Clayton Point light tower....

[shaygetz]

Thought I'd make my photo contest entry a small diorama centering around an inlet to an inland bay with a small stretch of beach to one side. With that I purchased a "firefly" circuit kit that I will use to light the unmanned modern light tower.

Starting with the remnants of a Volmer N scale pedestrian overpass, I cut the vertical legs off of one side to reduce the bulkiness of the final iron work. I then glued them together at the webs. It is surprizingly strong.

 

[shaygetz]

Because I wanted the tower to be airy, I used some scrap fire escape parts to make the light tower's floor. I simply sanded the two parts evenly so that, when joined, it would look as one piece. I then ringed it with Plast-struct railing. The two sub-assemblies are shown together, but are not glued just yet.

 

[jim currie]

as usual great work Bob

 

[Papa Bear]

Looks great, Bob. :thumb:

 

[Ralph]

That's shaping up great already Bob! I like the open air flooring. Reminds me of a fire tower I got to climb as a cub scout.
Ralph

 

[shaygetz]

Thanks, guys.

Started on the light and antenna rack tonight, using a castoff part from a power station as a base. Using bi-color LEDs to represent channel markers, I filed them flat on the back and top, then fashioned a housing around them from styrene sheet. Once mounted, they will be wired in using brass wire stock shaped to appear like conduit. I used bi-color LEDs for two reasons. Asthetically, they are more realistic looking then those with colored lenses. Practically, once wired properly, no matter which side the channel winds up on in the finished scene, my colors can be properly oriented simply by reversing the polarity of the power---red for the shoal side, green for the channel. Much too delicate a project to have a "Duh" moment on late in the game:thumb:

 

[shaygetz]

The light itself is now ready...and working. It is a combination of an old smokestack base, a chimney cap and a section off of an old pen.

 

[shaygetz]

Today found me dropping the channel markers as the prototype I have in mind did not have them as I first thought. Anyhow, the upper tower is finished and shows the fog horn (a reshaped kibble as are both radio boxes) and its radio box and antennae. Electrical junction boxes came from Atlas telephone pole kits. Also shown is the radio box and antennae of the light itself---who uses people anymore

The final shot shows it all together, lacking only the ladder for maintenance access. Note the wiring for the light, a 3mm LED that I had in the scrapbox. Testing is constant as the wiring and joints are as fine as I dare.

 

[MilesWestern]

jawdrop That's beautiful, and stunning piece of engineering, Shaygetz!!! :thumb: DO you plan to have a loop recording of a foghorn playing?

 

[shaygetz]

jawdrop That's beautiful, and stunning piece of engineering, Shaygetz!!! :thumb: DO you plan to have a loop recording of a foghorn playing?

Thank you, Miles...yes, I do plan to have a taped fog horn playing thru a speaker imbedded into the rocks of the getty it sits on.

The brass ladder is now on with four soldered stand offs for durability.

I've changed the original pics for ones done in a better light to better show the details.

 

[Russ Bellinis]

I noticed you mentioned bipolar leds to allow a red one on one side and green one on the other side. Are you making more than one tower? Generally a light o to warn ships away from rocks would be a clear rotating beacon. Red and green were used as channel markers. The rule that every seaman memorises is red-right-returning. Channel markers are always placed so that the green lights are on the right side and red lights to the left when going out of the channel. When coming back in, the red markers are kept to the right and green to the left. You would never have a red and green light on the same marker whether a bouy or a light tower. If they did that it would be marking the channel as going directly through the center of the tower.

 

[shaygetz]

I noticed you mentioned bipolar leds to allow a red one on one side and green one on the other side.

To be honest, Russ, I don't quite know what I was thinking... I grew up near the prototype as a child and always seemed to remember some kind of setup like I was imagining, only to find my memories betraying me. They will make a dandy addition to my harbor tug though:thumb:

 

[shaygetz]

The paint is now on and ready for the rest of the scene...a chain link fence and generator. The scariest part for any project for me is the paint---I always fear messing up. With its fine ironwork this one was no exception but I was pleased with the results. The prototype is regularly painted and well maintained but silver is way too shiny on models. I sprayed it with silver paint first then followed it with Dulcote. It makes for a nice aged silver paint/ galvanized look.

 

[Jac's Lines]

:thumb::thumb::thumb: A very cool project. The painted up version looks really good, and I can't wait to see the finished scene.

 

[jim currie]

great job Bob for a referance Testors make a color called steel not near as glossy looking as silver. and brushed on it gives a real nice look of zink platind.

 

[shaygetz]

great job Bob for a referance Testors make a color called steel not near as glossy looking as silver. and brushed on it gives a real nice look of zink platind.

Thanks, Jim...as for the paint, I haven't seen it around here in a while. I usually do it with a homemade concoction---1 part flat black to 4 parts silver, but I'm really warming up to this new way I've tryed. I'm really pleased with the effect.

The plot of ground now set, I've "poured" the concrete pads for the tower and generator. The wire will go thru holes drilled in the block. The generator and tank were a clearance A-Line kit in the dust bin of a local hobby shop. I've also started the fence per my water tower project

>>>http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=10813.

This time, because it is in such a remote location, I'm going to try a technique for modeling coiled razor wire I've been playing with. Gotta keep those delinquent LPBs at bay.:thumb:

 

[doctorwayne]

Excellent work, Bob, and what a neat (and seldom-modelled) prototype. And in my opinion, your painting skills are on a par with your scratchbuilding talents. Well done.

Wayne

 

[zedob]

That's a great job on a really cool project. The lens of the light even has that fresnel look. I used to make some parts for lights like that for a NAV-AID company in Louisiana and the light is a very close representation of the real thing. The assortment of control and battery boxes looks about right too.

 

[shaygetz]

Thank you, Wayne.

Appreciate your input, Z, as this is meant to represent them and not be a model of a particular light tower hence, the Mostly Credible part of the Basic and Mostly Credible Railroad. When I noticed the fresnel effect on the pen barrel, I couldn't resist and it really does work...the little booger is intensely bright. The only place I took real liberty without prototype verification is the generator. I had one and it just seemed like a practical place to put it, especially when one lives in hurricane country like I do. I would suspect that, like the sewage lift stations around here, that they would have connections available for a large portable generator to hook up to.

The fence posts are dug and the frame work is up. I added blocks to the base to provide room for the firefly circuit to be installed. Ever reminded of how well brass wire conducts heat at this point in a project, too...ops:

 

[shaygetz]

The razor wire top went in today. I coiled the wire on the straight end of a good paintbrush into 18" coils. Then I applied it to the top of the fence by soaking it in Crazy Glue, the liquid kind, as I slowly pulled it off of the brush.