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Very cool, Dave. Are you following a specific prototype or freelancing like I did? The caboose and doodlebug are built pretty much the same as your two cars, just using smaller bits of plastic. The shay is mostly brass with some wood for the end beams, urethane for some of my detail castings and two soft metal castings - the sand dome and the stack, which are the only purchased parts aside from the wheels and couplers. The flat car is basswood with my own soft metal details. The tractors are soft metal too, from my own masters. The Mack AC trucks combined urethane castings and photoetched brass that I etched in my basement. That was my first 3d CAD design back in 94. Oh what fun times those were...

By the way, thanks for all your comments. I'm not sure I could do anything that small anymore. These were all built in the 80's and 90's.

Nn3 is still 1/160, it just uses the same rail spacing as Z to mimic 3' prototype spacing. As mentioned above, it's actually closer to 3-1/2' when you do the math but at least you can buy Z scale locomotives to convert to Nn3.

Nn3 is based on Z scale locomotives and track. The 0.25" rail spacing works out to about 3-1/2 feet, which everyone considers close enough to 3 feet.

Couple more... Thanks for looking. Mike

Quite a few years ago I was very much into model trains, specifically Nn3 (N scale narrow gauge). Here are some of my models:

Nn3 for me. Lots of scratch building involved. Mike

Good to hear, Harry. We'll try to be patient as we wait for updates. This project definitely deserves its resurrection. Mike

Harry, another museum quality model in the books. You must tell us what your next scheduled build will be. I'm sure I'm not alone in checking the "big boys" section every day just to see what magic you are up to. Surely you have more brass era kits stashed away ready to start manipulating into another masterpiece. And, like everyone else, my thoughts and prayers go out to you in your battles. Mike

Very nicely done, especially your work highlighting the rivets on the hull. But all the talk of the inside, including your description of it, has me curious what it looks like. Any chance you took photos of it before you closed up the hull? I'm sure by the looks of the outside, the inside is just as spectacular. Mike

Cameron, thanks for explaining the Brembo etchings. Makes sense now.

Seems weird about the Brembo insignia only being two pieces. Is it possible the intent is to use them as a template for painting instead of a permanent attachment? By the way, looking to be an incredible build. Can't wait to see it finished.

Mark, nice build so far. On one of your next photos could you place some known size object next to this so I can gauge the size? Much appreciated. Mike

Looks like an Alco FA1, maybe a PA1, but definitely not an FP9

Mike

Not much progress the last few days. I got the rear fender side skirts started. I also painted some of the detail parts that will go on after paint. The side table and storage chest are the only two scratchbuilt items. Mike

Here's a little project I'm working on for my father. He gets the biggest kick out of Rommel's Rod so I decided to replicate it in 1/87 scale. The car is a Wiking Mercedes 540 and the rest is scratchbuilt. I've got several sprues of detail parts from the old Mini-tanks line. That's where the tracks came from. Just got the fenders formed and mounted tonight. Lots more work before it's finished. Thanks for looking. Mike

Jason, My brother bought it back about 17-18 years ago. The taillights were cast as part of the body. I still had the original box which said Modelhaus on it. The whole kit consisted of the body, an interior tub and a vacuum formed rear window. By the way, the model wheels are painted German silver. The photos just make them look white in several shots. Mike

Jason, the spoiler was molded as part of the body and not as a separate part. Here is a rear view... Mike

Here are some 1:1 shots. And the body was by Modelhaus. My brother bought it for me many years ago. Thanks for the kind words. Mike

This is a model of my 1:1, which is heavily modified for road racing. Many different kits were used during the build, primarily a Modelhaus resin body, 1993 Cobra, Mustang convertible, Tamiya 1995 Cobra R and Porsche 911 GT2. I didn't go too nuts with details but did try to capture the major modifications that I made to the real car. The interior... I deleted the rear seat, scratch built the 6 point roll bar, made a quick release steering wheel, relocated the battery, made door pulls, modified the dash and scratchbuilt the shifter and boot. The motor... Pretty basic 302 bored and stroked to 347. There are parts from several kits to represent the intake. The 7 quart oil pan was built from scratch. Solder and heat shrink were used to build the long tube headers. The chassis... The front suspension features a heavily modified k-member in an attempt to represent a tubular version. The parts were grafted from the 95 Cobra R in order to take advantage of the poseable steering. The coilovers were scratchbuilt. The rear also uses the basic axle from the 95 but everything else is built from scratch including the control arms, the third link and its brackets, the sway bar, the panhard bar and mount and the coilovers. The exterior... Wheels are from the 95 Cobra R. Windows are formed from sheet. Sunroof represented by carbon fiber decal. It was an enjoyable build and will always be with me, just like the 1:1. Thanks for looking. This is truly an awesome site and I'm glad I stumbled across it. Mike

Mike