Scratch Build of 1951 Pullman Carriage

[perdu]

It really is a pleasure to see you working this little/big beauty

 

And now you have us pondering upper cupboards that fit in with the ceiling

 

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[hendie]

 

23 hours ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

The trouble with showing your skills is it will give 'er indoors' ideas about what she needs you to do to upgrade her kitchen. Rod for your own back I reckon.

 

ah see... I don't let her down in the basement and the last things she wants to do is watch me at a computer so, so far I have escaped the wrath of SWMBO.  That being said, she still finds me plenty of other projects that I have to avoid

 

21 hours ago, Moa said:

Beautiful architecture!

You are incredibly talented, it's a great pleasure to watch your work.

Cheers

 

Thanks Moa.  This has been a long term dream of mine so it's nice to see it finally come together

 

15 hours ago, CedB said:

Stunning stuff hendie, just stunning.

Well done matey  

 

Cheers Ced

 

15 hours ago, perdu said:

It really is a pleasure to see you working this little/big beauty

And now you have us pondering upper cupboards that fit in with the ceiling

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Now with added 'cabinets'!

 

Aaaand another little progress update for you wonderful folks

 

Starting with some strips and blanks of basswood, first primed, then painted

 

 

You'll find that if you assemble them in the right order, you can arrive at something resembling a wall mounted drinks cabinet

 

 

Simply chop off anything that doesn't remotely resemble a drinks cabinet

 

 

then a little bit of sanding to bring it more into line, followed by some careful application of wood dye to the appropriate surfaces and we can end up with this

 

 

which then mounts on the wall behind the bar, not sitting on top of the bar like this cos that's be a bit daft

 

 

Then simply make another cabinet following the same procedure outlined above.  Once you have both cabinets, dig out the golden arrow thingamabob that you made about 3 or 4 years ago and you can dry fit them all in place as a mojo enhancer. (I'll bet most of you had completely forgotten I had made that didn't you?)

 

 

Add a gift cabinet to add a tad more effect of the finished article

 

 

and you can relax safe in the knowledge that progress has once again been made.

 

Not bad for an hour or two's work.  Of course they're not actually finished yet - I think I'm going to add glass doors to the top section of the cabinets, mainly because it seems I like making things difficult for myself.  Then there's a chromed rail across the front to prevent the bottles falling off, then I've still got to decide if I'm adding bottles and wotnots yet, but that's a decision for another day.

 

Choo Choo!

 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Of course you need bottles! 🙂 

[CedB]

Nice drinks cabinets hendie - that bar is looking almost welcoming  

 

Now I know nothing about 3D printing but, when I had a quick Google for 1/32 bottles, I found come designs on Shapeways.

They're 1/24 though.

Is it possible to get these things scaled? Liquor bottles come in so many different shapes don't they?

[Pete in Lincs]

Ever since you made it, the Golden arrow thingamybob has been constantly on my mind. So, bottles, glasses, bar towels, beermats, nearly forgot the beermats!

Nice cabinetry and door handlery. And I'm glad that it's become fun again. That is why we do it (allegedly).

[perdu]

Yeah Bottles

 

And coasters, I bet there were coasters

 

Like Pete I never did forget that map-py logo style icon thingmy, doesn't it look good up there behind the bar

 

A proper classy ride, that carriage

 

LOOKING AWESOME!

[larchiefeng]

Martini glasses should also be on the 3D printing list! When you mentioned that certain things wouldn't be seen when it's all closed up, I started thinking that, it would be a shame to hide everything under the roof. A couple of thoughts on that, first, would be to make the whole roof removable or failing that, make certain sections removable to show off the more interesting or intricate areas of the interior. Two other options would be to use clear plastic on various sections over the aforementioned areas. And lastly, and probably the least probable would be to cut out sections like aircraft models opened up to show framing and everything under the skin. 

I know, after five plus years, you're probably anxious to finish this one but, we all enjoy watching you work your scratch building magic and keep prodding you to keep the build alive! LOL 

[hendie]

On 4/1/2020 at 12:51 AM, JeroenS said:

Of course you need bottles! 🙂 

 

okay, lemme think about that one then

 

On 4/1/2020 at 2:02 AM, CedB said:

Nice drinks cabinets hendie - that bar is looking almost welcoming  

 

Now I know nothing about 3D printing but, when I had a quick Google for 1/32 bottles, I found come designs on Shapeways.

They're 1/24 though.

Is it possible to get these things scaled? Liquor bottles come in so many different shapes don't they?

 

you lot gorra lorra bottle coming in here and demanding bottles upon bottles

 

On 4/1/2020 at 2:17 AM, Pete in Lincs said:

Ever since you made it, the Golden arrow thingamybob has been constantly on my mind. So, bottles, glasses, bar towels, beermats, nearly forgot the beermats!

Nice cabinetry and door handlery. And I'm glad that it's become fun again. That is why we do it (allegedly).

 

oh, so now it's beermats. Bottles and beermats

 

On 4/1/2020 at 3:43 AM, perdu said:

Yeah Bottles

And coasters, I bet there were coasters

Like Pete I never did forget that map-py logo style icon thingmy, doesn't it look good up there behind the bar

A proper classy ride, that carriage

LOOKING AWESOME!

 

you mean something like this Bill?

 

 

you can almost imagine Fritag perched on one of those wall seats sipping his G&T

 

On 4/1/2020 at 2:02 PM, larchiefeng said:

Martini glasses should also be on the 3D printing list! When you mentioned that certain things wouldn't be seen when it's all closed up, I started thinking that, it would be a shame to hide everything under the roof. A couple of thoughts on that, first, would be to make the whole roof removable or failing that, make certain sections removable to show off the more interesting or intricate areas of the interior. Two other options would be to use clear plastic on various sections over the aforementioned areas. And lastly, and probably the least probable would be to cut out sections like aircraft models opened up to show framing and everything under the skin. 

I know, after five plus years, you're probably anxious to finish this one but, we all enjoy watching you work your scratch building magic and keep prodding you to keep the build alive! LOL 

 

ah... the elephant in the room as it were. Yes, it is getting perilously close to me no longer being able to avoid the issue isn't it?  

I have been giving it some thought - many times over the last 6 years in fact - and it will come as no surprise to learn that I still have not made a decision.

There's been a lot of suggestions over the years and some I have ruled out and some are still in play.

 

1. Removable roof
   • I'n not keen on this as the car will be going into a display case.  I'd have to open up the case to remove/refit the roof albeit very infrequently.  Removing and refitting the roof also gives to the potential for damage
2. Hinged roof
   • Better than a removable roof but I'm still not sold on the idea.  The hinge would have to be unobtrusive and likely very small.  Any hinged mechanism would have to by definition have some slop in it and there's a chance the roof would not align properly when closed.
   • I suppose it could always be modeled in the hinged open position permanently, but there's some nice detail on the roof that I'd like to be seen.
3. Automatic Rise & Fall Roof
   • Great idea but way too complicated, plus I'd probably need to lose the kitchen and toilet in order to fit in all the necessary doo-dahs
4. Clear plastic.
   • I had considered this in the past - clear roof with standard vents and stuff fitted. May look interesting.   I can hardly keep a 1/48 canopy clean and without glueprints and I just know an entire roof of clear stuff would be a disaster for me.
5. Buggeritall and just close it up.
   • Just take lots of photos and have a small monitor play a slide show beside the display
6. Cutaway Roof
   • I've mulled this one over several times and it's becoming more and more intriguing.  A few years ago, this would have been an almost impossible option to achieve in any decent manner.  Now with the advent of 3D printing it really opens up the possibilities.  

I already have a trial section of roof modeled to try out on the printer to see what it turns out like.

I also have some clear resin to try out though I'm reading that it turns yellow under UV light so probably not good for the long term.  But I have been seriously considering the cutaway idea - my thoughts (as yet unfinished) were to model one side of the roof as normal so that when viewed from that side the car would look complete. On the other side I could have most of the roof cut away and have the carlines and other bits of structure still in place and in other areas nothing - that would allow viewing into the interior.

So from one aspect visually it would look like a complete model, and from another angle, you still get to see all the detail.

 

Maybe I should have built two of them - that way one could be closed up and I could leave the roof off the second car 

 

 

 

 

 

[larchiefeng]

I like the last option! I was just reading an old article about Dan Jayne and his remarkable cut away aircraft models and that’s what put the idea in my head. It’s just that you have put so much time and effort into creating this piece that it would be a shame to not be able to show it off. Especially with all the cajoling err browbeating err helpful suggestions we all have been providing. I’m sure that whatever you decide will great! 

[Ed Russell]

2 hours ago, hendie said:

Maybe I should have built two of them - that way one could be closed up and I could leave the roof off the second car 

Are you crazy to even think of this?! Just read through all of this - amazing work!

[JeroenS]

Yes, make another one why don't you 

 

Seriously, the cutaway roof should be "way cool". On the other hand, a closed roof makes it look more authentic. Take lots of great pics of the interior and put them in an online album. What I usually do is take the link to the album, turn it into a QR code (just google how to do that, simple), print the QR code in small size and stick it to the display case with double sided tape. 

 

You can then take your smartphone, scan the QR code and you'll end up in the online album.

[Pete in Lincs]

4 hours ago, hendie said:

Maybe I should have built two of them

And, of course, the engine

[CedB]

Some good ideas there Hendie?

 

What's the display cabinet going to be like? Glass fronted or glass all round in the middle of the table?

If the former you could have additional picture 'on the back'?

If the latter I like the QR code idea, linking to your 'coming soon' BM RFI - there are free generators on the 'net.

 

One of those 'bendy edged' clear areas would be nice but tricky I guess.

[perdu]

It's tricky isn't it, the exact problem that Fozzy had with his scratch build B-17 too.

 

If you make the interior THAT GOOD we all wish we could look at it forever, but the act of leaving holes spoils (did I need big letters there?) the model's integrity.

 

I would be in favour of the QR code and a few selected interior shots for the Philistines who cannot look by phone at your masterpiece placed along the case front base.

 

Not everyone will be able to access the innernet, or want to after all.

 

 

[hendie]

20 hours ago, larchiefeng said:

It’s just that you have put so much time and effort into creating this piece that it would be a shame to not be able to show it off.

 

it's a conundrum, that's for sure.

 

17 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

Are you crazy to even think of this?

 

you have to ask ???

 

16 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Seriously, the cutaway roof should be "way cool". On the other hand, a closed roof makes it look more authentic.

 

see my response to quote #1 above

 

15 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

And, of course, the engine

 

haven't you got some beer you should be delivering?

 

14 hours ago, CedB said:

What's the display cabinet going to be like?

 

Dunno for sure Ced.  Probably very similar to the one I had made for the Wessex a few years ago, except stretched out longer

 

14 hours ago, perdu said:

It's tricky isn't it, the exact problem that Fozzy had with his scratch build B-17 too.

If you make the interior THAT GOOD we all wish we could look at it forever, but the act of leaving holes spoils (did I need big letters there?) the model's integrity.

 

and there you hit the nail right on the head Bill.  I'm trying not to think too hard about it just now lest it distract me from building this damn rail car.

 

I changed my mind.

Again.

The drinks cabinets. Changed.

When I made them a few days ago I was following the original drawings that Suzie made.  I was aware from photos that what ended up in the bar was slightly different, but wanted to keep to the original concept.  However, after looking at them, the photos, then back and forth, I decided to make the drinks cabinets look more like the 1:1 version.

That meant adding a second shelf, two chromed rails, and sliding glass doors in the top section.  The chromed rails were made up from 0.7mm brass rod, alclad chromed then clear coated.  I couldn't drill through the wood of the cabinet as the rails were too close to the front edge and drilling would have just split the wood, so I cut the rod slightly over length, then swipe by swipe with a file, test fitting until the rails held in by friction alone.  I used alclad chrome directly on to the brass as I find this gives a perfect finish, then clear coated.  After the clear coat had a day or two to cure, I wrapped the tips of a pair of tweezers in masking tape and very carefully lifted the rails into place.  Once there, a few drops of dilute PVA was applied to the ends to fix things in place.

The glass doors was simply a rectangle of clear acrylic sheet, lightly scored twice to give the impression of overlapping doors.

 

 

For a slight detour and some light entertainment I made up some cover strips which I'm going to need later in the build. On Pegasus, these cover strips are mahogany inlaid with birds eye maple strips.

I found a relatively straightforward way of imitating these cover strips with just masking tape and wood dye.

First the basswood strips were cut to width, then given a good thrashing with fine wire wool.  Next, I used 2mm Aizu tape laid along the length as close as I could get to center using the old Mk I eyeball.

The tape was then burnished down, followed by a swiping of wood dye along the length.

In the photo below, extreme right = bare wood with masking tape applied, center = wood dye applied, and on the left the masking tape has been removed leaving a nice even inlay of birds eye maple!  I wish.

Those were then given a clear coat to seal everything in

 

 

In use, they will be cut to length and placed over any panel seams, and around windows etc.

 

 

While I am messing about with the bar area trying to make my mind up about a few things, I made the mistake of trying a quick dry fit of one of the doors and the vestibule ends.  Fatal mistake!

I couldn't leave it alone after that could I?

To be honest I've been thinking about this over the last week or two - what's the best way to assemble this all together?  There's so many pieces to the jigsaw and they all need to play nicely together otherwise it could be a real mess.  There's still one or two items to fit inside the vestibule ends, including the floor covering.  The vestibule end really needs to be in place to get the right dimensions for the floor, the doors need to be fitted to get the correct location for the vestibule ends and both sides need to be fitted to get the correct location for the doors and so on.

 

 

He who hesitates and all that... there was no point in hanging around any further.

Of course, no sooner had I decided to bash on with this than I spotted a few loose ends.  Inside the door for a start - we need some wood paneling here don't we?

 

 

That wasn't too difficult.  Now I just need to fit the hardware. 

 

 

Sorry about the quality of the photo - I took about 4 or 5 shots and this was the best result - I'll try and take a decent shot next time around.

 

 

Well that's all well and good but what does it look like on the outside then?

 

Here you go...

 

 

Drilling those locating holes was very nerve wracking I can tell you.  In this scale drilling a hole even a fraction of a millimeter out throws everything out of whack.

If I'm honest there is a slight misalignment between all the components, but it's not that noticeable unless you look for it.

 

Don't look for it!!

 

 

One door down, three to go.

Fitting the second side in place (temporarily for now) really started to give me an appreciation of just how big this is going to be when finished.

After looking at these photos I think I need to begin paying attention to dust. It's going to get to a point where I won't be able to clean inside so I'd better start thinking about a dust cover for old Peg.

 

 

Is this what they call a train wreck?

 

 

 

The bar area is taking a lot of my thought just now.  I'm not sure if I want to use the bar I made years ago or whether I want to try and make another, better version.  I need to lose about 5mm off the current length so I can get the handrail in place without messing up the display cabinet. (a millimeter can be a big deal in this scale) Without the bar in place I can't really mount the drinks cabinets and Trianon Bar sign as the bar sign is mounted centrally to the bulge at the front of the bar - so without knowing where that location falls, I can't locate any of the cabinets accurately.

 

More this weekend hopefully... stay tuned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

Wow... It's clear that you've done so much already, with mind boggling results... And equally clear you still have so much to do! Which is good for us followers of course because it's a very entertaining build but it must be daunting at times!

[Pete in Lincs]

7 hours ago, hendie said:

then given a good thrashing with fine wire wool.

I say! You'll be getting @general melchett excited.

 

7 hours ago, hendie said:

to get the correct location for the doors and so on.

Which came first, the Chicken or the egg?

 

7 hours ago, hendie said:

Don't look for it!!

Eyes closed here, Guv! Though it all looks extremely good. And, looking at the external pictures, is it intentional that the colour scheme reminds one of chocolate? Mmmmmm 

[perdu]

Mm chocky wocky, yummy!

 

Describes the entire build really, totally yummy.

 

I suppose now you have begun designing the packets of Players' cigarettes to sit proudly inside the cabinets, what would it have been on the shelves?

 

Players, maybe de Reskes and no doubt a Box of Montecristos for the discerning Pullman traveller.

 

The retail world is your new lobster.

[CedB]

More amazing progress hendie - dare I say it but she's starting to come together very nicely  

[larchiefeng]

Cigarettes and Monte Cristos? Then you’re going to need ashtrays, matches and lighters to go with the scotch bottles and glasses etc.! It never ends out here in “Hendie Nation”! We just can’t get enough of your creativity!

[hendie]

17 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Wow... It's clear that you've done so much already, with mind boggling results... And equally clear you still have so much to do! Which is good for us followers of course because it's a very entertaining build but it must be daunting at times!

 

I would imagine you have the best part of a year if not more left on this.  I'm trying to complete it in under a decade if at all possible!

 

16 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I say! You'll be getting @general melchett excited.m 

 

Isn't he a fistful of swarf type of guy?

 

15 hours ago, CedB said:

More amazing progress hendie - dare I say it but she's starting to come together very nicely  

 

Thanks Ced.  She plays nice every now and again, but always be prepared...

 

15 hours ago, perdu said:

I suppose now you have begun designing the packets of Players' cigarettes to sit proudly inside the cabinets, what would it have been on the shelves?

Players, maybe de Reskes and no doubt a Box of Montecristos for the discerning Pullman traveller.

The retail world is your new lobster.

 

4 hours ago, larchiefeng said:

Cigarettes and Monte Cristos? Then you’re going to need ashtrays, matches and lighters to go with the scotch bottles and glasses etc.! It never ends out here in “Hendie Nation”! We just can’t get enough of your creativity!

 

Remember guys this is the redesigned Circa 2000 version - just about the time they were banning ciggies everywhere.  This is all G&T's and a sherbet dib dab to dip in the caviar if you're lucky

 

Over the last few days I've been fettling the window frames. Tedious but necessary.  Brass got sprayed on the inside face. Umber got sprayed on the outside face.  Everything was looking good

 

 

Until I went for the clear coat.   Instead of spraying the Mr Color Clear like I did last time I thought I would save 5 minutes and just spray from a rattle can.  

Buggerit!

Despite working great on everything before, the rattle can decided to play up and I ended up with spits and globules of clear all over the place.  It didn't settle down and dried all lumpy.

 

 

Now if I'd paid Shapeways for those I'd have been well peeved.  As it was, fire up the printer again, load up the file and print another two runs.  I'll have another go at painting them tomorrow, or at least begin the process.

At least I got the three chromed frames coated without issue. Trouble is I was hoping for the brass/umber frames to let me get on with the paneling on the first side frame.  Oh well.  

 

I suppose I need to find something else to work on instead... do you think the wife will notice if I pinch these?

 

 

Nice soft leather on the outside - but also nice soft suede on the inside.  Makes a passable substitute for coir matting at this scale.  Ideally it should have been grey and these are black.  I'm calling it a very dark grey.

(must get the dyson in there - it's looking a bit grubby)

 

 

Still some tread plates to be added and that vestibule end should be finished.

While searching online last week I came across these decals and thought I'd give them a try.  I needed a light wood for the bar which was covered in birds eye maple.  There was no way I was going to find 1/32 birds eye maple transfers anywhere, but this 'plywood' looked about the right shade so was worth a try.

 

 

5 mm was cut off the end of the bar at the kitchen end - which now leaves enough room for a hand rail to fit between the edge of the bar and the display cabinet without looking all squashed in.

 

 

The bar was then primed a mixture of 'depot buff' and aged white and then given a gloss coat... of course the rattle can worked perfectly that time!

 

 

1st transfer sheet goes on.  Actually this is the second sheet - I tried to do too much of the bar at once with the first sheet and messed it up so decided to play it safe and do it in sections. 

I'll let that dry overnight and fix the next two sheets tomorrow.  

 

 

I'm not sure what to do with the bottom end of the bar.   Judging from photo's the bottom inset is also maple, but I'm tempted to maybe try some aluminum/tread plate or similar to break up the expanse of wood.

 

Determined as I was to get on with the paneling, I took one of the best window frames to use as a template and started working on the paneling.  This is going to take a lot longer than I thought.

Once the 'glass' is placed against the inner skin, there is a small gap between the glass and the paneling.which needs filled. 

I had two options in my supplies - a 1 mm thick strip of basswood which was too thin, or a 1.5 mm strip of basswood and you guessed it... too thick.

In the end I sanded down the 1.5 mm thick strip until it slid into the gap without force.  Panel and strip were then removed and glued together - with a little bit of the strip protruding.  This is so I can then sand the edges flush when cured.

 

  

 

Then the edges need to be wire wooled, stained, then satin coated before they can be fitted.  I've got to do that on all 4 sides of each of 11 windows.  That is going to be one tedious job.

What makes it worse is that those panels are all aligned flush with the edge of the window opening on the outer skin.  The mojo is going to take a battering on this job that's for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

I understand your remark about the mojo... I'd say one of the most challenging aspects of this build, regarding mojo, is that some things have to be repeated so many times! I really feel for you there, I'd get a little itchy about that myself! (An understatement, of course, in true British fashion)

[Brandy]

A bugger about that rattle can, I'm amazed you chanced it again on the bar! Good luck with those spacers on the windows, that sounds even more tedious than rewiring 6 1:32 scale wire wheels, which, of course, I haven't done yet!

 

I'll have a dram for you as "moral support"!

 

Ian

[CedB]

More great work hendie, despite the rattle can problem… nice carpet too  

[hendie]

14 hours ago, JeroenS said:

I understand your remark about the mojo... I'd say one of the most challenging aspects of this build, regarding mojo, is that some things have to be repeated so many times! I really feel for you there, I'd get a little itchy about that myself! (An understatement, of course, in true British fashion)

 

one bite at a time.  I have to try and think of ways to lie to myself and say that I'm not simply repeating the same task over and over. 

It doesn't usually work.

 

14 hours ago, limeypilot said:

A bugger about that rattle can, I'm amazed you chanced it again on the bar! Good luck with those spacers on the windows, that sounds even more tedious than rewiring 6 1:32 scale wire wheels, which, of course, I haven't done yet!

I'll have a dram for you as "moral support"!

 

Ian

 

I'm putting it down to my fault - rushing and not shaking the can for long enough before I sprayed. 

 

13 hours ago, CedB said:

More great work hendie, despite the rattle can problem… nice carpet too  

 

cheers Ced!

 

 

More updates again though not much this time around.  I spent a lot of the time fettling so the majority of the time was spent on non photogenic taskery.  Still concentrating on the bar area, the bar top needed to be made.

I traced around the bar then manually (and carefully) went around again with a fresh blade and trying visually to maintain a 1 mm or so offset from the pencil line

 

 

Once I had the rough shape formed, it was a case of carefully scraping along the edges to get the curves as smooth as possible.  I'm finding these days that I'm using the back edge of a blade to scrape rather than sand - for whatever reason it feels as if I have more control and I end up with a better (I think) result.

Bar top placed for dry fit.

 

 

Once I was happy with the shape, I took a tracing of the bar top, marked it clearly 'BAR TOP DO NOT LOSE!!!' and put it in a safe place.  (It's a different safe place from where I placed those mirror sheets some months ago and then spent hours yesterday fruitlessly searching for those damn plastic mirrors... ended up buying them again from Amazon.  Buggerit.)

I'm going to need that to help make a jig for forming the hand and foot rails at the bar.  That's going to be another one of those fun jobs which will either go surprisingly easy at the first attempt or will have me wrangling with bits of brass and wotnots for weeks trying to get a decent rail.

At least now I have the final position for the bar so can now think about fitting the cabinets and such.

 

A fair amount of time today was spent measuring up and cutting the wall paneling for the side frame.  Once side is now complete - at least cutting-wise.  I still have to glue in the spacers then sand everything back flush and a whole bunch of other stuff, but I'm getting there.

I've taped a cover strip over the left most seam by the window.  By Jove I think this is going to work!

 

 

The window frames were all fettled as well but I never got around to painting them... dunno why to be honest.

and that's pretty much it for today - other than an experiment I tried out for the bar top.  The bar top was Uba Tuba granite and I've been putting some thought towards how do I replicate granite at this scale?  I had been considering printing out a photo of the granite and sticking that onto the bar top, but that didn't feel right and I wasn't sure if I'd get the effect I was after.

Well, I think I may have a stunningly cunning plan.  I'll know if my experiment worked tomorrow...