Planning a scratch building project

[ian@stenochs]

Hi RH,

 

I gently abrade the surface with fine wet & dry paper first. When printed leave to dry for an hour or so then a quick spray with a fixative spray. I use Daler-Rowney Perfix. The lines stay crisp enough to cut to and I have had no problems with the solvent sticking sheets after being cut out. Only problem I have had is when I had a 'compatable' ink in the printer. HP original works for me.

 

happy modelling,

 

Ian.

[Sailor Charon]

 

Turbo-CAD used to workout shape to cut out plastikard. The design was printed out onto paper and then glued to

the plastic sheet with 3M Surface mount spray glue.

 

This glue does not wet the paper so causes no shrinking or distortion of the paper.

 

These are parts to cut from a 20 thou plastickard sheet to make an Isle of Wight 2-4-0 tank.

 

You know, I really am going to have to learn how to use a CAD package at some point. Because that is... simply brilliant. I take my hat off to you. Well, I would if I had a hat.

[relaxinghobby]

So far the this cardboard wagon project has only used the Inkscape Graphics drawing program that comes with the Linux personal computer operating system.

I scanned in the drawing to get a jpeg file I could work with, a digital photo would do just as well. Any drawing programme would do, what ever comes with

the latest Microsoft Windows. MS Office Draw?

 

Reduced it to the right size in the Graphics editor, checked it prints out to 4mm scale because sometimes when printed the size of the diagram changes slightly, if the print is still the right size then copy the drawing until the page is full using the cut and paste facility and print it onto the sheet of 0.6 mm cardboard. Why 0.6 mm? Because that's what Rymans Stationers had and it easily passes through my Canon ink jet printer.

 

The same end result could be achieved using a photo copier to build up a page of repeated wagon sides.

 

Then it's back to traditional modeling, cutting out and gluing etc.

 

Bit blurred

 

 

 

Salt Union van painted in the a dark red oxide colour, Revel Matt 84 and then the lettering is started using the Gel Paint Pen.

I Must fit the couplings.

[relaxinghobby]

Working from a drawing of a LSWR van which has been scanned into the computer, copied using a drawing program and printed out on to 0.6 mm

cardboard from Rymans.

 

Cut out and glue layers together, the ink-jet printer ink runs a bit with the PVA glue, that's the green tint.

 

I've began to score out the planks.

 

All those ends will be used to make reinforcement ribs within the van.

 

[relaxinghobby]

I've painted the cardboard loco.

 

 

 

Should I go ahead and build one in brass or plasticard?

 

Some sort of tender drive is necessary?

[Sailor Charon]

I've painted the cardboard loco.

 

 

 

Should I go ahead and build one in brass or plasticard?

 

Some sort of tender drive is necessary?

 

Well, I'm not that familiar with old style locos, but it looks fairly good to me. I don't know whether you'd have enough room in the loco for a motor or not, or rather I can't tell by looking. I know some people loathe tender drive with the same passion that... some people have for Top Gear, but it might not be a bad idea for this loco.

[relaxinghobby]

Thanks for the complement. but it is only a quick paper mock-up made from the patterns published on Ian Whites LB&SCR website.

 

Can I manage to reproduce it in metal and make it work too?

[Sailor Charon]

Thanks for the complement. but it is only a quick paper mock-up made from the patterns published on Ian Whites LB&SCR website.

 

Can I manage to reproduce it in metal and make it work too?

That's a question that, I suspect, only you can answer.

On the other hand, what's the worst that could happen? How much does it matter if you have a go and don't do a good job? I'm not saying you won't do a good job, but how much does it matter if you don't?

As someone once said, the only people who don't make mistakes, don't make anything. I would say, 'Go for it.' I'd be surprised if there wasn't a tender drive unit available in OO, and that should make things not too difficult.

[relaxinghobby]

I've just discovered the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry web site.

 

They have a section containing manufacturers records from their region including the drawings and photographs

of Beyer Peacock and Co Ltd, Loco manufacturers to the world during the Victorian era until the 1950s.

 

Their locos went to railways all over the world as well as England and Ireland, so my little imaginary freelance railway may have had some

of the Beyer Peacock designs too.

 

I've made tracings of two possibilities; an 0-4-2 saddle tank with 4 foot drivers and the same wheel base as the Hornby GWR 14xx tank and

a small 5 foot driver 2-4-0 tank used by the Ryde and Newport Railway on the Isle of Wight, It has more or less the same dimensions as the

Isle o' Mann tanks and could perhaps be made from one of the GEM kits? And using the GEM 2-4-0 chassis kit for their GWR ex Cambrian

tank?

 

 

[relaxinghobby]

Some progress on the LSWR Van.

 

The planking scored and the parts cut out varnished and glued together.

I am fast getting fed up with cardboard for wagons, the hole project would have

been easier and quicker using plastic card. As soon as I can get a reliable way of printing the plans directly on to the plastic sheet with

an ink-jet computer printer I'll start using it.

 

 

I shall add the framing using Evergreen plastic strip.

 

 

Door side, all that you can see so far is cardboard.

[Sailor Charon]

It's looking good though. I'm not sure... actually I wouldn't have known it was cardboard if you hadn't said...

[relaxinghobby]

The body was not very rigid and could easily be twisted out of square with only slight finger pressure.

 

This tool clamp, although a cheap one is good for holding everything square as the the glue dries on the new central stiffening struts.

 

The ends where also reinforced with extra layers of cardboard and the top edges of the sides filled in with some balsa wood, it will

be sanded to the curve of the roof when the glue has dried.

[relaxinghobby]

Using Evergreen square cut strips of 1 X 1 mm, 1.5 x1 mm and 0.1 X 1mm I've now built up the framing, gluing them on with plastic weld, I hope it holds.

 

I have no photos so I had to guess at the framing on the non-door side, and I will also have to guess at the position of any brackets too.

 

Some scrap metal glued inside to get the weight up to about 50 grammes before I glue the roof on.

 

Door side

Non-door side again, have I got the framing right?

 

Working with all the positons marked because I've used printed sides has made it easier to get bits in the right places and straight.

[relaxinghobby]

The van is looking better after a coat of paint to hide all that printed cardboard. The screw through the undrside of the floor is just a painting

handle and will be removed later.

The roof is just two layers of thin cardboard stuck on a layer at a time.

 

Axial and W Iron details are castings from MJT.

 

Couplings are glued to towers of plasticard.

[relaxinghobby]

Ready for service on the layout, now with transfers and varnish, doors on the other side. Checking the drawing it seems the brake gear should be on the side too. Might look better with a little weathering.

 

[relaxinghobby]

 

A new cardboard project, this one was printed out some time ago.

I scanned it into the computer from a plan in a book.

I used the Inkscape drawing program to size and copy the sides and ends until I had an A4 piece of cardboard with sides and ends in 4mm scale.

The picture shows the thickness of the sides being built up with layers of 0.6 mm cardboard.

In the Inkscape drawing program select the drop down menu IMAGE and then select TRANFORM fuctions, lets you do this.

After several trial prints on scrap paper to check the size comes out right, I printed onto the cardboard using the GREYSCALE option in the printer controls.

I forgot to flip one of the sides from back to front to make an opposite side, but since I have lost the original file I'll have to make a feverse side by hand.

[Campaman]

Would printing onto a A4 sized sticky label and then sticking that to your plasticard be a method of being able to use plasticard construction.

[Ogaugefan]

Just an idea, I recently discovered self adhesive vinyl in A4 sheets that can be used for car stickers. They are available white or clear, and run through inkjet printers. Print your design, (in colour if you like) and stick to card or plastic sheet then cut. You can also get a clear laquer to fix the print and give a degree of UV protection, (useful outdoors).

[Ogaugefan]

Apologies Campaman we seem to have had a similar idea at about the same time.

[132]

I use AutoCad for creating builds as I was a Cad technician so I can create drawings quickly. I then do as you guys do and print onto paper and work off that.It works fine but I need to make a number of the same pieces and need to have them exactly the same.

Is there a company that will cut out the parts in 0.5mm plastic from the cad drawings at not to much expence?

If anybody has any links to such a company it would be great!

[relaxinghobby]

Now the dust has settled and the glued has dried, there are glaring mistakes shinning up at me.

Reviewing the half built model a few days later after the initial assembly these are apparent;

 

1 The printer has printed wonkyly, the uprights and horizontals are not always at right angles. and following the lines I've cut the sides out as subtle trapezoids which only became noticeable when trying to glue the four sides together.

 

2 I forget to use the software to print one of the sides out in reverse to make one of the other hand.

 

 

I think the wonky printing is because the stiff card board passing between the printers rollers gets twisted slightly, using a higher quality print setting slows it down a bit and also using the "glossy paper setting". I've have successfully printed on cardboard before so it came be done.

 

The whole idea of printing out the plan onto cardboard means I can avoid the process of marking out all the lines which often goes wrong for me at the measuring out stage. Using the computer to print directly onto cardboard gives the parts to make the basic carcass of the body and the positions of all the details is already there waiting for the next step of adding them.

 

Printing on a sticky label and then sticking it to the a sheet of plasticard would give the basic outline but I fear it would have to be peeled off loosing the position of the relief detail.

Ideally it would be best to print directly onto plasticard rather than cardboard, so far I've not managed this without the ink smudging and the lines being lost during cutting out.

 

 

 

 

See the wonkyness of the nearside L/H corner which does not match.

[relaxinghobby]

 

A second attempt at this horse box, again in paper card with printed sides on it using a drawing from a book, the drawings have been tidied up on the computer using the open source graphic art programme Ink Scape. I had to electronically trace over the ends to make them upright, see the lighter lines in the photo and make reverse copies of the other side as I forgotten to do that at the first attempt and by faithfully cutting out the printed sides ended up with a wonky model.

 

Here you see enough sides and ends for all the layers of one model printed onto one piece of A4 size card.

 

I have now to cook up a roof and some strapping detail, cardboard seems to be quite good for a flat sided shape like this, I have not tried any complicated curves yet.

[relaxinghobby]

Here is my second attempt at this unusual shaped horse box, from the BNCR in Ireland. I'm just starting to add the details from Mainly Trains van strapping etch and thin plasticard micro strip on the door at the L/H end. The planking has been scored and so have the ventilation grills, this sort of detail would have been easier to carve into plasticard.

 

The R/H defunct one has the roof profile made from copies of the end cross sections glued in at regular spacing. On the current one the L/H one, the roof is a separate fabrication built up on a false ceiling.

 

Some of the components awaiting fitting, MR buffers and a Comet W iron set with Alan Gibson wheels.

[relaxinghobby]

Ages since the my last post on this model, it is because I got as far as the undercarriage but got stuck trying to get 

the body to sit evenly on it. The trouble is it is not ridged enough being made of two brass W iron etch and a springy

strip. Perhaps the undercarriage needs to be stiffened up a bit, somehow. The trouble started when I tried to make

space for the larger 14mm wheels and carved out space from the cardboard floor and it left an uneven hole.

 

 

 

The details are a mixture of Mainly Trains wagon detail etch and home made plasticard built ups, all hidden by a coat of paint.