1951 Pullman Scratchbuild in 1/32

[hendie]

The windows got printed - got plenty of them but got fed up cleaning windows today so thought I would try something a bit different - how about some construction for a change?  Baton down the hatches folks, we're going in.

Yes, batons.  Batons got glued in place with gloop (yes there is a product called gloop!).  I used 1.5mm thick wooden strips as a substrate for the paneling. This, plus the 1mm thick paneling gives me something approaching the correct scale thickness for the sides.

 

 

Then in a moment of madness I actually fitted one of the side-frames.  This may come back to bite me later but I felt it was about time to commit to something and do some of yer actual construction on this damned car, after all it's only been just over six years.

What I didn't take into consideration was that once the batons were in place, I could no longer get to my nuts!  Drats.  It's not good when you can't get to your nuts.

Tweezers were called into action and washers and nuts got fitted and I could use the tweezers to lightly tighten the nuts in place.

 

 

Then realized that the carpet fitters hadn't been in yet, so off came the side frame again.

First piece of carpet fitted.  The camera is making the carpet look more blue than green.  In the flesh it's much greener but you'll just need to take my word for that.

 

 

Once the carpets got fitted, the side-frame went back on again and this time I made a small tool to help me tighten the nuts down. - and it worked very well!

 

 

Progress!   This is progress - what a feeling.

 

 

At this point I hit a slight bump in the road... keep moving forward? or work on something else? 

I could always remove the side-frame if needed, but once I start fitting all the gumff inside, there's really no going back is there?  Remember, I still haven't fitted the car to the track or to any kind of base.

I hummed and hawed for a while then decided  what the hell, lets go for it.  What's the worst that can happen?  (don't answer!)

 

For a number of reasons, most of which I can't remember, I decided to begin with the bar/kitchen end.  The end partition was made up of a laminate of 1.5mm styrene, 1mm basswood sheet, and on the kitchen side some "Formica" I had printed years ago in this build.   I was quite lucky in that respect - I kept all the scraps of photo paper from back then and there was just enough to do the job. Lady luck must have been with me 'cos my printer packed in moths ago so I'd need to go buy a new printer then try and find what graphics I used for the Formica.

I managed to get a nice smooth transition from the side-frame to the partition.

 

 

Definitely no going back now.  So, keeping with the kitchen and working my way down that side, the first panel went in place - and I discovered another problem.

Note the cutout I had to make in the bottom of the Formica panel to get it to fit over the nut and bolt.

The brass angles I have used to allow me to fix the side-frames to the chassis protrude into the car.  Unfortunately there's no way around that.  The angles are only about 5mm wide so it's not a huge problem.  Now, I could thicken the batons to end up with the nuts behind the panel - but that would throw out all the internal transverse dimensions across the car.  For the most part they will be hidden and I have some ideas how to disguise those that aren't hidden away.

 

 

This construction stuff is fun innit?   It's been so long I had forgotten just how exhilarating it was.

Out came one of my favorite tools... the holemaker.  To make a hole of course.

 

 

Why ?  Well, once the carpet fitters left, the cabinet fitters came in and started on the kitchen worktops and we needed a hole for the sink.

 

 

Yesterday morning I was going over the drawings and noticed that the kitchen had a small sink in it - I had never really paid much attention to the kitchen area before - as it's probably going to get closed up never to be seen again once the roof goes on.

However, the sink caught my fancy so I fired up SolidWorks and created this sink in about half an hour or so.  As the printer was running making windows, I just tacked this print onto the end of my print run and by end of play last night I had three sinks to play with.

Cabinet then made, and in searching through my scraps again I found some 'tiled floor' so cut out the floor-plan for the kitchen area and stuck that down.

 

 

Cabinets in place, dry fitted only.

 

 

It's tight in there innit?   I don't suppose the barman needs much in there - enough to wash his hands and slice a few oranges and lemons I guess?

 

 

There's another set of cabinets fitted up top, but the top edge of the cabinets follows the roof profile so I need to give that some thought before starting with all that.

I also wanted to get all the kitchen fittings in place before deciding how to finish off the diamond window aperture.  Now that I see this altogether, it makes it a lot easier to decide what the next steps should be.

By way of mojo enhancer I threw in the bar and display cabinet to see what things looked like

 

 

Not sure if I should stick with carpet behind the bar.  May need to replace the carpet with tiles... if I have any left over. 

It would probably be a good idea at this point to check the floor coverings drawing wouldn't it ? 'doh!

 

 

There's another partition between the kitchen and the bar, but it has a sliding door and the whole partition is going to be less than 3mm thick so I will have to put some thought as to how to construct that and still have it looking half decent.

 

Hope you are all safe and well in these trying times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[N15class]

What delightful progress.

 

[richard i]

Great to see all the parts you have been working on coming together. 
richard 

[Hilux5972]

Nice to see the interior coming together. 

[hendie]

On 28/03/2020 at 23:35, N15class said:

What delightful progress.

 

It's taken it's time coming but we're finally moving along.

 

On 29/03/2020 at 10:40, richard i said:

Great to see all the parts you have been working on coming together. 
richard 

 

some coming together and lots still to be made I fear

 

On 30/03/2020 at 02:47, Hilux5972 said:

Nice to see the interior coming together. 

 

indeed.  What's even better is that it appears (so far) to fit!

 

Howdy folks, a little bit more progress this evening.

 

The very first wall panel got permanently fitted.  After checking my files I found that the flooring behind the bar is exactly the same tiling as that in the kitchen.   Thankfully I still have a section of flooring left over that is large enough to cater for that, but I'll wait until I'm further into the build before doing that.

 

 

I figured out how to mimic the partition and sliding door into the kitchen.  I used a laminate of three sheets of basswood with the middle sheet protruding slightly to give the appearance of a door not fully open/closed. A door handle was made up from some stainless wire, and I found a piece of PE grill that I cut in half and glued a piece on either side of the door.

 

 

You can see how the laminates work here.  Next problem for the day was to work out the angles for the wall section containing the door.  That was a bit tricky as any misalignment in the vertical direction shows up quite drastically when looking at the paneling square on - which no-one is ever going to be able to do once this is all closed up.

 

 

Once I was convinced I had the angles correct, I added some beading on the corridor side to give the impression of a door, then finished it off with one of my chromed door handles.  I love those things - they really add a lot to the detail.

 

 

There's a slight misalignment along the top end of the partition and door but that isn't a problem (yet).  There's a beading to be fitted along the top edges which will hide any unevenness along the top edges.

 

But what does it look like inside I hear you ask ?  Well, here you go.

 

 

The door "frame" inside the kitchen was thin strips of aluminum tape - then I realized after I had taken this photo that I had forgotten to add a door handle inside. That was easily rectified though it was awkward ensuring that the handles were at the same height on the interior and exterior of the door.

See... proof that the handle was fitted.  I even put a blue dot and a red dot on top of the taps... otherwise the elfin safety occifer would have been after me.

 

 

This shot shows the interior of the sliding door. Admittedly not a great shot but at least you can see the door and the handle and other section of grill. 

 

 

ah... this shot shows it better

 

 

I need to add some splash-backs to the counter tops as well as a hand rail across the window - which I just spotted on a drawing yesterday.  The only other thing to be added to the kitchen is the above counter cabinets but since they are formed into the curvature of the roof, I'm not really sure what to do about them yet.

 

Next up will be the bar area.  This might slow things down a little as there's a few things to be made for the bar.  At least two drinks cabinets, a couple of wall seats and a few other bits and pieces. 

I'm not sure if I should populate the drinks cabinets with bottles or not.  If so, I'll have to print them.  Decisions decisions.

Also, I need to figure out how to replicate the granite top of the bar itself. Bar handrail and foot rail... the list goes on

 

but it's starting to be fun again!

 

 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by hendie

[hendie]

Aaaand another little progress update

 

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

 

 

If you assemble them in the right order, you can arrive at something resembling a wall mounted drinks cabinet

 

 

Chop off anything that doesn't 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 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.

 

 

 

[Enterprisingwestern]

Given your attention to detail, the bottles I must see!

 

Mike.

[N15class]

On 01/04/2020 at 05:12, Enterprisingwestern said:

Given your attention to detail, the bottles I must see!

 

Mike.

The full or empty ones.

[hendie]

On 01/04/2020 at 04:12, Enterprisingwestern said:

Given your attention to detail, the bottles I must see!

Mike.

In the works Mike, but don't hold your breath

 

19 hours ago, N15class said:

The full or empty ones.

Full to begin with of course. 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

[richard i]

Could you drop the vestibule floor in from above once all sides and ends fitted? Or leave one side off and try a mirror fit having worked out what it needs to look like to the centre line? 
it looks great by the way. Are you still thinking of hinging the side and holding with magnets so you can see all the inside detail? 
richard 

[hendie]

4 hours ago, richard i said:

Could you drop the vestibule floor in from above once all sides and ends fitted? Or leave one side off and try a mirror fit having worked out what it needs to look like to the centre line? 

 

hi Richard, the plan at the moment (and it could change) is to fit the flooring before fitting the opposite door.  I still have some working room in there though it's tight.  Today may see the first try and determine if I need a Plan B

 

 

4 hours ago, richard i said:

it looks great by the way. Are you still thinking of hinging the side and holding with magnets so you can see all the inside detail? 

 

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

Automated 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

 

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.

 

Buggeritall and just close it up.

Just take lots of photos and have a small monitor play a slide show beside the display

 

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 

 

[Adam88]

Not the best of pictures but I saw these two in a museum recently and one of them shows an option for a hinged roof.

 

It has been very interesting following your progress and it's good to see that you appear to be getting very close.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Adam88
reinsert lost photos

[Michael Edge]

6 hours ago, hendie said:

 

hi Richard, the plan at the moment (and it could change) is to fit the flooring before fitting the opposite door.  I still have some working room in there though it's tight.  Today may see the first try and determine if I need a Plan B

 

 

 

 

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.

 

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

 

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.

 

Automated 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

 

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.

 

Buggeritall and just close it up.

Just take lots of photos and have a small monitor play a slide show beside the display

 

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 

 

I'd go with option 5, photos will show all the amazing work you have done.

[richard i]

You missed option Z hinge the side at the bottom and allow it to pivot up and hold at the top with tiny magnets. 

[Ian Major]

Hendie, As ever, beautiful work. The problem I have is that I look at this then get a bit depressed when I return to my work bench and look at my efforts at carriage building. 

 

For viewing the insides of the completed model I feel a roof with cutouts would be the neatest and would avoid (potentially) unsightly hinges and other gubbins. This is the approach taken by the guys who produce "Admiralty" models of ships that have detailed interiors. 

 

If you keep the roof cutouts to one side of and slightly below the centre line, the coach when viewed from one side would look complete then when viewed from above would reveal the interior. 

 

Ian.

 

PS When you have completed this, have you got another project in mind to occupy yourself for the next six years?  

[hendie]

21 hours ago, Adam88 said:

Not the best of pictures but I saw these two in a museum recently and one of them shows an option for a hinged roof.

 

 thanks Adam.  Very useful photos providing food for thought

 

18 hours ago, Michael Edge said:

I'd go with option 5, photos will show all the amazing work you have done.

 

Michael, the only thing I know for sure s that whatever version I go with - will be wrong!

 

2 hours ago, Ian Major said:

For viewing the insides of the completed model I feel a roof with cutouts would be the neatest and would avoid (potentially) unsightly hinges and other gubbins.

 

Thanks Ian.  I think that's the way I'm leaning at the moment, though it's very like to change on an almost weekly basis.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hendie]

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...

 

 

*** some days later...

 

The bar top. 

This particular item has been gnawing at me for months, if not years.  Just how do you replicate granite sheet at such a small scale?   In this case, Uba Tuba.  For those that are not aware, Uba Tuba is a very dark green, almost black granite with a predominant gold fleck running through it.  Sidebar:  I used to design, manufacture & fit marble & granite furniture many years ago and I remember when Uba Tuba first started making it's way into the UK. It was a very exotic looking material, very rich looking, and at that time was ridiculously inexpensive.  I thought it would look cool in Pegasus and that was why I proposed it - and Suzie (our interior designer) loved it.  Hence the reason Pegasus has an Uba Tuba bar top.

If I had know I was going to build a model of it, I'd have proposed something easy to model, like a stainless steel top, and be done with it.  if wishes were horses...

 

Anyway, here's what a chunk of Uba Tuba looks like in it's natural surroundings.

 

 

So, just how on earth do you go about trying to imitate that then?

For a long time I struggled and couldn't make my mind up.  I considered many options: 

Just go with a plain colored bar top

Print out a photograph and stick it on the bar top.

Get a tile of Uba Tuba and cut it to shape!

Try and make a decal of Uba Tuba and use that.

a bunch of other ideas I discarded very quickly

None of those seemed likely to have a successful outcome.  Then I had a brainwave.  At least I think it was a brainwave. (I'm not entirely sure). 

The gold fleck was the key. Well, that and the black/dark green. Oh, and the overall green tinge. And the shiny surface.

 

What if I...

 

 

Yup, you guessed it.  What if I

Painted the bar top black.

What if I then randomly sprayed some thinned down dark green on top to give a slightly mottled effect?

What if I then sprayed some clear green and...

While the clear green was still wet... took some brass, a file and then started filing over the top of the wet green layer in a random pattern.

let it all dry

then sprayed some clear green and...

took some brass, a file and then started filing over the top of the wet green layer in a random pattern

Then when I had performed this routine 4 or 5 times, let it all dry

Clear coat the lot

micromesh to remove the worst of the sticky up lumps

and clear coat again

 

Just what would that look like then?

 

Maybe something like this?

 

 

To say I was happy with the result is something of an understatement.

Astounded I was.

 

The layering has worked wonders - those brass filings laid down first have a slightly deeper tinge of green over them and the different layers reflect differently giving it all a bit of depth.

Did I say I was astounded?

You'll have to indulge me as I show a couple of dry fit shots just to keep the mojo flowing

 

 

Once the rest of the fittings are in and the mirrors fitted, that is going to look very cool

 

 

So, it may not have been a massive step forward in terms of the amount of 'physical' progress, this is a HUGE leap forward and a real mojo enhancer to have had such success with a part that I was convinced would never be anything other than average at best.

 

did I say I was astounded?

 

 

 

 

[Hilux5972]

That looks fantastic! 

[Bucoops]

Brilliant!

[Ceptic]

Outstanding modelling, and, dare I say it, I'm astounded too.

[hendie]

Thanks @Hilux5972, @Bucoops, @Ceptic   your comments are appreciated

 

I've been tied up with a lot of small odds and ends - nothing really major, but a lot of those tedious little tasks that take an age but you'd spot them (or rather not spot them) a mile away if they weren't there.

The windows, those damn windows, got a second coat of clear this morning and I spent about an hour just cutting and trimming lots of little windows to go into the frames.  Then I got bored. So I made up the threshold plate that sits betwixt car and diaphragm and stops you falling through the gap. I had made some up in styrene and covered in textured foil - then remembered I had bought a sheet of tread-plate some years ago.  It's a little bit over-scale but works for me.  I also fitted the drop down shelf inside the vestibule - you can just see it hiding out of focus in this shot.

 

 

The replacement mirror tiles finally arrived, so the bar got a mirror fitted.  The tiles are 1mm styrene and the quality of the mirror is very good - the down side is that being styrene, the surface scratches VERY easily - hence why I'm leaving the protective cover on for now.  The mirror was cut with a razor saw, then I filed the edges to give that beveled look.

 

 

Now it was time to tackle another of those jobs that I had been avoiding - with no real defense as to why.  The center partition.

I've been mulling over whether to fit the second side so that I can really start tying things together - but am a bit hesitant.  I know there's some things that will be made really difficult if that second side is in the way. However, the center partition needs to go in so I can continue paneling so... cut a bit of 1.5mm styrene

 

 

Then realize that by the time I cut the door in there, there's going to be no strength left in the structure - and I feel that I need some rigidity over that length so - I found some square brass tube , trimmed the top of the styrene and glued the tube in place - making sure I had clearly marked out the door section which was going to be removed.

 

 

Once I had removed the door section, it was a straightforward job to add the paneling.

 

 

In cases like this, I often find it easier to make things oversize then trim back as opposed to trying to get exact sizes first time around. The door jambs as a classic example.  I just glued in some big chunks, then butted the paneling up to that.

Then to get a nice even lip I placed another piece of basswood on top of the paneling and sanded the door jambs down to that height. The piece of basswood prevented any damage to the paneling and set a nice 1mm lip all round the door frame

 

 

Constant dry fitting

 

 

When I had all the edges finished I also realized that I did not have the edging inside the door frame that the door closes up to ... the rebate?

 

 

another dry fit - with some window dressing this time (sorry - it keeps me happy!)

 

 

So now the partition is almost complete,  (I always say 'almost complete' then within hours realize there's a whole bunch of other bits still to get done), it was time for the door.

This part of the door was simple - just cut a door sized rectangle, then cut a window sized rectangle out of the door.  So far so good...

 

 

However, that piece of door is only one piece of basswood sheet - 1 mm thick, and somehow I have to fit a window into it.

Well, I have a plan.  That plan is to butt join two lengths of thicker basswood, mainly because one piece wasn't wide enough - but I was also hoping that having multiple pieces of wood joined here will help resist warping (which I have found happening on some of the pieces I made years ago)

Since this basswood was much thicker - I could also hog out some of the inside face and place the 'glass' in there - and while I was at it, I hogged out some more and threw/glued in a chunk of brass plate

 

 

Then when the twp faces of the door are placed together, there's no gaps.  The chunk of brass should stop any twisting of the door in future.

 

 

The door is now glued together and curing.  Tomorrow the partition and the door will get some clear coat to add a bit of shine.

One thing that needs added to the partition are the mirrors.  There's 4 on the center partition alone.  Dammit.  And they're not just simple rectangular mirrors.. Oh no.  They're fancy schmancy shaped mirrors they are.

With 4 on the center partition and a number of those same mirrors stuck elsewhere throughout the car, I thought it only prudent to make up a template.  Here is my first attempt in brass.

Complete fail!  - trying to trace around that shape even with a sharp blade was just asking for trouble.  Another approach was needed.

 

 

Template number two.  Yes, this is the finished template, believe it or not.  While it may look like a piece of crap, my first test worked quite well.

The mirror has a double curved profile on each side - those 4 holes allow me to pilot drill the mirror, then open the holes out to form the double curve.  The bottom section of the brass is the same width as the mirror - so this is going back to my 'make it oversize then trim it back' statement from earlier.  It's much easier to form those double curves, then remove excess material, than to try and form those curves directly on an edge

 

 

This is my first attempt with the new template.  I've lost most of the double curve I was trying to create - I used a drill that was too large.  I'll drop the drill size down for the next version

Beveling was done by scraping the back edge of a blade along the edge of the mirror

 

 

Then provided I can make a bunch of them that look half decent, they get fitted either side of the doorway on the center partition

 

 

Stay safe and enjoy the weekend

 

 

[hendie]

For those of you who are just dying to try this at home, and I know there are many... Here's hendie's guide to mirror making.  Use the template to mark the 4 pilot holes, and scribe two lines.

 

 

Enlarge the 4 holes slightly, cut along the two guide lines, then just remove anything not mirror shaped.  Easy wasn't it?

Well, it was 'cept it took me most of the day to get two that I was happy with.

 

So here we are - the bar side of the partition is 99% there. Some skirting was added, along with a heater control on the skirting. (and now found out I need another heater control for the opposite side skirting)

The door was finished off, chrome handle added, and two of those damn mirrors stuck in place.

 

 

and can you see that double curvature that I was trying so damn hard to capture?  Can you heck as like.

Oh well, that's modeling for you.  I also (very fortuitously as it happens) found out today that I can't fit the center partition now or I won't be able to put the second side frame on later - at least not without slight modification.  I need to fit both at the same time.

 

 

at least the two mirrors on this side look close enough to being identical.  Doesn't really seem much for a full days work does it?

 

I'm not sure whether to model it with the door closed or with the door open to the dining area. 

Until next time....

 

 

[hendie]

Today was another one of those spend ages doing things for not much visual progress, but things that need done one way or the other.  I did start off with my 'quick win' for the day, though it took a bit of courage to actually do the work.

The final position of the cabinets was marked out - after measuring and measuring and measuring as once they're glued in they're not moving.  There is a cornicing fitted around the roof line so I used a 1mm brass angle taped to the top to get an even line - butting the cabinets up against it

 

 

and still managed to mess up with the cabinet on the right.  Thankfully it's not too noticeable when everything else is in place.  It's on with superglue so I was too scared I'd cause more damage removing it so just left it in place.  The cover strips went on without any issue though.

 

 

Then the obligatory dry fit to boost morale.  I also added the second heater control, though I've still to paint the knob (blob of PVA glue) red.  The Golden Arrow frame is still not glued yet as I have a TRIANON BAR sign to fix to the front of it and I reckoned it would be easier to do that then fix the entire shebang in place.  If I'm feeling brave at the next session I may try and lever it off and refit - but only if I'm feeling VERY brave.

 

 

The bar is almost complete -apart from the opposite side paneling of course.  I'm also waiting on some assorted tubing arriving so I can tear my hair out trying to make the hand and foot rails. THen there's the bench seats... then the lights... window rails... dammit, still lots and lots to do here.

 

The majority of yesterday and today was spent cutting windows... lots and LOTS of little windows. Then another age was spent wicking diluted PVA into the joints. I did that once yesterday then several times today to make sure I got a good seal in there holding the windows in place.  The last thing I want is for one of these blighters to pop out when I'm doing the final tidy up.  Then I bit the bullet and glued the frames, well, four of them, to the main window itself.

 

 

After that it was another of those 'how on earth am I going to do this?' half hours where I just sat there staring at the build.

I needed to see the outside of the car to make sure there were no glue trails or leaks, but I also needed to be able to see inside in order to be able to apply the glue.  After faffing about for a while I ended up with this ridiculous arrangement - precariously leaning the car over about 45° so I could apply glue, then tilt it back upright so I could check outside that all was well.

 

 

So far so good...

 

 

After the 4th window I'd had enough for the day - my nerves were shot so I'm taking a rest for the evening.

 

Overall, I'd say I made pretty good progress over the weekend, but it's back to  stay at home to work tomorrow so I dare say things will slow down a little. 

 

 

 

[hendie]

I decided I couldn't live with the wall cabinet being out of whack so with heart in one hand, and a chisel bladed knife in the other I cautiously wiggled the chisel blade down the back of the cabinet. A slight crack was heard as the superglue gave way and I just had to repeat the operation along the length of the cabinet.  Once released, I cleaned it up and with a bit more care this time, stuck it back in place.

There... much better now.

 

 

During multiple sessions this week, mainly lunchtimes, I got all the windows sorted out.  44 little panes combined to make one big pain but at least the job is done now.

The small panes were cut from 0.25 mm thick clear styrene sheet and the large panes were cut from Acrylic sheet - 1mm thick I believe.  (and just realized that I mentioned all this in my last few posts!)

Anyhoos - here they are from the inside

 

 

and from the outside (without clamps!).   I still need to send the window cleaner in at some point.

 

 

The opposite side was a lot easier to do since it wasn't attached to the chassis. 

 

 

though I did temporarily attach it to get a sense of what this is going to look like one day...

 

 

One of the windows was a bit tight and as I was fitting it the paint cracked and started to lift. Once my little panic attack had subsided I decided the best thing to so was to press the paint gently back in place and then applied some diluted PVA to hold the flakes in place.  A bit annoying but not the end of the world.

 

 

I like this shot - it really makes me feel like the end of this build is within reach, and gives a great sense of what Pegasus is all about.

 

 

Then it was back to reality!

One of the more challenging portions of this build are the hand and foot rails that adorn the bar.  Like everything else in this build, I hadn't given it much thought until it was time to attack it - I'm just making this stuff up as I go along you know.

The hand rail and foot rails need to follow the curvature of the bar itself, and maintain a constant offset from the bar, otherwise it's going to look all cattywampus innit?

I had ordered a bunch of materials to (hopefully) be able to try and get these rails sorted out this week. Among the materials was a soft bendable (or so it was advertised) brass rod.

To create the rail I drew around the bar top then stuck a bunch of spacers offset by 2mm which is the gap I want to maintain.

The bendable brass was certainly bendable - a bit too bendable to be honest.  This was my first attempt

 

 

Not too shabby but I was annoyed by the small kink seen on the left side just as it transition into that large curve around the front of the bar.  I've tried rolling it and a bunch of other stuff but can't seem to get rid of the kink.

It doesn't look too far out when just laid against the bar. There is a certain springiness to the brass which would would allow me to pull/push into alignment as it's fitted

 

 

But it still annoyed me so I made one in aluminum.  This one seems better - the curves flow more fluently.  However I'm not sure how the aluminum will take the Alclad chrome paint.  I know that I can get a really nice chrome finish spraying the Alclad directly onto brass, but never tried it on aluminum... time to try it out I guess.

Shown here are the 4 tools I used to obtain the different curvatures -yes, really, those are what I used!

 

 

As I was pondering all this stuff over, I had another realization - the bar was pretty flimsy.  Now, I made this bar way back early on in the project and it's sat around and I've never really given it much thought -but now... if I am fitting rails to the front, the surface I am going to be fixing to needs a bit of rigidity and some strength behind it.  I had used thin styrene sheet to get the curvature and that would never stand up to my usual clumsiness when fitting the rails.

I considered gluing strengthening panels in behind, but it was awkward and wouldn't work on the tight curves. Then I remembered a solution I had used before - I mixed up some resin and just poured it in where I was going to need support.  It's not the prettiest solution but it works.  Sometimes that's all you need to do.

 

 

The bar now has a bit of weight to it and is a lot stronger

 

I thought the rails were going to be the hard part - until I realized that the rails need to be held in place by stanchions or whatever they're called.  5 on the handrail and 10 on the foot rail (5 to the bar and 5 to the floor).  I spent a couple of nights thinking about this while going to sleep and ended up ordering a bunch of stuff off the web to try out - then thought "Numptie!'  - I have a lathe.  I should be able to do this myself.

After a few false starts and design iterations I had something that I think is going to work

 

 

All I had to do was make at least 15 exactly the same.  Actually it wasn't that difficult once I had the first one worked out.

The two empties stuck in the styrene square were first generation.  The one with the brass rod sticking out is the final version.  2.75mm in diameter, a metric baw hair thick, with chamfer on the edge, and a 0.8mm hole through the center.

 

 

I threaded them all onto a rod for ease of painting, then thought -aha!  I can solder these in place and just cut the rod to length - but I'm not convinced that's the way to go just yet (I'm still making things up as I go along)

 

 

Due to the curvature of the bar - these are all going to enter the bar at different angles - and they still have to be attached to the rails yet. I need to get the holes in the bar to line up with the (still to be drilled) holes in the rails, taking the offset into account...

 

I'm off for a lie down while I try to think this one through.

 

 

 

 

 

[simonmcp]

Firstly may I say what stunning work you are doing. I once travelled in a VSOE UK coach form Meldon quarry to Exeter on the reopening of Okehampton station so this brings back memories.

 

"Due to the curvature of the bar - these are all going to enter the bar at different angles..."

 

Technically (I'm not very technical myself you understand) each of the fixings will be perpendicular, or at right angles, to the side of the bar. Hope this information helps and doesn't cause you any more hassle.

 

Keep up the excellent work.

 

Simon