Hello old mate, Looks like a nice alternative for a Single but I need a Double and they don't seem to have anything suitable for me. The Standards tell me that in Old Measurements a Double should be:
? Double Straight Module
618mm W x 210-330mm D x 70mm H
(24-5/16” W x 8? -13” D x 2?” H)??
Such is my luck. But I do like your idea of a cheap and just about ready-made module. Maybe I could screw two of these 12" together and come up with a Double (or close to it) that way? Maybe put them together with a 5/16th shim between the inside edges??
I have the extruded Foam and Styrene foam to do all the construction that I need. Just don't feel up to the woodworking (had a minor?Stroke Friday AM and am not too trusting of me around circular saws and woodworking tools at the moment.)
Cheers, Ian
On Tue, 16 Aug 2022 at 12:13, Jeffrey Reynolds <
Cteno4@...> wrote:
Hello,
I just thought I would throw out this idea since commercial sources for modules are slim these days, availability is spotty, and they are not cheap due to rising ply prices and shipping costs. Out club (Japan Rail Modelers of Washington DC) has been doing Ttrak for a long time and in the past I’ve whacked out modules for members in my shop or they have purchased the various lasercut kits. But at shows we talk up Ttrak a lot to the public as a way to get started and one drawback has always been just the price of a single module from $25-50 (depending on brand). Add track some building and scenery materials and it starts adding up to get someone to jump in.
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So I’ve been looking around for something that is less expensive and more readily available and potentially locally. This lead me to wooden canvas panels, these are basically a Ttrak module design used to paint onto. They make 12”x12” and 12”x9” versions that are 1.5” tall which are just about perfect for a single module. It’s 1/8” shy on the width, but really that only adds a small amount to the module gaps (they would work out to about 5mm (3/16”) gaps between these types of modules), but that can be compensated with some gap filling scenery strips or just having a gap which isn’t horrible to separate different scenes on adjoining modules. The 1.5” height is fine, just need the appropriate length bolts to bring it up to standard running heights. 1” extruded foam board could be glued on top to create depression scenery and bring the module height to close to the usual 2.75” if desired.
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Nice thing is these are prebuilt, sturdy, and very standardized. Cost is around $6-14 each.
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Only thing that needs to be added are inserts for leveling. This could be done as simple as made from foamcore squares layered up with glue to make more the old style corner blocks and then drill a hole on it and epoxy a T nut into it. Or small square of ply to put the insert into and just glue in front two corners and back center off the back side (we’ve found the 3 legs to be way easier to level modules).
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We have been doing lots of more general public events with Ttrak and lots of folks get interested in this a an interesting way into the hobby. Many love the crafting/diorama aspect of Ttrak. Also younger folks usually have a lot less room to work with so the idea of small modules that don’t that don’t take up a lot of storage space and they can work on it on the kitchen table. The meetup aspect also interest many as a simple group event.
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Just curious what folks think and if they have any ideas to make this more workable on the leveling inserts or other ideas for simple modules for newbies that is easy and cheap.
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Cheers,
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Jeff
Ian