I think in my last post I showed the construction of my Z scale guitar case layout.  I was going to add some scenery and a building or two, but I realized that having anything more than just the track and ballast would be damaged, loosened, or lost too easily.  That makes the guitar case layout officially DONE.

In recent weeks, I’ve begun formulating and constructing a new layout.  It is also in Z scale and uses foam, but it is almost all foam.  The entire base is the same blue 2″ insulation foam used in the guitar case layout.  The biggest difference and feature that makes it most unique is that is it to be a suspended layout that hangs from the ceiling of my basement via a pulley system.  It will have some pieces of plywood that connect the foam joints, and it will have to main bus wires running the interior length of the layout.  It wil also have sevearal stretches of grades that lead to a high grade loop.  It’s taken a lot of planning, mathematical calcuations, and messy foam and wood cutting, but I think it will look awesome!

Below are some photos of the layout’s early stages.

This is a sort of grid schematic.  I used basic notepad lines as units of measurements and basic mathematic X/Y axes to plan direction of travel.

This project took most of the garage and a few hours to start, but it was worth the mess and effort.

These are the products of my work.

I used a jig saw to cut everything so cleanly.  I would have thought my smaller and finer-toothed blade would be better for a clean cut, but it turns out that the big and jagged one worked far better.

Here is the basic shape.  it’s an oval with a side yard.

More to come!!!!!