Multiple small projects

What is your latest project?
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Keith S
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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:33 pm

Thanks guys as always for your advice and comments.

Hi Andrew the colours of spray paint are always a source of stress for me. The only place to get them nowadays is the "Canadian Tire" (sic) store, something like B&Q or Halfords. They seem to change the names of the colours and of course the colours themselves. They had one colour, "Wild Raspberry" that looked a lot like "Victorian Maroon", or at least I thought it did- (we shall see if I ever bring my loco to the UK with me and have a chance to run it with other Roundhouse engines)- anyway I thought it looked close. I managed to paint my loco and one Brandbright coach in that colour but now they don't carry that brand of paint anymore and the new maroon-like colour is called "field berries" or something and is what you see on the Gladstone coach, which is more purple-ey and less brown-ish than the loco and the single Brandbright coach. I have three other Brandbright kits and they will have to be the new colour now, which is somewhat annoying. I have about half a can of the original "wild raspberry" left but I feel like I'd better save that in case the loco ever needs touching up.

Graeme, thanks for that! I think I knew the term "truss rod" at some points it sounds familiar. Oh wait- I remember now, that's what the metal rod is called inside the neck of a guitar that opposes the pull of the strings. The only thing I could think of was "anti-hogging rigging" because that's what it's called on old wooden lake ships and riverboats, which had a tendency to sag in the middle. "Truss Rod" is a lot more economical to say.

To mask the windows, I very unfortunately used that type of tape that one uses to wrap gifts- I forget the name of it, other than it's made by "scotch". It's the kind that's meant to look invisible. I've had good luck with it in the past because it leaves a nice edge... but this time I left it on too long and it got hard and was the devil to pry off. I think I will follow your advice and get some Tamiya masking tape next time I'm in the city. We can also get the blue stuff here- the engineers at work use it for masking when they touch up the paint on the aeroplanes.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by GTB » Thu Jan 17, 2019 8:04 am

[/quote]
Keith S wrote: ↑Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:33 pm To mask the windows, I very unfortunately used that type of tape that one uses to wrap gifts- I forget the name of it, other than it's made by "scotch".
Yes, I got caught many years ago by Scotch Invisible Tape. Great for wrapping presents and covering books, not so good for modelling. The cheap clones available are even worse.....

I had the same problem that you did when I used invisible tape to mask off windows on a HO railcar many years ago. As well as leaving a residue on the windows, I found it could also lift paint and it removed some irreplaceable decals from another model. Then Tamiya tape became available and I switched.

A friend introduced me to the 3M blue tape when it first appeared in panel beaters workshops here. It eventually turned up in the hardware stores for consumer use and I've used it ever since.

Current paint quality is a sore point in my workshop. The inability of some paint companies to now make two tins of paint the same colour is part of the reason I use an airbrush and mix my own colours to a reference chip. There's no equivalent to Canadian Tire here in Oz, but they look like a combination of Bunnings and Supercheap Auto, neither of which is on my list of preferred model paint suppliers.....

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Graeme

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by IrishPeter » Thu Jan 17, 2019 3:03 pm

We still have a local hardware shop - 'Rocking R' - here which also does some agricultural supplies. It is literally a place where you can pick up to tins of spray undercoat, some BR maroon (Burgundy) spray paint, some cabbage seeds, a light switch, some vinyl letter for a yard sign, and a galvy steel water trough for your cattle. It is my 'go to' place for the various odds and ends I need for the model railways as you never know what you will find in there. Paint is my main thing. The CIE coach was done in school bus yellow (!), black, and white all from their range of paints! They also tend to have things like one-eighth steel rod, doorbell wire for electric locomotives, and weird stuff like that. Best bit of it is they are one block north of my house, so I can walk over there any time I need something. If I have a hunt around they probably have strip wood somewhere in there.

The local craft store, which I hate and despise, is useful for Bristol board, and stuff like that, but shopping there is somewhat is a bit like having a root canal, but without the sheer terror before hand. They have stopped doing square section strip wood, which is a nuisance, but they usually have a limited amount of basswood in stock, but the display is almost always a total shambles, which trips off my OCD tendencies.

T'internet takes care of the specialist things like wheels, couplings, door handles, and transfers for rolling stock building.

Peter in VA
Traffic Pattern? What pattern? Spuds out; grain in, but cattle, sheep and passengers are a lot less predictable.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Thu Jan 17, 2019 5:44 pm

I know exactly what you mean Peter. Those big shops look very promising on the outside, but they seem to telepathically know what you're going to be looking for before you get there, and contrive to have everything under the sun OTHER than the one thing you're looking for.

Your little farm- supply/hardware shop sounds delightful though.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by FWLR » Fri Jan 18, 2019 7:00 am

Those little or not so little hardware shops are very few and far between nowadays. You walked into them and straight away the paraffin smell hit you. You could always find what you were looking for and more...Oh how I miss them.....

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Fri Feb 15, 2019 7:54 pm

I've managed to finish a couple of the vehicles I've been trying to improve a bit. I'm quite pleased at how they've turned out.

I mentioned before the "Gladstone" coach, which I finished in a plain varnished-wood scheme about five or six years ago, and have recently repainted to look like the real NWNGR "Gladstone car" which I now think looks nicer. I've done it in its "as preserved" condition, although I like the lantern chimneys so I left them on, so it's a bit of a combination of its preserved appearance and how the coach is described as looking in its early days. It's not a nice as it would have been if I had built it like this in the first place, because with the masking and repainting I've got the windows a bit mucky, and some of the trim around the balcony windows is damaged because of an attempt I made to remove the roof- it's glued down well enough that it pulled the coach apart when I tried to remove it. Anyway, I'm actually quite pleased with it. Some improvements to the original IP Engineering kit I've made: I've removed the bracing/truss details from the IP kit and replaced the wood parts with more realistic longitudinal timbers and metal truss rods. The wooden "truss rods" were extremely easy to break, and an examination of old photos shows that the timbers aren't just posts, they go all the way athwartship. I made dummy turnbuckles out of some nuts and a bit of aluminium tube. I replaced the white metal door handles with some brass ones from Brandbright, and fitted Brandbright vacuum-brake hoses. The decals come from IP engineering, and the little coat of arms decal is on a plate I made from a bit of card. The interior was already made when I built the coach originally, (thank goodness because the roof won't come off) and features a blue carpet, patterned seat-cushions and red curtains. Notwithstanding the slightly mucky windows I am quite well pleased with how it looks.
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The next thing I've completed is my "Brandbright" coach. I mostly finished this several years ago, but was unable to decide on a way to finish the roof. So it stayed unfinished for quite a long time. This week I decided to try something a bit unconventional, but it's worked quite well. I have a collection of coloured tissue paper that I use for model aeroplanes. I had some black tissue that I use for details on the models. It occurred to me that perhaps a doped-on coating of black tissue might resemble tarred linen. So I coated the roof with watered-down PVA, and sprayed water on a piece of tissue, then carefully smoothed it into the PVA. Once dried, I gave it a coating of model-aeroplane Nitrate dope. It's dried into a pretty decent representation of black roofing material, I think, and is water-resistant. I stuck on some lamp chimneys from IP engineering and some vacuum hoses, and now this coach is finished as well.
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The next part of this project will be to install some braking gear on my brake van. I have some braking-gear details from Brandbright, including a vacuum cylinder, and some brake shoes from "Ozark miniatures" in America, having failed to find any brake-shoe details I particularly liked in the U.K.

I find it a bit frustrating that it is easy to find kits for brake vans, brake hoses, brake cylinders, brake hand wheels, anything to do with brakes, except BRAKE SHOES. However, now I've got some 1:22 scale ones from Ozark Miniatures (who, it must be said, offer some extremely well-detailed narrow-gauge kits) which are a little large but will be perfectly fine once I modify them a bit.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by laalratty » Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:06 pm

Nice work, I do like all of the improvements to the Gladstone car in particular, with the large windows and balconies putting extra detailing in is very much worth it. If you ever find yourself in this country (or more specifically North Wales) I recommend going to the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway and having a ride in the Gladstone Car, if it is in the set in service at the time of course. Otherwise it can be found in their excellent museum.
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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Fri Feb 15, 2019 9:08 pm

I agree, it's worth doing a nice job on interiors when the windows are big. It makes the model much nicer- I just wish I had been able to get the roof off. I have a little figure with a top hat who would look at home in the first class section.

I actually do find myself in the U.K. about twice a year on average, although I spend most of my time getting up to mischief with my fellow reprobate/favourite cousin I do sometimes manage to see some railway-related things. A trip to Wales is definitely on my list of things to do. My English family are always recommending against long trips in the UK- it reminds me of a saying I heard once that North Americans think 100 years is a long time, and Europeans think 100 miles is a long distance- but I intend to visit Wales at some point. Ridiculous not to, really, considering my hobby, and I have some friends there I would like to visit as well.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by ge_rik » Sat Feb 16, 2019 9:33 am

Beautifully finished models. I really like all the fine details. I'd give my right arm for your modelling skills, but then I'd have problems trying to model with just one arm ..... :?

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by FWLR » Sat Feb 16, 2019 9:35 am

Neat.........

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Sat Feb 16, 2019 2:39 pm

ge_rik wrote: ↑Sat Feb 16, 2019 9:33 am Beautifully finished models. I really like all the fine details. I'd give my right arm for your modelling skills, but then I'd have problems trying to model with just one arm ..... :?

Rik
That's a nice thing to say, Rik, but all I do is build kits and glue little odds and bobs to them. I'm afraid if you saw them close up they would be revealed to be no better than most and definitely worse than some. The reason for this "project" of improving all my rolling-stock is because of the hasty way I built it all in the first place. I used to only care about the locomotive, but lately have become more interested in wagons and things. Can't afford to be interested in locomotives!

Your scratch-building activities are far more worthy of praise than my kit-building.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Thu Mar 07, 2019 6:50 pm

Here is the latest instalment in my project to improve my rolling-stock: The brake van!

It's been on my mind for some time now that my IP brake-van doesn't have brakes. I feel that brake-vans, like locomotives, can always benefit from some extra detail anyway, but isn't it funny that most brake vans don't come with very much braking gear detail. Anyway, I've started adding some to my van, and here is how it looks so far. In order to get any reasonable level of detail on this vehicle, I've had to order parts from many suppliers.

The brake-shoes are from "Ozark Miniatures" in the U.S.A. This company makes 1:20 scale rolling stock kits and parts that have a very high level of detail.

The frame irons are from I.P. engineering, and are the same ones that I put on my other goods wagons.

The steps are home-made

The vacuum bags, frame hangers and vacuum cylinder are from Brandbright.
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I haven't finished this yet; I need to make some rods to connect the brake-shoes to the central shaft and paint everything black of course. The good thing about all these parts is that they give the van some much-needed weight. It was very light before and came off the tracks rather easily. Now it has a bit of mass it seems much smoother.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by tom_tom_go » Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:13 pm

I like the brake shoes, I have used the Cambrian ones which I think are overscale for 16mm.

If you want to improve your rolling stock further the wheels need painting or chemically blackening!

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:46 pm

That's true, I never thought of that. I painted my loco wheels but not any rolling-stock. Can you recommend a way to chemically blacken them? That sounds more durable than paint. I'd like to do that to the cylinder ends on the loco, too.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by GTB » Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:22 am

Keith S wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 7:46 pm Can you recommend a way to chemically blacken them? That sounds more durable than paint. I'd like to do that to the cylinder ends on the loco, too.
The brake van is looking good with brake gear fitted and it helps fill in the void under goods wagons. If you want even more weight fit white metal vacuum cylinders as well, as they are much larger than air brake cylinders and therefore heavier in solid metal.


I spray my wheels underframe colour when I paint the model, it saves masking off, or dismantling the underframe........

It would be just as easy to brush paint the wheels as chemically blackening them I should think.

I use Birchwood Casey 'Super Blue' liquid gun blue for colouring mild steel, brass and copper. Contrary to what the label suggests, the finish is a deep black when used on steel and black with a slight brown tone on copper and it's alloys. Just follow the instructions on the bottle and rub it on to a clean and degreased surface with a cotton bud, until the colour builds up to what you want. It's easy enough to find here in Oz from the nearest gunshop, so I would think it should be fairly easy to find in Canada. They have a range of metal colouring solutions, including one for aluminium.

Another brand you could look for would be Jax who make a range of metal colouring solutions, including brown, grey and rust, as well as one for blackening pewter/whitemetal. They seem to be intended for the jewellery trade, as that's the only place I've found them stocked locally.

Regards,
Graeme

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Fri Mar 08, 2019 5:14 am

Thanks Graeme, good advice there. I suppose I ought to have known gun blue solution would be black- you don't see many blue guns.

If you look closely at the van, there is actually a great big white-metal vacuum cylinder under there. Like you say, it's quite heavy. I had to shorten it a little because the sole-bars on this model are quite narrow.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by tom_tom_go » Fri Mar 08, 2019 10:35 am

I haven't successfully managed to blacken the brass to 'black' that Roundhouse use for their live steam parts or even brass overlays for buffers, not sure it's not some sort of brass composite? It either goes brown or gunmetal colour.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by philipy » Fri Mar 08, 2019 11:01 am

I use Birchwood Casey Gun Blue on everything. It does seem to have bit of a brownish tinge on brass, but it just looks as though its a bit rusty, which is fine on brake gear, axles, buffers, etc.
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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by Keith S » Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:41 pm

I'll bet it would look quite good on those steel wheels though- I'll snoop around the hunting section of the hardware shop this week-end and see if they have any.

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Re: Multiple small projects

Post by philipy » Fri Mar 08, 2019 3:34 pm

Keith S wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 2:41 pm I'll bet it would look quite good on those steel wheels though-
Steel wheels with Birchwood Casey gun blue on backs & fronts. I did it with the wheels installed and it's difficult to get to the fronts to rub them, but the backs have gone that nice blackish-brownish colour. I think a little smear of oil on the fronts might lose the orangey rust colour.
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