Tunnel/Tree-Stand Project

[healey36]

Thanks for that suggestion, Howard. I'm leaning that way (liners at the portals, open interior otherwise). This might be helpful with the lighting requirements as well.

There will be a couple of supports in there which I need to think about; I'll have to be sure that they are configured such they optimize both the support for the top, as well as maximizing the clearance.

Stopped at Lowe's this AM where I picked up a small two-foot square piece of 1/4-inch plywood that the base halves can be cut from (amazing how expensive lumber has gotten, again). I want to make the curvature such that it will accommodate 27-inch diameter Lionel track, as well as 29-inch diameter Märklin clockwork track. Just a one-inch difference in radius, so it should be do-able:



I think I have some scraps around here that I can use to cut the portals and the interior supports...looking around.

[healey36]

Okay, things are likely looking pretty familiar. Made some progress on the tree-stand project overnight:



I expanded the tunnel interior dimensions by an inch (additional half-inch of clearance on both sides of the track). Ran a Bing clockwork coach and locomotive through there and it looks like plenty of clearance. Cut the base and portals/supports using an old B&D jigsaw.

The base is roughly 22 inches square (about the same as Rev-1).

Next steps are to (1) make the liner for the tunnel and get that cemented in place (still need to decide partial or end-to-end), (2) make a column out of a stack of one-by piled up to a height of six inches (same height as the supports) and cement that in place, and (3) cut a top. Once the top is in place, I can drill the hole for the tree to sit in and the second hole for the tree power cord. Lastly, will put a few screws in it to make sure the whole thing stays together.

[Howard]

I give it three thumbs up!…keep the work-in-progress pictures coming…
Howard…

[healey36]

Here's a surprise - I've been rethinking this tunnel-liner thing. Instead of using bendable corrugated, I think I'm gonna try cardstock with brick-paper printed on it. Very bendable and more importantly, quite thin. I'm a bit nervous about giving up the slightest bit of clearance on the interior. I'll play with it a bit to see how well it works.

The top is cut, as is the "tower" of one-by for the tree holder. Just a matter of assembling it once the liner is installed.

New pics soon.

[healey36]

Okay, I cut the cardstock liner bits and got those cemented in, then assembled the balance of the wooden substructure:



Top left is the basic structure with the liner installed, then a few views after the top and tree-holder column was installed.

I didn't quite get the curves right when I glued the liner panels in place (you can see some bowing in a couple of them). It shouldn't be an issue, just isn't the neatest job. I realized that the cardstock might prove to be translucent once the lights are turned on, so I added a couple of corrugated panels behind the inside curve walls to try to mitigate that. There is a gap on either side of the column for the tree-holder, and light will show through. No worries.

I still need to drill a hole for the tree's power cord to pass through, and I want to add a number of screws in the top to assure that it all stays together. There'll be a bit of stress in the top and tree-holder column when the tree is in place, and I don't want to risk it coming apart. The screws will tighten it up structurally.

The tree-holder column is slightly out of place, resulting in it protruding slightly into the tunnel. It's only about an eighth of an inch, so I'm hopeful it's not going to be a problem. If it is, I can file it down a bit with a rasp to correct the clearance. I won't know if I need to do that until we make a few test-runs (something I likely should have done before I glued the top and tree-holder into place).

[healey36]

We got the hole drilled for the four-foot tree's power cord, even found a desk cable plug to use in the 1-3/8" hole. I tested a plug to make sure it would pass through properly; seemed to work fine with room to spare.

Moved on to the next step which is cutting and adding the contours for the "mountain". A long laborious process of cutting and fitting, I started with the backside which is pretty straight-forward. I'm experimenting with the bit that curls up over the edge of the top...probably do it in two pieces so that the cutting doesn't have to be perfect for a fit. First three are in; probably 30-40 more to go.

The inside contours of the curve are quite a bit more complicated. I need to accommodate 3-4 buildings that will be part of the hillside, plus an access hole for the battery box of the light(s) I plan to jam under there. I'm thinking I need to build these buildings, one of which being the cover of the access hole, before starting the hillside to be sure everything is properly/neatly accommodated.

Here's a pic of where I left off this evening:



The top pic shows the first three contour-partitions in place, cut from some old USPS shipping boxes (love the thin corrugated). The bottom pic has the facade of the Buena Vista hotel in rudimentary form. I think I'm gonna make this building a lift-out for the light's battery box).

I'm slipping back into that stream-of-consciousness method of construction...not good, lol.

Oh, and one last thing...I was stumbling around in Michael's earlier this week looking for supplies and found this little four-foot tree in their piles of trees:



I kinda liked the retro look of it with the C7-sized LED bulbs, and I still had money left on a gift card, so figured I'd try it out.

[healey36]

Spent the weekend working on a few putz-style buildings for the tunnel project:



They're in rough form, all with a bit of trim to install and roofing to add. Got an order of window-glazing supplies coming in at the end of the week. After they are trimmed out, painted, and window-glazing pasted in, we can move on to cutting the contour partitions for the inside of the curve.

Still thinking I can get this done by Thanksgiving.

[Howard]

Healey36…
Please keep sharing the work in progress photographs on the forum!…you’ve chosen three classic designs…they are all direct descendent of vintage originals with your personal touches to fit the tunnel/tree stand project…and three thumbs up on the tree choice…
Howard…

[healey36]

Well, a bit more progress over the last week or so. First, we gave the three buildings a coat of paint and pasted in some windows. I picked up a couple gold paint pens thinking those would be useful for drawing in the mullions on the windows, but they didn't work so great. I tried two different manufacturers (Sharpie and Craftsmart), but they just weren't very visible on the red-tinted acetate. We dropped back to plan B.

I had some 1mm masking tape in the model-building paint box which I had never used (how one can make a straight line for masking with the stuff is beyond me). Being a yellow color, I figured it might be a suitable for creating the mullions. I talked it over with Howard and he recommended giving it a try. Turns out, it works pretty well, although I didn't get the spacing correct on the multi-window "panels" I laid out for the hotel. No worries...the Japanese didn't paint theirs perfect either

So after adding a bit more detail, I gave them a basic paint job, then pasted in the windows. Far from perfect, but serviceable:



One thing to note - while trying to figure out the placement(s), I came to the conclusion that I couldn't fit all three on the hillside, so we'll make a standalone out of the Buena Vista and just use the smaller two on the project.

Next, finishing/mounting the contours.

[healey36]

So we next cut out forty-some contours for the hillsides. It's a tedious process, I'll admit, especially since each needs some amount of fitting to make them work. I also cut and pasted in the two bases for the buildings I'm going to use:



I also changed up the planned lighting of the buildings. Originally, I was going to illuminate them from behind, basically cutting out a large opening in the back, mounting them flush to the hillside and hoping the light would shine through. However, the pre-painting of the buildings and the subsequent painting of the hillside didn't line up chronologically, i.e. there was no way to mount the unpainted buildings, paint the hillside, then paint the buildings in place (and mount the glazing). So we switched it up, now planning to cut openings in the bases and cement in the buildings after the painting is complete. I'm probably not describing this well, but it should work better (as long as the light shines though from underneath rather than behind).

Haven't really figured out a light-source yet, but I've got a number of options. We'll see...