Making a track…..

[Admin]

I m thinking about building a track, but i don t know what materials to use or which ones are best. I d also like to know where to get that TrackMaker program, last site I tried had a dodgy download and i don t know where else to get it. So if any of you guys could give some input on the materials, that d be great.
Cheers

[z-beam]

track maker software that i have seen is just the same as lego track, the curves are all the same 90 degree sweeps.

on both my ones i used vinyl flooring material for the track barriers cut into 2cm wide strips.

once the srtips where measured and cut i then used pva glue to attach them to the mdf board base. using acrylic paint from the newsagent, pva and mdf board from the hardware you can make a track with a very small amount of cost.

the vinyl i use is from a sample book i found at a recycled art supply shop but you should be able to get new stuff in the form of off-cuts for cheap as well.

i suggest making a small one first for gaining some experiece before attemting a larger one.

[z-beam]

heres the layout of the first track i made, it has an alternate ruite to make the best use of the space.

[froggy]

foam core is good stuff, its light, tuff and pretty cheap. you can get it from most art stores for about $5 for an A2 sheet. i used thick card board for a base and the foam core for rails and roads. if ur wondering about width of the roads, 16-20cm is a good size for 2-3 cars racing at the same time. you could also make the together with a mate so you can split the costs but it shouldnt be that pricy if you look around in different places.

[z-beam]

that foamcore stuff sounds great for modeling and rails, but i would suggest the mdf over cardboard as its strength means it wont break on you.

can the foamcore be spraypainted froggy?

[TallduDe]

i used a mdf base and foam glued on top of it

foam is stronger then u think i havent had any break on me yet, due to the fact that the track side barriers are cardboard with contact protecting the cardboard.

i just glued the cardboard to the side of the foam no hassles.

plus with foam its ezy to glue stuff onto and even stick things in it like my trees.

[lots_of_lobsters]

yeh me and anarchon (Duncan) are both gona chip in and make one, or maybe 2, i can see what we could do, i love talldude s idea, cheap and easy, but is the foam on the road hard opr soft, coz if its soft u wouldnt get much speed…would u?
well cya round guys
rob

[icebreaka]

yeh what foam is it? EVA?

and whered u get it?

[froggy]

sure can z-beam, but i recomend you get the white sheets if you wanna spray em, its easier to spray on than the black sheets which i bought for the roads. foam core is just a thin sheet of foam in between two peices of paper, so you should be able to paint em no problems.

[z-beam]

thanx frogster! this stuff isnt soft is it?

i know its easy to cut.

[lots_of_lobsters]

well we might use ur idea with the trees talldude, out track is inprinted in my head now…all i need to do is MAKE IT!!!! lol
cya

[froggy]

nope the stuff aint soft, very light but not cushiony if thats what ya mean.

[froggy]

i d love to show some pics of my work in progress but dont noe how to upload pictures. i noe some patient people tried teach me how in the past, but im i total clutz with computers.

[trash]

I ve seen tracks made out of all sorts of stuff.
In HK they just used a simple for of carpet which worked well. I’ve seen neoprene, lyno, even concrete tracks. Each requires a different set of tyres.
Soft tyres for the carpets, medium for the lyno’s and really hard for concrete. 🙂
Tracks with multiple surfaces are fun. Neoprene for the road and carpet for the grass. Even good old epoxy resin on the plywood covered in sand used to simular a gravel road. You can put it on smooth like it is graded or just slap it on for that cowpaddock feel 🙂

[icebreaka]

lol are u talking bout mini-z tracks trash? can char-g s run on carpet???

[merc-blue]

they can only run on super fine office carpet.. but no not really

[icebreaka]

hmm where do i get super fine office carpet for a mini-z track? .. local carpet stores dont seem to have any thin carpets..

[lots_of_lobsters]

um wakey wakey this is a bit forum…lol maybe im a lil picky but i have no idea about Z s and im gettin a lil left out…:sad:

[DaveF]

TallDude. Nice looking track Man.

I used MDF base, steel strapping for the barriers (wish I d used the plastic ones) because I could get them for free.

The Trackmaker program may have disappeared from the web. Not sure on that one. I found it hard to find for a friend a little while back. wasn’t where I downloaded it from a few years ago.

My main recommendation when making a track is to do your research. There’s a few great tracks out there with people descriptions of every thing they used. Here’s a few links for you (if they still work).

Got Skillz http://www.got-skillz.com/

French guys http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ilestpas.net%2Fmini-zone%2Fbitcharg%2Fcircuit01%2Fcircuit01.htm&langpair=fr%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

And these guys used to make a new track one every month or so. Maybe a non permanent track is better?? http://www.diana.dti.ne.jp/%7Ekodama/bcgp01.html

Links to more links http://tinyrc.com/lincoln/Worlds/MicroRC/LincMicroWrld.htm

Well, that’s enough out of me for another 9 months. Bye all.

[jamiekulhanek]

dave! hows it going!! havent seen you here in a llllllooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg time…

[TallduDe]

hey Dave!

thanks man, your track still kicks arse big time.

welcome bak dude

[z-beam]

dave, keep up your visits over the next month.

i got something to show you… once it s completed:smiley2:

also check my ausmicro gallery to have a look at my latest track effort.

[DaveF]

Jamie. I m good man. Just reeeeealy busy at work, and at home, and with the band, and the kids…. Busy. How about you?

Talldude. No way man. Yours blows mine out of the water. I love the trees and other landscape features on yours. Makes it so much more realistic. I see you’re like me though, you like to get your eye down close to the track so it looks like the real thing. =o)

z-Beam, depends on the time I have left to do things. I don’t really have time to go through old posts that I miss, unless the heading really grabs me. Copperhead Canyon looks like it’s coming along nicely. Maybe PM me with the link once you have posted it, just in case.

It’s a bad idea to run BCGs on carpet. The fibres, dust, hairs, etc clog up the car pretty quickly. It’s like taking a skateboard on sand.

[z-beam]

will do dave! good to see you arounfd the place again. i will do the pm thing for you.

i dont think i ll do any more work on the copperhead track, it was s’posed to be a cheap an nasty effort, and i was suprised at how good it turned out.

the thing i got to how you is a heavily modified supra. check the comp out when ever you can, i’m sure you can catch up on a lot of stuff you’ve missed by getting an occasional looksie.

[ekwj]

hey talldude, or whoever who have an advice.

how did u get to do the trees, or did u buy them.
and how u get those decal, i.g sponsers..did u just printthem off the printer haha..

anyways
laters

[TallduDe]

i got the trees from hobby shops, any hobby shop which does scale trains have these trees.

i also got a whole heap off ebay, try an ebay search for HO scale trees, HO scale is the scale which closely resembles bit scale.

i got the barriers off this site here is the link to the ones i used

http://www.ausmicro.com/dl_showall.asp?cat_id=59&parent_id=14&parent_name=Track+Advertising&sub_name=ausmicro%2Ecom+Designed

i just printed them off my printer(go figure) and i cut them to lenght and glue em onto cardboard, then i covered em in clear contact.

ezy as.

if you got any more Q s feel free to ask dude

[ekwj]

ah… i see i see.. do they cost alot?
right now, my cousin and i, we ve pretty much completed the track.. what we lack is detail.. the racing surface’s been painted dark grey while the outsides are left unpainted.. we’re thinkin bout adding the sponsor decals as well as the trees.. but yeah.. wanna know the cost of the trees xD

thanks in advance

[z-beam]

the best/cheapest trees i have seen come in packs of four for under $15 for the larger pine type ones and less for smaller shrubs.

where in australia are you ekwj?

[TallduDe]

i got 100 trees for 50 bucks ozzie shipped to my house(y shop in the city when stuff comes to you)

the hobby shops in the city are expensive aswell, 25-35 for 20 trees.

adds up after a while.

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