to me and I was happy with them. My ideas were just growing and I was running out of room to grow. The more I added, the more operations became less reliable.

  

 

Enjoy the pictures, by the time you will be reading this it will be nothing but a memory and what can be salvaged many find its way on to the new Boston Module Project.

 

I plan to take many more pictures and videos during the building of the new Module so that I can share the lessons I've learned with you and hope you will find interest in Faller Car System, Model railroading or animation of model scenes!

Springfield MA Model Show 2015

 

3/01/15

 

 

I attended the 2015 Model show in January in Springfield MA and it was a great time as usual! Got to see great friends we only see once a year.




 

As usual I was rushed to get the modules finished in addition to the third module I incorporated to this years display. All though it was much unfinished by my standards I hope to achieve, it came out okay to display. Here you can see the almost completed MBTA bus rounding a corner to a side street. (Photo Andy Madden)

 

I experimented with installing in-street track for the future Green Line extension and have learned some lessons that I can use to correct problems I had with the Faller car system passing over the rails. The display was shared in the 1-87 vehicle club area during the show. You can visit their website at 1-87vehicles.org where you can see these and many other great pictures from the show.

 

 

( Photo by Andy Madden )

Almost But Not Quite...

 

1/10/15

 

 

Just A Learning Experience

 

 

 

After moving twice and going though a lot of life changes I am ready to get back to modeling and Springfield is approaching! I have decided to add two new modules to the display including changes to city streets and even a functioning Green line train from Boston's Fenway Area. I picked up the wood I needed to start and I am getting to work..

 

 

The first step in updating the project is expanding the existing modules from 2' to 2.75'. I found no good way of expanding them so I decided to make new bases for the old modules and reattach the old scenery decks. The process of removing the scenery was tedious but only required partial disassembly.

 

 



 

I used some of the same ideas I had from the original project that worked well including cutting and drilling access holes for wiring and anything else before I attached the scenery decks. Here you can also see the tunnel portals cut for the new underground subway station.

 

 

Once two module bases were completed they were joined using sheetrock screws while the decks are attached making sure that surfaces mated properly for road and rail. Small scrap pieces were also used for bracing to prevent damage to the main support structure.

Miniatur Wunderland!

 

11/5/14

 

 

Miniatur Wunderland Visit!

 

 

In Front of Miniatur Wonderland, Hamburg Germany! Definitely my favorite place I have ever gotten to visit. I had an amazing time in Germany, and The Netherlands with my amazing girlfriend Morgan who made this trip possible!

 

 

Here is just a couple of the hundreds of pictures and videos I took during my day at Miniatur Wunderland. I cannot wait to go back!