Old Ambroid/NESL coach kit

[Philip]

Boy, do I hate airbrush problems.  I feel your pain, Dave.

Same here but they really are nice when working correctly.

Dave, Do you have to shape those roof ends to a duck bill?

Philip

[friscomike]

Howdy Dave,

I reluctantly started straining all the paint that went into the airbrush even the Vallejo paint.  It fixed my stoppage problems, although it wasted a lot of paint.  

Good luck with the clerestory work.

Have fun,
mike

[deemery]

Boy, do I hate airbrush problems.  I feel your pain, Dave.

Same here but they really are nice when working correctly.

Dave, Do you have to shape those roof ends to a duck bill?

Philip

Yeah, shaping them is the challenge... It's not really a duckbill, just a rounded off end.  The challenge is getting all 6 parts (the two center parts, plus 2 lower parts on each side) done to the same profile.  But if I can use a LaBelle roof, I might be able to pay LaBelle to do that for me... 

dave

[deemery]

Howdy Dave,

I reluctantly started straining all the paint that went into the airbrush even the Vallejo paint.  It fixed my stoppage problems, although it wasted a lot of paint. 

Good luck with the clerestory work.

Have fun,
mike

I have a 'vortex shaker', which should break up the most stubborn clumps of pigment.  But that won't work if the paint starts to 'cure' in the bottle.   I actually suggested to Micro-Mark they should see those, BUT I also suggested they needed to replace the test-tube top with a gentle funnel top to hold the various size of paint bottles (from Vallejo style stopper bottles, through Floquil size bottles to craft paint bottles.)  They took the idea for the mixer, but didn't do the better top.   I do see some alternatives on Amazon that have redesigned tops to hold different size bottles. 

Here's a good article on vortex mixers:  https://tangibleday.com/vortex-model-paint-mixer-best-use-tips-and-review/   This is the model I have, bought 6 years ago:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F195B58

dave

[deemery]

Today I spent a productive hour looking at photos and drawings (Car Builder's Dictionary) of the end railings on open platform coaches.  There's a bit of variation, but more importantly, on the B&M coaches it turns out the railing is simple but hard to model.  For that, the railing is an inverted L.  The vertical part, near the platform steps, is rounded.  The horizontal part, along the end of the car, is flat (with 2 vertical posts inserted.)  Now I bet Bernd could model that, heating up brass rod and flattening one end.   Me, I need to decide if I do the whole thing round or flat...

dave

[Mr. Critter]

My inner indolent suggests assembling it all flat, and carefully sanding the round bits to remove sharp edges.  Might look right at HO-scale viewing distances.  Unless your layout is regularly-visited by Swiss watchmakers with 10-power loupes.

[deemery]

My inner indolent suggests assembling it all flat, and carefully sanding the round bits to remove sharp edges.  Might look right at HO-scale viewing distances.  Unless your layout is regularly-visited by Swiss watchmakers with 10-power loupes.

I do have a hand lens from my time as a geology student    

dave

[deemery]

I have sheets of 1/16 and 1/32 lead.  I cut a piece of the 1/16 lead slightly smaller than the car floor, and glued it into position with Barge Cement.  I'll probably go back and run CA around the edges just as added insurance to lock the sheet in place,  Then I'll take it outside and spray it with some paint (probably just a clear coating, I have some gloss spray that I got by accident.)  That added about 5 oz to the car weight, A Good Thing.


You can also see the red trucks.  Passenger trucks in the mid to late 1800s were painted rather garish colors.  This red is different from the red used as the trim color on the car, and doesn't look like rust.    I touched up the springs and bearings, the former with some grey paint and the latter with a dark brown wash.

The appropriate brake castings should arrive today, also hopefully the Tichy order with the turnbuckles.  That'll let me finish the undercarriage.

add:  The end railings are a challenge on any passenger car kit.  I dug out the jig from my Silver Crash open platform coach kit (that's the one that I showed at the beginning, as the colors I was trying to match.)  This jig is very cleverly done.  It's designed for .010x.030 brass bar (which I have in stock).  You shape the brass to the profile of the railing, then insert it into the jig.  You then drill .015 (#79) holes along the lines perpendicular to the railing slot, and the result are holes that are centered in the brass strip.  I had to add another slot to match the end platform castings, and I'm slightly off, but I don't think it's that noticeable.

So 1 down, 3 more to shape and drill. 

another add: done

Of course, I lost one assembly during installation, but that's OK. 

dave

[Mr. Critter]

Was the jig was supplied with the Silver Crash kit, or did you make it yourself?  Either way, clever indeed.

[deemery]

Was the jig was supplied with the Silver Crash kit, or did you make it yourself?  Either way, clever indeed.

It came from the Silver Crash kit.  I wonder how they made it, the notches are precise in both width and depth.

Oh, this afternoon, I realized that I forgot to take the truss rods into account when I glued the lead weight into position.  So I'll have to drill through the lead (ugh) for the monofilament truss rods.  I'm considering cutting notches into the lead sheet to run the truss rod lines, although I'll have to be careful to control the lead dust. 

dave

[Mr. Critter]

I'm wouldn't worry too much about lead dust in that infinitesimal amount.  If you're using a drill bit and/or a file, you'll be making fine lead chips. Easily mopped-up.  Just don't dip the results in vinegar and then lick your fingers.  (Forty-five years in the shooting sports, a decade and a half of it loading my own, and I have yet to attempt to tow a piano across Canada's barren-lands in a lifeboat.  That said, the day's not over...)

[deemery]

Brake layout, using the Cal-Scale old-time tender/passenger car set.  This matches what's in my 1888 and 1906 Car Builder Dictionary.  The 1888 version shows the air reservoir on the same side as the brake cylinder, the 1906 shows the air reservoir on the other side.  I'll do the latter (more interesting viewed from both sides of the car  )  Also, I drilled holes through the lead sheeting for the truss rods, added notches in the sheeting for the mono to lay in, and then epoxied the queenpost castings.

So next step is to let the epoxy cure, then run the truss rods.  Finally, I'll do the brake gear.  Remember that in the prototype car, the center sill is hollow, so the brake lines run there.  I'll need to trim the casting to cut off the part that should go through the center sill. 

Update: Undercarriage is complete and painted. 


dave

[friscomike]

Howdy Dave,

Congrats on the completion of the undercarriage.  The brake gear looks great.

Have fun,
mike

[KentuckySouthern]

That's some nice work, the railing jig is great.

[GeorgeD]

Nice work, Dave.

George