Wardell Bridge and boat by Tecko - Small - 1:72

[mtaylor]

That's the name plate... we call it the same thing.   I thought it looked familiar and now to remember where I've seen it before.

 

Great news on the health report.  Keep up the good work.  

[Tecko]

Thanks Andy and Mark.

 

I will be missing for a few days updating my drawings (plans and schematics) for this project. I need to do this before I start forgetting what my notes actually refer to.

Will be back shortly, hopefully with some more pictures.

 

By the way, the Shire Council has updated the landscape around the bridge. A new pathway has been installed. It looks quite good.

I will include this update with the landscaping I plan to do for the diorama.

 

Cheers.

[Jim Lad]

I've just been following quietly along with this one, but I've certainly driven over the Wardell bridge on more than a few occasions!  

 

You're doing a great job on it Tecko.  Congratulations on a great build - and also on the health report.

 

John

[Tecko]

Thanks John.

 

Next time you go over the bridge, why not turn into Ballina and visit the Naval and Maritime museum.

I am hoping to have this project running, in the museum, by Christmas - New year.

[Tecko]

I am back. It sure has been a while. I will have to change my avatar since my beard is now white.

 

Here are some update photos:

Stairs from Bridge St to Highway

Pathway under bridge.

Bridge Street.

 

 

[Tecko]

This is the new pathway they recently installed:

The landfill will be foam cut-outs.

[druxey]

Good to see you back!

[KeithAug]

I was wondering what was happening - good to see this again.

[Tecko]

Hi fellow builders. Yes I am back for a short while and then out again, much like being a sailor I suppose .

 

Road gets painted in similar way to the bridge road, but its bitumen instead of concrete.

 

[Tecko]

There is this house in the way of the project. About 80% of it is within the display boundaries. So a house has to be built.

The model house.

Yes it has rooms - for a reason to be explained later.

For those who may be wondering; Yes I did build the house before painting the road.

Decided to have five rooms, each with its own room light. I used some electronics to switch on and off the lights in sequence; in 15 second intervals.

It won't be too noticeable with the display under a bright light. However, it will look good if the display gets dimmed down a bit.

 

Clockwise: Design drawing; Testing board; Etched circuit board; Front room illuminated; Circuit board which is now located under the display table.

 

[Tecko]

The Bridge Street House had an old wooden fence to block access by pedestrians walking up beside it.

Edited December 20, 2017 by Tecko
double post

[Tecko]

Remember when I built the bridge I left a space in the railings for the swing gates? Well, those gates got made.

About a month ago I received an email containing a photo of the bridge when they used the gates. This was a breakthrough for me. Previously I was only going by what others described to me. But seeing is believing as they say.

So I got started with making the four swing gates.

 

These flat bits are lever arms which are linked in parallel with the servo arm.

 

Edited December 19, 2017 by Tecko

[Tecko]

Thanks Hans for thumbs up.

 

to continue:

 

Got a servo controller circuit working for this particular RC servo model.

Here you can see the different pulse widths needed for the actuator to move about 90 degrees.

 

Made four servo controlling circuits on one board. These will operate the four gates that close across the bridge road.

Each gate servo can be adjusted to their OPEN and CLOSED positions via their trim-pots (blue blocks).

 

 

[KeithAug]

Its all looking very professional. Impressive.

[Tecko]

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all.

[KeithAug]

On 24/12/2017 at 5:43 AM, Tecko said:

MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all.

And to you too Tecko.

 

The project is developing really well. Very interesting.

[Tecko]

Hello all. I've been busy since my last post to this thread. Some may have realized that I started on a small boat kit. It was my first model kit build, and lots of things were learnt from it, but nothing compared to the average model ship builder. Have gained much respect for those here who build ships.

 

Anyway, I thought I better catch up with my downloads to where I started building the small boat for this Bridge and Boat Diorama.

To carry on from above. The servos and swing gate axles needed brackets so the two, via lever links, can work together. These are fixed under the display table, under each swing gate.

 

 

These microswitches are stationed over the swing gate axle lever. The switches will indicate when the gates are fully opened and closed - for other circuits.

 

The motor circuit is being tested. Discovered that the span would raise to top of towers in 4 seconds, which is too fast. To slow it down, without having to add reduction mechanisms, I opted for a drop in volatge supply to the motor. Halving the voltage almost double the time to raise the span (to about 7 seconds).

 

Also discovered that the motor (unloaded) drifts to a stop when power is switched off. This is important to know, because the sensors used to disable the motor needs to be positioned to allow for such drifts. That is, the span motor must be turned off just before docking onto the bridge.

 

The making of the span and boat motor control circuits. These circuits control the motor shaft direction (clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations).

 

[druxey]

Complex and very neat!

[Tecko]

Thank you @hans, @Jack12477, @paulsutcliffe, and @druxey for your responses.

_____________________________________________________________________

A while ago I bought a pack of plastic figurines. Not sure if they were 1/72 or 1/74 (OO gauge) scale. The tallest figure is an inch (25 mm).

Painted quite a few figurines. Half of them are painted as shire council workers in high-visibility clothing.

Figures 3 and 4 in second row are similar figures, but (4) is my first operation with a relocated arm. This, as many of you know, opens up to all sorts of possibilities. 

[Louie da fly]

All that electrical stuff (even though my Dad was an electrical engineer, and even though I realise the circuits are actually relatively simple in the grand scheme of things) makes my brain hurt. I have great respect for people who can make all this stuff work.

 

I like your figures. Looking good. By the way, if you want to add shadows to faces etc there are some good tutorials on youtube. Makes them look even more real. I've tried in my own small way with my own figures, but I doubt I'll ever reach the quality of the examples in the tutorials.

 

Steven 

[BANYAN]

Hi Techo, just found your log and what a great subject to see and learn about. Enjoyed getting up to date and look forward to your future contributions.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[DaveRow]

Hi Techo,

This stuff is very cool.

I know the bridge, been over it quiet a few times in the travels from Queensland to NSW.

So many techniques and putting it all together in this working model.

Love your skill.

 

[Tecko]

Wow, thank you @BANYAN, @Louie da fly, @DaveRow, @hexnut, @KeithAug, and @Jack12477 for your responses and 'likes'.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Okay, here comes my first boat build.

It is a boat that traverses under the bridge. It travels up and down stream but does not do a u-turn. So when it comes back it is not to look as if it were revesing. To get around this, I bought two wooden boat kits so I can make a boat of symmetry, a boat with two bow sections.

 

 

I cut the keels, decks, and cabin walls in half. Glued bow sections together. Started planking the boat.

Could not justify buying a planking iron, so I used a method seen on the Internet. It simply used a tea-candle and a tin can. This worked fast and efficiently. Was able to heat bend the planks to curvature of hull quite easily.

 

Determined the waterline and marked the bulkheads, using the cabin ceiling as the horizon.

Then I planked the waterline and built up the planking in between.

 

Then I filleted the boat like a fish. Sanded the base flat and smooth.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Tecko

[Louie da fly]

Nice work, Tecko. It's all coming together nicely.

 

I haven't tried the tea-light and tin can method for bending planks, but you make it look so easy it looks like I'll have to give it a go.

 

Steven

 

[Tecko]

1 hour ago, Louie da fly said:

...I haven't tried the tea-light and tin can method for bending planks, but you make it look so easy it looks like I'll have to give it a go.

Thanks for encouraging words.

 

Steven, be careful not to touch the can, it gets very hot. Best to clamp can to table top, with a thin piece of wood in between.Then hold one end of plank against the tin can with the edge of a flat screwdriver. Then after a few seconds, apply pressure down on other end of plank with hand. The rest you will work out for yourself to your needs.

 

The funny thing is, I already used a similar setup for keeping my coffee mug hot, in winter, in my work area.

You will notice it has two triangular inlet air vents, and a series of holes across the top to keep the air fllowing. Otherwise the candle light sufficates. Believe me, it took several attempts, on the same tin can, to get the air flow just right. It sure keeps my cuppa nice and hot.

 

 

 

[Tecko]

Thank you @oneslim, @BANYAN, and @hans for your 'likes'.

____________________________________________________

Made some extras that did not come with the kit, including two sets of red and green nav light hoods.

 

The kit winch did not come with winch drum or driving mechanism. Painted a plastic figurine and placed him on a wooden piece as if on a box.

 

Stained some doors and roof panels with cloured inks. Added bits of copper wire to represent door hinges. Painted four life-savers to look like tyres bumpers. Unravelled some string to make the deckhand look as if he is doing some rope splicing.

 

Used a bit of wood putty on the hull and gave it a good smooth finish (it will get painted).

Made some eyelets for rigging from a paper clip. Drilled and glued them into place.

[Tecko]

Thank you @hexnut, @KeithAug, @druxey, @oneslim, and @BANYAN for your 'likes'.

________________________________________________________________________

Made several LED cables. All LEDs are 3 mm and clear until lit. It makes for less confusion especially for the red and green nav lights.

Only one LED lead needs sheilding for insulation. The black mark on lead is to tell me which is the LED cathode (K)/(-).

 

Used the end of a pen as a beacon housing.

 

Added copper wire railing on cabin roof.

 

The front cabin walls were too thin to contain any interior lighting. Made a light shield and reflector to compensate.

 

Made stern light hoods. Added nav light hoods, and a radar unit.

 

Edited March 5, 2018 by Tecko

[druxey]

But...if the boat does not turn around, won't you need to swap port and starboard nav light colors every half trip?  

[Tecko]

4 minutes ago, druxey said:

But...if the boat does not turn around, won't you need to swap port and starboard nav light colors every half trip?  

Yes.

That is why the LEDs are clear when off.

Each bow section has its own wheelhouse, with its own red-green nav lights on its roof.

The above image showing the lit green and red LEDs are located along one side of the boat; signifying the changover from port to starboard, and from up- and down-stream.

[druxey]

Oooh. Very clever!  And I thought I was being smart.