RMweb Premium Popular Post airnimal Posted January 7, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted January 7, 2021 I have tried to sort out my Apple I-pad without success. I even enlisted 2 of my 3 daughters ( the third is in Australia ) to help me with this and all 3 are far cleverer than me, but none could sort the problem out. So I will have continue with this camera until I can fix the Apple. I have painted this small bolster wagon that just needs the axleboxes and springs before adding the markings. 18 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post airnimal Posted January 9, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted January 9, 2021 My dear wife has let me borrow her Samsung I-pad to see if I can get better photographs now I cannot use my old Apple device. So here I hope are the start of better pics but the models will still be the same. Not sure if that is a good thing as you may see more faults and warts. Anyway I have made an attempt at some more tranfers and hand lettering. I think I will remove the NSR knott and hand lettering and try again. 22 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post airnimal Posted January 10, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted January 10, 2021 I have tried to make a better job of the hand lettering. It will need to be weathered to take the shine from it. 10 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 11, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 11, 2021 I just need to weather the small bolster wagon and find a suitable load for this pair. I don't have any NSR locos but that could change in the future. But having built 4 NSR wagons I am going to build a brake van to go with them. I have built 3 in the past from Meteor resin kits for various friends which I modified to upgrade them. I changed the white metal brake gear to hand made brass items to make them stronger. I would also like to model a couple of NSR cattle wagons as well. So I have started by cutting out the basic sides. This will be a model of No 459 with 2 windows in the sides and the unusual brake fixings. Instead of V hangers there is a bar bolted to between the W-irons which holds the brake tumbler. I think this is going to be a long job so I may count the hours on how long it takes me. I think this may be quite frightening. 19 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm 0-6-0 Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 I'm looking forward to this. I suspect that as ever it will be a superlative job. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Argos Posted January 12, 2021 RMweb Gold Share Posted January 12, 2021 Also looking forward to this one Mike, the Knotty break vans were full of character. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 12, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 12, 2021 I have managed to get a coat of Matt varnish on the bolster wagon while the weather was bright and sunny. We also had a couple of miles walk to stretch our legs. I am surprised how long it takes me to make a wagon because I am logging the hours spent on this one. This will be quite a complex build with all that framing and brake gear. But it has taken me 4 hours to cut 2 sides and the floor out. Thinking how which way to build things takes time even when I have made hundreds of wagons. I have cut the window openings over size so when the top panel goes over the top there will be a rebate for the glass panels to sit in. , 9 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 12, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 12, 2021 Another 2 hours work and the basic underframe has been put together after making it to long. I had to take it apart and start again but I think I have now gotten it right. I have cut out one end and started on the windows. I have made it over wide to cut back when I come to assemble the body together. I know some people build up all the framing before glueing the body but I prefer to make the basic body and apply the framing afterwards. I have found a pre curved roof in my bits box to the right radius so I will use the same method as I used on the cattle wagon. 10 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 13, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2021 Now I have come to the crossroads. Do I go forwards or start again ? The time taken so far has risen to 11.5 hours. But I have tried something new on this wagon. I have held the Olfa cutter that I scribe the plank lines at a 45 degree angle to give me a beveled edge. On all other wagons I just hold the blade at 90 degrees and cut the same number of cuts which is usually just twice. What I should of done was a test piece and then painted that and then compare with my normal method. So I have scribed a scrap bit of plastic and given it a quick spray of red oxide. This shows me that with the blade held at 45 degrees the test piece highlights any unevenness of the lines. Looking at the parts already cut out I can see a difference between the first pair of sides and the ends. My dear wife says I am being to critical of myself, but how does one get better if you are not ? The 2 end's certainly show a difference in the plank lines with one being deeper than the other. Consistency is the key and can I maintain it. Thinking about this I have gone back and had a look at my unpainted cattle wagon and I can see a rogue plank. Perhaps I should have just done my normal 90 degrees cut and not tried to be too clever. 9 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Compound2632 Posted January 13, 2021 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2021 6 minutes ago, airnimal said: Now I have come to the crossroads. Do I go forwards or start again ? The time taken so far has risen to 11.5 hours. But I have tried something new on this wagon. I have held the Olfa cutter that I scribe the plank lines at a 45 degree angle to give me a beveled edge. On all other wagons I just hold the blade at 90 degrees and cut the same number of cuts which is usually just twice. What I should of done was a test piece and then painted that and then compare with my normal method. So I have scribed a scrap bit of plastic and given it a quick spray of red oxide. This shows me that with the blade held at 45 degrees the test piece highlights any unevenness of the lines. Looking at the parts already cut out I can see a difference between the first pair of sides and the ends. My dear wife says I am being to critical of myself, but how does one get better if you are not ? The 2 end's certainly show a difference in the plank lines with one being deeper than the other. Consistency is the key and can I maintain it. Thinking about this I have gone back and had a look at my unpainted cattle wagon and I can see a rogue plank. Perhaps I should have just done my normal 90 degrees cut and not tried to be too clever. That cattle wagon end looks the business to me. One can clearly see that there is a 45 degree chamfer on the top edge of each plank, as there should be, not the amorphous "groove" one often sees. I see no rogue plank. But you're the one it has to satisfy! 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Western Star Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Consistency of the "plank line" is - in my opinion - one of the most difficult tasks in making models of wagons from plastic sheet (or when working on the inside of Slater's 7mm PO wagons). I think that you are correct when you wrote, some time back, "the lighest of cuts.." and "multiple passes..." (both my words rather than yours). Like you, I have tried to tilt the edge of the scribing tool so as to chamfer only the lower plank and, like you, I noticed that the result was not always a straight line - in my case I put the wander down to the way that the tool would occasionally catch on the edge of the steel ruler. regards, Graham 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 13, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2021 I have spent about 4 hours messing about deciding if I should start again but in the end I have made a new panel at the veranda end. All the body panel are fairly close match regarding the plank lines in consistency so I will continue. I was going to make the top part where the side windows are from one piece but I now think it would be better to make in individual parts, and yes I am making this up as I go along. Time taken so far 15.5 hours. It could still go in the bin. 3 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Western Star Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 25 minutes ago, airnimal said: It could still go in the bin. I wonder what Tony Robinson and Time Team might make of your rejects.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 13, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 13, 2021 (edited) Well that didn't take long. Having glued the body together, the penny dropped ! I have made a fundamental mistake in the fact that the none verandah end is also inset and I had made it flush. Plonker. Occasionally I start a wagon thats not going anywhere. I think this is like a British Leyland Friday afternoon car. O well as Peter Greene would say. Edited January 19, 2021 by airnimal 3 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CKPR Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 We've all been there although probably not with such high quality reject parts. 1 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 14, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2021 If at first start ............. 11 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 14, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 14, 2021 After yesterday's disastrous attempt at building this NSR brake van I decided I would rescue the frame and make new sides and ends and have another go. This time I abandoned holding the Olfa cutter at 45 degrees and just cut the plank lines as normal. I have spent about 7 hours today building this to the stage you see here. I also helped with domestic duties to keep in the good books. The frames look heavy without the chamfer but there is a long way to go before I get to that stage. One benefit of yesterday's disastrous attempt was I looked very hard at the photographs and noticed a few things I hadn't being aware of. The panels on the door being one of them, the frames are not as heavy as the other frames. Sorry the photographs are not very good I have tried playing around with different setting but the flash is a bit harsh. 9 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyfoulger Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Would a modified scrawker blade help with the 45 degree cut? Regular blades cut a trench with two 90 degree corners... would the ‘cut’ still work if you file /grind one of the corners to 45 degrees, you might need to start with a thicker blade.... regards Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 15, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 15, 2021 Andy , yes a blade probably would be better ground as you say but I don't have the facility here. That is one of the thing I miss about work, having a fully equipped engineering workshop at my disposal. I have finally managed to find the off switch for the flash so hopefully I can get better photographs. I couldn't sleep last night so I can down and did 3 hours work and made a start on the side panels as well as the interior partition. I went looking for a bit of scrap plastic to make a floor insert and found a bit of old wagon already painted. So I cut a small portion that fitted perfectly that I will fit after I have painted the rest of the body. Why did I never think of that before ! The reason I needed a floor is because when I pulled the wagon apart the first time I rebuilt the new body the wrong way round and the planks I had scribed were at the other end. So something good has come from something bad. Instant karma. 9 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocor Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 5 hours ago, andyfoulger said: Would a modified scrawker blade help with the 45 degree cut? Regular blades cut a trench with two 90 degree corners... would the ‘cut’ still work if you file /grind one of the corners to 45 degrees, you might need to start with a thicker blade.... regards Andy Even at 7mm/ft scale the plank lines are small in width. I wonder if it would not be possible after etching the lines in with the knife blade to produce the bevelled edge by burnishing with a smooth edged metal tool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Popular Post airnimal Posted January 15, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Popular Post Share Posted January 15, 2021 (edited) rocor, yes it may be possible to rub the plank lines with some sort of shaped metal tool but the problem comes from consistency and trying to keep them all the same. I have done another 3 hours today mainly on the outside framing. I have also done the non verandah end which will need trimming to size later. I nearly made another mistake because I didn't look at the photographs only the drawing which isn't very clear regarding the top of the framing. I was going to make it the same as the verandah end but it is different . Anyway I checked just in time before I glued the curved part on. Someone must be watching over me. The total time now is 28.5 hours but about 12 of those were wasted when I had to start again. I did say from the beginning it would be a long job. Edited January 19, 2021 by airnimal 16 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 16, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 16, 2021 Only a small amount of work today. I have fitted the door on one side and I have been adding the small fillets of wood to drain water from the framing. This includes the longer pieces on the bottom of the frames. Another hour to add to the total. 11 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 16, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 16, 2021 I have done an hour tonight and started on the other panels. I am well on the way now getting the other side together before I start to chamfer the framing and putting on the ironwork. But I think I will have a bottle of Belgium beer and watch the snooker. 13 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium airnimal Posted January 17, 2021 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted January 17, 2021 Lying in bed this morning I was thinking about the little fillets to prevent rain water collecting between the frames. I had filed the ones on the first side from 60 thou square Evergreen strip. But I found it hard to hold and file accurately. Light bulb moment and bingo ! Hold it steady in a length of milled brass angle and file and scrape it with a scalpel blade. 7 1 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Western Star Posted January 17, 2021 Share Posted January 17, 2021 17 minutes ago, airnimal said: I was thinking about the little fillets to prevent rain water collecting between the frames. Great idea. This might be easier if there is an appropriate size:- Triangular styrene rod . 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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