Another cement silo car [Zementsilowagen]. The RhB has a variety of cement silo cars. The previous attempt was based on car Uce 8001, which has fairly simple design. It has the piping underneath and a bare rear deck, and a somewhat chamfered-looking dome. […]
Uce 8014 has a more rounded dome than the previous cement silo car [Zementsilowagen] that I modeled. But, as I ended up doing previously, I shaped it out of balsa wood. I laminated two pieces together to get the thickness that I needed, then spent a couple hours filing it with a big metal file. […]
While I debate about the fate of the dome, I started working on mixing the paint. I am going to do a number of things differently this time. Instead of using rub-on letters for the logo, I’m going to have a rubber stamp made - and it will have the logo (RhB) and the car designation (Uce 8014). […]
I mixed the gray for the undercarriage, and the white for the silo. You would think that by now, I’d have a fixed formula for the undercarriage gray! But alas, I’m still tweaking it. For this car, I have decided to make all the paint using Holbein acryla-gouache paint. […]
In the photo you can see the beginnings of the undercarriage. As has become the established method, I am cutting pieces of basswood, and fitting them together to make the correct shape. […]
After piecing the undercarriage, I painted it with the gray paint that I mixed yesterday. I painted the edges and ends using the paint knife in order to get a smooth finish, thus looking more like metal. The top and bottom areas are painted using a brush. […]
I woke up this morning with a brilliant idea! Instead of starting the undercarriage over, I would remove the offending pieces of Bristol board, repair the damage, and make new pieces. The photo shows the undercarriage after I removed the screwed up pieces of Bristol board, and before I re-sanded and repainted. The replacement pieces came out perfect!
Here is the undercarriage after being repainted (and still needing some touch-up painting - grrrr). It turned out nicely. Also shown are the gray pieces of Bristol board which will be cut-up further to make details that go on the side of the undercarriage. […]
And I started the wheels today. Busy day! Like previous cars, the hubs are made of pieces of basswood, fitted, and glued together, then filed to shape. I did more filing to shape on this set than previous sets. Next the hubs and wheels have to be painted.
I assembled the wheels hubs, scavaged the wheels, and painted them. The wheels are painted with the same gray that I mixed for the undercarriage. This is the first time that I’ve used the Holbein acryla-gouache paint on metal - and it worked very well. […]
I assembled the brakes using the same pattern/dimensions/materials as on the gravel car. I used the same gray as on the undercarriage that I mixed using the gouache paint, rather than the acrylic paint, but otherwise, the same. You can see that I painted the Bristol board and the basswood prior to cutting the pieces out. I do this to make it easier to final paint after assembling the parts.
I repainted the gray on the wheels, and then repainted the yellow marks. I used the Holbein acryla-gouache raw sienna color paint. I went to the art supply store and bought Holbein acryla-gouache jet black paint. I mixed it with a little white, to get a dark gray, then dabbed a bit of that onto the wheels and the hubs to give them a little “dirt” - some relief from being perfectly painted. The wheels don’t show too much because of the journals, so we shall see if the dirt makes any difference at the end.
The rubber stamp and the stamp pads both arrived yesterday. I used the paint knife to spread some of the white that I had mixed onto a piece of Bristol board, and after it dried, I tested out the two stamp pads. The upside-down “RhB” is the Adirondack brand, and it didn’t do very well. The edges of the print are fuzzy and the ink dried to a faded gray. The ink didn’t dry evenly either. The right-side up “RhB” is the Colorbox ink, and it did better. The edges are good, and the color is good. It didn’t entirely cover - if you look really closely there are gaps in the ink - but I’m thinking that may be easily mistaken as “dirt” on the car. […]
I started the wheel journals. I’ve thought about drawing them up in AutoCAD for previous cars, but never bothered to do so. I sort of enjoy drawing them up by hand, taking the time to measure where each line goes and being super careful to be extra accurate. But I never do a perfect job, and I always end up simplifying the journals, maybe more than necessary. […]
I spent six hours working on the journals, trying to add more detail to them. It’s a little tough to tell from the photo, but I layered two pieces of Bristol board, and the top layer has cut-outs to give depth and thus adding the detail. I screwed up though and didn’t correctly account for the space at the top which needs to be glued to the undercarriage, so I’ve got to start over. While I’m starting over, I’m going to make some adjustments to tweak the detail by painting the bottom layer black, and make the six hours of extra effort worth my while. And hopefully, it will be awesome. Otherwise, I have a back-up simple-like-last-time plan for the journals. […]
I started over making the wheel journals. The top row is the two layers of Bristol board glued together, complete with the top layer having parts cut-out. The solid bottom layer gives structural support to the top layer. The areas painted black are where the journal is not really solid. […]
So first I find a flaw - the proportions aren’t quite right - but that has never stopped me before. I’m still wondering if this much tiny detail will read and be worth the effort, or if I would ever try to do this much detail again on future cars. Even if it doesn’t read, it would make the car worth a really close look - rewarding the looker for bothering to look so closely.
I glued up the pieces that I had prepped. Now I’m working on the detail that goes across the top of the journal. It will be made of basswood and painted gray.
I took another crack at mixing the white for the silo. On the left is the latest attempt - it’s good, though perhaps it could use a tiny bit more of the blue, and maybe a little gray to make it more drab. I tried different red and blue paint this time. Previously, I had used Holbein acryla-gouache carmine and the cerulean blue, and this time, I tried the scarlet and the ultramarine blue. My reasoning for this being the scarlet is a brighter red, and the ultramarine blue is a more purple blue. Meanwhile, I worry that my train will be the pink train!
On the right is the white that I mixed before to use for dirt white. I still like it.
I finally glued the brakes on. Ok, I’ve been stalling on them. I made them the same size as the gravel car’s brakes, but these don’t quite seem to fit right. They’re a little short or something, which is odd since they fit just fine on the gravel car. And the undercarriage underside height is the same and the wheel hubs are the same… Odd.
I also worked on the silo. I glued on the third layer of the silo cylinder, which is made of Bristol board. It gets one more layer, which will result in it being the same diameter as the dome is. I filed the bottom edges and glued on the slanted pieces (painted gray - and a little hard to discern in the photo). They turned out nicely. The fourth and final Bristol board silo layer will overlap the seam and make a nice finish joint.
I took one more crack at mixing the perfect white for the silo - and voila! - I got it! The paint is intended to match the left side of the silo in the photo. The reason for persistence in matching the photos is that this car is intended to take to NMRA for judging and the photo will be all they have to go on regarding what the car is supposed to look like. I mixed just enough paint to smear it on four pieces of Bristol board with a paint knife. I’d like to have had enough to save, but it didn’t work out. […]
I spent a little time playing with painting the dirt onto the silo. This is one of the too pink versions of the silo white paint. I figure I might as well practice on the rejects! I tried using a fan brush, which I had not used before. I bought it on a whim (and on sale) a while ago, but had not really used it (other than to test it out once). The brush did a nice job of streaking the paint onto the surface, but it came out with a scumbled effect. I will try this again, but water down the dirt paint a little and see how that looks.
Still using the pink-ish white rejects as a base, I tried mixing a little water into the silo dirt colors and applying them using the same fan brush. And what a difference! The added water made the paint apply the way I want, but the water brightened up the colors quite a bit. Well, it brightened up the darker colors, but the off-white is just about invisible. I like the brighter colors a little - but it is too much. I also think I need to get a smaller fan brush…I guess I’ll be stopping at Blick Art supply store on my lunch break tomorrow. I didn’t mix very much of the silo dirt colors, so mixing more won’t be too wasteful of paint. […]
I swallowed my nerves and my doubts, and finally finished making the wheel journals. I think they came out ok. I’ll see how I feel about them as time goes on. I think the black background where the journals are supposed to hollow is going to work ok. I’m not a big fan of “stagecraft” type designs, but the journals, like the boxcar windows, may be best with such techniques since replicating such tiny parts is not very doable.
I also see, from the photo, that I missed a couple spots when painting them. Darn. They need some “dirt” black painted on them, too.
Looking at the wheel journals today after a night’s sleep, I’ve decided they are awesome! You can see in the photo the journals for the cement silo car [Zementsilwagen] under construction, and off to the right-hand side, the rear end of the gravel car and it’s journals - and thus compare the journals - and the new version for the cement silo car are nicer.
I made the metal struts that go along the underside at each side. They are made using brass rods that I painted with the same gray paint as the undercarriage. The vertical pieces are round brass rods, and are stuck into holes that I drilled, which holds them rigidly in place. The bent pieces are flat brass rod, and they are glued into place. I used the wood carpenter’s glue. I used the white craft cement for this task on the previous cement silo car, and it worked ok. The struts stayed on. I’m just not sure about that glue in general - my experience using it on pieces since then has not been as good. So, this time I used the wood glue, and time will tell how well it holds the struts together.
I need to give the struts a final coat of paint after the glue has dried overnight.
I added the two underside pieces, which you can barely see in the photo. I also added the pieces on the sides that I had started a long time ago. I have no idea what to call them, but they are just along the side edges before the wheels. They are Bristol board with the gray paint. I repainted them after gluing them on with the wood carpenter’s glue, and I used the paint knife to ensure a smooth metal-like paint finish. And again, you can see the metal struts that I had put on last night. […]
After a few more practice attempts, I finally painted the cement silo. I painted two of them because one goes on half the silo, thus I need two. The “seams” sill be at the front and rear; I’m hoping that after I glue the painted pieces on, that touch-up paint over the seam will hide it. I did the previous cement silo this way, and the seams didn’t show (and I didn’t even paint them over). The silo sides are Bristol board painted with a base coat of the just slightly purple-ish white. Then the dirt was added in layers of various shades of white, tan, brown, and the undercarriage gray. The two darkest dirt colors seem a little harsh. […]
I installed the front steps today. I’ve also installed part of the decking. I need to finish assembling the silo before I can install all of the decking. The pieces next to the silo will need to be cut to fit. I wanted to get some decking on so that I can install the front railings.
The front steps are made using flat brass strips that have been bent, then painted with the undercarriage gray. The brass is stuck into holes drilled into the underside of the carriage, then glued in place with wood carpenter’s glue. The flat part of the step, is the same as the decking. That and the decking are basswood 2 x 8’s that have been painted with very watered down Holbein acryla-gouache jet black paint. The idea being to give the impression of old unpainted wood decking. […]
I made the front railing in five brass pieces this time instead of seven pieces. The four posts, as usual, and then the outer rounded piece is in one piece instead of three pieces. This is the way I had tried to make the front railings when I first started making boxcars (they have the same style front railing as the cement silo cars), but I never could get the outer rounded piece correct, so I made it in three pieces instead as that was easier. As my skills have improved, I decided to once again try for the outer piece in one go, and it worked pretty good. It is not quite perfect - it’s a little off-centered and the top part is not quite parallel to the ground. […]
In contrast to yesterday’s really cool photo, tonight’s photo is crappy. Tough. I added the two little railings that go on the front deck. I failed at making these on the previous cement silo car [Zementsilowagen]. The glue is drying and I will paint them tomorrow. I’m a little concerned that they are too fragile. Not much holding them together or in place, and I used that Liquitex matte medium stuff as the glue. I like it as glue because it really does dry invisibly - at least not shiny visible. And I’m still amazed that the stuff can be used as glue, and it’s amazing as glue, but gluing odd bits of painted brass with it is probably not making strong joints. The joints aren’t in tension, so as long as nothing bumps them, they should hold. […]
Actually, I’m not sure what this thing is supposed to be - but it looks like a tank. It needs a little more glue and some dirt painted on it. The glue will be added soon, but the dirt paint will have to wait a bit. I plan to paint it’s dirt using the same paint colors as I will use for the deck dirt, so I need to get the deck all down first. And before I do finish laying the deck, I have to finish making the silo and get that glued on.
The tank is made from styrene plastic rod, painted. The ribbing is made from narrow strips of Bristol board, also painted. I added a little white paint to the gray to get the lighter color here. The dirt will soften the dual-color appearance.
The tank is sitting on supports that are made from balsa wood. I shaped the balsa wood to be curved on one side using jewelers files. Shaping balsa wood was a daunting task the first time I tried it, but now it is easy and old hat. I enjoy working with the wood to shape it with files.
I mixed up a new batch of the purple-ish white paint (though it came out a smidge pink-ish), and painted the dome. I had to try twice to get the paint mixed, and after four coats of paint, I resanded the dome. This acryla-gouache paint doesn’t sand very well. It turns colors. But it sanded smooth. I gave the dome two final coats of paint, then painted on the dirt. I only used the lighter dirt colors that I used on the silo. […]
I started my first attempt at making the ladder this morning. I have taped a piece of clear styrene to the drawing, then taped the vertical pieces of the ladder to the styrene. The styrene gives some structural support to the ladder during construction, and since it is clear, I can still use the drawing a guide for making the ladder. I plan to cut the vertical ladder pieces to free the ladder after construction rather than untape it to reduce the stress applied to the ladder. The wax paper ti there to prevent the glue from gluing to the styrene - I can wiggle the wax paper and prevent adhesion to it. […]
I added a few piece to the top of the dome - I think it has a hatch and can be opened (in reality). I also finished gluing and painting the ladder - you can see it in the photo - I also bent it to fit on the silo. It seems to be somewhat sturdy - I had no trouble handling it to paint it. I’m sure it could be pulled apart easily, but I just need it to stay together under nearly no-stress conditions. So that appears to be good. I also started the platform that goes on top of the dome, where the ladder comes up at. And the C-shaped pieces are to be trimmed and used to support/attach the ladder and the platform. […]
Well, the ladder is installed, but I’m a little unhappy with it overall. It looks clunky, and the plastic was stubborn about being bent. Actually, it bent easily, it just didn’t want to stay bent. I think I will use really skinny brass rods next time instead of styrene plastic. The ladder and top platform are supported by brass pieces bent and painted. I drilled holes to hold the brass in place on the silo, then glued the platform and ladder to the brass using the contact cement. […]
Without coins, the cement silo car weighed in at 14.6g. I glued 4 nickels together, which total 20g, and glued them down on to the undercarriage. The car is 89mm long, so it is supposed to weigh 35.6g. I still have to make the piping that goes on the back of the silo and rear deck, so it will add a tiny bit more weight - just maybe the missing gram. […]
I finally glued the dome of the silo to the cylinder part of the silo. They fit together quite tightly, and could probably be left unglued, but I figured I had better glue them just to be safe. I used wood carpenter’s glue, neatly applied with a glue stick. I have gobs of glue sticks handy - they are cut up 2×4’s leftover from making boxcar siding. […]
Whew! What a morning! All morning spent fiddling with styrene rods, brass rods, wire cutters, pliers, and the hand drill - and voila! - I’ve cobbled together one set of the pipes. These are the pipes to be painted blue. There is another set, which will be painted red/orange. I’m making the pipes a smidge simple, but not too much. The gold-colored metal is the brass rod, and the white parts are the styrene rods. I drilled out the core of some styrene rod to make the flanges for the joints. The flanges are not quite correctly located yet, and the ends of the brass rod need to be trimmed. […]
The blue pipes are now glued and painted. They need a little touch-up paint, and they will be done. I used the contact cement to glue the flanges in place. The big advantage of using the contact cement is that it makes a stretchy bond, which allowed me to position the flanges, then tweak them a few minutes later, which is not possible when gluing with the carpenter’s wood glue or the Liquitex matte medium. It is hard to mark where things go when using brass rods, so this way I could get the flange to stay put, position the pipes into place and see how much to tweak the flanges to get them to line up. I used the Liquitex matte medium to glue where the glue would show because it dries to nearly invisible - so I used it to glue the ends of the pipes to the deck, and to strengthen the top joint. The top joint has contact cement inside it. I had to use a super skinny brass rod to get the glue inside the joint. It’s quite an achievement, I suppose, when the wooden glue sticks that seem quite small, are too big for the gluing task! […]
The red pipes are installed. Next I want to paint a little rust on the pipes, using the dirt colors that I used on the silo, then it’ll be done. This cement silo car has considerable more detail than the previous cement silo car - it is fun and interesting to compare them. They look essentially alike, but the old one seems out of focus by comparison with the new one’s sharp details. The new one is also more fragile; it will be useful to see how it ages as time goes by, to know how fragile is ok or not.
I went ahead and photographed the finished cement silo car Uce 8014 despite the lack of sunshine this morning. The photos benefited from the natural light in general, but I supplemented the light with electric lights that bought specifically for photography. The photos turned out pretty good, which surprised me. The photos feel like photos of a model, which I suspect is the result of the lack of good sharp shadows. Someday, when the sun shines again, I will take another set of photos. […]