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Scratch Build of 1951 Pullman Carriage


hendie

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Still working away... slowly.   The paint job is continuing spray, sand, fill, spray etc. etc. etc.  Nothing particularly photogenic.

 

However, I have been working away at the alchemy business again, both on the Wessex, and on this build.  The latest bout of alchemy produced this...

Pegasus-01.png

 

unfortunately, it also produced this....

Fail01.jpg

Yup - I hadn't cleaned all the uncured photo resist off the brass before dunking it.  There's another one underway though as I type - and it looks much better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Told you !

 

Pegasus002.jpg

I'm very happy with the way things have turned out - managing to capture the detail of the bow on the archer was worrying but it looks way better than I could have hoped for.

Painting it ?  Now that's a different matter entirely !

 

 

 

 

 

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and oh yes.... the windows are just ever so slightly too wide !  Ah well, it's not as if I won't be making any more etch frets in the future. - and those frames will give me something to practice on so they won't go to waste.

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In case anyone is wondering what on earth I am doing producing bows, arrows and archers for a train build... This is what I am trying to replicate - the original piece of art that hung behind the bar all those years ago, and indeed, it does again today.

 

I spent a long time trying to figure out how I was going to replicate this since it was 3D - and I'll admit I was struggling - that is until @Fritagpointed me in the direction of photo etch.  Okay, my attempt is not quite as detailed as this is - but it is a lot smaller.

 

bar2.jpg

 

If you look at the last couple of etch frets I produced (up above) you'll see the basic shapes - The South of England and France, with the Thames and the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, The archer, and the arrow (how that ever turned out I'll never know)

I'll build those pieces up on a plastic backing and fit into a wooden frame so it can take it's rightful place behind the bar - when I ever get that far!  Having them as completely separate pieces makes painting a lot easier and should provide some nice sharp contrast when it's all assembled.

 

 

 

 

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The PE is pretty impressive! This is something that I've always wanted to be able to do but I figured that it was way beyond my skill level. Was it very difficult to learn? I imagine that the artwork is the most difficult part and the rest is just plain old "magic"!

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11 hours ago, hendie said:

I'm very happy with the way things have turned out...

Quite rightly Hendie, that PE looks marvellous! Great job :)

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8 hours ago, larchiefeng said:

The PE is pretty impressive! This is something that I've always wanted to be able to do but I figured that it was way beyond my skill level. Was it very difficult to learn? I imagine that the artwork is the most difficult part and the rest is just plain old "magic"!

 

It is really not that difficult. Like most things there's a set of rules to follow and a sequence of steps to walk through.  Provided you stick to that you should get some results.  My very first attempt at PE was only a few weeks ago.

 

It all started with @Cheshiretaurus very informative thread

 

 

and of course @Fritag's marvelously entertaining Hawk build

 

 

The steps seemed pretty straightforward, and the tools and equipment weren't expensive so it was worth trying for myself given the potential benefits of learning such a skill

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These look fabulous Hendie

 

(Mind you, didn't they take geography to the limits of bad taste huh?

That is supposed to be the Channel! Huh...)

 

;)

 

So what is the deal with the brass etch? Are you planning to silver plate it to suit?

Only a low voltage vat of stuff away...

 

 

(Where the hell is that whistling smiley when you need him...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

:whistle:

Edited by perdu
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4 hours ago, perdu said:

So what is the deal with the brass etch? Are you planning to silver plate it to suit?

 

Nah, I'm not that technically advanced Bill.  I'm just going to paint it as per SOP then layer the pieces to give the 3D effect.  I may try a dab of pencil or other tonal device to try and create some form and shadow to the archer but basic flat 2D for the other bits.

 

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Once again just a small update.

I'm still working way on those side frames trying to get a decent paint finish and I think I am almost there.  However, building on my last posts where I made some home brew photo etch - I'll continue with the nice piece of artwork hanging behind the bar.

And this is my attempt at reproducing the same artwork.  I am very happy with the quality of the photo etch - nice and crisp with some good definition.  (this is all just dry fitted at the moment).  Painted with two different shades of Alclad aluminum.

 

P2170009.jpg

 

The archer is still a bit 'flat' but I am hoping with some shading and general paint slopping around that I can make it a bit more like the original.  Overall, very pleased though as I was a bit worried earlier in the project that I would be struggling to get anything decent to use as the artwork - I really didn't want to go down the path of a 2D photo.

So far, I'm calling this a success

 

 

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A relatively easy day today - working on the artwork still.

 

I used a couple of shades of Alclad aluminum for all the brass - the background (sea) was just mixed up from green, blue and white.  Then everything was glued on the background - This was a bit nerve-wracking as the Eiffel Tower  would have looked a bit iffy had it not been vertical, and the archer's arrow had to land on the black dot that is Paris.

The Eiffel Tower was given a light wash of Alclad titanium gold, just to provide a little bit of differentiation from the background. and the archer was dabbed with testors silver and a few pencil marks.  All in all, a bit ugly but I never claimed to be an artist.

 

P2180001.jpg

 

A frame was knocked up from basswood - a bit rustic looking here though.  I also noticed that the artwork has been protected by glass in its new home, so I grabbed some scrap clear packaging and cut a new screen.

 

P2180002.jpg

 

Once that was all put together and trimmed down, it doesn't look quite so rustic anymore.  It actually looks quite passable considering how you will be able to view it in the final article. (i.e.  with some difficulty!)

The frame is a little over scale but trying to achieve scale thickness in 1/32 is just a bridge too far in this instance.  I won't tell if you don't!

 

P2180003.jpg

 

The current incarnation also has 'TRIANON BAR' proudly emblazoned on the top of the frame, the letters being individual brass characters.  I think it would be nigh on impossible to create that with photo etch - getting the spacing right and getting all the characters upright etc... so I think I'll cheat a little and use something like this test piece.

 

P2180005.jpg

 

I'm hoping to be able to color the entire piece of brass then lightly micro mesh over the surface to (hopefully) just remove the paint from the raised lettering - we'll see how that goes in a future episode.

 

 

 

 

 

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6 hours ago, CedB said:

a work of art (probably my most appropriate comment!

And probably better than me saying, whoever shot that arrow must be in seine.

 

Ahem.

 

(Pete, on three days off! Hurrah!)

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Hi Hendie, superb work withthe PE signage. I think a wizards hat may be needed now you seem to have mastered the alchamy of PE!

 

Have you thought of some engraving on the archer part? A light touch with an engraving bit in the dremel Motortool.

 

Colin

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5 hours ago, heloman1 said:

Have you thought of some engraving on the archer part? A light touch with an engraving bit in the dremel Motortool.

 

I did think of something along those lines Colin, and even considered redesigning the part so I had some etch forming the 'cloth' etc, but in the end, I decided that at this scale, and considering where it's going to be placed, that the current part was good enough.  Even lightly scratching on 0.005" brass can cause considerable damage if I'm not careful

 

That's not to say I won't change my mind later - there's still plenty etching to be done before I'm finished this one

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
1 hour ago, perdu said:

You mentioned redoing the paint on the frames(I think it was), how'd it go?

 

Bill, I stripped the paintwork back down to the brass last weekend, and yesterday I gave the side frames another blast of etch primer.  I had intended to try and get some color on them, or at least a second coat of primer this weekend but other plans got in the way, so that didn't happen.  The latest plan is to squirt another coat of primer on them next weekend (I'll be away most of this week), give that a quick micro mesh, and then really concentrate on getting some color in place... even if it means ignoring the Wessex for a few days

Edited by hendie
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