Shooting cab-view videos on my N-scale layout

I'll spoil it right away. This post is not going to end with a spectacular success. But it's not going to be a complete failure, either. So while it's not a recipe everyone should blindly follow, it still contains some information that people might find valuable. That's what the blogs are for, right?

I was thinking about shooting a video from the driver's perspective on my N-scale layout for a long, long time. I was simply curious what it would look like... The challenge of doing that was pretty obvious - the camera had to be tiny, the focus had to be right, the movement had to be smooth, etc.

After careful consideration I believed I had found the equipment that would be good for my first attempt. And I've purchased two products:

• Tomytec motorized chassis
• SQ8 miniature video camera

Let's start with the chassis. This item was supposed to be a base for the camera, and I expected it to provide a smooth forward movement. The model I've chosen for this purpose is Tomytec TM-04 and it's priced at around $20 if you know where to look (Plaza Japan).

Here's the content of the box. It includes...

...the chassis with a preinstalled motor...

...a pair of couplers, a piece of weight, some details...

...and a manual (in Japanese).

The documentation is not very useful due to the language used. There's however a mention of the 12V DC, which seems the same as in case of my Tomix cleaning car. Coincidence? Don't think so... Tomix and Tomytec are one company. I better be careful with the voltage and not go above the limit.

Let's check out the camera now. First of all - this item was cheap. Actually very cheap - something around $10. Considering the price the content of the package is pretty impressive. It consists of:

• the camera itself
• a relatively well written manual
• a camera clip
• a charging cable

The camera is very small. It's a cube 2cm tall, wide and deep. Should fit on an N-scale layout well!

It's time for the very first test photo. I've placed the camera on my layout and... click!

Well, the first shot is not really good at all. There are at least three major problems with the captured image. Let's discuss them one by one...

Problem #1: the focus is somewhere far behind. In the above photo the elements in the front are all blurry, while the barely visible far items are sharp. This is really not a surprise. I didn't expect the camera to be capable of macro photography out of the box. That's why I also bought the following set of lenses. Those are aimed towards mobile phones and are extremely cheap on Ebay.

Without any extra lenses anything closer than 20cm from the camera is completely out of focus and the real crispness can be captured only when an object is around 40cm from the device. Once the macro lenses are added the focusing distance changes to around 8cm from the camera. And that's much, much better suited for recording a tiny train layout. Here's a photo to prove it - the foreground items look fine now.

The entire setup seems much more professional, too. Almost like a miniature SLR.

Problem #2 is about wrong colors. In the picture everything looks purple. That is caused by the type of lighting in my layout room. A good camera offers a selection of white balance settings to compensate for any lighting conditions, including a working auto mode, too. The cheap SQ8 device does not handle white balance well and it is calibrated for natural daylight only. So if you want to film inside, you need a light source of 6000K temperature or more. In other words: a very, very cold white illumination. Once this is used, the white balance issue is gone.

Problem #3 is about the overall image quality. But let's be honest - did I expect more from a cheap and tiny camera? No, I did not. This is not a GoPro. The quality will always be mediocre, even if we deliver a ton of light (which is still needed for the recording to be acceptable at all).

OK, it's time to put my video setup to a test...

Unfortunately I have quickly discovered another issue. While the Tomytec chassis's movement was pretty smooth, it was not able to go at a very low pace. Its minimum speed was way too fast for me.

That's why I've created a secondary setup with a Peco wagon kit. This contraption was pushed by a DCC locomotive capable of very slow and very smooth movement.

The outcome is the following video. It's a mix of recordings from both setups. You can probably recognize which shot is which by noticing the speed and listening to the motor sound.

Well, smooth ride it is not. Turns out that recording of an N-scale layout is very sensitive to any imperfections of the track. Even the slightest jumps - especially on switches - result in big disturbances in the video. The fact that my layout is tiny does not help at all. The loop is less than 2m long and it features 4 switches. So it's even difficult to capture a few seconds of video without unwanted jerks.

But in the end, the technology works. If my layout was larger and if it featured longer continuous  segments without switches, the video could actually turn out pretty good. Once the focus issue and the color inaccuracy are fixed, the only problem is the overall image quality which is something we have to accept. At least until a better miniature camera is released. As soon as that happens, I will re-visit this topic... And hopefully I have a larger layout by then :)

Piko 37531, G-scale V36 diesel locomotive

The first weeks of year 2018 have brought several very interesting discounts on some of the Piko products. I have previously described my purchase of the Taurus electric locomotive in G-scale, and I also mentioned it wasn't the only bargain I found. The other one was a V36 diesel engine, which I'm going to take a look at now.

This locomotive is rather small, so the packaging is not very big either. G-scale rolling stock usually comes in larger boxes. And similar to what I encountered in case of the Taurus engine, the cover does not really reflect the real item inside. The picture shows a black model...

...while Piko 37531 is actually a green one what is confirmed by the product tag on the lid of the box.

The locomotive seems to be very well protected inside the polystyrene foam packaging. The usage of the term "seems" is not a coincidence here. I will come back to it later in my article...

The complete set consists of:

• a V36 locomotive in green livery
• two optional central buffers for narrow gauge operation
• four extra handrails for individual installation
• a set of manuals

The mentioned handrail details come in a small bag which contains also a short installation guide.

Adding those parts is very easy - you just push them into the designated holes. They're a tight fit, and it does not seem like any glue is needed at all. They feel fragile though so it's a pity Piko provided no spares in case of any accidents.

The model's manual is available in English and German, and it covers all the relevant topics. That includes the DCC conversion procedure - a must have for a digital layout owner like me.

It's photo time! Here's what the Piko V36 in G-scale looks like:

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It looks really, really good. The model is nothing fancy but there's not much to complain about, either. I would even say the amount of details is exactly what we need on a locomotive that is intended for outdoor usage. I'd rather not have too many small parts that could get damaged whenever my train hits a shrub that wasn't there a week ago. And let's not forget the original engine is not really a beauty either :)

I really like the grills on the sides of the locomotive, and the ladder at the front is very attractive, too. The paint job is simple but flawless and the number plates definitely add to the look. I'm very happy that in this case Piko decided to include an engineer figure inside the model. He's a twin brother of my Piko BR80 driver, but that is perfectly fine.

The only real issue is that my model arrived damaged. It would seem that the packaging Piko uses is indestructible. And it would also seem the way the MSL store delivers the merchandise is even more secure. But still the grab irons on one of the sides got broken somehow which can be easily seen in the photo below. I can't say I'm happy about it, and it was probably a reason good enough to ask for a replacement. But instead I just used two drops of glue to fix the issue. And I hope it solves it for good...

Let's go back to the good stuff. A very nice feature of the model are its light functions. The locomotive offers three lamps at the front, three at the back and an interior cab illumination. The lights are bright and look really great. Just look at the photos below!


But they do look a little bit weird, too, don't they? Well, it's not a photographer's mistake. The front headlights are indeed cold white, while the back lamps are warm colored. Is it intentional? Or is it Piko's mistake? I do not know the answer but I can't say I really mind it.

***

I'm actually glad that items disappear from the Piko's annual catalogs, as it clearly makes their prices go down. It would seem I bought the described model at the best possible moment in the product's lifetime. If it wasn't for the merchandise damage, I'd be 100% happy with my purchase. But instead my satisfaction is at a mere 99% :)

Peco KNR-44, N-scale gondola wagon assembly kit

I was in need of some old, useless wagon to realize an idea that required a functional N-scale chassis. Turns out buying such item cheaply in Poland is a considerable challenge and I had to order one from abroad. And if it had to be imported anyway, why not try something new at the same time?

That's how I learned about Peco wagon kits. They're incredibly cheap and they allow building complete unpainted freight cars (meaning - they must include a chassis, too). Several types of those are available and I picked the one containing parts for an open "steel" gondola car. Peco item KNR-44.

The product's box is small and simple. And the content is just two bags of elements and a short - but very much comprehensive - manual.

It's less than 10 parts in total. The wheels are plastic and the couplers are as simple as possible. There's however a piece of weight included which should improve the car's performance.

At first I had some serious doubts about the assembly because the model simply wouldn't hold together. The secret however is in the two provided screws - once those are tightened, the vehicle becomes one. No glue is required at all.

It does not look that bad considering it's a £4 product. The plastic wheels are crap and the car runs much better once they're replaced with metal ones. The biggest disappointment however are the couplers which do not offer any flexibility or resilience at all. They do work however and maybe I should not be complaining too much given the price point.

So why the heck did I buy it in the first place? Well, I'm working on a method of recording cab-view videos on my N-scale layout. So I removed some pieces from the Peco model and I installed a miniature camera there. I will soon be sharing the results on my blog...

To summarize - the Peco kit is nothing spectacular. It's very simplistic and its quality is nowhere near the products I'm used to. It's not however all that bad either. Given its price, it might be a good base for some small N-scale projects. You just have to be aware that this product is not a bargain, it's just cheap.

Faller 232242, N-scale moated castle

I needed a small project to fill up the evenings during a winter break trip with my family. The project had to be compact, so I wouldn't have to carry too much with me. And it had to be fun, so I needed something that I would really enjoy. And one of the most enjoyable activities for me is assembling plastic building kits...

So I got myself a little N-scale structure to build. It's a "moated castle" in N-scale. Model 232242 manufactured by Faller...

The provided box is very nice and colorful. That is until you actually open the product. Then it turns out the real packaging is just a generic cardboard container and the beautiful part is simply an extra paper wrap. It really doesn't matter and I do not really care, but it caught me by surprise...

As we dig through the content, the very first parts we find are the baseplates. One for the castle itself, and one for the moat around it. It is a "moated castle" after all :)

Then we find a significant number of stone walls elements...

...as well as the roof, the windows and some small details.

A manual is included, too, and it shows the build process step by step. Not everything is however 100% self-explaining here, which led to some mistakes on my side. But overall it's very useful and there isn't much to complain about...

There are also two paper inserts with printed curtains and a sticker set included. The stickers will be used to create a flag located at the very top of the tower. Of course a Polish flag is missing - I will be forced to make my own.

The build is fun but it's very short. One could easily do it in one day. I split it into four evenings and allowed to glue to dry well between the sessions. The trickiest part for me was actually putting the paper inserts into the castle. They were a very tight fit, and for a moment I even considered re-assembling them from scratch. But with some extra force they finally went in...

Here's the complete castle. And with a Polish flag, too!

Well, that was fun... while it lasted. The model is a nice one and the provided moat-base is a great opportunity for extending the scenery in the future. Just fill it with some fake water, add shrubs around and it will look great. I like it!

As I already mentioned there are some mistakes I've made because of the slightly lacking manual. I've noticed two:

• I added the round window frame from the inside while it should have been added on the outside
• I cut the three small flag details too short and they are not attached to the roofs by their poles but directly by the globe-shaped parts

The differences are well visible in the comparison photo below:

Of course those do not matter at all and the castle is still fully usable and beautiful. Now I just need to find a layout I can put it on :)