Tales from the Treatment Room

[Rumblestripe]

Just catching up on this thread (not sure how I've missed it till now) and I'd just like to add to the positive vibe on here. I'm enjoying watching the modelling as I am just contemplating dipping my toe in O gauge.

 

One thing that crossed my braincell as I admired that rather lovely wooden caboose kit is that we don't seem to do wooden kits in Blighty at the moment and yet what better way of representing wood! With CAD/CAM laser cutting it should be possible to make very accurate sides for wagons (out of thin birch ply or mdf) for example and add the fittings in etched brass and white metal. You then get the benefit of the textural qualities of the correct material and that tactile element that is a big aspect of modelling. Hmmmm.

 

Keep on keeping on fella!

[3 link]

Hi Mike,

 

Ahh now I understand where you are coming from, regarding the backs of the wheels are those machined spiral patterns the same as on the real bogies ( trucks ).  If so it for heat disipation, lightness or something else ?

 

Keep up the good work, the wagons look great.

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.

[3 link]

 I'm enjoying watching the modelling as I am just contemplating dipping my toe in O gauge.

 

 

 

 

 Hi Rumblestripe,

 

I have modelled in 7mm for over 20 years now and I must say it is a decision I have never regretted, have a look at this thread if you have not already read it.

 

It's just about one chap who is embarking into 7mm, and as you will see he is enjoying the experience http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/12616-wenford-dries-7mm-1983/page-8

 

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.

[Mike Boucher]

I think what you are doing here is brilliant, and probably is going to have a positive impact on the outcome of the treatment. Good on the hospital for letting you do it. And good work too.

Those old wooden kits are a nice change of pace from plastic! I think my greatest achievement in modelling was finishing a MEC "Paul Bunyan" pulpwood rack, I think it was made by Northeastern. The kit was quite a bargain as there was enough wood to build two of them. Needless to say, the car's twin brother still resides in the box as raw materials.

 

Thanx!

 

I've built 4 of the Northeastern wooden kits when I was younger.   (B&M snowplow, and a combine-coach-coach set of B&M open platform passenger cars.) They were definitely a challenge...

[Mike Boucher]

Just catching up on this thread (not sure how I've missed it till now) and I'd just like to add to the positive vibe on here. I'm enjoying watching the modelling as I am just contemplating dipping my toe in O gauge.

 

One thing that crossed my braincell as I admired that rather lovely wooden caboose kit is that we don't seem to do wooden kits in Blighty at the moment and yet what better way of representing wood! With CAD/CAM laser cutting it should be possible to make very accurate sides for wagons (out of thin birch ply or mdf) for example and add the fittings in etched brass and white metal. You then get the benefit of the textural qualities of the correct material and that tactile element that is a big aspect of modelling. Hmmmm.

 

Keep on keeping on fella!

 

Over here in the US, its completely the opposite.  Brass kits are as rare as hens teeth, while laser cut wood kits are everywhere!

 

There are several major companies with a lot of available kits.  The largest I can think of is American Model Builders "laserkit" series: http://www.laserkit.com/laserkit.htm.  Check out their line of HO scale caboose.  I've built their O scale "Springfield Depot" and it was a joy to assemble.

 

There are also a lot of people who bought a small laser cutter and work out of their house (this guy is about 10 minutes up the street from me: http://www.minutemanscalemodels.com/) 

 

For real fun, check this out.  It ain't prototype, but its pretty cool...  http://www.MinuteManScaleModels.com/product_p/87-10.htm

[Mike Boucher]

Hi Mike,

 

Ahh now I understand where you are coming from, regarding the backs of the wheels are those machined spiral patterns the same as on the real bogies ( trucks ).  If so it for heat disipation, lightness or something else ?

 

Keep up the good work, the wagons look great.

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.

 

If I understand correctly, the spiral pattern on the back was to help iron wheel castings cool without cracking.  Steel wheels didn't need the ribs, and with the improved strength and durability, iron wheels quickly fell out of favor.  The ribbed back would be OK for steam era, as the wheelsets wouldn't be replaced until they wore out or broke, but anything from the late 50's on would almost definitely have a plain back.  

[Western Star]

 

Basically, they are two different types of "bogies" (or trucks as we call them over here)...

 

Archbar are basically bolted together from bent steel, forming a simple truss arrangement...

 

Bettendorf is a cast sideframe truck...

What you describe as "archbar" was used here and is often called "diamond" frame. Your "Bettendorf" bogie is so like the ESC "Ridemaster" or "Ridecontrol" bogies used on freightliner flats.

 

The GWR imported about 20 pairs of wheelsets from USA with the spiral pattern to the rear face - not sure what happened with all of them, one set at least was used for a diagram AA3 brake van (can be seen in a photo showing construction materials being delivered for a new warehouse at Crewe).

[BR60103]

After the archbar was outlawed, there was an intermediate sideframe available. It was a one piece casting, like the Bettendorf, but had slots at the end where the jounal boxes from the archbars could be fitted.

(I forget the name.)

[Mike Boucher]

Made some more progress this week, and also some scrap...

First, the British rolling stock.  The lettering on the GWR fruit van and open wagon are both done.  The roof is glued on the fruit van, so that's complete and ready for Weathering.  On both of them, I realized that the instructions don't show to put the little star on the solebar where the vac brake release is, so I guessed at its location and called it good enough....

 

 

 

And, continuing on the "transfers and I don't get along" theme, the container flat is almost fully lettered.

 

 

you'll notice in that picture that the lettering on the chain box isn't there.  I had even less luck with it on this side than the other.  I had it down, and was working from the left side to the right, pressing down with my thumb.  When I got all the way to the right, somehow my thumb had "dried up", and the backing paper from the transfer stuck to my thumb instead of the car, and when I lifted my thumb, the paper came with it, along with about 2/3rds of the lettering.  The rest of the lettering was stuck on the side.           No use even attempting to save that, so I scraped the transfers off.  Fortunately, that was the last transfer I needed to put on, so I called it a day for lettering.

I've written to Parkside to get the replacement buffer spring and transfer sheet.  They've said they will mail me replacements.  Good news (at least for me!) is they said that on that kit, they've replaced the transfers with waterslide decals.       So, those I can handle MUCH better, should be able to scrape off both sides (and anything else I got crooked) and get everything right.

 

You'll also notice I've painted the weathered wood deck on the container flat.  Even though I'll have the container on, what wood you'll be able to see will be weathered.  As part of my usual weathering process, I still have to put a thin overspray of Grimy Black over everything to blend the colors together.  I did a similar treatment to the floor of the open wagon.  I also still have to paint the diamondplate box doors a steel color, or would they be GWR grey?

 

Now on to the caboose.

 

I put more bracing on the underframe.

 

 

If you notice, that's a continuous piece across the gap in the main I beam.  From the side, it looks like a T brace.  I then started building the skeleton that the the body sides and roof go on.

 

 

The ends of this "skeleton" are the actual exterior scribed wood ends.  The corner braces are to keep the ends vertical, and also give more surface to glue the sides on.  The curved roof is not the roofing material, this just forms a solid curved surface to glue the roof to after the sides are attached, as the roof overhangs the sides slightly.  I had cut the ends to size, according to the plans, and rough-sanded the curve to match the roof radius.  When I went to test-fit the roof, it was about a millimeter lower than where I had sanded the ends to.  Hmm... Maybe I measured wrong.  I double checked the dimensions, and they appeared right.  I offered one of the sides up to the body, and when the top of the side met the top of the end, the bottom was in the right place (just covering the bolsters and bracing), so I'm confident I have the height correct.  I took some scrap wood (actually coffee stirrers) and made shims to raise the the roof to the right level.  I then finish sanded the body ends to match the roof profile.

 

Now is where things went wrong...

The next step I want to do is glue ONE side on the caboose.  Then I would have quite a bit of the wood glued on using real wood glue, but not the entire body sealed up.  I will put 2 coats of sanding sealer on all the wood parts from here on out, to prevent future warping, and I need access to every surface to do that.  Gluing on just one side will allow that.  Once sealed, I can't use wood glue, everything else will have to get attached with ACC.

So, I started cutting out the window on one side.  The side pieces are actually 2 pieces, cut the windows in each, and meet them in the middle.  I took one of these "1/2 side pieces", and making markings on the back side, I cut out one window opening.  Then flipped it over and realized that I had marked the opening in the wrong place!  I had the measurement from the left side of the caboose, but when I flipped over to mark the back, I marked from the left instead of the right.     OK, looks like I'll have to get some 1/16th scribed wood sheeting to replace that part.  Fortunately, that's not too hard to find.  So, I took the next piece and got it right.

 

I then used that side to mark out the windows in the remaining 2 pieces that were still good.  And then I realized, looking closer again, that the sides are NOT symmetrical!  The window on the right side is 1/2" closer to the end than the one on the left.  AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!     Lot of cursing going on in the treatment room today!

 

 

So, out of the 4 side pieces, one is good, the other 3 are destined for the scrap bin...  Definitely need to make a trip to the hobby shop to get some wood.

 

Still had some time to work, so I did continue on with some work.  On that one good side, I took some more coffee stirrers, and put some backing on the inside to hold the white metal window frame casting from falling through.  Side 1 of 4 ready to be put on...

 

I also started putting trim work on the door on one of the ends, and put down the scribed wood platform decking.

 

 

I'm going to have to file some of the door casting, as its set too far back in the doorframe, IMHO.  The threshold molded into the casting doesn't extend beyond the end.  But that should be fairly straightforward.
 

And that's as far as I got.  Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the hobby shop this weekend to get the replacement side pieces, and also get some GWR brown on the container so I can start lettering that.   If not, I'll start on the next project in the queue...  Hint: its not O scale, and it doesn't have wheels!

[highpeak]

After the archbar was outlawed, there was an intermediate sideframe available. It was a one piece casting, like the Bettendorf, but had slots at the end where the jounal boxes from the archbars could be fitted.

(I forget the name.)

Andrews? Vulcan was another cast truck with separate journal boxes.

RP Cyc vol 4 has a good overview of truck types.

 

Bummer on the caboose sides. One of the drawbacks to your workplace is the inability to utter words of self-criticism. Not sure I would have the self-restraint required.

[Mike Boucher]

Andrews? Vulcan was another cast truck with separate journal boxes.

RP Cyc vol 4 has a good overview of truck types.

 

Bummer on the caboose sides. One of the drawbacks to your workplace is the inability to utter words of self-criticism. Not sure I would have the self-restraint required.

 

Oh, there were a few curse words being thrown about.  Just nothing too vulgar or too loud.  D**mnit! probably the most common...  

[Mike Boucher]

I realized that with the Thanksgiving holiday over here in the states, I never posted an update from last week.  So, this post will have two weeks of work.

 

Week 1, I did some more work on the ends of C&O Caboose.  I added the door trim around the door on the "other" end, having previously only done one end.  I also added the scribed sheet decking on that end.

 

 

Between the subfloor and the decking, there was a noticeable gap, which you can see in that photo.  When I temporarily put in the whitemetal door, that gap was noticeable.  I decided to fill it in, so I cut a few pieces from a wooden coffee stirrer to the correct size and glued them in.  After doing that, I decided that the door really sat too far back in the doorframe due to the molded in relief on the sides of the door.  Its a scale 3-4" from the ends, which I think is too much

 

 

In order to get the door to fit where I wanted it to, I had to cut off that relief (I felt it was too thick to file off),  I trimmed along the sides of the door and then filed to final dimension so the door was a nice snug fit in the cut opening. 

 

 

 

In that 2nd photo, the door is probably a little too far out, but when I glue it in I'll adjust it appropriately

 

Murphy's law reared its ugly head while I was trimming the 2nd door, my knife blade slipped and I made a gouge right across the door.  Ugh.  I filed and sanded it to a point, but its still visible.  I now need to find something to fill that gouge.  I'm tempted to use 70 degree solder and then sand smooth, but I'm nervous about melting the casting by accident.  On the other hand, the 4 sides of the coupola are whitemetal, so I was thinking of soldering those as well.  If I do melt a casting, I would rather it be the door rather the coupula, so I'll probably give it a go.

 

That's about all that got done in the treatment room that day, other than playing "NFL Monopoly" with my 9 year old son  

 

While driving home from treatment, I stopped in a hobby shop called Northeastern Craftsman Structure Supply, which is located in the lobby of Northeastern Scale Lumber.  If anyone would have scribed siding it would be them.  Sure enough, the proprietor, Wayne, disappeared into the back and brought out some 1/16 sheeting wide enough to replace the ruined sides.

 

Only 1 problem.  Upon closer inspection, the scribing on the original pieces ISN'T 1/16th.  Its just slightly wider, for about 24 "boards" on the new piece, there's only 23 on the old piece.  

 

 

Two choices: rip off the already glued on side, or leave it be and live with it.  Amish quilt makers always intentionally put a "mistake" in their quilts, as they believe only God can make something perfect, so I'll stick with that theory.  If you can tell there's a difference when they're not butted against each other, you're a better man than I…

 

Yesterday I started working on the new sides.  I cut a window in the correct location, after measuring and double-checking 3 or 4 times.  Here's the difference between the bad and good sides.

 

 

And the side was glued in place.  (note the whitemetal window frames are just pushed in place, they're not glued in yet)

 

 

There is trim work around these windows which I want to glue in place before applying the sanding sealer, but I forgot my "Chopper", which will make it MUCH easier to cut them all to the same size with the 45 degree corners (8 top/bottom, 8 verticals).  So I put the caboose aside and started on the next project.

 

<drumroll please>

 

Back in the 70's and 80's, a man named Art Curren was a prolific "Model Railroader" author, specializing in kitbashing buildings.  In August 1985, he published an article where he took 2 HO scale "Superior Bakery" kits into something he called Hardly Abel Mfg.  If you're unfamiliar with "Superior Bakery", its one of those kits that are somewhat iconic.  Its a rectangular brick building with large arched windows. Revell/Con-Cor/Heljan produced it for years, introduced in the 60s, although it now seems out of production.  There are several kits in their range which used the same sides and ends, just adding different details and occasionally a false front.  Here's the box, showing what the finished model is supposed to look like.

 

 

Back when I was in HO, I did this kitbash as I really liked the look of the new building.  When I left HO about 8-10 years ago, I sold the building, and was almost immediately hit with sellers remorse.  I found that Heljan also produced Superior Bakery in N scale, so I ordered two of them from my local hobby shop.  And they've sat on my shelf since then.  Not any more.

 

Here's the obligatory picture of all the parts.

 

 

Art did something I thought was rather unique here, and gives the finished factory a very different look, in that he removed 36" from the HEIGHT of the building.  Using my N scale ruler, that's the equivalent of 7 courses of brick.  Paying close attention to the cutting diagram in the article, I immediately noticed theres a difference between the HO and N scale versions.  The HO version has 3 "panels" with 2 windows each on the sides, total of 6 windows.  The N version has 4 panels, for total of 8 windows.  OK, when I go to make the "vertical" cuts I have to be careful here, but other than that it just means that my N scale building will be slightly larger than Art planned, quick calculations and the building will be about 8-1/2" long. 

 

There's a also small detail differences, like the HO version has a brick arch above each window opening, although the windows themselves are square.  In N, that arch isn't there.  That's nothing significant, IMHO.  What's a little more interesting is the number of panes in the windows.  In HO, there are 3 panes vertically on each window, so removing 36" takes out 1 window pane.  In N, there are 6 panes vertically on each window.  I didn't measure, but I'm hoping that removing 2 of those will reduce the window by the required 36".  I might have to completely rebuild the mullions on the windows with strip styrene, which would be fine as the molded ones are a bit heavy.

 

And now the cutting starts...      

Here's the 1st wall in two pieces:

 

 

and then glued back together, making the height difference quite obvious.

 

 

If you look closely, you'll notice that removing 7 courses of bricks means that the bricks now align on two adjacent courses.  I don't think it'll be noticeable on the finished building, especially since Art planned the cuts in different places on various sides (some are at the top of the windows, some at the bottom, and some above)

 

 

By the end of the day, I had cut the height out of the 2 sides and 2 ends from 1 kit, and had started cutting the pieces from the 2nd kit.  The 2 parts on the left side (with the stepped tops) and the 2 in the top left corner are cut from 1 side piece of the 2nd kit.  The two piled on top of each other are scrap pieces, they're not needed.  Also notice that there's no height cut out of those two stepped top sides, they're the "ends" of a full height "bump out" which will go between the 1st and 2nd arched panel on the non-track side of the building.  There's a bump out on the track side as well, I just don't have the pieces cut for that yet.

 

 

If you can't see where the cuts are, on the side at the bottom of the photo, they're at the top of the window.  The next side up they're at the bottom of the windows.  On the end with the door and 3 windows, they're at the top of the window, and the end with the large door its just below the corners of the brick arches, not on the door at all.

 

Next week will be a bit of a long day, so I might be two wiped out to do much modeling.  I have to be in Boston (1 hour+ away) at 6:30 am, and I have scheduled blood work, a CAT scan, a bone marrow biopsy, meet with 2 doctors, and then the 5 hour infusion (which is scheduled to start at 10:30...).  That should be a lot of fun.  I think they're going to need to check my blood alcohol level as well as white blood cell counts…

Edited December 3, 2013 by Mike Boucher

[PhilH]

Some good work there, well done.

 

 

Next week will be a bit of a long day, so I might be two wiped out to do much modeling.  I have to be in Boston (1 hour+ away) at 6:30 am, and I have scheduled blood work, a CAT scan, a bone marrow biopsy, meet with 2 doctors, and then the 5 hour infusion (which is scheduled to start at 10:30...).  That should be a lot of fun.  I think they're going to need to check my blood alcohol level as well as white blood cell counts…

 

 

Flippin' 'eck, that sounds like hard work! Hope it all goes well.

[hidden-agenda]

Excellent work i wish you all the very best for what your going through and i look forward to more pics when you get the time.

[Mike Boucher]

Some good work there, well done.

 

 

Flippin' 'eck, that sounds like hard work! Hope it all goes well.

 

Hard work, not so much.  I pretty much have to just sit/lie there and get poked and prodded.  But its not much sleep and draining.  Of course, it would be a lot harder if I wasn't building stuff...  

[Mike Boucher]

Long, tiring day, but I survived all the poking and prodding.   One of the nurses asked the usual "do you have any pain?" question, to which I replied, "only where they stuck an IV tube into my arm..."  I actually did get some work done on the caboose and the factory kitbash…

 

First, the caboose:  I cut two more pieces of the scribed wood to size for the remaining side.  The wood I purchased is wider than the original siding, so I decided that rather than have the join right in the middle of the caboose, like the kit was designed for, I would use one piece "full width" and cut the other to fit.  After carefully checking and double checking, I cut the window openings.  I found a note on the instruction sheet, and verified with some research online, that the windows are directly opposite each other.  So, one side, the left side window is further from the end, and on the opposite side the right side window is further from the end.

 

So, I finally have the windows cut, in the correct location, on both sides (4 pieces of wood)

 

Next step was to glue on the window trim around each window.  The kit has a piece of 1/16 wide by 1/32 thick wood to be cut and installed as the trim.  I found a PDF file online about someone building the HO scale version of this caboose.  In that, he showed that the kit was incorrect, there is a square piece of trim which needs to be added on top of the piece included in the kit.  I extrapolated the size of the stock he used in HO to O scale, and found some HO scale 6x6 stripwood, which is about .040" square.  That's close enough.

 

I cut the 1/16 x 1/32 to length for the top and the bottom trim (1-1/8" long).  Since I need 8 of them, I used my NWSL "chopper".  I also cut the corresponding .040 sq. wood with the same setting.  I then glued them together.  The .040 sq. is flush with one side of the 1/16 x 1/32, not centered, and that is the edge closest to the window.  After the glue dried, I used the chopper and a homemade 45 degree angle to cut the beveled ends.  In the tradition of making scrap wood, I cut two pieces with the bevel the wrong way, so the the .040 sq. was away from the window.    Had to make two replacements for those.  And I'm sure now I don't have enough 1/16 x 1/32 for the vertical pieces, so that means another trip to the hobby shop, or there will be no progress on the caboose next week.  

 

Here's the picture of the 8 trim pieces, sitting on the chopper.  Hopefully the picture makes it obvious what these pieces look like, as I'm not sure my description is comprehensible…

 

 

The homemade 45 degree has two stops glued to it.  Those are set for the appropriate length for those pieces, there are 2 as I needed to use it on opposite sides of the blade to cut the bevels right.  those stops can then be removed, and the edge filed smooth for the next use.

 

Then I took 4 of these pieces and glued them to the lower edge of the windows.  Since the sides aren't the same, I had to make sure I glued them with the correct orientation (they all point towards the end of the caboose where the window furthest is from the end)  I used my square to make sure they were level.

 

Here's a close up of one of the sides.

 

 

And here they all are….

 

 

Quite the optical illusion there.  The two sides are the same length, just one is much closer to the camera...   

 

Next week, I'm planning on making the 8 vertical pieces, and use those to install the top trim, ensuring there are no ugly gaps and all the corners are square.  Once that's done, I'll be ready to put on a few coats of sanding sealer before continuing assembly.

 

While waiting for glue to dry on the caboose parts, I did more "plastic surgery" on the N scale factory.

 

Here's a picture of the pieces as cut from the original factory sides.  The two "stepped roof" pieces at the top center are from one side of kit 2, the two "angled roof" pieces are from the opposite side of kit 2, and the two short pieces at the top left and bottom left corners are from the ends of kit 2.

 

 

The next step is to cut and stretch the two long side pieces, which will make room for the pieces cut from kit 2.  This was done by cutting vertically on the pilasters between two arched section, and then bracing with 1/8" sq. styrene.

 

 

Then, I filled in one window and part of a door on one of the "ends" from kit 2 (which will become a side on the finished building).  This was done by taking some of the leftover pieces and cutting pieces to fit the window opening.  I trimmed the "fill in" pieces so they showed entire bricks all 4 edges.  This made it a loose fit in the window openings, but nothing too obvious once glued in.

 

 

That's about all I got done.  But, when I got home, I took out some tape and put together the sides so I could really see what it would look like when assembled.  Here's a few pictures of the "mock up"…

 

 

 

FYI - The side with the shorter of the two "wings" is what Al envisioned as the track side.  There will be a loading dock on that side of the building.  I have to make sure that when I build the scenic base, I get the loading dock at the right height for an N scale boxcar.  But that's a ways off...

[Mike Boucher]

Hi folks,

 

Been a few weeks without an update.  I was working like mad on a project for my two kids for Chistmas, so I didn't have much time to sit at the computer and type up updates.  Now that Christmas is past and the project has been given to the kids "complete" but not painted,  here's what I've been doing in the treatment room...

 

First, an update on me.  I've now completed my first 4 cycles of treatment.  In "Phase B", I go in more often, but for shorter times.  3 days a week I go in for about an hour.  I get blood drawn and some "pre-treatments" consisting of Tylenol and Benadryl.  1/2 an hour later I get a shot.  and 1/2 an hour later they take my vital signs and send me home (unless I'm taking a nap due to the Benadryl!)  The 1st Monday of each 4 week cycle I get the 5 hours of IV as well.

 

I've responded well to the 1st phase of treatment, my White Blood cell counts are now in the normal range (under 10K from a high of 83K), and the % of cancerous cells they can find has dropped dramatically (under 10% from well over 80% when I started)  So, I'm doing well so far, and the doctor is happy with the progress.  We'll see how I respond/react to the new drug, which has a higher percentage of side effects.  The side effects I've had from the 1st phase have been relatively minor, things like tingly feeling in my fingers and cheeks.  The side effects of the new drug are more like "flu like symptoms", headache or fever.  I did have some of those, so the doctors did some tests just in case, and I actually had a minor case of the flu!  (Things get interesting in a ward with a bunch of immune system compromised people and you've got the flu!  I was isolated from the main population, in a negative pressure room, couldn't go to the bathroom without a surgical mask on, etc)  They treating me for the flu with 5 days of prescription flu medicine.  I hope that means that I won't get the side effects...  I've started talking with the bone marrow transplant team, and they're looking for a donor for me.  But that's not for a few more months, and a few more tests to be done between now and then.

 

Back to the modeling:  The C&O caboose is now ready for sanding sealer.  I've finished up the window trim, and have it installed on all 4 windows.

 

 

The instructions say that the cast window frame isn't flush with the sides, so I put in .040 wood as spacers so the window is just proud of the sides.

 

 

And I thought I was ready to put on the sanding sealer then when I realized a flaw in the design of the kit.  As designed, there's no way to access the inside of the kit once everything is assembled.  The subroof is a solid piece.  That means that there's no way to install window glazing from the inside after painting/weathering.  That leaves me with 2 choices.

1) paint the cast windowframes separate from the rest of the body, install the glazing, and then glue the windows in place

2) Cut a hole in the roof, make the cupola roof removable, and try to get the glazing installed after painting.

 

Neither is very attractive, IMHO, but I've decided to do both.  One thing I want to put on this caboose is lighted marker lamps, so I'll need access to the interior anyways.  Out came the cupola castings, some careful measurements, and a new blade in my knife and I had a hole in the roof for interior access...

 

 

I'll paint the windows separate from the side, and install glazing before gluing those in place.  The end doors need glazing as well, but those I'll paint in place and try to install the glazing through the hole.

 

Next step is to put on a couple of coats of sanding sealer.  That'll have to be done at home.

 

Lots of progress on "Hardley Abel", the N scale factory.  I find it easier to paint and "grout" the sides in the flat, before glueing the sides together.  I painted the sides with floquil "boxcar red", which I find a good representation for a flat brick color.  Did that at home.  After they dried, I brought them into the treatment room with a bottle of Poly Scale water based "concrete" paint.  I diluted that about 75% water -> 25% paint, and painted it on the sides.  Using a tissue, I wiped off most of it, which left the paint between the bricks, with a little on the brick faces, to give it an uneven color.  After that, I filled a bottle cap with water, dipped the paint brush into it while it had paint on it, and held it against the sides.  The much more diluted paint would then spread only in the molded grout lines.  Its easier to do than describe!

 

Here's what they sides looked like after that painting session.  

 

 

While waiting for the paint to dry, I started working on the windows.  I needed 16 windows shortened, like I had with the sides.  This was as simple as cutting 2 panes off the bottom.  I didn't like how heavy the mullions were, and the HO kit had fewer, so I also trimmed some of those away to represent much larger panes of glass.  Here's one window after cutting, next to an untouched window.

 

 

After cutting the windows and filing to smooth, I have the windows ready for painting.  I'll paint them a flat white color soon...

 

Next came assembly of the walls.  I use scrap styrene sheet to cut both "inside" and "outside" braces, and as I glue the sides together, I brace each corner with the appropriate bracing.  I have one long size glued together.

 

 

 

Tomorrow I go in, and I'll be working on assembling the other side of the building.  If I have time after that, it'll be start "plastic surgery" on the roof.

 

[Mike Boucher]

I realized I got one additional thing done in the past few weeks.  I painted and lettered the container for the Parkside GWR container flat.

 

 

The transfers have also been sealed in with an application of Dullcote.  And the roof is now glued on.  I still have to add the tie-down loops.

 

Still waiting for the buffer spring and replacement decals for the flat itself.  Parkside said they would send replacements, but I haven't seen them yet.  I'll have to send an email to find out if they've been sent, or if the Christmas rush has shipping delayed somewhere along the line...

[3 link]

Hi Mike,

 

I'm glad to hear that you are responding well to treatment, and I wish you all the luck in the coming new year.

 

Well you certainly like variety, I do like working with wood but as you know that most of the kits over here are either plastic, brass or resin. Although there is now a growing market in laser cut timber buildings over here, well that's if you can call them timber they are either made of MDF ( medium density fibreboard ) or what we call hardboard. At the various shows I have been to I must say that the buildings really do look good, have you seen any on the internet ? Timber tracks and lasercraftuk.com both have websites, certainly worth a look.

 

Anyway keep up the good work Mike, I like the container flat and I hope to have a few of those for my eventual layout.

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.

[Mike Boucher]

I've made some progress on the N scale factory kitbash.

 

The walls are all glued together with appropriate bracing in the corners.

 

 

 

I've started working on the roof.  This took a little bit of thinking, as the roofs are different between the HO kit the article is based on, and the N scale kit I have.  The HO only has 1 skylight, and the roofs are shorter as there is only 6 windows per side, not 8.

 

Here's a picture of the roof pieces for 1 kit, unmodified

 

 

And here's how I cut the roof from the 2nd kit.  Note the cuts are planned so they're on the "battens" running "vertically" up the roof.

 

 

Then with some re-arranging…

 

 

And glued together and put in place on the walls…

 

 

Not visible in this picture is an additional triangular roof brace I added just to the left of the bump out section.  Just a scrap piece of styrene cut to match the angle of the roof on the ends, and then glued square to the sides.  This has two jobs; to keep the walls evenly spaced and to support the center part of the roof.

 

Next few sessions I'll cut the other side of the roof and start working on adding roof details.  I also have to paint the roof a dark grey.  I also have to make some small notches where the bump out section meets the roof so the roof has a little overhang over the sides.  Then I have to take some styrene and make a roof for the two bump out sections.

 

No pictures, but I've also put one coat of sanding sealer on the C&O caboose.  Then I ran out of sanding sealer, so I have to go to the hobby shop and get another bottle...

[Mike Boucher]

Hi Mike,

 

I'm glad to hear that you are responding well to treatment, and I wish you all the luck in the coming new year.

 

Well you certainly like variety, I do like working with wood but as you know that most of the kits over here are either plastic, brass or resin. Although there is now a growing market in laser cut timber buildings over here, well that's if you can call them timber they are either made of MDF ( medium density fibreboard ) or what we call hardboard. At the various shows I have been to I must say that the buildings really do look good, have you seen any on the internet ? Timber tracks and lasercraftuk.com both have websites, certainly worth a look.

 

Anyway keep up the good work Mike, I like the container flat and I hope to have a few of those for my eventual layout.

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.

 

Can't say I've seen the UK prototype laser cut kits until I just followed that link.  Some of those stations must look very impressive when painted and put on a layout!

 

There's a huge market over here for laser cut buildings.  I've built a few in both N and O scale, and they're quite nice to work with.  Sometimes I wish the C&O caboose wasn't from '75, so It would just drop together with tabs and slots, rather than measuring, cutting, realizing the cut is in the wrong place, cursing, getting more wood, etc...  

 

The stuff available here is usually "real" wood, no MDF nor masonite (which I believe is "hardboard").  Some of the wood used over here is some of the thinnest plywood I've ever seen.  3 layer plywood that's 1/32" thick stuff.  Dimensionally stable, and not as prone to warping as basswood.

 

Check out http://www.laserkit.com/laserkit.htm to see what's available from one of the larger and well known companies.

[3 link]

Hi Mike,

 

I hope the snow is not to bad where you are, I have travelled across New York state a few times back in the 90's and I know how bad it can get.

 

I do like some of those timber buildings especially the more run down shacks, I do not think they would look too out of place if they were to be transported over the Atlantic to somewhere in the West Country, now there's an idea .

 

Take care,

 

Martyn.

[Mike Boucher]

Hi Mike,

 

I hope the snow is not to bad where you are, I have travelled across New York state a few times back in the 90's and I know how bad it can get.

 

I do like some of those timber buildings especially the more run down shacks, I do not think they would look too out of place if they were to be transported over the Atlantic to somewhere in the West Country, now there's an idea .

 

Take care,

 

Martyn.

 

I'm a bit inland, so it wasn't too bad. About 8 inches of snow, starting early Thursday AM and going until about Friday noon.  Boston got about a foot.  My parents, however, got about 20 inches, and they only live about 45 miles east.  (They're only about 10 miles from the coast)  It was very cold, so the snow was dry and powdery, not too hard to shovel.  But its no fun shoveling snow at 6am when its 4 degrees Fahrenheit with 20 MPH winds and still snowing...

 

Driving into Boston on Friday morning was some interesting driving.  Took about twice as long as usual, but slow and steady is definitely the approach to take when driving in the snow.

[Mike Boucher]

Update on the N scale factory kitbash.  More work on the roof.  I've cut the 2nd side of the roof to match the first.  I wanted to have the cuts in different places, to better hide where the cuts/joins are, but I couldn't.  If I rearranged the pieces differently on the two sides, the battens on the roof would not line up due to the "not obvious until you cut things apart" fact that the battens aren't equally spaced!

Once that was done, the next job was to cut out one of the smokestack base from one side of the roof, and reposition it adjacent to the base on the other side.  Easier explained in photos...

Cut from one side...

 

File to the edge of the "riveted sheet", and cut a hole in the other in the right position, to the exact size...

 

 

And push into place and glue...

 

 

At this point, I took a small diversion and glued the smokestacks together (they come in two halves) and place them in position on the roof to see how it looked (they're not glued down yet!)

 

 

When finished, there will be a brace between the two, and guy wires made from piano wire.  Since that photo was taken, I've smoothed out the joints on the smokestacks with files and sandpaper.  No filler needed!
 

So, with the two sides of the roof assembled, and the "smokestack surgery" finished, it was time to glue the two halves of the roof together and attach the ridge cap.  (once again, the roof is not glued down, just sitting there thanks to gravity...)  Apologies for the bad focus, I took 3 or 4 photos, and all were blurry!

 

Now to start on building up the new roof sections from styrene, building something to cover the gaping hole I've now cut in the roof, and adding details.

The other thing I've done over the past couple of weeks is finished the GWR container flat.  I received the new decals and buffer spring from Parkside Dundas.  I scraped off the misaligned transfers, and applied the decals.  A few "Micro Sol" treatments, and they're snuggled down over the rivets quite nicely.

On the container, I snapped off two of the hold downs (on the corners) trying to install the brass loops.  Frustrating, fiddly little task.  And to make matters worse, when they snapped off, they also went flying.  you would think in a limited space like a treatment room, with linoleum floors, I would be able to find them, but they were no where to be found.  So I made new ones from brass wire and styrene.  I put the loops on first, and then glued the styrene to the container body.  They just need a touch of paint before weathering.

 

And here's a view of the completed Container flat.

 

 

Monday is a national holiday here in the US  (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day), so I might weather the 6 cars I've built during treatment.  We'll have to see if the weather cooperates.  If its above freezing, I might be able to handle being in the unheated garage where I currently do my airbrushing...

[3 link]

  We'll have to see if the weather cooperates.  If its above freezing, I might be able to handle being in the unheated garage where I currently do my airbrushing...

 

Gosh, we should hold our heads in shame, I don't think we even think of getting our air brushes out until the mercury hits 18 degrees C over here. 

 

ATB,

 

Martyn.