Kallisti Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 After the stress and rush of building things to deadlines for SMW, GBs and for a club competition, I've decided to build something I WANT to build and something different from WW1 planes, tanks and whatnot so to this end I chose this rather large box from the stash: This is a reboxing of an MPC kit from some time ago - the instructions are copyright 1982. I picked up this kit at the Abingdon show a couple of years ago and its been sitting in the stash ever since. its a big box 15" x 26" x 3.5" and its pretty full of plastic: As you can see one of the main problems is that there are pre-chromed and gilded sprues included. These are going to HAVE to get re-sprayed using my collection of metallic Alcads, bought specially for this and the Bandai Showman's Engine. So what is the best way to strip the chrome and gold paint off these sprues safely? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie the panda Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Blimey not seen one of those for a while. Look forward to seeing it finished. As for removing chrome I've always used the oven cleaner/bag method, never had any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aginvicta Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I saw one of these on Ebay recently and was tempted, I'll be following this build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Great choice, this will be interesting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptcruiser Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I use thick household bleach for removing chrome - usually anyway. Not all plating comes off the same, some of the older kits can be more resistant. Using bleach takes only a matter of seconds if you want to move on quickly, but the underlying surface usually has what looks like a lacquer layer. Leave it longer and it removes this as well. Usual H&S precautions apply....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepers Creepers Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Definitely the bleach for removal ... only we use the cheap stuff that's about 30p/3l Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Breaker Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I've heard Cola can be used to strip it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) I'm glad I didn't say in my introductory blurb that I wanted to make something simple and fun because then I wouldn't have chosen this thing! Why is red plastic so awful to work with? Brittle, badly moulded, sink marks, terrible ejector pins marks, terrible fit... um... where was I? Thanks for the advice about stripping chrome and gold, Mr Muscle Over cleaner did the trick, although the gold was more difficult to strip than the chome. Now I just have to remember which sprues were gold and which were chrome! So let us begin with the main frame construction Every edge and mould line needs some level of sanding - there is flash, sink marks and mould lines EVERYWHERE! Next is the radiator. The front and rear grilles are moulded in the plastic which looks really awful: So as you can see in the second pic its a matter of cutting it out with a razor saw and replacing it with some brass woven mesh: The circular one was cut out with a circular cutter very carefully! Once these are together its much too see-through so although I can't find plans or photos of the exact engineering inside the radiator, I've knocked together something from some steel mesh that will block the immediate line of sight through the radiator Once the box is sealed up, with the compulsory sanding and filling of the joints (a routine task with this kit!), it gets attached to the main frame (no not a computer!) and front on you can see its still slightly see-through but not as much as before. Now one of the other thigns I noticed was the "fake" radiator grille thats on the front of the vehicle. Its got loads of dimples where as they should be holes, eg: So I decided to do somethign about it... Two evenings sitting in front of the TV later... This was one of the gold-plated pieces and in some photos I've seen its chrome and in others its a brassy colour, I think I'll be spraying this brass in the end. I'm finding myself building things our of order in the instructions simply because there is so much filling, sanding and cleaning up, so while things are drying I'm building lots of the small sub-assemblies in advance. As a result we have these pieces: Large rear wheels: Boiler funnel: This has takena lot of sanding and filling - you can see the last application of Mr Dissolved Putty here. Once it had dried the last batch of sanding and polishing took place - this is one of the silver pieces, although I'm tempted to make it brass when I paint it as that was what it was often built from. The museum pieces tend to have chrome all over but the real operating things had a lot more brass. Similarly there is this - er - thing... It too will be chrome or brass so the surface need sanding and polishing to get a good finish for the Alcad to come... Then there is this piece as well, part of the pumping mechanism powered by the steam engine. The fit of the parts is pretty atrocious and with several sink marks needing filling and sanding this is still a work in progress. Finally in this update we have the main boiler and some previously gold-plated pieces: The two in front are actually the headlamps while the other two red pieces are something attached to the boiler and will be brass again. The boiler comes in two parts and the fit is pretty awful, so its currently going through a familiar sanding, filling sanding and polishing cycle. This will be a semi-gloss black so doesn't need as polished a finish as the brass/chrome parts as this won't be Alcad - although the strap around the middle will be brass so that is getting careful attention... Did someone mention sanding dust? *cough* Edited November 16, 2014 by Kallisti 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnie the panda Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Wow you're really going the extra mile, good for you. Looks like its going to be a great build...then again I saw one of these on evilbay last week for £100 so its worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 Its REALLY NOT worth £100 lol Just been out to the shed to spray alcad black gloss on the boiler funnel... oh boy gonna need MORE sanding to clean up that damn joint!! The other bulb-shaped thingy has come up okay but the funnel was pretty poor! Anything good on telly this evening? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 Looking like a good build, not seen one made for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepers Creepers Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 Boiler funnel Chimney please Mr Kallisti - it's a road going vehicle not a ship Nice silk purse though Look forward to seeing it in the plastic ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 17, 2014 Author Share Posted November 17, 2014 Okay I stand corrected from the Steam engine expert and in future will refer to this thing as a Chim-chimeny Last night I almost came a cropper with the bloody thing as putting the first coat of Alcad gloss black primer on it showed up how bad the joint lines were. While sanding again, the lower part of the joints on both sides cracked, this had to undergo some more surgery, strengthening the joints inside as well as stripping back the gloss black primer again. Thankfully, the other bulbous thing and the front grill have come up lovely with the Alcad polished brass. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 It looks like a steampunk dragster! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepers Creepers Posted November 17, 2014 Share Posted November 17, 2014 And I'll try and find out what that weird shaped bit is too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Blimey....Now there's something you don't see every day! What an exceedingly excellent subject! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted November 18, 2014 Share Posted November 18, 2014 Chimney? That sounds like it belongs on a house... how about 'stack'? Although we use that for factories, don't we?... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 Crikey, this kit must go back to the ark???? I can vaguely remember this back in the early 70`s. Will follow this one. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 19, 2014 Author Share Posted November 19, 2014 There are copyright dates for 1982 on the instructions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Simmo Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 "I picked up this kit at the Abingdon show a couple of years ago" Ah yes I remember it well!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Revenge for the tea, yes I also remember... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Time for this week's update... there are a few bits missing at the moment as they are in the paint-shop (ie the shed) being primed or painted so I don't have photos of them here just at the moment. What I do have is a few photos of things that have had chrome or gold removed and have since been repainted with metallic Alcads... At the back you can see an experiment I tried after being inspired by another build of this kit on an american website I found. I've chopped the chimney (okay Harriet? ) into 4 pieces and have painted each one differently. The very lowest layer at the far left is copper, then in the middle is a brass section, then the tuble-like upper middle which is a more burnt cipper colour to reflect the heat it would experience and finally the top-most bell in brass. Put all together it looks like this: which is MUCH more interesting than boring chrome all over the damn place! Going back to the upper pic, you'll also see various pipes with brass valves, corner joints and so on, plus two oil lamps which have had their frames painted with steel, along with various other taps and vales in brass. There are two regulator things that I've done in copper as well, along with two outlet caps in chrome and the bell, painted in Titanium gold which I think looks rather spiffing! There are numerous smaller parts which will probably just get brush painted with Tamiya or other metallics rather than mess about with Alcad for them all. There are other pieces still in various stages or prepearation, either letting the primer cure or waiting to be primered. Its a bit of a conveyor belt so as I don't loose track of what bits are where as its easy to loose the part numbers once they are off the sprue! Here are some of the pressure dials for the boiler, painted with copper and then with the faces painted in with white I'll have to very carefully put the black lettering in later. Some other sub-assemblies in progress: This is the rear framework that will have the boiler slotted into the curved section and the pump mechanism in the middle piece. You can see how this was adapted from a horse-drawn fire engine pump simply by replacing the horse with the bolt-on front wheels and engine from the way the front part (on the left) still retains the original shape. In the background are the drivers chair and the driver's cockpit. Better picture here The white seat is showing the primer. I'll be doing this with a leather-colour intermediate coat plus some hairspray before overpainting with semi-gloss black and weathering the leather back to the pale brown just to give it some interest. The foot pedals will also get a metallic undercoat and be chipped back once the red topcoat goes on to give it some wear and tear. Similarly the rough flooring of the driver's cockpit will also get worn... This is not a pristine museum piece Finally for this update, I've started on the hoses that are draped wither side of the pump on brackets: There are several things wrong with them: There is no droop between the areas supported by the brackets The seams are really bad and they are a really bad fit They are ribbed (for your pleasure?) which makes sanding the bad joints a pain in the wossnames! I'm tempted to try an experiment with hot water to see if I can get them to sag a bit between the supports. You can see what I mean in this pic Although this photo of a horse-drawn pump shows a possible solution to the lack of droop: put a plank of wood underneath! You can also see that this chimney is bronze rather than chrome... To end the update for today I hand you over to The Move from 1968 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 As you say, MUCH more interesting. A lovely metallic contrast there. I'm sure I've seen electrical conduit that looks something like those hoses. That may droop correctly. Something for the car perhaps? But maybe hot water might do it. build a dummy rack & put the kettle on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Exactly what I was thinking Pete! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepers Creepers Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The chimney looks the part - nice one ! Next lesson ... your 'dials' are normally called gauges. Now, repeat after me "There are pressure gauges on my steam fire engine" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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