Heather's 1940 obsession again!

[Heather Kay]

 

While the paint shop has been deployed, I have applied a coat of Humbrol 96 to the crane.
 

I know it’s technically not an accurate representation of the RAF blue-grey between the wars, but it’s one of those consistently incorrect colours I use.

 

Why blue-grey and not green? Well, in 1940, only vehicles that were often on the airfield attending to aircraft got repainted to the dark green (later camouflaged) to make them a little less conspicuous to enemy aircraft. Vehicles that tended to lurk in and around hangars and the technical or domestic sites weren’t repainted for some time, if at all. For the variety, I’ve left a couple of vehicles in my RAF MT collection in the blue-grey. Newly-delivered vehicles from the Ministry arrived in the standard green of the time, and/or with the appropriate camouflage.

[CedB]

Wow, what a catch up! Great work Heather, especially the scratched bits  

[Heather Kay]

Here’s a link to the non-competitive gallery for the Ford WOT. 
 

 

I don’t intend to shoot the Dennis. The finish is not as good as I would like, but will be quite adequate for placing in the background of dioramas.

[Heather Kay]

Rigging the crane.

 

 

 

Actually, the instructions are fairly clear. I installed the cable that lifted the jib up and down - derricking, I think it is - first, as it seemed the easiest. The stiff nylon twine provided had been so long wrapped around its bit of cardboard it assumed a zigzag pattern. I applied weight and hung it from a shelf for a few days. That helped, but the stuff still never quite wants to conform to the pulley circumference. When you add CA that doesn’t want to set properly, well, mild annoyance comes to mind.

 

 

Done, but that hook assembly really annoys me. It looks like it’s made of foam or something. The cable should be taught and straight. Still, there’s stuff all I can do about it. I perhaps could have used a different material. Black dressmaking cotton, for example, would have worked, and would have held tension better than the nylon. Cotton wouldn’t have been thick enough to represent the steel cable, though. I could have twisted some thin copper wire together, which would have remained straight where needed. Problems feeding it through the various pulleys would have come up. I guess I could have glued straight sections between the various pulleys and no-one would’ve been any wiser.

 

It's done now. Another one for the background in dioramas. I don’t think I’ll bother with gallery shots.

 

I think that completes this thread. I had already decided not to build the Morris D type I’d posted at the start, so I’m done here. With the big Dennis fire engine also complete, time to kick off more whitemetal mullering in my other WIP thread! Oh, hang on! There’s a Humber, isn’t there! Hmm, yes, right. 

[Heather Kay]

I wanted to see if I could. I’m not a fan of CA when joining fine PE brass. The stuff doesn’t "take", there’s nothing for the adhesive to grab. 
 

So, I wondered if I could actually solder the paper thin - literally. I’ve used thicker tissue paper! - brass in the Flightpath Humber.

 

 

 

Turns out I can. My Ersa temperature-controlled soldering station set to 390°C ought to just melt the metal, but a dab of the flux I always use and the iron tip loaded with a drop of resin-cored solder touched on the join worked a treat. Lingering for too long will soften and discolour the metal, but what I would usually refer to as a tack solder joint does the job. 
 

What started out as bits of etch that could be squashed out of shape by light finger pressure has become a fairly rigid construction. Quite how far I can continue soldering remains to be seen, but I’m encouraged by progress so far. This is good, because I have an upcoming railway commission that involves nearly two dozen railway coaches at 4mm:1ft scale (1/76th). They’re going to need some deft soldering.
 

The British penny, by the way, has been specially trained to stand like that. It’s my go-to scale comparator, and I’ve not used it for ages! Those of you unfamiliar with the things may like to know they measure 20mm across.

[LorenSharp]

Excellent soldering work Heather! The one area I sorely lack much experience in, but definitely going to work on after seeing your progress. Can't wait to see what you come up with next.

[John Masters]

Fine metal work at its best.  These are very nice kits.

 

As a former food business pro, I enjoyed the 'instructions.'

[Heather Kay]

47 minutes ago, LorenSharp said:

Excellent soldering work Heather!

Thanks! With the chassis more or less complete now - see below - I’m not sure how much more soldering will be possible. We shall see.

 

 

The first main stage is now complete. The chassis and running gear are assembled.

 

 

The axles and exhaust are whitemetal, so the iron was set to 180°C and low melt solder brought in to play. So far, no adhesive of any kind used.

 

The important thing with Flightpath kits, indeed all David J Parkins kits, is to follow the written instructions. To coin a phrase "read them, and understand them". The exploded diagrams are also clear and colour coded for different materials. Sometimes, etch folds are done with the half-etch outside the fold, and the written instructions explain that. Take it easy, step by step. This is a small kit. I’ve built one of Mr P's 1/43rd scale railway coach kits. This kit's instructions are very brief compared to the short novel involved in the coach! 

[AdrianMF]

Smashing range of materials, and lovely results! I haven’t been checking in enough on the other topics in this GB - I think we are all quite absorbed in our own personal  versions of hell/paradise!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[dnl42]

7 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

My Ersa temperature-controlled soldering station set to 390°C

Have you used or considered resistance soldering? My understanding is the heated area is much smaller, with the result that there's less collateral damage to adjacent joints.

[Heather Kay]

9 hours ago, dnl42 said:

Have you used or considered resistance soldering?

Yes, I have a unit. I may have to experiment to see if I can set it not to vaporise the thin brass!

 

Over the years, I’ve found the RSU useful for certain jobs. Overall, I prefer the iron for the majority of work. The RSU needs the work to be grounded in some way, which is fairly easy on a large brass loco body where a bolt can be attached somewhere. Not quite so easy on something as small as the Humber! 

[Heather Kay]

9 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I haven’t been checking in enough on the other topics in this GB

I am guilty of that, too. I try to make a point of catching up once a day.

[Mjwomack]

21 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

I don’t intend to shoot the Dennis.

I'm sure we're all very relieved to hear that- it does seem a very harsh punishment for a failed paint finish, though we know you work to the highest standards so maybe you felt it necessary, 'to encourage the others'.

 

That helped, but the stuff still never quite wants to conform to the pulley circumference. 

Frustrating for you, but has persuaded me that I really don't have to have one of these in my collection!

19 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

Oh, hang on! There’s a Humber, isn’t there! Hmm, yes, right. 

Glad it's not just the keeper of the spreadsheet that's struggling to keep track of what builds are going on. Oh don't forget you've got that huge commission of carriages to knock out! you're a model producing super-human and just keep popping the out; there's me pleased to have made one model!

[Heather Kay]

 

I'm sure David won’t mind - I know he’s a member of this forum - so here’s a snap of the instructions showing how the bonnet section goes together. Note how the different materials are colour coded, and as well as the exploded diagram there’s an inset showing how it ought to look when finished. As I said earlier, this is read in conjunction with the written instructions.

 

 

I have been doing pretty well, so far. However, the point where one needs to break out the scanning electron microscope to actually see the parts is where one begins to draw lines. The drawing shows how the parts are formed and attached to each other. The PE fret shows the actual parts with a rule for scale. I admit I have chickened out of the lifting latch part, and barely managed to fix the base plates on the bonnet sides. Yes, I am the fool that soldered the parts. Frankly, I think I would still struggle to align and fix parts using an adhesive of some sort. I fully expect parts 44 would drift off into a drop of superglue and fail to remain aligned with anything apart from the magnetic North Pole!

 

 

Be that as it may, the bonnet and basic cab have been assembled, and are dry-fitted here for effect.

 

 

More microscopic parts are designed to be fitted to the doors, as handles. I think I’m going to chicken out and make my own from 0.4mm brass wire. You can’t see them here, but there is a full complement of pedals in the footwell, which thankfully simply fold up from the floor of the cab. I have decided not to fit the wing mirrors. While they are provided, I don’t feel I am capable of forming the support brackets at this scale. I think I’d struggle at 1/48th. I’m also having problems with the windscreen. It fits nicely, at a raked angled that’s far too laid back to be correct. Fumbling around with tiny fragile PE parts with human-sized fingers begins to try one's patience, it has to be said.

 

I think I shall get as far as assembling the basic GS bodywork with soldering before I feel the need to resort to adhesives for final detailing. Thank goodness for good head-mounted magnifiers!

[Heather Kay]

 

 

I'm not entirely happy. It’s taken a while to get the windscreen to fit the bonnet, and the bonnet to fit the cabin. It’s still not right, because the front mudguard supports now appear to be too low - yet they were fitted into the tiny slots etched for them. 

 

The canvas roof support is about the limit of handling. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve had to straighten it. Any handling of the model from now on risks bending something. 
 

I am giving some serious thought to abandoning the build. This is because I don’t think I will be happy with the finished model. It’ll be slightly wonky in various directions, and this annoys me.

 

I have just given the assembly so far an ultrasonic bath to clean flux and handling residues off. If I’m still feeling happy with it when it’s dry, I shall attempt some priming and paint before committing to the final assembly. Meanwhile, I shall try and put the rear bodywork together.

[Bengalensis]

You are doing very fine so far with all the soldering and you have come a long way, it's too late to give up and abandoning now. Just take it slowly with a short break here and there to regain inspiration.  Even if the finished model might not be near perfection it will still be a good one I'm sure.

[Heather Kay]

53 minutes ago, Bengalensis said:

it's too late to give up and abandoning now

You are quite correct, of course. I’m pleased at what I’ve achieved, because it’s been some time since I soldered anything this small. I’ve considered it a challenge, and I think I’ve done better than I expected.

 

 

The back end went together really well. That frame is very fragile. The kit provides material to represent the canvas covers, with a template to cut things out. I’ll think about whether I want the back open or covered. It’d be a shame to hide all the details.

 

Priming and painting next, I think. I’ll see how I feel about things then. The question is, now, RAF blue-grey or Army green? 🤔

[JeroenS]

Good that you continued work on it, the load bed and frame look good. Don't forget you're your own worst critic!

[Heather Kay]

2 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Don't forget you're your own worst critic!

Thanks! You’re right.
 

I spent a bit of time tweaking the front end. It’s not perfect, but I’m happier with it now. I’ve sorted the wonky front mudguard stays, and cleaned everything in the US bath again. I’ll try and get primer on this week, and I’ve decided to go for blue-grey livery. It would then be useful for set dressing RAF planes from earlier in 1940, before vehicles started to get a modicum of camouflage applied.

[philp]

I think it looks brilliant.  I have no soldering skills and it amazes me what you have done with what you started with.

 

I might have to break down and add another tool and some practice but probably not anytime soon.

 

 

[Heather Kay]

11 hours ago, philp said:

I think it looks brilliant.  I have no soldering skills and it amazes me what you have done with what you started with.

Aww, thanks! 

 

 

Here's the state of play. The front end is attached, but needs the mudguards and headlamps fitting. The rear end is dry-fitted, pending painting. I have to say, it doesn’t look all that bad. Yes, you can see solder, but it’s mostly not lumps, just a silver coating to the brass. A half-decent paint job will improve matters no end. 

 

I have decided to go blue-grey. I have also considered the canvas situation. The kit provides material (in blue and green, so both options are covered) to make the cabin roof and tilt. I’m sure it’s fine, but it will look, well, a little bit flat. Real canvas tends to sag and billow. I’ve used masking tape before, but I’m thinking I may try aluminium foil. I’ve been saving the really thin stuff that is used to seal instant coffee jars, and I think it might be suitable. I’m also thinking the tilt might look nice if the sides have been rolled up and secured, leaving the top and front covered.

 

Some Internet rummaging for prototype images might be worthwhile.

[JeroenS]

"Not all that bad"... right... 

 

It looks great! The thin brass makes it all look very "scale correct" if that's a term. Often in smaller scale kits the parts are a little bit too bulky. This is really nice and I bet a lick of paint will make it look fab. 

 

A rolled up tilt would have my vote, I'm curious to see your solution. 

[Bengalensis]

That looks very good to me, nice soldering work. With a little painting it will be great.

 

I've seen some good canvas work made from thin tissue paper (model aircraft covering), manipulated with water and very thin PVA glue.

[Heather Kay]

3 minutes ago, Bengalensis said:

I've seen some good canvas work made from thin tissue paper (model aircraft covering), manipulated with water and very thin PVA glue.

That is another option if the foil doesn't work. 

[PeterB]

I use a similar technique to @Bengalensis but with toilet paper for gun blast covers etc though it might not work as well for larger canvas tilts - of course it would be best to avoid the stuff with an embossed pattern assuming anybody still makes plain unadulterated bog roll!

 

Just a thought.

 

Pete