It could be motorised - there are videos on YouTube that prove this, and for use in the loft that would be fine as the gearbox and motor assembly needed are quite large in size and really not suited to portable operation. Then there's the little issue automatic indexing, again it can be done but time, money etc...
I like my Marklin turntable also. But I don't like the colour or the general way it looks, it's quite bland really and if I added it to the portable layout it would stick out a country mile that it's not a Dublo item. However the self-contained motor and indexing system work really well.
If only I could make this...
Look like this...
Time for a project.
I had a broken Dublo turntable, my plan is to take the girder supports and graft them onto the Märklin turntable and repaint it.
First of all, I had to strip both turntables. The Dublo one, well the only thing that holds the centre in place is the track work so this prised apart pretty easily, followed closely by the two girders.
Now to strip the Märklin one clip and the rotating section lifted away. The small building I already knew would just unscrew and lift off. The electrical contacts in the centre of the turntable could then be disconnected and removed.
Time for some rubbing down and priming...
I decided to spray the centre, within the large outer cog green to match the old Dublo one. The grey, although a different shade, I will leave for now. To paint the rest properly would involve removing all the track sections, this increases the risk of damage so it's just not worth the risk.
Time to paint the building in traditional Hornby Dublo colours (more sahara beige!)
Happy with the results after removing the masking tape
Once the beige was dry, time to give the roof a coat of red to match my other Dublo buildings.
The centre section I was originally going to leave grey but after a while I decided to repaint this also. This meant removing the motor assembly, the latching mechanism, drive shaft and guide wheels. By now they've been primed and painted green, with the Märklin railings removed.
Lots of work required to get the girders to fit, both have been reamed substantially to fit.
There are electrical contacts in the centre which foul the girder in the foreground, so the inside has been reamed in the middle.
For the rear one, it's been reamed around the building as the two wouldn't fit together, there wouldn't have been enough room to get the train through!
Couldn't resist a quick mock-up having spent so long doing this. Next stage is to fix everything back in place and fit this back into the body of the turntable.
More to follow...
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