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Scottish pre-grouping stuff


RichG

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After lurking for a good while, it's time to show my face, and what I've been up to. I can't have a layout in my present flat, so I'm concentrating on building stock I like, with no particular plan in mind.

 

The current project is two Caley motor car vans. I'm intending to do one in red oxide as a motor car van, and the other in the passenger livery as a CCT. Other than that they should be identical.

 

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Since that top photo was taken, the dodgy roof has been ripped off the right hand one, ready for another attempt. As you can see from the left hand one, the underframes are still rudimentary. I need to think about how to do the axleboxes.

 

I'd be glad to hear your comments,

 

Richard

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Guest Natalie Graham

Good to see another pre-grouping 2mm modeller.

 

What happened with the roof that went wrong? If it is a single layer of thin styrene then the chances are, it will try and get back to its flat shape. You could try a 'sub-roof' made of thicker material scored on the inside and bent to shape then sanded smooth before attaching the final layer and/or cross ribs along the inside of the roof to help it keep its shape.

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I've usually made vans with a flat roof base, essentially the same size as the floor, at cantrail level. Then a spine piece perpendicular to the floor running along the centreline of the van at the height of the roof apex ie from end to end. This provides support for the roof and prevents sagging. One of Matthew Wald's tips for roofs is to use 10 thou plasticard curved to a tighter radius than necessary which you then have to flatten out slightly as you attach it. This gives it more rigidity. I've tried it and it works for me.

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Like Steve I use a flat roof base which also has the advantage of preventing the sides from bowing inward but then put on a layer of balsa which I sand to the profile of the roof. This provides support over the entire roof surface which I often make from good quality paper.

 

Jerry

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Thanks for the advice all.

 

Instead of a flat 'false ceiling' I've put in two cross members to stop the sides from bowing. There was also a long spine, as Steve described, but rather than forming a curve, the roof ended up looking closer to a house roof. I think I probably didn't curve the plasticard enough beforehand.

 

Rich- It's using Fencehouses Cleminson chassis. I checked a few times to make sure I hadn't measured wrong, and either made the body too long or the wheelbase too short...

I think it looks even more pronounced because:

- there aren't any springs in place yet

- It's temporarily on 6mm wheels until I get round to getting some 7mm ones from the shop.

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Instead of a flat 'false ceiling' I've put in two cross members to stop the sides from bowing. There was also a long spine, as Steve described, but rather than forming a curve, the roof ended up looking closer to a house roof. I think I probably didn't curve the plasticard enough beforehand.

 

Rich,

 

I'm building some Caledonian four wheelers in S scale at the moment using Plastikard and I've been forming the curve of the tumblehomes on the sides by forming them over a shaped former in an oven - about twenty minutes at 100C for each side. It seems to be working very well. I know that others have used immersion in very hot water to do the same thing, but I prefer the oven method as being a bit easier to do.

 

I'm just about to make the arc roofs for the coaching stock and I will find a round object of the appropriate diameter to use as a form to mould the roofs to shape. The roofs will still need some internal support like you've discussed above, but with heat forming you can contemplate using a thicker gauge of Plastikard which will have a greater inherent strength which requireds minimal support.

 

Jim.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for the advice all. The roof is now replaced and looking a lot better. I stuck with 10thou plasticard, to avoid it looking overscale at the edges. It was curved by wrapping it round a biro and left for a few days. As well as a spine running along the top, I put two others in at about 11 and 1 o'clock to hold the curve- this seems to be working well.

 

The axleboxes are now in place, using leftovers from association underframe kits. Springs and axleboxes are the challenges for this week.

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For plasticard roofs, I tape them round an empty bottle of roughly the right diameter and then fill the bottle with boiling water. After a few minutes, the plasticard has usually lost its urge to be flat and will stay at roughly the right radius. For 4mm scale, I usually find a wine bottle is about the right size; I suppose that for 2mm scale you could try a beer bottle (having disposed of the contents in an ecologically friendly way).

Hope this helps

Eric

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