Hawk

It is a Canon power shot G12. Lovely little thing.

Exactly the same camera I am using myself!

 This may sound silly, but I just compose a shot, fiddle with manual setting on the camera till the exposure  looks right to me, and fire away. It is a very good little camera, so it deserves any credit really.

It seems to work very well! May I ask what type of camera you are using?

First tonight we follow the progress of the V2 as it steams along the Down main.

853 2.JPG

and then by way of a change, how about a bit of infrastructure?

between buildings.JPG

Must get these buildings bedded in. Just takes the edge off it, don't you think?

You said in an earlier post that you don´t use focus-stacking for your images, but how do you achieve the fantasic depth of field in your images?

Somehow a trio of british arctic explorers does not feel quite right as the last post in this wooden mineral wagon saga.

So here is the official end of thread image, the wagons in a train for the first time:

On 21/02/2017 at 11:38, Adam said:

Superb! Just an idle thought, however: are you certain that the strapping was picked out like that? I know from bitter experience that interpreting monchrome pictures is hazardous but there seems to be no obvious contrast in the prototype shots, and the paint on the woodwork is also in rather better condition. I'd agree with Simond that the wagons as they stand are rather too clean, but again, that's partly a matter of personal taste.

 

Adam

I agree that it is hard to judge colors from black & white images. 

But I have no documentation on the colors. I have been told by one of the Thamshavn museum staff that the wagons were painted mineral red. 

The lack of contrast is not hard proof either way, the film used could quite possible be orthochromatic which would render red as almost black. 

Take a look at the Union Jack in this photo, it was taken with orthochromatic film: 

The people in the picture are probably quite sunburnt, as their skin tones are rather dark as well. 

The combined photo is a bit misleading as well. My wagons are in fact models in a much later period than the prototype photo. One of the things no one has noticed is that the prototype wagons in the picture do not have airbrakes, while the models have such equipment. So the models are the wagons anno 1938, the protopicture is taken around 1912. A lot could have happened to the paint job in 26 years! An obvious error is that I did not use a revision date much closer to 1938 on the stencils. The wagons would certainly have gotten a revision when the airbrakes were fitted. 

I confess that there is an element of modellers license involved. I kind of liked the black strappings against the mineral, and did not think too hard about if it was correct or not. I guess that more prototype info will surface now that the wagons are almost finished! 

Yep. Had to look twice.

 

Maybe colder with a bit more snow ?

 

Joking aside, safety chains. And will you weather them some more? The text on the middle panel is much more obscure on the upper photo, though strangely, the "Bremsevogn" is quite clear. I wonder if this suggests spray kicked up, and dirtying from the bottom upwards, rather than dirt falling down (e.g. from loading) which might be more evident on top of horizontal surfaces? Or maybe that stencil had been repainted?

 

In any case, absolutely brilliant modelling.

 

Simon

I am in the process of preparing a couple of magazine articles on this project and plan to re-shoot the image. I will add snow and a neutral sky background then. I really like the "studio" feel of the white ground and background.

"Chain and ball" is on the to-do list in addition to brake shoes and safety chains/hooks.

More weathering will be added, I am just unsure how to proceed. Would be a shame to screw up at this stage.

 

Why does no.30 in the top photo have seven planks to the door...  and no.30 in the bottom photo have six planks for the same door?

If I had to make two variations of the hinges for the door I would have to design two sets of brass castings. And that would have meant double cost for 3D-printing and more expensive castings. (Economy of scale, you know).

Alternative explanation: I am a lazy bum and thought that no one would notice.

I think it was a little of both...

We are getting close now...

The other night I painted the wheels for the wagons and started experimenting with the painting of the underframes.
As much as I like the blackened bare metal look, I think the underframes need a bit of paint to blend in with the wheels, and also make the brass castings blend in with the nickel-silver etchings.  At the same time I wanted a hint of the original metal to show through the paint.
I started with the work car as this one has all the metalwork in place. I started by giving it a good bath in thinner.
Then I mixed up a cup of Tamiya Black (XF2) and dark grey with a ratio of 1+3 black+grey. Thinned it with cellulose thinner (1+2 paint+thinner.) Then I airbrushed a very thin coat to the underframe. The wheels were painted the same color, but with a heavier coat.

After the grey I misted on a layer of Tamiya XF64 reddish brown as the first step of weathering.

I then assembled the wagon, and this is what it looks like right now:
 

 

 

I would love to have sincere opinions on hoe this looks at the present stage. All opinions and suggestions are welcome. The wagon needs some more weathering, but not as much as the mineral wagons.

By the way, here is a picture of one of the stencils:



The crude cutouts on each side of the stencil was made with a Dremel by yours truly. The fold-up sides of the stencils came in conflict with the hardware on the wagonside... Looks horrible, but it works. Made masking off the wagon a bit more of a challenge, though. As you can see from the lack of paint in the middle of the stencil, I used a litte glue clamp to keep the stencil as close to the wagon side as possible. Using stencils like this is nt for the faint of hearted, it is very easy to mess up. I have one side on each wagon that are not 100%, but fortunately you can see only one side of the wagons at a time!

I now use solder creams,  These have no corrosive flux ,just rosin, and if you buy 500g pots(they keep for ever in the fridge) It is easy to fill a syringe with a spatula.  Fitted with a canula needle they make large or tiny soldering jobs a dream with the RSU.  The other advantage is no white crud. The flux rosin just flakes off when cold.  The solder creams were invented for screen printing the contact pads in printed circuit work so they are very fine solders usually tin/silver alloys that flow well. (The only downside is cost - typically  a 20 g syringe pre-filled cost £20 but a 500g pot costs between £60 -£90 depending on the silver content and the complexity of the chemistry) I build commercially in large scale (16mm) A 20g syringe is enough for 5 locos, using the cream for assembly, detailing and fixing large detail overlays like frame sides, so you would probably find the 20g syringe more than adequate. Being a good Scot I thought in the long run I would save money with my bulk puchase!

Would love to know the name of the brand of solder creams you are using! And what are the melting point, by the way?

Tonight I added the lettering to the wagons with the help of etched stencils made by PPD ltd. The etching job by PPD is fantastic, I highly recommend their etching service. 

Hopefully, the next update will show the finished wagons. Quite thrilled with the thought...

Absolutely top class modelmaking Hauk, I am following your techniques with amazement.  

 

I have just spent an enjoyable few hours following the route of the line on google earth and reading about its varied, and at times explosive, history. Of particular interest is the link through Christian Salveson who was involved in the construction of the line to my own interests of railways, shipping and transportation in Scotland. 

 

So, many thanks, I have had a very educational morning.

Thanks, Dave!

I am happy that you took an interest in the Thamshavn Railway. It is quite unique, and I find it a bit puzzling that I am (as far as I know) the only person in Norway modeling this interesting little railway.

There's a couple of industrial chemists on the G0G forum. I'll send a link and see if they can advise.

 

Best

Simon

Thanks, Simon!

Hawk

 

I'd be a bit concerned that the caustic soda is attacking the solder. I use various blacking solutions, usually diluted a bit, and always washed off with lots of fresh water. I have never applied a strong alkali to stop or fix the process, nor have I heard of anyone else doing so, until today!

 

Hth

Simon

You might be right. But I have had problems with white crud forming on the solder joints during the actual blackening process, so It could also be from the blackening.

I might be a bit paranoid about neutralizing the blackening, but I have heard stories about model chains that have been reduced to dust years after (well, around 100 yrs, I read this on a maritime modeling forum).

What I know from personal experience is that brass screws can be seriously weakened by blackening just after a couple of years.

I would think that the trick is to use the right strength of caustic soda solution. Any chemists that can enlighten us?

One of the things I have been really struggling with is blackening metal parts.

But I am struggling even more with airbrushing, so I decided to blacken the underframes.

I have tried several approaches to blackening, but this time I tried this:

1. Clean the parts 5 minutes in an Ultrasonic cleaner with a 1:10 water / industrial grade detergent. ( I got it from my brother in law that works in a lab)

2. Rinse with lot of plain water

3. Brush on full strength Birchwood Casey Brass blackening. Work it into every nook an cranny with a stiff little paintbrush. Let it work for a while, dunk it in a container with water. Brush on more B, let it work for a while. Continue until happy with the color.

4. Rinse with lots of water.

5. Neutralise the blackening with a solution of caustic soda. I used around a tablespoon for a liter of water.

6. Rinse with a lot of cold water.

At first, this seemed to work great. But after I examined the frames more closely, I had a few concerns. First, the color was not as dark as I had thought. In the pictures, they look far to light in my opinion. Second, a few parts came loose during the process, and I am a bit concerned that the blackening has etched away at the solder joints. They could of course have been poor from the start, and that it was all the fiddeling with the brushes that made them come loose. The UC could probably work parts loose as well.

Third, there was quite a lot of white crud on the solder joints after the parts had dried. It was easy to remove the crud with a stiff brush, but I am wondering what this crud is, and if it is a sign that the joints are disintegrating.

My chemistry skills are rudimentary at best, so I really have no idea if using caustic soda to neutralize the selenium acid in the blackening is a clever move. But I do know that if the acid is not neutralized properly, it will continue to etch away at the parts. If anyone could advise me on you to neutralise the acid in the right manner, I would be very happy!

OK, enough with the babble. Here are pictures:

Comments, anyone? I would love to hear your experiences with blackening metal.

Even if I am not 100% happy with my results, I think it will be OK as a starting point for further weathering.

Hawk

 

Happy New Year!

 

The "thingies" are excellent - as usual, your modelling is inspirational.

 

It is sometimes helpful to drill a tiny hole in a suitable piece of wood, and hold the thingy and the short bit of tube with a cocktail stick which can be jammed through both and into the hole. This way they all stay aligned whilst you solder - but it doesn't work well with a blow lamp!

 

Best

Simon

That is not far from what I in fact did. My explanation was a bit lacking, perhaps.

I drilled a 0,6mm hole in the the Tufnol board, and used the 0,6mm drillbit (with an 3mm shank)  instead of a cocktail stick. The advantage of using a drillbit instead of a stick is that it aligns the tiny brass rings more precisely, and that it is easier to apply more pressure. An adtitional advantage is that  the drillbit leads electricity, and the RSU wire can be connected to it. The disadvantage is that the the parts and the drillbit is soldered together, and it takes quite a bit of torque to pry the drillbot loose. Fortunately, no drillbits broke in the process!

As usual, I underestimate the amount of work that goes into things...

Here are a set of thingies that I must have suppressed that I needed to make. In fact, they were not even on the etches. So I had to do alittle spot of kit bashing to make them. It was a real chore to cut 16 pieces of 0,3mm long pieces of 1mm brass tubing.

A little practical tip to justify the post: For cutting thin brass tubing, use a stanley knife. I use a simple jig made from a piece of heavy brass angle clamped to a smooth surface. A piece of 0,3mm brass is used as a length gauge. 

To cut you just roll the tubing back and forth with the knife. The cut is not perfect, so I square off the tubing with a file before cutting a new part. This way I have a good end that is soldered to the part, and after soldering the bad end is cleaned up with the file. 

Soldering parts that is smaller than one cubic mm is no fun, I have found that the way to do it is to pin down the tubing/eched part/tubing sandwich with a 0,6 mm drill. I then solder everything together, and twist the drill loose.  A little graphite on the drill prevents the solder from sticking too well to the drill:

Last picture in this enormously interesting photo-essay shows a dry assembly of the wagons:

It moves forward, albeit slowly!

What you have achieved is a wonder, and over the past few months, I have strived to match your level of chraftsmanship, though in a larger scale.

Thanks a lot! I checked out your large scale models, they look great! Sometimes I regret not choosing a larger scale myself. 

I haven't given up modeling, but most of the work done lately has been repetitions of things posted earlier. 

Two mineral wagons are now 95% ready except painting, lettering and weathering. 

Here is one of them: 

And now for another of my experiments in recreating a prototype scene. I am not aware of the identity of the copyright holder of this image, but will of course acknowledge it if notified, and remove it if so required.

Nice pictures! And excellent depth of field. Did you use focus stacking for the picture?

I couldn't resist putting a few more photos on of the hotel on the layout.

 

 

Resistance is futile! Please put up more photos, this is one of the most impressing modeling projects ever. 

Hauk

 

I wholeheartedly concur with your comments about determination.  Some years ago, I was at an exhibition - some guys were discussing a master for a loco brake cylinder - I asked if I might look at it, and it was placed in my hand - I stated the b****y obvious by complimenting the maker, and said "I wish I had the patience"

 

the reply was curt and supercilious "what about the skill?"

 

"oh, I'm sure I could learn the skill, if I were prepared to just keep making them til one was good enough"

 

they were not impressed...

 

keep on being stubborn, your efforts are a joy to behold!

 

best

Simon

Good points, Simon! I think the attitudes you describe arise when people confuse craftsmanship with art. With very few exceptions, even the best model railroaders are craftsmen and not artists.

To become an artist, you need talent in addition to a willingness to work really hard. For becoming a great craftsman, hard work will get you a very long way. This is a tad simplistic, of course, the border between arts and crafts is not razor sharp. 

I also think that making great models requires quite a bit of creativity. But that a project requires a certain degree of creativity does not mean that the result is a work of art.

Well, I am starting to drift here. Maybe I should get back to modeling! 

You're making the rest of us feel pretty inadequate, please keep it up! 

 

This is awe inspiring modelling.

 

Sir, I salute you.

Thanks a lot!

I honestly belive that when it comes to modelling, you can have it if you want it hard enough. That means a willingness to invest the neccesary time and money.

Having custom made etchings made cost some money, and I could never have achived this without the help of my RSU.

But the main investment is time. You would probably not belive how many hours I have spent in the workshop between the posting made on the 16 March and the one posted yesterday.

We are talking several working days (in Norway, we are blessed with over a full week off during easter). I now that this must sound ridicilous to many of you, put parts have been remade several times, parts have been soldered and desoldered multiple times, etched parts have been melted into small lumps of sooty metal. Not to mention a significant amount of time searching for miniscule parts and fasteners dropped on the floor.  The list goes on. 

I am certainly not the most talented modeller on this forum, but I might be the most stubborn one!

Thanks for all the encouragement!

I have finished all the metalwork now, but the brake rigging almost finished me off...

So many small rivets to be inserted in awkward places. But I consider this wagon a learning piece, and I think I have some ideas for mass-producing the parts for the string of mineral wagons I am going to tackle.

Speaking of the brake rigging, my version of the Westinghouse Airbrake System is a bit impressionistic as I have no precise drawings for the piping and placement of the brake cylinder and air tank. There was quite a bit of trial and error. But I think everything is linked together now in an plausible way. Feel free to point out errors!

A little progress report on the work wagon. Railings for the end platform, vacuum pipes for the Westinghouse brake system and other bits of hardware has been added:


Who knows, if the weather gets really nasty during the Easter holiday I might be able to finish the little ###### soon!