Nothing is as good as wood

[highpeak]

I am not sure this belongs here, but LaBelle has been around a long time and happily is still with us. Their website has the above slogan, but happily the box you get contains a lot of milled wood, since I doubt customers would be too happy with a box containing nothing, even though presumably you could build just as good a model out of it.

I remember squirming at a phrase Tim Shackleton used in MRJ about how you couldn't rush some kit or other "because it wouldn't let you". If Shackleton wants to see a kit that you'll be spending a lot of time on, LaBelle is a good place to go. Working with wood seems very slow compared to, say, plastic, and there's a lot of sand-fit-sand-fit stuff in these kits, especially when it comes time to shape the roof. And either I'm a bit dense, or the instructions are cryptic in places.

I picked up this kit for around $3 about thirty odd years ago, and fiddle about with it now and then when I get fed up of plastic, resin or brass. The kits are still available (around $35 a go, which I think is pretty reasonable) and can be found at https://www.labellemodels.com/.

[Mucky Duck]

The finished article on the website looks pretty impressive. Methinks you should commit to having a go at trying to complete it… obviously take a stiff drink first!

[BR60103]

The end of that type of roof has always been troublesome. There are curves in all directions, the underside may need to go down farther than the wood does, and the lip on the side of the clerestory has to curve down to meet the lower roof which is curving down to get away from it.

Walthers used to sell a roof end practise carving kit. Someone else sold castings for the clerestory lip.

One tip was to fill the bit of clerestory from the roof to the lip with a sheet of wood and then carve into this.

I did one roof like this. My next try used a plastic roof kit.

I think I have 4 Labelle kits sitting in my unbuilt pile; not all in my unstarted pile.

[RW James]

I bought two of those kits a little over 30 years ago. The combine and the coach. I built the combine - it wasn't easy. I painted and lettered it for the V&T. I had it on display at a show, and someone told me that he thought it was the AHM plastic kit of the same car. At first I was flattered that it looked that good. Then I realized that I put hours of work into something that looked like a plastic model. I traded the unbuilt coach kit for something else. I admire anyone that is willing to go through this, but I never will again.

 

Good luck

[Il Grifone]

It's like die cast metal locomotives. Somehow they look solid and real in a way plastic doesn't however well detailed.

 

But maybe I'm just prejudiced!

[Il Grifone]

It's like die cast metal locomotives. Somehow they look solid and real in a way plastic doesn't, however well detailed.

 

But maybe I'm just prejudiced!

[highpeak]

I built the combine - it wasn't easy. I painted and lettered it for the V&T. I had it on display at a show, and someone told me that he thought it was the AHM plastic kit of the same car. At first I was flattered that it looked that good. Then I realized that I put hours of work into something that looked like a plastic model.

Ouch, that had to hurt.

 

I think though that the journey is where the fun is as much as the destination. And this kind of kit doesn't need a lot of tackle to work on, ruler, square, razor blade, sandpaper (I use a lot of emery boards intended for fingernail fettling) and glue will get most of the job done. I'm spending this weekend at a cabin by a lake up in Maine, a spot of woodwork in the sunshine is relaxing and these old kits are good for that.

[RW James]

Ouch, that had to hurt.

 

I think though that the journey is where the fun is as much as the destination. And this kind of kit doesn't need a lot of tackle to work on, ruler, square, razor blade, sandpaper (I use a lot of emery boards intended for fingernail fettling) and glue will get most of the job done. I'm spending this weekend at a cabin by a lake up in Maine, a spot of woodwork in the sunshine is relaxing and these old kits are good for that.

 

True that - and another thing I was thinking, if you want to build a weathered old coach, one that seems to need maintenance, wood is the way to go. My problem was building it to look like a brand new coach. Here is how it turned out:

 

[highpeak]

That looks very good, if mine comes out anywhere near like that I'll be very pleased (as well as very old...). I like the cold scene as well, and the figure on the end platform. Very natural posing of all the figures.

 

AHM? Pah, get your eyes checked!

[RW James]

...AHM? Pah, get your eyes checked!

Yeah, I know what you mean. The same guy that said that also thought the Rivarossi 4-4-0 (which I had detailed with brass castings) was a brass import. Oh well.

[298]

I have three new HO scale kits on the shelf waiting to be built, and a nice, part-finished Sacramento Northern Combine that someone else had already done the hard work to. Hopefully this will spur me onto getting them started.

[highpeak]

LaBelle does now sell a little wood fret ("roof rounding kit") with laser cuts that give you the templates for the end shaping of the roof and pieces of wood to finish a couple of ends. They come in both traction and passenger shapes. I ordered a 1907 coach since they were similar to some Maine Central coaches (give or take a window) so I ordered the kit to see how that works out.

They will also shape the roof for you for $14, but that seems like cheating!

[highpeak]

Until the World Cup started up I made some progress with the kit, doubt I'll get much more done for a month or so.

[bertiedog]

Labelle are very good kits, they need attention to fine detailing etc, but the result is about as good as it gets. I have just ordered some for the new layout, and some brass bogies, and I am looking forward to assembling them. I have built many before, never any problems, the roof is not that difficult to shape......I use a miniature bench top belt sander.

 

One tip is the easiest glue to use and I now use superglue and PVA combined, one surface superglue, and one PVA, they react, bond, and set very quickly, with the PVA adding a bit of filling and added strength with wood to wood. Thin superglue on it's own with wood is no good, and thicker grade is normally needed, but with PVA it works fine. The reaction of the two makes the PVA set almost as fast as the superglue.

 

Using the together is well known and the idea came from aeromodellers where strong instant joints are needed for repairs.

 

The other tip is finishing , a cellulose thinned sanding sealer is near vital, to seal the wood before priming, to allow smooth grain free surfaces.... and you will need a lot of a good grade of fine sandpaper for the finishing.

 

Stephen.

[hollywoodfoundry]

An interesting, but little known fact, is that the current owner of Labelle, Rick Steele, is a Union Pacific driver on the famous Sherman Hill division. This is the hill that was responsible for the birth of the UP 'Big Boy' 4-8-8-4 locomotives.