Jump to content

Scratch Build of 1951 Pullman Carriage


hendie

Recommended Posts

On 9/9/2017 at 9:08 AM, Nigel Heath said:

your scratch-building is great and fun to follow.

 

On 9/10/2017 at 2:38 AM, TheBaron said:

the accumulation of detail in your work is a constant joy hendie.

 

Well, it's great when it all goes well.  At other times it can all become rather frustrating, which is what has been happening recently.

 

I did get the vacuum,  air hoses, and valves finished.  Brass angle was used as stanchions to support the hoses, and glued into place using epoxy.

 

P9100004.jpg

 

Then once I had connected everything in place, I wasn't too happy with the result.  Most of the photo's I've seen of these items have the hoses mounted more or less vertically.  I think these are at too much of an angle.  There's not really a lot of room for placement here so I can't get them mounted vertically, but hopefully  better than this.

 

P9130006.jpg

 

The stanchions were cut off and remounted, this time with better effect.  Still not perfect but better than they were.

 

P9170025.jpg

 

I also took the opportunity to fix the chains in place and do some touch up painting.

 

P9130009.jpg

 

Now onto those side frames and vestibules.  They are fighting me all the way... and so far, they are winning.  I don't know what it is about these parts but I am just having no luck at all.

The etch primer went on the brass frames perfectly -  I couldn't have been happier.  However, when I applied a coat of ordinary primer over the top, it didn't go so well.  I think it was my fault in not shaking the rattle can enough prior to spraying.  Mea culpa.

So as I write, the side frames have been taken back to brass once again.

 

Vestibules: Again, just not going well and I couldn't get a decent paint finish on them.  I'm going to have one more try and if it doesn't work, I may have to remake them yet again.

 

Recently, it appears that every time I try and work on something in this project, I end up a bit further back than when I started. Incredibly frustrating - especially when I was so close to crossing a major milestone.  After pondering it for some time,  I have decided to start another project as a diversion from this. I do not intend it to be a long diversion but I need a little break from this to refresh the batteries and prevent it from becoming a real chore, which is not what this hobby is supposed to be about.

 

So... I'm going to take a little break and I'll be back when I have some good news to post.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Will be awaiting your return mate....a good decision....a change is as good as a rest :)

 

A thought for you regards 'rattle' cans....always stand them in hot ish water (not too hot!) for ten minutes before using.....you will be pleasantly surprised at the difference in the results.

 

Ron

 

Edited by silver911
spelling
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, hendie said:

After pondering it for some time,  I have decided to start another project as a diversion from this. I do not intend it to be a long diversion but I need a little break from this to refresh the batteries and prevent it from becoming a real chore, which is not what this hobby is supposed to be about.

 

So... I'm going to take a little break and I'll be back when I have some good news to post.

 A wise decision if I may say.

Scratch building can be very rewarding but some times you just need some fun.

If you should care to share your diversion with us so much the better.

 

In the mean time we will wait patiently for the resumption of this mighty project.

 

Kev

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A sabbatical sounds the humane thing to do hendie. Travel. See the world. Build some Wessex.

 

Either way we'll be ready when you are for further adventures of the Railway Children.

:thumbsup2:

Tony

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, TheBaron said:

A sabbatical sounds the humane thing to do hendie. Travel. See the world. Build some Wessex.

 

Either way we'll be ready when you are for further adventures of the Railway Children.

:thumbsup2:

Tony

For a bloke like Hendie who has travelled and seen the world Wessex is always a good New Thing

 

 

 

 

Quite partial to Dorset myself

 

:)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

well bless my cotton socks.  I didn't realize that my last update in here was last September

 

 

I almost feel awkward at popping in here for such a short update.

 

Well, the best laid plans of mice and men and all that....  I've spent since Saturday in bed with old man disease so haven't got anywhere near the modeling bench.

 

It did however give me some time to start working on the etch frets for Pegasus.  I'm going to be testing the limits of my photo etching skills with some of these parts I think.  I've shown the frets here without any fill just for clarity of the image.

 

Pegasus_Etch.png

 

From Fret A, top left:

Ventilator coverings, immediately below that are a sign, and 5 x escutcheon plates for the door handles. Below that are the exterior frames for the kitchen and bathroom windows. To the right of that is an arrow (!), then a sign for the Trianon bar.

 

In Fret B we have from top left:

some more escutcheon plates, and below that is a part for the artwork that hung behind the bar. To the right of that are more parts for the artwork. I'm not convinced that these parts will turn out but it's worth a try.

 

This picture/artwork hung in the bar way back in the 50's (I think).  Unbelievably, although it had gotten lost over the years, it was found again and the owner of the carriage secured it so we were able to install it back in it's rightful place behind the bar for the launch of the car back to service.

 

The only thing I have got to lose is some time - the material cost is relatively cheap so it's worth a bash to see if it can be done.  Hopefully this weekend sometime (or at least a start on them)

 

 

 

Edited by hendie
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally bit the bullet and tried again.

 

Paint was decanted from the aerosol and left for a few hours to off-gas.  The airbrush was cleaned, new needle and nozzle fitted.

The spray booth was cleaned the other day to give the dust time to settle. I bought some new enamel thinners as the Humbrol tin had gone all rusty inside and flakes of who knows what floating around in it.  I don't think I'll be buying Humbrol again anytime soon.

 

Everything set, I took a deep breath and started.  Fail!   I started getting some kind of speckling on the surface.  Luckily I had spotted it before I went too far, so I cleaned everything off with some thinners on a rag.

 

Okay, lets start again.  Everything was cleaned thoroughly with IPA and dried. No dust anywhere near.  This time I went straight from the aerosol....

 

P1140008.jpg

 

 

No, it's not perfect but it might just be salvageable.  I'll give it a couple of days to harden up and I'll hit it with some micro-mesh and see what we end up with.  There's definitely some dust which managed to get through my defenses, but more worrying is a couple of spots where the paint didn't want to take (again).

Anyway, we'll see how we get on.  This paint job is the single biggest hold up to me really moving forward with this build.  I'm determined it's not going to beat me again.

If I can't get a decent finish from this paint, it looks like a couple of hours drive to a model shop - the only one anywhere near which stocks a large selection of paints. I should be able to find something close now that I know what I am looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel your pain, it took me about six months to finally get the perfect black enamel paint job on my Pocher F40. The biggest problem was dust and runs in the paint from getting over eager when spraying. And, because the body is die cast metal, every so often I accidentally banged it on something and got a chip in the paint. Lots of sanding and spraying and sanding over and over again. In the end I managed the perfect black paint job and I wound up clear coating it for just that little extra layer of protection. I used a lot of varying grits of wet/dry sandpaper and sanded in or under running water. In the bucket of water I added a little dish soap to ease the friction. I never removed all the paint and started over again, I just color sanded and when was smooth I painted again. When I finally moved inside for the winter and used the spray booth I turned it on about an hour before I started painting to draw in any dust particles in the air within the vicinity of the booth and then I tried not to stir anything up before painting. Oh and because I was using spray cans I would put them in hot water from the tap for about 5-10 minutes before spraying. I managed to get a great flow of paint from the can and virtually no dust in the paint. After painting I shut the booth off and covered the entire opening of the booth until the paint was pretty much set up. Painting large pieces like this is a lot of trial and error. I'm glad that you're back on this build, it's really a great departure from the cars and planes and an interesting subject. 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Always willing to learn.... I'll give this color sanding a try.

I had a quick look at the parts this evening and they don't look as bad as I had feared - still not perfect by any stretch of the imagination - but something I may be able to work with.

 

 

On 1/14/2018 at 7:54 PM, larchiefeng said:

I'm glad that you're back on this build, it's really a great departure from the cars and planes and an interesting subject. 

 

Thanks for that!   I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks guys.  Unfortunately modeling hours this weekend were scuppered due to plumbing issues. Plumbing and I are akin to Stan and Ollie, a piano, and a long set of steps

If the gods have finally stopped messing with me I *may* get an hour or two in today

  • Like 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I managed to get a couple of hours of modelling stuff done today, despite the cold and snow.

Some filler got rubbed down, boxes of bits got sorted at last, and I found an Airfix model car box

from the early seventies that I thought I'd lost long ago. (1967 Dodge Charger in 1/24th scale).

So that's been dusted down and is now on display in the manshed. Well chuffed!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 16/01/2018 at 01:18, hendie said:

Always willing to learn.... I'll give this color sanding a try.

I had a quick look at the parts this evening and they don't look as bad as I had feared - still not perfect by any stretch of the imagination - but something I may be able to work with.

 

 

 

Thanks for that!   I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.

Au contraire Hendie sir, these builds are, as they should be every single one of us's cup of char

 

Each build you involve us in takes us on a long, entertaining and immensely educational journey

 

Gap years?

 

What eedjit needs gap years when we have such vital exciting things to see here?

 

 

I'm really pleased to see you back at the helm of HMS Pullman1951

 

🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...