albergman

Oh my oh my ... this is REAL scratch building. Marvellous work. Frank

Thanks Cooper. Fabric printing is not hard to do after you massage the pattern on the computer down/up to the scale you want to print. The secret that my wife showed me is to find a fine weave fabric (tighter weave will take better details) and use a steam iron to press it onto what is known here in Canada as "freezer paper". This is a strong, waxy paper literally used to wrap foods prior to freezing. Amazingly, the fabric will bond to it (I'm guessing that the wax melts under the heat). Trim the bonded material down to an 8.5 x 11 (A4 size) and run it through your inkjet printer. Job done. Thanks too C'nut. Love to see you have a go at it ... Bandsaw Steve has got his daughter scratchbuilding a steam engine so there's the gauntlet thrown down LOL!

My my! This does take me back in time. Off to a wonderful start young lady. Isn't it fun to already be able to see the very thing you want to build coming into shape. I don't know much about steam engines but the flat, horizontal surface under the boiler is referred to as a plate or footplate (an extension of the platform the driver and fireman stand on) while the vertical "beams" under that, what your Dad referred to as the chassis, are the frames. They hold up the boiler and the axles and wheels and everything else get nailed onto them. This is riveting work!! Frank

Hi Codger I agree that the wheelbase looks a bit compressed but I think it's a trick of the camera (I just used my tablet). You had me diving for my calipers and here's how it checks out. In reality (according to F1technical.net) the car is 4025 mm long with 3 possible wheelbases ... 92, 87.5 and 85 inches or 2337, 2222 and 2159 mms. I chose the longest. My model is 231 mm long with a 133 mm w/b. If we divide the real length by model length 4025/231 we get 17.4. Dividing the real wheelbase by that scale (2337/17.4) we get 134 so I'm short by 1 mm! To be honest, when I epoxied the front wheel module (wheels, suspension and a joining block) into the cavity of the body I just eyeballed it so I could easily be out a mm or more. Thanks for the comment. Frank

That's a fine effort there Redshift. I've done a few all wood cars and if I may pass on a tip I'd suggest you brush/spray on as many coats of shellac as necessary to fill in the grain and keep fine sanding (600 wet sandpaper) each coat till a smooth, dull surface results. At that point you could finish it with clear gloss lacquer or even varnish. I've never heard of the particular wood you've used but it does seem to be very open grain. Anyway, sorry for sticking my nose in! Keep up the scratch building as it's very rewarding. Frank

Hello again Well, this is the last in my planned trilogy of scratch built F1 cars from the 50's. The other two were my Lancia D50 and the Maserati 250F. To me these 3 were the best looking of that era but feel free to disagree. For those who care about scale all three are about 1/18th (+ or -). Again, the body is carved from Renshape and all other parts are made from found materials but it is 100% hand made. In researching the car I quickly learned that it went through many changes from race to race over its 2 year life span and I couldn't find any "official" plans of any version. In the end I drew my own plans and just arbitrarily chose which features I'd include or leave out ... at my age you can do that! There were different exhaust lengths, a multitude of different holes appeared and disappeared all over the body, different shapes of scoops and even that iconic "nostril" wasn't on the earliest cars. Those early cars had inboard brake drums too which lasted until they went on a weight saving campaign and moved them to the wheels. So the bottom line is that my car is a smorgasborg of shapes and parts all of which did appear on the car but just maybe not at the same time! So, if you're really anal about how the car should look ... feel free to drop me a comment but I'm not going to change it! LOL. I did make an effort to replicate that tartan they used on the seats in the fifties and found that Mercedes has recently reproduced the 3 varieties that were used. I chose the closest pattern/colour combo and re-sized it to my scale then my wife (a quilter) showed me how to print it on fine fabric in my ink-jet printer ... worked a charm! I haven't done a build log as this one is very similar in process to the other 50's cars. I did take quite a few pictures and I could post some if anyone needs more info. Thanks for looking in. Frank Three from the Fifties ... Here's the fabric I printed for the seat ...

Steve A couple of years ago we talked about composite wood that is being sold for building decks and docks. I suggested you contact some of the companies down under as they sometimes offered free samples and I believe you did that ... yes/no?? I think you and BB might find it very suitable and easier to fabricate than real wood. My own loco was initially shaped using Renshape (before I switched it all to brass) which is very similar to these new synthetic woods and it is very nice to work with being of uniform composition and having no grain to deal with. Just a thought. The first 2 pictures in my build log of the Scotsman show some of that early use of Renshape.

Steve!! Don't know what made me check in here today after a long absence but, my ears were twitching and now I know why ... somebody's scratch-building a UK steam engine!! My goodness, what ambition this young lady has and I send her all my best wishes. Wow, talk about jumping in at the deep end but she's in Dad's capable hands and it should be great fun for both of you. There's a lot of precision required in such a model but since she's only twelve I imagine you'll be simplifying the project so that she can create something that satisfies her and maybe whets her appetite to build another model. For many successive years I tutored a grand-son from age 8 in scratch-building a model of his choice. Started with a pterosaur (ask your daughter), the submarine from "Finding Nemo", a WW2 fighter, a Caterham 7, a top fuel dragster etc. The key was always to simplify the task to his abilities and let him create something that, to his eyes, was just what he wanted. Take lots of pictures and enjoy the ride! Frank

Wonderful models sir! I too would like to know more about your finishing process if you wouldn't mind sharing.

Thanks guys. There are WIP entries for the two red ones on BM ... Maserati and Lancia. Other scratch builds: Lancia D50 57 Ferrari Testa Rossa 54 Ferrari 375MM Triumph TR6 Misc. Wooden Cars Boats: Trojan SF36 Dragon Beneteau 51 Half-hull sailboats Locomotive: Flying Scotsman Steam Engine

So glad to have found this topic and you are doing a wonderful job on this one. I've been doing a similar re-vamp of a Bburago Cobra but I hadn't thought anyone would be interested in this type of project. Keep up the good work ... watching with great interest!

Just got home from a 2 week vacation and find you're nearly done and it's looking terrific!! Hope you enjoyed the process and maybe try another?? If you ever want to try another carving, one which you prefer to paint rather than natural finish, may I suggest you look into using some composite decking that's available everywhere. I used some leftover cuttings from a neighbour's deck project to build a boat model and it's very easy to work with. Nicer than wood in that there's no grain to deal with and it shapes easily and takes detailing well. Best of all most of the manufacturers will send you a sampler kit with enough pieces to glue up for a decent sized model. Congrats once again. Frank

Following this one closely Red. Most impressed with what you've accomplished. Interesting solution to the wire wheel "problem" too. Frank

Hi Harvey. Just had my latest look at your progress and yes, it does make me smile! I just sit here and shake my head at your attention to detail. You sure raise the bar for scratch builders! By all means hang on to your model! After spending (sometimes) years fettling a model to which, in my case anyway, I have an attachment there's just no way I'd part with it for the sake of a few dollars. Anyway, what a wonderful master class in model engineering. Keep up the good work. Frank

Thanks everyone who commented and "liked". Not entirely sure what's next Harve but I'll be taking a break from models for 5 or 6 weeks as we leave on a 2 week cruise fairly soon. I'd like to do a 50's era speedboat built not far from where I live. They were made by Greavette and called a Streamliner (Google one) ... fabulous lines and all in mahogany. The other one I'm musing about is a Ferrari (oh no, not another!) from '54. I saw it at the first race I ever attended when we came to Canada. As a 16 year old I was blown away to see a genuine Ferrari at this local club meet. It was a bit unusual back then because it was painted red and black ... red bonnet/trunk and black fenders. A few months ago it resurfaced after 60 years and took a prize at Pebble Beach and even though it's totally restored the owner kept that original 2-tone paint job (but for some reason left off the white pin striping??). So, here's the only picture I can show of it as taken by a 16 year old with his trusty Kodak Brownie. UPDATE!! I did more digging into the recent Pebble Beach car and it WASN'T this one!! Different chassis numbers! I'd assumed that the 2 tone paint job was so unique that it must be the car I saw. I guess Ferrari had a special on that year ... Buy a Mondial and get a free 2-tone paint job! Oh well, still high on my list. Hmmm ... just noticed the spoke arrangement on the front wheel! How will I make that? Frank

This one's in the bag. The car is shaped from solid ebony wood and I hope I'll never make that mistake again! It's a very hard, dense wood that's really difficult to shape and the dust is very unpleasant. On top of that I chose to make a D Type Jaguar and wish I hadn't ... what a difficult shape to copy. Anyway, all that aside, I'm really pleased with the final shape and the finish that ebony takes with shellac then lacquer is just stunning. As anyone who has looked in on the build will know I decided part way through not to make it a detailed model but opted for a "sculptural" look with NO details. This was mostly brought on through my own laziness and the difficulty of working the material ... I just wanted it done! I have intentions to cast urethane copies of the car and paint them in Ecurie Ecosse colours and BRG then mount them on nice plaques. So, here we go. Thanks for looking in. Before I forget I'd like to mention I made a light box for taking pictures today. Still have to work on the lights and diffusion of but it has made a huge difference in photographing models ... I even re-shot all my models. Highly recommend you try one. Build log here. Frank A Few Previous Builds 57 Maserati 250F 55 Lancia D50 57 Ferrari Testa Rossa Ferrari 375 MM Flying Scotsman A3

OK, getting near the end on this one. I made the executive decision to turn it into more of a sculpture than go the other direction with panel lines, vents and a full cockpit with plexi screen. To be honest it was mostly out of laziness and a fear that trying to make the requisite number of bonnet vents would not end well. But I really think this car is a perfect candidate for the minimalist treatment. So ... that meant prying off my newly made cockpit trim, filling in the gap around the passenger seat cover panel and finding a large enough piece of wood to make a windscreen. Initially I thought mahogany would look good here and, after trying 5 different ones, decided "nah", got to be ebony. Here's a shot of my attempts at various woods ... mahogany and padauk mostly ... The one that came closest to what I wanted was this mahogany one and I started to remove wood from inside it in order to leave a thin wooden screen. I got so far as a coat of shellac before I decided I didn't want two different woods and made a 6th in ebony. So, back to the saw and sander and I got a good fitting cockpit "block" in ebony. It looks very dull when unfinished and only comes to life with a coat of shellac. Here I've just about finished fairing it to the headrest and also faired in the passenger side cover. Took this shot as I was wet sanding it for the umpteenth time. I buy these cheap fingernail sanding blocks and strip the material off them before wrapping them in wet/dry papers of various grades. They're a lovely firmness and great for my sanding purposes. Next is a seemingly endless process of brushing on shellac/let it dry for a day/sand it out/repeat till no flaws remain. Well, we won't examine the "no flaws" too closely! I'm now, finally, at the spray lacquer stage and just today got the first coat on. It's absolutely magical what happens to ebony at this stage. I have to wait for this to harden up ... maybe 2 days on top of my hot water tank before wet sanding it out. It's a bit orange-peel-ey but that'll rub out easily with 1000 wet paper. So that just about wraps it up. When I get the finish to where I'm happy I'll fit the wheels and show it on the "Finished" section. Thanks for tagging along and for your support. A word of advice ... never try to make a model entirely of ebony!! Use it sparingly. Frank

Well well ... isn't this interesting!! So glad you're going to have a go at this and pleased that I've played a small part in your inspiration. Having looked (and commented upon) your previous wooden aircraft I predict you'll have no problems with this. Now, confession time ... I don't use (or even own) any wood chisels . I do all my shaping with various power tools of which 95% of those are Dremel-type with a flex-shaft and various bits in the chuck. Most shaping is actually done with 1/2" diameter sanding drums. You of course are doing it "properly" and my hat's off to you and maybe you're more experienced in the traditional methods. Anyway, I'll be watching this with great interest. Frank

Well now, isn't that a beauty!! Bet it was a fun build. So, there really were Camel parts in that Spitfire scrap! That's like me looking for Ferrari parts in a disassembled computer hard drive ... they're there, just have to find them. You said on my D-Jag build page that you're inspired to try a car ... well, I'll return that complement because I think I might like to try something like this! Maybe a mono-wing would be a simpler task. Always liked Spitfires too. Frank

Thanks guys. It sure is a wonderful shape and just a bit sleeker than the short nose although I do prefer the headrest shape they used on the short nose. Don't know why they went so bloated on this one. Re: a suspension ... NO, not this time Redshift. None of it would be seen anyway after all the work involved so I never do that for closed wheel models. Meant to include a couple of shots of the underside. I decided to make a floor pan for it which will hide a lot of the ugliness under there. This I've been making up from scraps of ebony glued up to the size as I don't want to waste valuable wood for this. Still at a rough stage yet. The other big step forward was hollowing out all 4 wheel wells (?) to make room for the wheels. This was done using a burr tip on my Dremel flex shaft. VERY delicate operation as the wood has to be removed almost down the the thickness of the bodywork just to get the wheel in there! At times I could start to feel the burr tip right through the outside of the wood. Frank

Small update. Got back at it for a couple of hours today and got a few tasks completed. Cut and shaped some fine ebony to make the mounting bracket for the windscreen. Then I hogged out all the excess wood that was in the cockpit to make room for the driver seat. Lastly I shaped a panel that will become the passenger side cover. Decided to brush on yet another coat of shellac as part of my progress towards filling all the tiny pinholes that seem to bo in ebony. Anyone who's tried to fill in holes with paint will know how frustratingly slow this process is! Still trying to decide how much detail to put on/leave off this one and it's hard because as the shape gets near completion I'm more enthusiastic about it and think it's so elegant in its purest, uncluttered shape. Those of you who are familiar with some of my other wooden models will know I like to try and capture the essence and beauty of some of the older racing machines and usually leave them uncluttered with details. So, no pictures of me cutting tiny bits of wood or using a Dremel bit to hack out the cavity for the cockpit ... not very interesting anyway. I do love the look of wood when a finish is applied and each time I brush on a coat it makes me smile. Here's a few shots of where I'm at. Thanks for looking in. Frank (this is the first finish coat on the passenger side cover so ... still rough.

Steve/Pascal Thanks guys. I probably won't give up on it ... just set it aside for a while. To be honest I'm really in a slump after last weekend when I took the Maserati 250F (and some others) to a show and would you believe it ... my carry-case fell open as I walked back to my car after the event. Out fell the Maser and the padauk/ebony Ferrari 375 MM!! Maser broke off both front wheels, took a chip out of the nose and the steering tie-rod between the 2 wheels disappeared entirely. The Ferrari lost a wheel and got scraped. Needless to say I'm pretty bummed out about it and can't bear to look at either car. Frank

Thanks guys. Appreciate the interest. Afraid I've kinda run out of steam on this one as summer chores out in the gardens and lawns have taken priority. Cooler weather is on the way though and I hope to get back to it .... although, to be honest, I've already set my sights on a new car project and I might just make a start on that! Surely I'm allowed to have two projects on the go at once??

My turn to catch up with your project. What a charming looking layout. I really like garden railways as there's a nice element of realism brought to them by the natural setting. Not a railway modeller/enthusiast myself but do like your approach to solving problems ... very creative. Just checked my Flying Scotsman model (upon which you kindly commented recently) and it was built to no known scale other than it had to fit on a particular shelf in my house. Just checked the bit of track she resides on and they're 42mm apart so she just might look right at home on your layout! Keep up the interesting work. Frank

Brief update ... managed a few hours in my shed and tackled the rear of the car ... boot deck I suppose it's called. Won't bore you with the details of how I made this because it's basically the same as how I described the bonnet above. That is ... made a plastic template that fit between the fender and the fin structure, copied the shape to a piece of ebony, bandsawed it out, fine fit, glue. OK, I did take 1 picture of this step ... here's the plastic template in place. Once the deck was glued in then much fairing takes place with rasp, files and sandpaper.. A weird shaped piece had to be made to represent the aerodynamic headrest (passenger side) ... same amount of fairing in. Once this was done I was able to rough shape the entire back of the car. Last job today was to fabricate more of the cockpit. Pretty straightforward stuff now. Everything is still a bit rough but getting close to doing a good final sanding. That will be after I tackle the nose of the car and hope to get that iconic opening correct. So here's how she looks today. Thanks for looking Frank