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54Strat

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  1. 54Strat

    Fruit D

    By 54Strat,

    After what seems like a year or two of collecting stuff and not doing stuff, I've actually got my finger out and started to turn a few of those kits into reality.
     
    First up on the workbench is the Fruit D kit from PD Marsh. This is a whitemetal kit, and comes with no chassis or roof, though there are some under frames and a cylinder included.
     

     
    It's very straightforward to put the body together using superglue. My soldering skills would probably be more like melting skills so I opted for the safest option. Only slight filing was needed to get everything true and square. The roof is 0.5mm plasticard with the curve preformed by sellotaping it to a glass jar of similar radius and pouring very hot water over. I'm not too fussed with the fact the roof isn't straight, as the intent is to create a wagon that's near the end of it's days. (At least that's my story).
     
    The suggestion on the instructions was to use one peco 15ft chassis, cut in half and joined to the underframe which included a section of solebar to extend the peco chassis length. This seemed a bit difficult, so instead I used two peco chassis, and cut them such so that I could eliminate the use of the underframe section, cutting off the underframe detail and gluing it in position later. The outside brakes were also trimmed off.
     
     

    The whitemetal cylinder was glued underneath, and I added a vacuum cylinder. I used a watch battery as it looked the same size.
     
    Next I added some Ultima roof vents, obtained from the NGS and added a tie bar from microstrip. Footsteps were added aslo from microstrip and brass steps were glued beneath each door. I've also blanked the buffer beams off with some strip. To do is the fittings for electric lighting.
     
    Looking at the photos, I'm thinking the plasticard footsteps are too chunky, so before painting I think I'll replace them, probably with brass if I can get some narrow enough. C&C is most welcome
  2. 54Strat
    It's been a while since I posted; life, family, work and hobbies all shift in priority from time to time. I've still been busy, more collecting than modelling though, and now I find myself running out of storage space for my stock. Some OO stock will have to go soon to make space as I've really can't see myself going fully to OO and seem to have settled firmly on N now. Though that said, I did buy a sample pack of a wagon and some easy track from the 2mm Assocation a month back.
     
    The little modelling I've done has been in fits and starts, with nothing ever getting completed before I've another idea and I'm off onto the next one, or I'm distracted by other diversions. I'm sure some of you out there can relate.
     
    Anyway, tonight I dug out that FruitD and remembered I'd re-done the transfers on clear paper as opposed to the white backed paper of my previous effort. This will need a patch of white painting on the side of the wagon where the transfers will go, as the decal's lettering is transparent and needs to rely on the background to provide the colour. I've printed quite a few shades of blue to get a match, keying of a calibrated scan of the wagon itself to provide a reference.
     
    So I'm setting some time aside to get this finished. I can then mark this job as done from about thirty odd jobs I've got on the go and move onto the next one and so on until they're all finished. So many unfinished jobs was actually a bit overwhelming, now I've decided to just get on with it, I think it seems more of a challenge. We'll see
     
    Paul (the ex procrastinator)
  3. 54Strat

    Fruit Transfers

    By 54Strat,

    After a week of waiting for a reply from Fox, Cambridge Custom and Modelmasters and still not a peep (a bit disappointed in the lack of response tbo) I've decided that I'll have a go at making my own decals. So I ordered some decal paper, white and clear and I've read up a fair bit on how to best go about this.
     
    I'll be using my BR Fruit D as a test case, but there's a big catch. The only way to print white on a deskjet is to print the decals on white paper using a colour to contain the white (which is in fact clear). Deskjets don't print white, you'll need an ALPS printer for that. So, as all of my decals are white I've printed an array of a BR Blue(ish) colour and varied the hue and saturation quite a few times in order to match the actual tone of the van (right pic). The aim is to get a colour as close as possible, so it won't be noticeable and comparing a test print done on normal paper I've produced one that is a very close match. Another way would be to scan the van in, and pick the colour from that.
     
    One thing that was poor was the quality of the text at 2mm scale (right pic) even at 600dpi. This was corrected by outlining the text until the characters nearly met (left pic, enlarged for clarity). This produced something almost legible on normal paper, so I'm hoping for better results on the proper decal paper.
     
    Before I get on with this, I decided I didn't like the colour Blue I'd used, so I've repainted it with a lighter shade. Now I'll have to match the colour again. Doh!.
     
    ps. Fox just mailed and can't help, though at least I got a reply
  4. 54Strat

    Bad Fruit

    By 54Strat,

    After spending a while matching the background colour of the decals to the blue of the van (I lightened the original blue with a hint of Coach Roof Off White RC417), the decal was ready for printing.
     
    One tip to save using a full sheet of A4 decal paper; print the decal out on normal paper at draft quality, then cut a portion your decal paper to overlap and match it and tape it the decal paper over the draft printout being careful to leave enough around the edges to prevent the tape from being printed on. Be sure to smooth the tape out so there's nothing sticking up for teh printer to catch on. Then use the draft printout again as a template and run it through the printer again. It should just print on the decal paper. Three coats of Humbrol Acylic Gloss Varnish Spray were then applied to seal the ink onto the paper and it's ready to use.
     



     
    One coat of Klear was added to the areas that will recieve the decal. Once dry, a coat MicroSet was applied and the decal cut out and placed in cold water for twenty to thirty seconds until it started to slide about on the backing paper. The decal was applied to the Van, and MicroSol added to soften it. After a short while, I used a cotton bud to press it home and clear the excess water.
     
    So, what's with the white border?
     
    That could be a couple of things but mainly I think because the water, the MicroSet or the MicroSol is dissolving the ink leaving the plain white decal film visible. This could be due to..
     

    Not enough acylic varnish. Hp Ink is unsuitable for this. Too long in the water Too much MicoSol / Set
    One fix would be to paint the borders blue, but that's only treating the symptons and not a real cure. I did think to cut them out first, then give them more coats of varnish so the edges would be sealed. When I tried this, rather amusingly the spray shot them off the workbench and into the bin. I only found one of the little bu66ers so now I need to print some more off to see if this works and this time I'll stick them to something first.
     
    MicroSet did a grand job off helping to remove the ones in the pic, and white borders aside, I think they look quite good.
     
    The backup plan is to ignore the borders, and mask off the panels and weather over it including the borders so it appears as if the panels have been freshly applied over a dirty van.... ahem...
  5. 54Strat

    Painted Fruit

    By 54Strat,

    After priming with Halford's grey primer, I tried using Humbrol Rail Colours Acrylics for the first time.
     

    Dirt Black (RC401) for the underframe. BR Diesel Blue (RC411) for the body. BR Coach Roof Grey (RC412) for the roof.
    I mistakenly used Garter Blue (RC404) for the body, (why don't they print descriptive text on the tins?)and was happy with that, until I realised my mistake and so applied a thin coat of BR Diesel Blue. I'm still not sure about this colour, but I'm planning to give it a healthy coat of grime so I shouldn't be so fussed really. I must say, after using Humbrol enamels for years, I was really pleased with the acrylics in terms of colour, coverage and ease of thinning and cleaning. I don't miss the smell of the enamel thinners one bit, and the biggest plus is that I can now paint on the dining room table without being banished to the shed with my smelly paint.
     
    I'm having trouble sourcing some appropriate decals for this. I originally I bought some decals with yellow markings but I've since learnt (RMWeb Topic) that BR Blue vehicles used white markings, sometimes boxed too so this'll now wait until I get hold of some, I've mailed a few companies and I'm waiting for a reply. The same goes for a Dapol CCT I've just painted in BR Blue and have some decals with yellow markings.
  6. 54Strat

    More Fruit and a Mink

    By 54Strat,

    A quick update to the Fruit D. I didn't like the thickness of the six plasticard steps so I've replaced them with some strip brass. A very fiddly job in this scale, but I think it makes a big difference.
     

     
    I was also planning to put some electrical fittings on the end, but after a mock up with some wire I decided that as the relief of the ironwork on the ends of the van is way out of scale that this would only draw attention to that fact so I ditched the idea. The only thing I would like to add are the 6 individual rainstrips on the roof, probably out of thin wire but I can see getting a uniform appearance would be tricky, so I'll think about how to get them consistent.
     
    Whilst I'm pondering that one, I've a Mink C from the NGS next in line.
     

     
    The kit is very straightforward and went together really well. The only thing I'm uncertain about is the rather chunky handles, but I've no confidence I could scratch build them to a better scale so I guess they'll stay. Btw, the roof is not fixed as I've yet to add some lead weight in it.
     

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