[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

we will exhibit again in Germany at the 2015 US Convention in Breisgau (Frankfurt) on 24 and 25 October.
Here some links to the website of the exhibition.

http://www.us-convention-brd.de/
http://www.us-convention-brd.de/indexe.htm
http://www.us-convention-brd.de/Flyer2015HP.pdf
http://www.us-convention-brd.de/bghnr2.png

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear all,

our friend Ewald Vorberg, member of the Eisenbahnfreunde Breisgau Railway Fan Club, and professional phtographer, gave us a big suprise, presenting two artsy photomontages, based on old photos of our layout, which he took in 2012. He has combined our landscape with real-life, real-size models . The result is spectacular. One photomontage depicts workers on our silo no. 2; the other photomontage shows a fairy, suddenly appeared in our desert landscape.
Attached two low-resolution details that we took from Ewald's photos (but Ewald's work is not plain photography, it is art).

https://flic.kr/p/19528791136 https://flic.kr/p/19559204531 https://flic.kr/p/19367025780 https://flic.kr/p/18934140563
All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

slowly, we are progressing with our works. We have installed the details of the new gallery of our mine, done some painting, and installed the lighting. Lights are LEDs, tinted with semi-transparent dyes, to simulate sodium-vapor lights. We attach some photos.

https://flic.kr/p/19548316042 https://flic.kr/p/18934294313 https://flic.kr/p/19555197855 https://flic.kr/p/19548452182 https://flic.kr/p/18934344753
All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

In preparation oto our next show, we have improved our weathering, and have installed some figures.
After long searching, we bought the Noch no. 15275 "Railway construction group" and no. 15276 "Shunters". The little men stood in one drawer for some months, and then we finally placed them at their working places.

Weathering:
Since our layout depicts the loading site of a nickel mine, and the dust of the ore stains everything black. Ingredients of our weathering were:
For the concrete base: hairspray, and then thin-grained sands of various colors, sprayed with compressed air. For the side of the rails: a commercial solvent-based brown/rust "wash". For the ties and the top of the concrete, a dull black wash.
https://flic.kr/p/21755471108
For the rolling stock: a thin spray of brown "wash" on the wheels, and a spray of brown/black wash on the bogeys and the bottom/side of the railcars. Minor spraying with thin sand, to add texture to the surfaces of the bogeys.
https://flic.kr/p/21943256745
For the machinery: thin spraying with black wash under the moving parts, to simulate the spillover of ore dust.

Figures/personnel:
We took the little men, originally clad in orange overalls, removed the tools from some of them, and arranged and re-arranged them into position, as if they were actually operating our machinery. Their original finish was glossy orange, and needed correction. Therefore, we "weathered" our personnel to a more credible finish. First, we applied a very thin spray of brown/black wash, spraying from a distance. After drying, we stained the figures with black wash, spraying with an airbrush at very low pressure from a distance. Using this (incorrect) spraying technique, isolated large droplets of paint land onto the surface, creating realistic splashing and staining.
Dumper operator, right-hand side:
https://flic.kr/p/21930774712 https://flic.kr/p/21755037248 https://flic.kr/p/21321837683
Dumper operator, left-hand side:
https://flic.kr/p/21754340200 https://flic.kr/p/21320463394
Our maintenance crew, fixing a large winch. The winch itself is the focusing motor of a defunct camcorder. After some cuts and modifications, we have painted it with a glossy black coating, and applied a metal pigment before the curing of the coating was complete. After curing, brushing with a stiff brush generates a dark metal finish.
https://flic.kr/p/21952803271
Our line maintenance crew at work.
https://flic.kr/p/21952877741
One operator, climbing the staircase to the control room.
https://flic.kr/p/21916513886
On the top of silo no. 1. Maintenance crew at work.
https://flic.kr/p/21321429353 https://flic.kr/p/21952355941
A detail of the layout, from above.
https://flic.kr/p/21321625093
We are NOT fans of weathering/painting, but in the end, it was fun.

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear modeling friends,

We came back from the US Convention 2015 of Rodgau (Germany). Double thumbs-up for the organization, it was German style at its best. The logistics, catering and accommodation for the exhibitors were perfect. The halls were well-lighted and heated (even during the phases of installation and dismantling), and the floor war level as a billiard (it was the first time overall that the reading of our level was always "horizontal" in all directions, and we did not use any shim under our layout. Hordes of qualified visitors filled the halls for two full days, and we had some interesting discussions. It was a tiring, but satisfying experience. Some of the other exhibitors were old friends, such as the Stuttgart Model Railroaders, already met at Freiburg and Schlanders, and City Limits Modeling Club, also from Stuttgart, already met at Schlanders.

The key modification to our layout have been the installation of the underground loading unit , which actually loads the skips of our elevator, through a dosing unit, conveyor belt, movable diverter and loading chute, plus the radical modification of the underground landscape, to accommodate the new machinery. Good thing that everything worked as hoped for.
https://flic.kr/p/22337249869 https://flic.kr/p/22054227950 https://flic.kr/p/21903165753
Meanwhile, we have installed new vegetation and improved our desert landscape. As did before, we obtain the dry vegetation from small shrubs, dry plants and inflorescences.
https://flic.kr/p/22498030676 https://flic.kr/p/22497647416 https://flic.kr/p/21901555214 https://flic.kr/p/22534890711
And, finally, we improved our weathering, with the techniques indicated in one of our previous posts. In some places, we have applied (with the help of a tea strainer) finely crushed rocks (a reddish schist), to simulate the dust of sandstone, blown away by the desert wind.
https://flic.kr/p/21902618753 https://flic.kr/p/22337050579 https://flic.kr/p/22337110749
Finally, our souvenir photo from Rodgau: a happy old couple of model railroaders.
https://flic.kr/p/22335999548
We will post a separate topic with the photos of the other layouts at the US Convention 2015.

Best wishes from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear railroading friends,

It is time to do some maintenance at Consolidated Nickel. One urgent issue, overseen since long, is a modification of the rotary couplers of our 4-cars consists. The original design had an intentional degree of flexibility, in order to compensate for possible misalignments between the axis of the couples and the axis of rotation of the rotary dumper. In the end, after years of operation, it appeared that alignment was acceptable, and we finally did a retrofit to a more solid mount for the couplers. Aesthetically, the difference is marginal, since the couplers remain almost hidden, but anyhow, this is another small improvement.
This was "before modification".
https://flic.kr/p/8351262322
And this is "after modification": we have installed miniature plates, cut out from a 1-mm carbon fiber sheet, to stiffen the shafts supporting the couplers:
https://flic.kr/p/23251651755 https://flic.kr/p/22857930937 https://flic.kr/p/22857856497
The couplers have been disassembled, and partially re-machined, to reduce some backlash of the rotary joint. Meanwhile, we did some weathering of the couplers (before, they were bare metal) and our rolling stock.
https://flic.kr/p/22622974514 https://flic.kr/p/23251220845 https://flic.kr/p/22955900550 https://flic.kr/p/22858009777 https://flic.kr/p/22623467954
All the best from Milan,

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

after a period of idleness, mainly due to personal reasons, our layout goes out of the mothballs.
We have been invited to the Faszination Modellbahn Sinsheim 2016 (not far from Frankfurt - Germany), from 4 to 6 March.
We will be right smack dab in the middle of the Hall No. 6, guests of the stand of the MIBA Privatanlagen-Wettbewerb (Stand No. 6240).
Attached two links to description and photos.
Everybody is invited.

Mit freundlichen Gruessen aus Mailand.

Mario & Bice

http://www.faszination-modellbahn.com/medi...-sinsheim-2016/

http://www.faszination-modellbahn.com/medi...der-video-logo/

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

We took part to the Faszination Modellbahn Sinsheim (Germany) from 4 to 6 March, guests of MIBA.
https://flic.kr/p/25532071242 The organization of the Messe Sinsheim has been top-level. The hotel for the exhibitors was conveniently situated (1 km from the fairgrounds), and the access to the hall was excellent, with parking space just close to the entry doors. Lighting and heating was on also during the day of installation, the floor was absolutely flat and level, and many stands (including ours) had a soft red flooring (the classic red carpet&#8230
https://flic.kr/p/25558061471 https://flic.kr/p/25355125940 Our contraption was in continuous operation from 9 am to 5 pm for 3 days, and more or less everything worked.
https://flic.kr/p/25355183630 The photo and video troupes did extensive sessions at the layouts including ours.
https://flic.kr/p/25624536836 https://flic.kr/p/25355041390 The video team of VGBahn also took close-ups with one industrial-grade borescope mounted onto one of their cameras.
https://flic.kr/p/25650713415 https://flic.kr/p/25023936203 We peeped into the display of the camera, and we can say that the result, in terms of point-of-view, depth-of-field, and image sharpness, is spectacular. The lens reached recessed areas of our layout and machinery, which we never had photographed before.

The results of the layout contest were rendered public on Saturday afternoon. To our surprise, notwithstanding the tough competition of the local modelers, we won the second prize.
https://flic.kr/p/25283145379 Interestingly, the prize also comprised a voucher, to spend in the purchase of model railroading material at German modeling shops. Today, we sent our request to the organizers of the event.

Now, we are back to our day-to-day routine. And we have already prepared the list of the maintenance jobs to do.

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[Adrian Ross]

Hello,

Congratulations on your success.

I finally spent some time looking through your images tonight. I'm not entirely sure what it is you're doing there, but you seem to be doing it well.
Thanks for including the tips on landscaping, I'll be going back through those later. Your desert landscape is similar to what i have in mind for my own.

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

After forced stops in the latest months, we have re-started our modeling activities. We are adding to our mining landscape a working H0-scale ventilation unit.

Everything has started in February, at the drawing table:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

The impellers come from defunct Proxxon tools. The motors come from old floppy disk drives. The center-bodies (fixed spinners) are machined pieces of hardwood.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

Machining the center-bodies end their centering fins:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

Motors, impellers, center-bodies and fins assembled and painted:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

The ducts/diffusers of the fans are made of fiberglass/epoxy, molded onto a male mold, which disassembles in sections for de-molding. We have coated the mold with PVOH-based release coating, hand wrapped glass clothing and resin. After 24 hours, the resin cures and the piece is ready.
In the backdrop, there is the "spare" mold. In front, there is the mold that we have actually used. It shows the damage generated during de-molding of the second piece (we applied an insufficient amount of release coating).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

One finished piece of fiberglass, after sanding and painting with basecoat.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

Diffuser with motor, impeller, and center-body installed:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

The two fans installed in twin configuration:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

Yes, the impellers turn, and indeed generate a tiny H0-scale airflow.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

The next step will be the finishing, painting and installation of the fan unit into the ventilation shaft of our mining layout. We will keep you posted.

Best regards from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear Modeling friends,

on 15 and 16 October, we will exhibit Consolidated Nickel at the MONTELIRAIL 2016 show in Montelimar, France.
Herewith some links to the site of the exhibitin.

http://www.montelirail.fr/Tous-les-Reseaux-2016-M1.47.html
http://www.montelirail.fr/Tous-les-Reseaux-2016-M2.48.html
http://www.montelirail.fr/Tous-les-Reseaux-2016-M2-2.49.html

We will be in the Hall M1. Everybody is invited.

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear modeling friends.

By chance, we found on Facebook a professional-quality video of our layout. The film-maker is the Model Railroading Club of Rhein-Sieg. These guys have taken this video during the Faszination Modellbahn 2016 de Sinsheim (Allemagne).
Herewith the link to the video.

https://www.facebook.com/eisenbahnclub/vide...e=2&theater

Thanks a lot to the guys of Rhein-Sieg from our side, however they filmed only the surface-level works (the underground section of the layout is not visible).

Sincerely yours,

Mario & Bice

 

[Makemineadouble]

most impressive: you have a fantastic piece of micro engineering.

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends.

On 15 and 16 October, we exhibited Consolidated Nickel at the Montelirail 2016 exhibition in Montélimar (France). We arrived on Thursday 13 evening, and our stand installation on Friday 14 was the usual, tiring, 8-hour affair.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

Most of the changes to our layout are "not visible" improvements of wiring and switching, including the two entirely new control consoles.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

"Visible" changes have been improvements in landscaping, including installation of our new Volvo wheel loader next to the rails; we also added new vegetation and completed the weathering of some structures.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

A "bravo" must go to the organizers of Montelirail. The event took place at the Palais des Congrés in two huge theatrical halls, well lighted and heated, even during installation and dismantling of the stands.
Parking and unloading was very convenient, and accommodation for the exhibitors was at a nearby business hotel. And, to be noted, for the first time ever in our experience, the organizers have offered all the lunches and dinners for the exhibitors. At dinner, we have enjoyed spectacular buffets of French specialties, while at lunch delicious ready-made trays have been made available. Everything has worked flawlessly; the organizers were always available, even at impossible early morning or late evening hours; hospitality and friendliness have been top-notch.
The event was reported in the local press of Saturday and Sunday; the reporters took photos and interviews the day of installation and the first day of the fair. Also, reporters from leading model railroading magazines were present.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/...eposted-public/

Hordes of qualified visitors and modelers flooded the exhibition; for us, the limited available time to look around was before opening time, and after closing.
Meanwhile, the visitors voted their preferred layouts in a poll, and, unbelievably, we took the second place. The results of the poll will be soon published on the website of the event: www.montelirail.fr

Sunday evening, as usual, due to the complex disassembly sequence of our layout, we were the last ones to leave the halls. Finally, we went back to our hotel, and collapsed onto bed. On Monday 16, we hit the road back to Milan.
We can only say that Montelirail 2016 has had all the key ingredients for a first-class show, spiced with very pleasant French style.

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear friends,

the organizers of Montelirail 2016 have sent us the photos that they took during the show. There are also some photos of Consolidated. Moreover, there are very interesting photos of the dinner buffets.
Attached please find the links:

https://plus.google.com/u/2/photos/11763697...954019367361505
http://www.montelirail.fr/Bilan-Exposition-2016.58.html

In this period, we have slowly initiated the maintenance of our contraption, and we are mulling over some modifications. We will keep you posted.

All the best from Milan

Mario & Bice

 

[nickelminers]

Dear modeling friends.

After Montelirail 2016, we decided to remove the existing rotary-cone dosing units of our two silos, and install augers. The performance of the dosing units is essential for realistic, blockage-free functioning of our conveyor belts. The advantage of the augers is more uniform materials flow, even at high mass output.
Another "visible" advantage is that visitors at exhibitions will actually see the moving parts of the augers, while they push the ore down to the conveyors.
We have removed the silo n. 1 from our layout, and spent many hours at the drawing board. Getting enough space for the new unit in the existing latticework of the frame that supports the silo has required careful measuring and designing.

Herewith, some photos of the construction:
The augers and the troughs are completed; the spiral design of these augers is the one less prone to clogging or blocking
https://flic.kr/p/30307618013
Machining of the joints that connect the shaft of the auger to the drive (a "hacked" RC servo motor)
https://flic.kr/p/31000417461
Supporting frame of the drive in position, ready for soldering
https://flic.kr/p/31114177685
The nickel Queen gracefully solders the pieces together
https://flic.kr/p/31078090366
The frame of the drive is soldered to its flange
https://flic.kr/p/30307576263
Many work hours later, the flanges that connect the units to the silos are soldered into position; the shafts, motors, and joints are in position, and the cowlings of the motors are installed. As reference of size, the shaft has a diameter of 2 mm, and the visible bolts are 1-mm.
https://flic.kr/p/30971399672 https://flic.kr/p/31078057646 https://flic.kr/p/30971352012
Before installation, the visible part of the motor will be painted in silver, and a square metal grid on the cowlings will simulate a ventilation opening.
The installation of the dosing unit below the silo n. 1 will be as shown: the existing rotary-cone unit is going to be removed, the flange of the silo re-machined, and the flange of the new dosing unit fastened with four 1.2-mm bolts.
https://flic.kr/p/31114097515 https://flic.kr/p/31000251621 https://flic.kr/p/31077951456
All the best from Milan

 

[nickelminers]

Dear modeling friends.

We have taken the section n.1 of our layout to our living room, to install the auger dosing units.
After careful machining and adjustments, we managed to match the flange of the silo and that of the new dosing unit. Four 1.2-mm bolts keep the pieces together.
https://flic.kr/p/31169694014
We load the ore, and the operational trial begins:
https://flic.kr/p/31972287676
Unbelievably, everything works. With the auger at 20 RPM we obtain a stable mass output 2 times higher than that of our older rotary-cone unit.
https://flic.kr/p/31861761052
Meanwhile, as can be seen in the previous photo, we have modified the centering hopper (the one that distributes the material onto the conveyor belt), to accommodate the higher mass flow. At 1.5 cm/second belt speed, we obtain a uniform, spillage-free movement of the ore on the belt.
https://flic.kr/p/31972339016
The silo n.2 and its conveyor are now operating beyond their limits;after some minutes, the belt n. 1 overfills the silo n. 2. The next step will be the installation of the other auger at the silo n.2. In parallel, the swiveling hopper that loads the cars has been already modified to accommodate the larger flow.

Meanwhile, we have improved the structure of the platform at the top of the silo n. 1. The platform stays on top of a flange that incorporates the bearings of the shaft of the old dosing cone unit. The flange was kept in position by 3 miserable self-tapping screws; we decided to solder in place 6 solid brackets with ISO 2-mm tapped holes.
https://flic.kr/p/31635760690
The back of the upper platform shows the new wiring that feeds the LED lighting:
https://flic.kr/p/31861705432
The upper silo platform is fastened to the flange with its screws, all the pieces are in position, all the wiring is connected, and it is time for a 1-hour trial. One last photo of the section under its own illumination creates a suggesting night-shift atmosphere.
https://flic.kr/p/31893082121
We will keep you posted.

Happy New Year!

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

 

[Allegheny1600]

Dear Mario & Bice,
Happy new year to you both!
It looks like I have never commented on here before, sorry about that! Over the years, I have watched how you have progressed this layout and you have my deepest respect for what you have achieved, it is remarkable! I only wish I had your sticking power.
How many miles (Km!) do you travel each year to do all these different shows? That alone would completely exhaust me!
Cheers,
John.

 

[nickelminers]

Hallo, Allegheny1600.

We have completed the installation of the new dosing unit on our silo no. 2, and we have finally carried out the complete commissioning trial of our machinery.

Here is a view of the belt n.2 and the swiveling hopper
https://flic.kr/p/32022786611 As expected, the belt conveyor no. 2 can now handle the full flow of ore originating from the conveyor no. 1.
https://flic.kr/p/32102784896 Here is a detail of our shaftless auger dosing unit no. 2. We will do a serious weathering of all the metal; after the modifications/soldering/machining, everything is unnaturally clean. Also, the auxiliary non-functional pieces, cowlings, embellishments, etc. must be re-installed.
https://flic.kr/p/32022821731 https://flic.kr/p/32022937191 During this test, we identified the "standard" conditions for prolonged loading operations (in terms of RPM of dosing units and linear speeds of belts).

Eventually, we did a photo session. As reference, we took these shots with long exposure (5 to 15 seconds) and a massive tripod, 200 ISO setting and intermediate f-settings to have some depth-of-field. The illumination came from a hand-held LED lamp and the own lighting of the layout.
https://flic.kr/p/31331340263 https://flic.kr/p/32022855101 https://flic.kr/p/32141385235 https://flic.kr/p/32022865251 https://flic.kr/p/32022890071
Happy new year and good railroading!

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen

 

[nickelminers]

Dear modeling friends.

We have now completed a good part of the weathering, the installation of the embellishments-no-operative parts and vegetation.
https://flic.kr/p/32309643585
Meanwhile, in a sudden outburst of madness, we have decided to add ventilation vents to the cowlings of the drives of our belt conveyors.
https://flic.kr/p/32270271786
We made these pieces by cutting down small formats of steel mesh, and adding small gutters made of steel sheet.
https://flic.kr/p/32270278826
The gutters have a width of 0.8 mm, and are cut from a 0.15 mm thick sheet. We cut out the pieces from the steel sheet with an ultra-fine silicon carbide cutting disk on our milling machine.
https://flic.kr/p/32270278826
We did a complete weathering of our machinery, with conventional solvent-based wash and pigments, and a 0.2-mm airbrush, plus some touch-ups with hairspray and pigments. By now, our layout smells as a hairdressing salon

https://flic.kr/p/32270263646 By now, we have obtained the correct "rusty" appearance.

To be continued

Mad Doc & Nickel Queen