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Done! I finished the layout and the box and I am really happy with it.  The biggest change is that I realized I can't run both trains, the switch, the lights and a single board LCD screen on a 9v battery. Duh. The lights on the cars didn't have enough current to light. Also, when I turned on the lights the max train speed would drop in half. The switch wouldn't work reliably either as the 9v discharged.  I tried using a 3s 650mah lipo and that worked. Except the current drain was pretty high and I took it down...

Continuing on from part 1, with my Rokuhan Shorty build, everything is almost done.  The box is built, the layout is installed and I have all the lights working.  The only thing left to do is the background image for the lid, install the train stop and tidy up the control box area. .  I 3D printed a box to hold both Shinkansen trains and a cover for it.  As its setup now the trains stay snug when the box is transported.  I added a chain to hold the box lid vertical when its opened.  The box hinges, latches and...

I’m working on a small (3’x2’) Rokuhan Shorty layout. I plan to put it in a suitcase sized case so it will be portable and easily stored.  The layout is going to be based on a modern city.  This is my first time working with Z scale and I really like it.  The layout has an inner  and outer track with switches and fits in a pretty small space. I have the track layout done and the mounting board.  I designed a city block with an intersecting road to lay the track on.  It’s printed on glossy poster paper. To...

When I was a kid I loved Knight Rider.  I had a plastic toy KITT car that  would play sounds from the show when you pressed the license plate. It was a great toy.  I recently  looked it up online and was thinking about buying one. They weren't crazy expensive. But then I got to thinking, I could make that car and something better.  The best thing about all of the affordable tech we have now is that you can affordably make a lot of things you dreamed of as a kid pretty easily. I figured 3D printing would be...

The Buffalo Sabres just recently brought back the famous black "goathead" jersey as a throwback.  I love this jersey. What better way to celebrate its return then by making a version with an LCD screen!  Yeah, I know thats exactly where your head went...  Turns out to be way easier than I imagined and I think one of the coolest things I've ever made. This really just mounting an app controlled super thin 64x64 LDC screen on the front of a blank jersey.  Sourcing and getting the jersey setup was actually harder than setting up the LCD screen.  I just...