In order to make the track suitable for no-mag cars, I really needed full borders around the track. In the past, I had built a track with custom designed 3D printed borders. This was a tedious affair, as it required many prints. Also, in areas where the track runs come close to each other there were odd places that needed filled in that the regular borders I had designed wouldn’t fit.
On this go around, I decided to use 6mm EVA foam (cosplay foam) from Dick Blick art supply. This layout required two full rolls.
Here are all of the rough cut pieces set in place.
I haven’t used this foam before, so I wasn’t sure what adhesive to use. I tested all of the adhesives I have on hand, and ended up buying a can of Weldwood contact cement. This stuff is nasty, and will actually melt the track itself on contact. It works very well with the foam. Here are all the things I tested:
I really agonized over tracing and cutting the pieces. I spent way to much time on that. The foam is pretty forgiving and will flex and stretch a bit which can compensate for errors. Here is the track with all of the foam glued down.
I did have a small bit of trouble with the transition to the front ramp. It ended up lining up right on a track joint, and was very sharp. I ended up having to shim the transition upward to smooth it out a bit and keep it from punting cars.
All of the turn pieces are glued to the wood with Shoe Goo. Also, the straights that are on the ramps are glued down. I cut the assembly plastic tabs and the metal tabs from the rails off in two places so that the other two straight sections can be lifted straight up to allow for swapping parts. I did this on the front stretch to accommodate putting in the teeter totter and I did it on the other straight to accommodate taking a part in and out that has power wires soldered to it for hooking up my own power supply. I still need to come up with a way to hold these parts to the track rigidly such that the whole track can be moved with them in place.
Where I made these cuts, I soldered lengths of wire onto each rail and I used Wago lever nuts to make the wire connections under the table. I found an assortment of sizes of these 222 connectors on Amazon and am really happy with them: https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicing-connectors/splicing-connector/p/222-413
I did a quick test with my recently returned no mag proxy cars and the new layout runs great. The cars can slide out the rear and the EVA foam lets the tires slide. Crucially, the cars stay in the slot, even with the tail wagging. I plan on painting the foam and track at some point, so I expect to be able to change the traction of both surfaces, but just as it is the track is runable!