Katzhagen - Archive - February 2015
Katzhagen RailView
Early in 2012 pictures of the Rhaetian Railway's Albula- and Berninaline were published on Google StreetView. A related collection of pictures documenting this process was found at Flickr and the idea sparked to build a (more or less) functional model of Google's StreetView trike.
Being an enterprise active in the communication sector, one should expect Google to have a more strong than weak disposition to communicate. For a wonder, this turned out to be a complete misapprehension.
Multiple requests for information required for making a scale model of the trike were simply ignored by both Google in Hamburg and its headquarters in Mountain View. The persons in charge weren't available on the phone, messages left on answering machines and emails were ignored in both Germany and the USA. Apparently Google were too narrow-minded for an answer - or simply too ignorant.
Relying on one's own potentials...
Photos of the trike were used to determine the prototype's dimensions and a few sketches were drawn according to the related findings. After the acquisition of the required brass rods and tubings, I got started on making the model.
The trike's frame sprouts.
Frame with handlebar, housings for camera and technical equipment
Ready for the airbrush gun ...
Sensor assembly's bottom side
The maps do look realistic, but are fictious...
"And the Oscar goes to... Keith Yundt, Canada !"
for these fine hubs and rims !
Right at the beginning of this little project it became clear that making the wheels would be a task causing a few challenges. The usage of small parts from the known Preiser or Pola bicycle kits was dropped for stability reasons and scale models of spoked wheels aren't available on the market. Fortunately, rescue was near - a friend offered to make the hubs and rims on his lathe. These small parts were completed with spokes made from 0.5mm brass rods...
Instead of documenting the further steps in this place, the efforts' result is presented:
A complete construction report with many further pictures - featuring detail views too - can be found in the project area.
