1951 Pullman Scratchbuild in 1/32

[hendie]

It's been one of those modeling sessions  hours  days  weekends.  Let's start with the good news.

 

Okay, that's over, let's continue with what else has been happening.  The side frames were given a coat of etch primer on the external faces.  That went reasonably well with the exception of a couple of small blemishes in the covering on both side frames.  I micro meshed those this morning and gave another coat of etch primer, then I caught a small sink mark where I had not filled with enough solder.  That was filled with some filler I had handy, then sanded back.  The side frames have now been given their last coat of etch primer and are sitting curing as I type.  I will leave those at least overnight before giving them a coat of primer type primer.

Actually, I'm off on business again this week so it may be next weekend before they get the primer coat.

All that being done, I am pretty happy with the side frames.  I also took the opportunity while I was rattle canning to spray some of the styrene side frame failures as test beds for the different paints.  I will coat these test pieces before I spray the side frames to ensure there is no reaction with the paints.

 

 

Now the vestibule ends.... those damn vestibule ends.  Aaarghhhh!  I don't know what it is about them but they seem determined to fight me all the way, and back again!   After my last post, I marked up the ends for the material to be removed - it was about 2.5 mm give or take from each upright.  I had allowed 19 mm for the door opening when I should have allowed 21.5 mm.  The door itself is 19 mm but there's also a door jamb in there too.

 

 

This is how much needs to come off.  A simple enough job... place sandpaper on the bench then rub end vestibule back and forth to remove unwanted plastic.

 

 

Which all went far too well until I came to remove the masking tape - a whole bunch or primer and wotnot came off with it too.  Well, that's not particularly good or confidence inspiring is it?  Especially when I know I'll be masking that lot later.

 

 

So after considering the options, I took the decision to sand everything back to plastic again

 

 

On the face of it that also went well, until I realized that some of the wet from my wet and dry had got in behind the plastic and soaked into the wooden paneling - yes, you guessed it... another disaster.

At this point I almost considered asking my friends back at the machine shop to EDM me a set of vestibule ends, but sanity prevailed - in brass there would be six bends in each piece, and I know I'd need about a dozen attempts to try and get all the bends in the right place.  I'm sticking with what I have, and the de'il tak the hindmost !

 

 

Obviously, I know that water and thin sheets of absorbent wood don't go particularly well together.... I know that!  So why I didn't try to protect the paneling better is a question best left to ehrr... someone else, not me.

After messing about with it and trying to fix things it was obvious I had to go back to square one. Well, not quite square one but almost...

The main issue I had was that I had used rectangles of basswood as a spacer/strengthener between the outer wall and the paneling.  Now, because of the grain, it was good in one direction but not the other.  I needed a different material - 1 mm thick styrene.

The plastic could be rescued as could the main door beams so I cut out styrene spacers and glued them in position, as well as adding some other little blocks here and there to add strength.

 

 

The problem I face here - and I knew this one was coming is that we all know what happens when we glue two flat surfaces together with styrene cement... one of them ends up with sink marks.  At least this time I was prepared for that.  You can see one just at the angle near the left top of the gangway opening.  Overall, not too many sinks at all - much better then I anticipated.

 

 

So that's where I'm currently at with this purgatorial build.  I'll let that glue cure overnight before filling and sanding (yet again).

I'm surprised there's any plastic left on those vestibule ends after all the sanding they've endured.

 

I tackled a couple of small jobs, but gave up as my heart wasn't in it today.  I'm really focused on getting the side frames and vestibule ends painted and since they've been my nemesis for what seems like at least the last year, I need to get those defeated before I can move on.  I'm so close, but it appears that every time I get close, something falls out of the sky to give my butt a great big kick and bring me back down to earth again.

[hendie]

Back from my travels once again and I managed to sneak downstairs for a few hours before SWMBO came home.

 

Since I only had an hour or two I didn't want to get into anything too deep.  I had started this job before I departed earlier this week - During my frequent photo reviews I spotted that the electrical boxes have some conduit running alongside the end of the chassis.  It was one of those small details that can easily be missed but once you see it, you know you have to do it.

Stainless steel wire was used to replicate the conduit...

 

 

Which was then painted up and had a few days curing while I was away.

 

 

So it was a relatively easy job to fit that today, and also to tidy up a few loose ends, namely, the cover panels on the electrical boxes, and the retaining chains for the buffer spacers/extenders or whatever they're called.  Just a few paint touch ups and that will be complete.

 

 

I had also spotted that I still had to add the airlines or vacuum pipes for the brakes.  A quick search around my scrap box yielded no results, but I did find some solder that was a good match for the thickness I was looking for.

I drilled out some Meng nuts to start the connector....

 

 

Then added some styrene tube, followed by some aluminum rivets. Can you see where I'm going with this ?

 

 

Then the valve was finished off with another Meng nut.  The dome head of the rivet was filed flat and a hole drilled in the end to accept a brass pin, around which I formed the levers that appear on these valves.

The front two are complete and the rear two are still in process.

 

 

A quick squirt of primer and you can get an idea of what they are going to look like in position.  I still have to make the brackets that they're mounted on along with the connector on the other end of the hose.

 

 

Small progress but enjoyable nonetheless.

[natterjack]

Your thread is inspirational and I particularly appreciate your accounts of the trials and tribulations involved.

 

Les

[N15class]

Everything looks spot on again. All very inspirational.

[hendie]

Thanks Les, thanks Peter,

 

It's getting there but certainly taking a lot longer than I originally anticipated.  However, for the most part it is still enjoyable although I am tempted to start another build just to have a bit of a change.  The worry is that if I put it aside I'll lose momentum, or get side tracked fro a substantial time, neither of which I want to happen.

[hendie]

Well, modeling is all great and good when it all goes well.  At other times it can all become rather frustrating, which to be honest is what has been happening recently.

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

[peter220950]

Don't forget there's a section for non-railway modelling in modeling musings and miscellany, so you could keep us up to date with the new project. Some of us will miss the Master Classes.

 

Unless of course you think RMWeb is the cause of your troubles!

 

Peter

[hendie]

Don't forget there's a section for non-railway modelling in modeling musings and miscellany, so you could keep us up to date with the new project. Some of us will miss the Master Classes.

 

Peter

 

 

Well so far I've only glued two parts together. My last project of this particular aircraft (Wessex HC2 helicopter) took nearly two years and I plan on outdoing that build with this new one.  I can certainly add it if folks are interested enough.

 

Unless of course you think RMWeb is the cause of your troubles!

Not in the slightest.  I've had some great information provided by the folks on here - information which I couldn't have gotten anywhere else

[Guest theonlydt]

Any update here? Have been following this intently. Hope it's progressing well.

[hendie]

Any update here? Have been following this intently. Hope it's progressing well.

 

I guess that depends upon the definition of update     I haven't been working on it directly, but I have been working on developing a process that I am going to need further down the line... Photo Etching.

I needed to take a bit of a break to stop the project becoming stale and the break has gone on a bit longer than I intended.  I seem to have developed some completely irrational fear of painting.  I don't know why but I have!  That's what originally made me stop as I kept messing up the paint job.

What makes it even more bizarre is that even If I really stuff it up, I know that the worst that can happen is I have to strip the side frames back to the brass again. No big deal, but apparently my brain thinks it is.

 

In the meantime, I have been accumulating all the bits and pieces that I need to do my own photo etching.

There are a number of areas where that will come in handy -- brass luggage racks, window frames etc. 

So far I have been unsuccessful in actually producing an actual PE part, but I think I know where I've been going wrong and provided SWMBO will leave me alone, I intend to get back to the photo etching today.

 

To answer your question in a more proactive way... I shall endeavor to start work on Pegasus again in January come hell or high water.  If I can't get rid of the painting demons I'm sure there are plenty of other areas for me to work on.

 

Sorry for the delay

[hendie]

a small taster just to show that things aren't completely idle

 

My artwork for the photo etch....

 

 

 

which after some witchcraft and sorcery turns into this...

 

 

Which in turn ends up in parts like this.

 

 

As you can see, the process is not perfect yet, but I am making good headway in understanding the limitations of home photo etching.

[Spitfire2865]

Whats the part for? Trying to make out whats in the photo.

[dajt]

That's an excellent result for home etching! Way better than anything I ever got.

[Bucoops]

Whats the part for? Trying to make out whats in the photo.

 

Looks like a bulkhead to the frame of a helicopter - the grey plastic being the rear part of the frame including the bit that the tail rotor hangs off?

[timbowilts]

Looks like a bulkhead to the frame of a helicopter - the grey plastic being the rear part of the frame including the bit that the tail rotor hangs off?

The clue is in the words on the outer frame of the etch?

 

Tim T

[hendie]

Whats the part for? Trying to make out whats in the photo.

 

 

Looks like a bulkhead to the frame of a helicopter - the grey plastic being the rear part of the frame including the bit that the tail rotor hangs off?

 

 

That's exactly what it is.   I'm modeling a Wessex HC2 with the tail folded and the kit supplied parts were not really up to scratch so I decided to make my own.  Hopefully it should end up looking something like this (with a bit more work)

 

Edited January 2, 2018 by hendie

[hendie]

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

 

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

 

 

From Fret A, top left:

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

 

In Fret B we have from top left:

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

 

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

 

The only thing I have got to lose is some time - the material cost is relatively cheap so it's worth a bash to see if it can be done.

[hendie]

I finally bit the bullet and tried again.

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

[Spitfire2865]

I finally bit the bullet and tried again.

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

What brand paint are you using? Ive never had issues like youve described with enamels.

[hendie]

The brand is Ace - it's a hardware store in the USA.  I was having real difficulty in obtaining the correct colors for Pullman here in the USA and these were the closest I could find.

It's just a general purpose aerosol.

I have a feeling most of the issues are down to my own inexperience... I generally use acrylics for painting. Enamels should not be that different. 

I love the building part but really hate the painting stage. However, I'm going to persevere and I'm sure I'll get there one way or the other - it may take me a while but I'll get there

[Spitfire2865]

I know of Ace, Im in the USA too. Id think your problems revolve entirely around decanting aersols. Usually aerosols around here arent purely enamel so thinning isnt simple. Most ive seen are either mostly acrylic or laquer paints, even model aersol paints.

Get yourself some proper enamels from the likes of Model Master. Thin to a milky consistency and you should have no issues. Model Master "had" a great range of colors but have cut down in recent years. You can still often find it for relatively cheap. Maybe $4 for a 1/2 oz bottle. Lasts a long time going through an airbrush. Mixes very nicely too. The only downside is their metallics which dont seem to dry very well.

If you tell me what colors you actually need, I can tell you the closest you can find in bottles. Or mix to your hearts content.

[hendie]

ah I see you're a few hours north of me.

I normally use Model Master paints and actually like them quite a lot.  The problem was that there's no shop anywhere near me that stocks more than half a dozen colors and trying to choose the right color from a web is fraught with danger and a sure path to owning lots of paint I'm never going to use.

 

I even bought the Humbrol Pullman Umber and Pullman Cream but they were worse than useless.  The pigment was terrible and the colors were way off.

 

These two aerosols from Ace were the colors I settled on.  I managed to find a brown from the Model Master Range which was close enough (Italian Brown I think it may have been - I'll need to check) but I couldn't find a match for the cream/Navajo White) in the MM range. 

If you know of an MM color that's anywhere near these I'd be grateful.

 

[richard i]

I am near philly and have found decent paint that goes on well in micheals. If you have one near you. I will have to look up the brands when back at home as they go on nicely. One is an outdoor paint for furniture, it went on as BR maroon very nicely on three coaches. It is lner Doncaster green I can not find a match for for love nor money.

Richard

[Spitfire2865]

ah I see you're a few hours north of me.

I normally use Model Master paints and actually like them quite a lot.  The problem was that there's no shop anywhere near me that stocks more than half a dozen colors and trying to choose the right color from a web is fraught with danger and a sure path to owning lots of paint I'm never going to use.

 

I even bought the Humbrol Pullman Umber and Pullman Cream but they were worse than useless.  The pigment was terrible and the colors were way off.

 

These two aerosols from Ace were the colors I settled on.  I managed to find a brown from the Model Master Range which was close enough (Italian Brown I think it may have been - I'll need to check) but I couldn't find a match for the cream/Navajo White) in the MM range. 

If you know of an MM color that's anywhere near these I'd be grateful.

 

Check out Megahobby.com for a good selection of paints. 

Im in the same boat as you. My local model shop stocks very little in enamel but the whole line of MM acrylic, Tamiya acrylic, Mr Color acrylic, etc.  Ive NEVER gotten along with acrylic paints and can never get an acceptable result with them. Ive accepted any decent selection of colors Ill have to order online.  

Do you have a reference to the cream color you need? Im not knowledgeable regarding Pullman stock.  

[Spitfire2865]

I am near philly and have found decent paint that goes on well in micheals. If you have one near you. I will have to look up the brands when back at home as they go on nicely. One is an outdoor paint for furniture, it went on as BR maroon very nicely on three coaches. It is lner Doncaster green I can not find a match for for love nor money.

Richard

Id avoid Michaels like the plague.  My local one only ever stocked Testors paints and sprays, and in the past few years they have taken them all out of the locked cabinet they were in.  Can you guess what the rack and product looks like now?  Michaels more often than not has no respect for their own products and will let things be destroyed beyond sellable quality.