Finally got my Passanger Wagon (and more)

[CoveredInFish]

Hi all,

so, I already had a Mk1 train and several containers from Terrakami, but when I saw the pictures of the Mk2 Passanger Wagon I knew I had to buy one (I'd loved to buy more, but ... well .. one has to do it). So I did my second order ...

It took a while because I gave Terrakami a special post box address not every carrier delivers to - and the first shipping returned to spain. Terrakami handled it all very cool and quickly and even gave me some extra for the trouble.

Anyway ... I finally have my wagon and I've airbrushed and build it. Awesome product. I love how Terrakami products use odd angles (non 90°) to create dynamic and natural shapes. Its well packed, well-to-okay documented and the result is simply awesome.

All that praise comes with a little critique.

1) The MDF used takes paint/primer .. but not as well as the MDF other manufactures uses. It feels a little "oily" and the first layer of primer tends to .. hmm, dificult to explain .. pool into small puddles. A very thin first layer, sanding or using a shellac sealer all solves the problem. I have MDF products from SystemaGaming and UndergroundLasers and both used MDF that took paint better.

2) The parts come out really well from the "sprue" ... almost a little to well. It can happen that you cant move the "sprue" without having parts fall out. Its really easy to get the parts out, cool, but less cool when you plan to airbrush parts in the "sprue".

3) The parts fit very, very tight. Pro is, that you merely need glue. But after having prepainted the parts there was almost no connection that fit without filing. Dryfitting is almost impossible and in the assembly I had some trouble and scratched/broke some bits despite filing.

I'm really very happy with the products, really, but these points could be improved (to suit my personal taste).

So, let me show what I'm talking about. The painting is WIP - I have to fix some assembly damage, paint in some details, etc.

This is the passanger wagon. I will post a picture with the Mk1 train but it isnt painted yet, so it'll take a while.





(edit: I dont know why the last img is rotated. Maybe forum software only supports landscape imgs?)

Terrakami added some low-cost containers being a little bit simpler than the usual (and awesome) containers. They are quite cool too.



And these are the barricades I got as extra for the shipping trouble (note that a set of small barricades contains 10 pieces, not only the 3 shown)

[Arachas]

Oh wow, your paintjob makes it shine. Did you use an airbrush? If not... tutorial on the lighting effects pulease?

[Terrakami]

OMG!! It looks better than my own!

[CoveredInFish]

Haha, thanks! :-D

Yes. Almost everything is done with airbrush.

[Scorch]

That looks way too slick! :O I envy your skills! ^^ How did you get the lines so neat? Did you use a template? Man, I really want to get hold of an airbrush. They are just so expensive.

[CoveredInFish]

I started airbrushing early this year and would say I still have lots to learn. So you guys make me really happy.

I use masking tape - I even have large sheets so I can mask a large piece in one go. It's easy to follow the laser engravings with an xacto knife - so you get very precise stencils easily.

Also - first time for me - I painted all parts before assembly. Some new difficulties, but way easier to work precisely.

[Maxvon_d]

Nice. I love that atmospheric interior shot

[CoveredInFish]

Finally painted the Mk1 train and as promised a side-by-side-picture.


more pictures here

[Maxvon_d]

Very cool. Got plans for any sort of monorail track situation?

Also, intrigued by the concept of spraying before assembly as I think it could speed up my workflow and make things easier. Does it affect the gluing process at all? Do you use a different glue for painted MDF or does PVA still work on the painted wood?

[Harlekin]

Looks great. I wish my Bandua train would already look half as good... It really takes some time until you finish those huge things...

[CoveredInFish]

Very cool. Got plans for any sort of monorail track situation?

Not really yet, but I'll have to come up with something .. the tables look a bit weird if there is a train standing around with no tracks at all

Also, intrigued by the concept of spraying before assembly as I think it could speed up my workflow and make things easier. Does it affect the gluing process at all? Do you use a different glue for painted MDF or does PVA still work on the painted wood?

Theoretically the glue bonds to the paint instead to the MDF and so the bond might be weaker. But in the reality of the hobby use I havent had any problems with that. I use PVA or superglue, same as I use when assembling unpainted stuff. Superglue seems to interact with the paint sometimes, so be careful where you apply it. PVA mostly dries transparent so is even easier to use.

Problems arise somewhere else.

E.g. the painted surfaces are prone to damage or glue splotches, the face sides of the MDF pieces arent that easy to paint and might end somewhere unexpected in the assembled model - so maybe with the wrong colour. I happen to flip some parts so the light/shadow placement is wrong (e.g. on container doors). ... Nothing you couldnt get around with caution and accuracy.

I do some of the lighting/weathering after assembly too.

[Arachas]

On a different note... wtf is that playing area you are photographing on?

[CoveredInFish]

The street tiles? They are from shark mounted lasers. They killed me with shipping but otherwise are super cool. Laser cut MDF streets. I have more than enough tiles for a 6x4 table :-)

I have linked to SML in the blog post I linked above.

[Arachas]

The street tiles? They are from shark mounted lasers. They killed me with shipping but otherwise are super cool. Laser cut MDF streets. I have more than enough tiles for a 6x4 table :-)

I have linked to SML in the blog post I linked above.

I didn't recognize them! You've pained them up nicely.

[Hydra]

Looking awesome! I hope mine arrives soon... And that airbrush air valve to get it working

[chaoshead87]

Just a heads up for a "track", I was messing around and found that the MAS walkway, stripped of all the railings of course, fits perfectly into the bottom of the MK1.

I can take a pic if you want to see.

There is a company out there that has made a rail system for their own train, I have no idea if it fits these however.

[Arachas]

Just a heads up for a "track", I was messing around and found that the MAS walkway, stripped of all the railings of course, fits perfectly into the bottom of the MK1.

I can take a pic if you want to see.

There is a company out there that has made a rail system for their own train, I have no idea if it fits these however.

Very cool idea, if not a little pricey.

EDIT: I can confirm that the same idea works with Systema Gaming walkways... cool!

[Hydra]

Show us pics! I thin a railway could be a fun piece of terrain itself. Like an equivalent of a river in fantasy games.

[chaoshead87]

Okay, I do not mean to thread jack or anything but here are a few pics of the mk1 train sitting on the MAS walkway.





I tried to get a good pic of the front on the track, of the three this was the best I could manage with my phone.

[Arachas]

HECK yes!

[Scorch]

Holy crap, that's neat! DO WANT!

[Dozer]

Ok that looks brilliant. Well there goes all my money. Just need the site back from the repair bay so I can get my order for a Mk1 Cargo and Mk 2 Passanger train in.

How well balanced is the train on the walkways - could folks put minis on the train without or little fear of the whole thing tipping over?

[chaoshead87]

The train fits very snugly onto the track.

We have had T.A.G.s, remotes and other heavy minis (CASKUDA! =-o) on the train while on the track and have never even had it wobble.

In fact, now that I have paint on everything the train is so snug that it is sort of scary pulling it off the track as it sticks fairly tightly.