New here

I just found this forum, and have spent the past few nights up late reading... There is a lot of info and ideas here! I thought it was time to join!

Model building is one of my (many) hobbies. I had some downtime from my other hobbies (and work) recently due to a major surgery, and needed something to keep me busy. So, I pulled the Marklin Z scale train out of storage, and decided to to something that I have intended to do for a long time- Build a 'suitcase' layout.

It is about 18" x 24", and fits nicely in a Samsonite hardside suitcase. here is where I am so far-



Still a long ways to go, But I'm getting there!

I have been scratch building all the buildings and scenery details. Most of them are not yet 100% complete-

A gas station-


Which is lit at night-


A 1962 Shasta compact trailer-


1984 Ford Bronco-


I'm even trying my hand at building the street lights-




I've got a lot more to do still.. But I'm getting there. This stuff is addictive!

Welcome to the group and nice modeling look forward to seeing more. Thanks for sharing.

regards Garth

Welcome to the group and Z scale, and yes this stuff is addictive. If you look around you'll find that there are members that really push the boundaries in Z.

You mention that your Marklin has been in storage for a while, you may want to check the loco lubrication. Marklin has had some issues with the oil hardening, which isn't good for the loco.

Mark

Andgott,
Well come Aboard Z Central Station! Your layout look great! some nice work being done with the lights. Did you ever think of making a water fall out of your mountain to your water way? That would draw some attention also to the large Mountain Looks great and you did say you still had a lot of work. I see you have a small boat too. I've been wanting to add a port to my new layout. I think the boats make some nice scenery .

Thanks! I'll check the lube out on the locomotive, I haven't run it much... Probably needs it anyways!

southernscale wrote: Did you ever think of making a water fall out of your mountain to your water way? That would draw some attention also to the large Mountain

Yeah, that is in the plan down the road... The little creek that feeds under the road bridge doesn't have a 'source' yet.

southernnscale wrote: I see you have a small boat too. I've been wanting to add a port to my new layout. I think the boats make some nice scenery .

Yeah- I built a model of a 24 foot harbor work tug to include in the model- I had limited space, so I couldn't do a bigger ship. I used to be a merchant marine officer, so I had to have a little port! I plan to make a couple of speed boats too.

I got the docks in today-



And, Built a steam shovel-



I decided, rather out of the blue, that I needed a steam shovel on the layout... This is the result!

-Andrew

Andgott,
That little steamer is really nice! great job! I'm retired Navy. But the layout works for now until you see some of Fred Boats they get your blood running if you like the Sea! I don't have a port on the layout now! but started a new one a long while back and trying to get into the mood to start up again! I want to have a Port on the new layout! Pete has some ships to But I just don't have the space right now to have large Ships but it would be Nice!

I got quite a bit more done-



I finally got the tracks cleaned up after ballasting... Those little wheels don't like ANYTHING in the way

Then I finished all the wiring. The lighting is wired, and the switch is wired. I will be adding more lighting later, and the wiring is in place for that. I needed a couple of push button switches to operate the switch track with, so I built a small barn to sit in the corner of the layout to hold them-



I got a lot of the scenery in place, and started to detail some areas as well. The Gas station is almost complete, though I have a few details to add still-



That's the 1966 Ford pickup that I just built gassing up. The last couple of vehicles I have built have been hollow, rather than carved out of a solid block. A bit more work, but I think that they look a LOT better. The attendant can be seen walking out of the garage bay. It looks even better at night, Though it's a little tough to photograph-



I'm glad I decided to add the light post at the pumps.

I built this buoy to mark the channel. It works- The dome on top is an LED. I need to get a little more power to it, though- I'm running 1.5v on the light circuit, and it lights it up, but it is VERY dim. I think 3v will do the trick-



The steam shovel & dump truck. I scratch built both of them from Styrene. I need to add some people here-



And, one of my favorite areas- the campsite! I still have a LOT of details to add here, but I got a start-




This is one of the more fun stages- When it all starts to come together. I've got the suitcase almost ready to go, too.

-Andrew