Sunday, August 10, 2008

Ankerstein NS 2 mini


We return again to the NS trove of plans.

For today, I am making myself an NS Set 2 counterpart from the half-size Kleine Gernegroß set and some supplemental stones.

For the unavailable pair of 69Ge "pez" stones, I had to make stand-ins from wood. For those following along at home, these should be a snit less than 1/8" x 1/4" x 1/2".

As an experiment, I am referring to KG stones by their GK counterpart numbers with an "e" for "equivalent appended. Should I include actual catalog numbers? Should I post a conversion chart?



In lieu of supplemental stones that you can't borrow from other sets, you may resort to making the 1/4" x 1/4" x 1/2" (minus a snit) stand-in for the 31G stone from wood as well.

We don't need to be perfect here, since we won't be balancing them on end or stacking them critically.

But the fit does need to be close. Sand slightly, and perhaps check by fitting in between stacked "real" stones. I checked mine with a dial caliper, but not to full accuracy -- I just happened to have the tool at hand.



The appeal of the NS plans here, as always, is the exploration of art deco -- perhaps even some Bauhaus influence -- and industrial variations.

These contrast nicely with the churches, monuments, and Biedermeier structures of the earlier Ankerstein designs.



Without a split arch option, we will have to skip some designs, or modify them somewhat. Substituting 208Re or 19Re plus 31Re sometimes works (I wish I had 31Re - I only have G).

When The Toyhouse reopens after vacation, I will probably get a couple of 124R arches to attempt "splitting" my own.



I especially like the factory on page 11, which is developed in more detail in the larger sets. I suspect you will see a photograph soon.

The split arch halves are used separately in this factory design, but mostly as extra 1Re stones (though they do provide shallower door and window openings), so we can substitute.

Of course, this would all be much easier if we simply built with full sized stones. Set 2 is a subset of Set 4, and with no large arches, the notches don't enter in, so everything we need is in Set 4 or Set 6.



The fireplace at left should appeal to Herman. It is another of the themes we see developed in larger sets. I have some fondness for them myself.



Today I am build several of the structures shown here, with recourse to GK for one or two.

I'll be photographing them as I go, so let me know if there are any you'd like to see and I will do a follow=up tomorrow



Oh -- and that picture I was taking up top?

It's right here to the left.

Good block play.

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