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"Ironside" My Wooden Coaster Model


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Hello there, so I have wanted to build a woody model for years now but iv never had the time or the space. Now I have some space i decided i wanted a project to start. I designed my own layout and i want to use Red Ibeams so that it looks like a RMC coaster. Also I decided to do a sort of viking theme with the idea from 'Wodan' from Europa Park which is where the idea for the station for the ride came from. My plan is for it to work but if it doesn't then it doesn't as long has it looks good . Iv ordered miniature bearings to make the chassis and wheels for the trains and I'm using 2mm blasa wood for the wood strips in the supports.

 

The construction is in its very early days. I'v designed the main over bank curve after the first drop which was a lot more difficult than i first thought it would be. And iv drawn out the plans for the station which i have started to construct. The layout is drawn out to Scale and hopefully work will pick up more after christmas. If people have tips or ideas for it then please tell me. Enjoy

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The name "Ironside" Hope you all like the name

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This was my first doodle page of a few ideas etc

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The first overbooked turn drawn out. I originally wanted the curve to bank over so it was almost inverted but that was to difficult when i was making the paper prototype

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The lift hill drawn out to scale.

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The fist curve prototype template. This will also have a curve that passes through the structure.

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Here is the beginning of the station construction. I'm using roof template pieces to help with the construction of the wooded structure.

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Edited by CoasterB
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So today I managed to do a few more cardboard templates for the supports. Its taking a lot longer to do the cardboard mock up version than i ever imagined and I'm looking forward to building all the supports out of wood but I guess I have to do the prep stuff first.

 

Any ways. Today I did the first drop which I had to alter as I originally wanted for the coaster to do a turn around at the top of the lift hill and then drop down through the lift structure but now Iv changed it due to how difficult it is, and for my first model I didn't want to make it so extremely complicated for my self. I also started work on the supports for the Fan curve than will go over the bottom of the lift hill by the station. so heres the photos, nothing too different from my last post but process is slowly happening

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The first drop into the first overbanked curve.

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Heres the start of the fan curve that will go over the bottom of the lift hill.

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Some of the materials I ordered arrived but I'm still waiting for some. I'm itching to start but I can only do so much. In this small update I'v reconstructed the station which this time was a lot better it just needs painting, hand rails and the track and so its not there yet. And of course a Train (Cant wait to make those) And also Iv drawn out the layout on tracing paper for all the footers and where each support will go. I actually ordered grey "fuse beads" you can make patterns with them and then iron them but they look perfect for footers. And lastly My ibeams arrived for the track so currently I'm just working out how I will bend them, they twist really well tho and the cardboard mock up its practically finished.

 

so heres the photos...

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The beams look great. and will look better when painted red. just working on the final corner before the brake run.

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The layout on the tracing paper

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The station. made from styrene plastic sheets. balsa and cardboard

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one of the ibeams in the station

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The station on the layout.

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And these are what I ordered to use as the footers.

Edited by CoasterB
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Love looking at the pictures, and I adore your station. It fits your Viking theme well.

 

Your idea of making a prototype with paper is a great idea as it gives you an idea of the shape you want your curves to be. Looking at a plan and trying to imagine a 3-D structure out of it is very difficult.

 

Don't become overwhelmed, take it a little at a time and always be adventurous in trying new ways to do things.

 

I'll be following this!

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Update... Wood construction has started, only got a section of the lift hill and the motor house for the chain lift done. The process takes a long time so it doesn't seam like much has been constructed. I also did a test on one of my plastic Ibeams to try and bend in for crest of the lift hill into the first drop. They don't bend that way so I tried heating them up and bending them and then cutting slits in them, none of these worked so I think I may have to make my own drop/bend traditions and only use the plastic beams for the straight section unless anyone else has a better idea?

 

So the photos

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Beginning of the lift hill construction

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A shot with the beginnings of the station and the chain motor hause.

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I live in Germany so I order them from a German modellbau site. They are 5mm high and 2.3mm wide, And I beleive they are made by evergreen. They are pretty good and bend really well for turns right or left and they twist well. But anything that involves bending up or down just isn't working. Just stuck at the moment with how to achieve smooth transitions

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Hello, So iv made the lift hill and the first drop. The track isn't on yet as that will take me a long long time but the wooden frame work has come on nicely. The plastic beads I bought to use as footers work a treat but enough talking and onto the photos

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The toy beads look great as footers

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the lift hill and the catwalk

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overview of the work so far

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I see that you put track on top of the lift hill, how did you get the track to bend like that? I remember you were having trouble with that earlier.

 

I'm really liking this project! So much of the stuff on this forum is virtual so it is interesting to see a real model.

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Thanks for the comment the track is just a cardboard piece that I cut out as a template. Im still going to use my styrene Ibeams for track but for these sharp drop transitions I'm going to attempt to make my own. The project is taking me a long time but I'm loving doing it. Im just trying to do as much as i can when I'm not at work. Hopefully there will be another update very soon.

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Iv Had a lot of time recently so I was able to make the base for the model. Where it's painted brown will be covered in gravel and the White area will eventually be a little themed area, ( if the model is completely complete Iv left room for a small themed s&s tower ride) but here is just a couple photos. Iv also spent hours figuring out the angles and curves for the track beams and here is a prototype of the first drop that I put together.

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The base

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The first drop prototype track beam

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I'm really liking what I see so far. I like your base.

 

This is what I was going to suggest for I-beams since the pre-fab'd ones are hard to bend.

 

It's all laminates.

 

Thanks. the base was going well until it fully dried and now has a bow in it, but I'm fixing that at the moment. great idea for the Ibeams i will play around with a few ideas

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I'm really liking what I see so far. I like your base.

 

This is what I was going to suggest for I-beams since the pre-fab'd ones are hard to bend.

 

It's all laminates.

 

Thanks. the base was going well until it fully dried and now has a bow in it, but I'm fixing that at the moment. great idea for the Ibeams i will play around with a few ideas

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Update: work is coming on, iv got the supports constructed for the brake run, the last curve and the corner into the station. Iv also done a tester with the gravel on the base and also i started making the train as my bearings arrived. I started the train with a zero car which didn't work on such a small scale for some reason so i had to edit it and put both wheel axis on the front car. It isn't finished yet as i want to add details and change the seats as i don't like what i did. So again here are the pictures....

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The break run

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I added gravel to the base under where the break run sits. The whole ride will eventually have gravel under it.

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So the trains. heres the front carriage and thats all iv made of it so far but theres some editing to do.

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An overview of my work so far

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Looks good so far. Wooden coaster models are a real challenge to do, and getting them to work is even more challenging. Especially at the smaller scales.

 

I recommend building a test track. Just a small valley will do, to give you an idea of train friction, and whether it is likely to make it around the track. The smaller scale the cars are, the easier they loose energy on the way round.

 

Some tips I can give is that if you exaggerate the difference in heights between the lift and subsequent hills, it will have more chance of working. Also, be careful with the track gauge. Keep it just a little loose, especially in the turns. It is surprisingly easy to have a train bind in turns. Some of the classic coasters with PTC trains even widen the gauge in turns. Lube on the track and bearings is a good idea too, as long as it doesn't eat the styrene

 

Although, even if it doesn't run all the way, it looks like you will still end up with a good model.

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Another update. So thanks to all the plans and designs that i drew up, it made constructing some parts a lot easier than i expected. So here is what iv kind of knick named the great curve, it took me 2 days to construct the wood for it. some parts will have more wood added once the track has been laid. I also had a bit of time to start to construct the entrance to the ride which isn't finished yet and also iv made a few dips and bunny hill supports and added some more gravel to the base.

 

as always here are the pictures...

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So first i constructed each frame flat before putting them all together.

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So here is a little dip iv made that leads up into the brakerun

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Iv made the curve into the station. And iv also added gravel. Iv left a gap so that i can lay down the exit path from the ride.

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Here is the beginning of the Entrance to the ride. And iv added a little queue time sign saying 15:00 min wait :)

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I wasn't very imaginative with the entrance so its strongly based on the Entrance used on the New Texas Giant. Il add my own thing to it and make it fit my theme. But I'm really happy with how its turned out so far.

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Looks good so far. Wooden coaster models are a real challenge to do, and getting them to work is even more challenging. Especially at the smaller scales.

 

I recommend building a test track. Just a small valley will do, to give you an idea of train friction, and whether it is likely to make it around the track. The smaller scale the cars are, the easier they loose energy on the way round.

 

Some tips I can give is that if you exaggerate the difference in heights between the lift and subsequent hills, it will have more chance of working. Also, be careful with the track gauge. Keep it just a little loose, especially in the turns. It is surprisingly easy to have a train bind in turns. Some of the classic coasters with PTC trains even widen the gauge in turns. Lube on the track and bearings is a good idea too, as long as it doesn't eat the styrene

 

Although, even if it doesn't run all the way, it looks like you will still end up with a good model.

 

Thanks for the tip with the track gauge. I have been playing around with the car i constructed on a section of track. As iv said before in a post iv had difficulties with the Ibeam track design with bending it and making dips and hills etc, so I'm trying out other ideas. I think maybe a bit of weight in the trains will help it complete the course. I would love it to work but if it doesn't then like you said then I'm just happy if it looks good. The the model has been a challenge but a fun one so far. thanks for the comment

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I love it. Can't wait until the track begins installation.

When built a quarter scale model of the Giant Dipper midsection, I used candy off of a candy necklace for footers.

 

Brilliant, It rattled my brain for days what to use as footers, but then my parter came up with the idea of the 'Perler beads' and i bought a bag of 1000 for about 2euros and they work perfect. The track is going to be the long difficult part, I'm currently playing with some ideas to make the track because it isn't easy. Can't wait to put it on but got a lot of work to do first

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