Elmer Lane 5 - NZR-ising the Kato Turntable

 DB continues:

So the Kato Turntable isn't very NZR-like out of the box.

As mentioned previously, "it does have a shallow pit (yay), however the bridge girders are 'upside down' compared to NZ turntables (boo), but surely the sides can be flipped to look a little better? Its modelled on an electric one with a gantry in the middle, but I'm sure that can be removed, and there is a little red operators cabin at one end. The bridge length is a smidge short, as we are 1:120 and Japan is usually 1:150 rather than the usual N 1:160, but its not actually a million miles out. In fact according to my calculations it should fit a scaled down Ja wheelbase. "

Well, lets do some more digging.

As predicted, the central brown gantry was an optional part that I simply didn't install. The brown main girder sides (made of an unusual tough but flexible plastic) can also be gently prised out of the bridge (a press fit).

Similarly the operators  cabin can also be gently levered off, and .... surprise(/whoops)... there is unexpectedly a tiny vertical can motor in there which is how the turntable is driven! Nifty, but that means the cabin needs to stay. Good job I was more careful than usual with the removal of this or else I'd have buggered the whole thing. I suppose this could be replaced with a new drive mechanism underneath the pit somehow, but that is well beyond the scope of this wee project.

Underside: electrical wipers that control the bridge's turning, the track power, and the operation of the little prodders at the ends of the underside which mate into holes under each road for positive location. Clever stuff:

The power feeder 'LP' below and the positive location locking rectangular holes can be seen under each track position, above the toothed rail that runs around the outside of the pit.

The first thing to be attacked while "the bridge was out" as the Dukes of Hazzard used to like saying, was to weather up the pit.  I could have ballasted this if I wasn't going to have the turntable bridge girders hanging down as low as I can get them. My efforts were done with some thin dappled drybrushing and chalks. It looks a bit hokey and contrastry in these pics.

The operators cabin has been minimised at its backside, weathered, and the roof painted grey. The girders were thinned to clear the power feed LP, painted a similar colour as used on the Elmer Lane roundhouse window frames, and glued on. Dark weathered scribed stripwood 'walkways' were then added on top of the bridge:

OK, not 100% convincing, and the DBR makes the bridge look pretty small, but not bad for an afternoon's effort.

Next morning I put aside my irrational fear of soldering things to other things and made up some handrails. I got better as I went along: plenty enough flux, minimal solder.

These were installed, and the pliers above are holding one end up of the first attempt (with its solder blobs) at a good height while the glue sets. 

It was then painted - white along the top rail and grey for the supports. This looked a bit overbling, so I made the top handrail grey too except for the ends. I'm not sure health and safety had been invented in the late 1960s anyway. But then nor had TMS numbers or DBRs.

OK, this was never going to become a 'real NZR turntable'. Its a bit small and it has an operators cabin at one end that can't be disposed of. It is a girder type, and although most of our bridges were cast ones with big holes in them, Elmer Lane did actually have a plate girder fabricated type like this one. 

This is also a 'through' type of bridge, whereas our structural parts of the turntable bridge were typically much closer together,  sitting under the rails, with the non-structural walkways cantilevered out from the sides.  Due to the location of the operating mechanisms under and on the bridge, plus that filigree LP power pickup, the Kato bridge can't be thinned easily. Its not something I'd want to hack at. 

Its also just occurred to me that I haven't put any power into it to see if it works. It probably doesn't now!