Category: Bandit Canyon Ry

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Making Etta’s Place with the Creality Falcon2 | Part 3

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

It's time to finish up our build of Etta's Place and work it into the overall scene on my On18 Bandit Canyon Ry. I also offer some final thoughts on the Creality Falcon2 22w Laser and its usefulness to the hobbyist. I was recently sent one of these diode laser machines for review and this is my third video ascertaining its value to my creative process and possibly yours. I'm very pleased with the way the structure has turned out and have no complaints about the general capabilities of the machine. I received the machine for review, but to be as objective as possible, I'm not accepting any compensation from the brand or its marketing partners. If you are shopping for a laser cutter, I hope this series of videos will help you to make a more informed decision.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

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Creality Falcon2: https://store.creality.com/products/falcon2-22w-laser-engraver-cutter?aid=ytZBUS Coupon code: Falcon50（$310 Off）
Creality Products Collection: https://store.creality.com/pages/creality-engravers?aid=ZBUS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWJ2LX74?maas=maas_adg_E293166AE9FFEC212F3A25EA91B7EBF3_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

Making Etta's Place Part 1: https://youtu.be/l394hqucpk8
Making Etta's Place part 2: https://youtu.be/UUL1oSRflM0
Designing Laser Cut Structures with Adobe Illustrator: https://youtu.be/5pZWQwMsZPY

Making Etta’s Place with the Creality Falcon2 | Part 2

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Welcome back to Etta's Place, my current structure build where I'm putting the Creality Falcon2 22w Laser Cutter/Engraver through its paces. I was recently sent one of these diode laser machines for review and this is my second video ascertaining its value to hobbyists. I'm trying to be as objective as I can and give an honest assessment, free of the usual marketing hype. I received the machine for review, but I'm not accepting any compensation from the brand or its marketing partners. My goal is to see if and how the machine can be integrated into my creative process, and possibly yours. Along the way, we'll talk about safety, quality, and value for the dollar as I take "Etta's Place" from a stack of laser cut parts to an O scale model structure ready for the layout.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Creality Falcon2: https://store.creality.com/products/falcon2-22w-laser-engraver-cutter?aid=ytZBUS Coupon code: Falcon50（$310 Off）
Creality Products Collection: https://store.creality.com/pages/creality-engravers?aid=ZBUS
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWJ2LX74?maas=maas_adg_E293166AE9FFEC212F3A25EA91B7EBF3_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

Relate videos:
Making Etta's Place Part 1: https://youtu.be/l394hqucpk8
Designing Laser Cut Structures with Adobe Illustrator: https://youtu.be/5pZWQwMsZPY
Quick Tip on Laser Cutting Materials: https://youtu.be/P5uYP-jez8I

Making Etta’s Place with the Creality Falcon2 | Part 1

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

Fun with lasers! I've been provided with a new Creality Falcon2 22w Laser Cutter/Engraver for review and put it right to work on a new structure build. I wanted to see if I could get the same quality laser cut parts from this lower cost machine that I've become accustomed to with my 50w Co2 laser cutter. Follow along as I take "Etta's Place" from a rough sketch to a stack of precision parts ready to build! Along the way, we'll cover design software like Adobe Illustrator and the Lightburn laser driver. Over the next couple videos, I'll be documenting the entire process using this machine and giving you my honest assessment of it as a useful tool for hobbyists.

Note: The honeycomb, stainless steel consumables, roller, and protective cover are NOT INCLUDED with the Creality Falcon2 as it comes "In the Box." I'm informed they are available to be purchased separately at the Creality website. Links below. I apologize for any confusion. The actual purchased product details are subject to the standard "In the Box" provided on the official Creality website.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Links:
Creality Falcon2: https://store.creality.com/products/falcon2-22w-laser-engraver-cutter?aid=ytZBUS Coupon code: Falcon50（$310 Off）

Creality Products Collection: https://store.creality.com/pages/creality-engravers?aid=ZBUS

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWJ2LX74?maas=maas_adg_E293166AE9FFEC212F3A25EA91B7EBF3_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas

Designing Laser Cut Structures with Adobe Illustrator: https://youtu.be/5pZWQwMsZPY

Quick Tip on Laser Cutting Materials: https://youtu.be/P5uYP-jez8I

 

Bandit Canyon Ry | Building a PWM Throttle for Smooth DC Power

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

BCRy Part V. My On18 Bandit Canyon Railway runs on good old fashioned analog DC power - but I haven't always been that thrilled with the performance of the usual commercial hobby power packs. In this episode, I use a Pulse Width Modulating (PWM) regulator to build a better DC power pack that delivers smooth current for much improved running - especially at slower speeds! And I fit it all in a custom 3.25" x 2.5" case that mounts out-of-the-way below the layout roadbed. Just say no to bulky power packs!

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

PWM Regulator

Bandit Canyon Railway | The Blackjack Mine Pt 2

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

BCRy Part IV. Here it is! The second episode of the Blackjack Mine build for my On18 Bandit Canyon Railway project. This time around, I build a steam powered hoist for the mine with all of the machinery visible in an open air shed. Plus weathering, final details, lighting, and a scenicked base for the entire complex that blends right into Bandit Canyon.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Crow River Products: https://www.crowriverproducts.com/index.php?cPath=33_36&osCsid=jtu2jnmd3ep4p2r17m9ntvu555

Blackjack Mine Part 1: https://youtu.be/i3Aw-SBnBkQ

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Bandit Canyon Railway | The Blackjack Mine Pt 1

Posted on by Dave Meek

BCRy Part III. This is the first of two episodes on the Blackjack Mine, a small complex with loads of character for my On18 Bandit Canyon Railway project. In this installment, I scratchbuild the freelanced head frame and shaft house using some repurposed parts from an earlier project. Lots of info on typical mine construction out west, plus modeling tips for wood construction, using stencils, weathering, and making your own corrugated roofing. Cinefoil “Black Wrap”

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Bandit Canyon Railway | Roadbed, Track and Power

Posted on by Dave Meek

 

BCRy Part II. Work continues on my On18 Bandit Canyon Ry micro-layout! This week, I add risers to raise the plywood sub-roadbed up to the desired height, then it’s time for cork roadbed, laying some Peco flextrack, building a simple manual turnout linkage, and hooking up the DC power. Join me as I bring the BCRy to life for the first time and explain a few tips and tricks learned over the years to make all of these tasks a little smoother and easier.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

New On18 Project | The Bandit Canyon Railway Rides Again!

Posted on by Dave Meek

I’m always up for a new project when inspiration strikes! This time I’m revisiting the Bandit Canyon Ry in On18 scale. This 2×3′ portable micro-layout will combine spectacular Southwestern scenery with the legends of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the Hole in the Wall gang. This video introduces the layout concept with plans and drawings, and we begin work on a portable stand and base.

Thanks for watching, amigos!
Dave

Join Thunder Mesa Studio on Patreon for exclusive content, parts and plans from Dave’s builds, and merchandise discounts!

Planning the Bandit Canyon Ry.

Posted on by Dave Meek

An Adventure in 1:32 Scale Modeling

After a visit from Scott Carter and his wonderful Cinnamon Creek Mining Co. layout, I became inspired to build a small, portable layout of my own. Wanting to do something a bit different from the TMMC and other modeling I had done, and following a correspondence with another fine modeler, William Dickman, who introduced my to the idea of 1:32 scale industrial narrow gauge, I landed on the idea of an outlaw trail themed mining layout in 3/8n20. In truth, the idea for something called "Bandit Canyon Railway" had been gestating in the back of my brain for a couple of years and it just needed a little push to get it started.

1:32 Scale + HO Gauge = 3/8n20

Most readers may not be familiar with the scale/gauge combination of 3/8n20, it is certainly not a common modeling scale, even to die-hard narrow gauge modelers. 1:32 scale is common enough, and is quite popular with large scale modelers to represent standard gauge trains on 45mm gauge track. It's also a common scale for model airplanes, die-cast cars and tractors, and some ship models. 1:32 scale is 3/8"=1', so it's right there in between O scale at 1:48, and F scale at 1:20.3 (there's really no such thing as "G scale," by the way, there's 1:32, 1:24, 1:22, 1:20.3, and others all running on 45mm track to represent different gauges!).

In 1:32 scale, HO gauge measures out to about 20" between the rails. This means that one can use HO and On30 mechanisms, wheel-sets, and chassis as a starting point for some quaint and chunky industrial narrow gauge equipment in what amounts to 3/8n20. This scale/gauge combination is rare enough that it doesn't even have a letter designation like O, HO, S, or N. If anyone ever asked me, I might suggest "Q" for 1:32 scale trains and that would make this project Qn20. The Q stands for "quirky." But I'll leave it up to the NMRA to sort out the alphabet soup.

 

Building a Planning Model

Since the BCRy is to be a portable layout, there were a few problems I needed to work out before starting actual construction. Specifically, I wanted to see how my plan for having the layout travel inside its own stand/base would work out in practice. The solution was to build a 1:8 scale planning model. As a bonus I could work out the sight-lines, color scheme and other aspects of the scenic treatment at the same time.

Using my track plan at the top of this page as a guide, I constructed the planning model from 1/16" thick cardstock and extruded polystyrene foam. The finished layout will measure 35" wide, 60" long, and 44" high with the backdrop. For travel, it will nestle securely down inside the slightly larger base, and the entire set-up will stand nearly 8' tall when assembled. The roof above the layout will house lighting, and doubles as a lid when everything is boxed up. The whole thing will roll around on swiveling castors.

Scenery was sculpted from EPF in a similar manner as the rockwork on the Thunder Mesa layout. Building the planning model gave me a chance to work out sight-lines, like views of the town of Hole in the Wall through the natural arch. The rockwork is based on formations near Bluff, Utah.

 

A 3/8n20 Locomotive

The next thing needed as proof of concept was an actual 3/8n20 locomotive to pull trains around the planned layout. Starting with an On30 Bachmann Porter, I quickly put together a new cab and stack to see how the proportions would work out.

The cab was knocked together from illustration board and wood scraps from my scrap-box, and the stack is some plastic tubing joined to castings from an old MDC-Roundhouse HO kit. Nothing too fancy or detailed yet, but enough to give a feel for the proportions of a finished 3/8n20 mining engine. The last photo shows a size comparison between the 3/8n20 Porter and an unmodified On30 Porter. All in all, I'm very pleased with the chunky and narrow look and can easily see it fully detailed, weathered, and pulling a string of mining gons. One question left to answer now is how to control the trains. Standard DC, digital DCC, or some form of Dead Rail battery power?  Another is, what kind of track to use - Peco On3o, Micro Trains, or hand laid? Dead Rail would mean fairly trouble free operations, and hand laid track would look fantastic on a small layout like this. Stay tuned for further developments from Bandit Canyon country to see where this adventure leads!

Thanks for checking in, amigos. Adios for now!