Saturday, March 24th, 2007
I took a short break and played around with mixing paint colors for what might be the car I make after I finish the logcar. This is a gravel car [Kiesgutwagen - I think]. I’ve worked out the basic design construction for it, but am still pondering the details. The photo is from http://www.polier.ch/
The paint colors are the Holbein acryla gouache paints. I plan to get another one of those rubber stamps made - this time for the text on the side - so I needed to paint the sides with the gouache paints. The stamp ink doesn’t dry on the acrylic paint because it isn’t porous enough. […]
Thursday, April 12th, 2007
Unlike the last two cars, the boxcar and the logcar, where I was making a car type that I had made before and worked out the details, this next car is like the cementsilocar, a car that I’ve not made before. So, like the cementsilocar, this car will require making pieces, trying new things, and remaking pieces, and probably starting over at least once. I enjoy both types of work - steadily making something that I know the answers and can make adjustments and improvements - and the exploration of making something new.
Here I’ve started to cut out the wooden pieces.
I scanned the train car number and info that will go on its side from the drawing in the book. It just happened that the car I picked and the car in the drawing have the same number. I sent off to have a rubber stamp made. It turned out not as clear as I had hoped for, but it is so tiny, that it is probably as good as it can be. The picture of the car shows the info and it is not too clear there either - sort of marred by age and dirt. I’m wondering about re-doing the stamp and making the “Fd 8658″ bit clearer and leaving the rest messy.
I also bought stamp ink. I got two different brands to try out. Both worked ok. One printed clearer than the other, but the other ink dried faster. Since, they both dried eventually, I guess it doesn’t matter that it is slow.
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007
I mixed up a batch of faded pink/salmon color for the body of the gravel car [Schüttgutwagen]. I’m not certain I got the color quite right. It’s hard to tell when the paint is wet, since the paint lightens when drying. This is acryla-gouache paint, so it lightens. The regular acrylic paint, darkens when it dries. The paint looks shiny in the photo because it is still wet - it will dry to a very matte finish. I don’t think I mixed enough extra. I need to have leftover for painting the basswood parts of the car, and doing any touch-up later on. […]
I returned home earlier this week and have been busy processing photos from the trip. I finally got back to work on my gravel car today. I’m still working on mixing the paint for the body color of the car. I made three attempts today. The photo shows the third and best attempt. I want to try a few more to get a slightly more faded and slightly lighter color. I played around with which paint colors to use to create this color, and concluded that my original combination of carmine red, Naples yellow, titanium white, and burnt umber is best.
It looked a better match in reality than it does in this photo. I think I’m going to mix a slightly pinker version, just to be sure - use less of the burnt umber. I still am getting a niggling feeling that it needs blue. Sigh. The Naples yellow, the carmine red, and the titanium white combine to make a nice bubblegum pink. I played around last night with subbing neutral gray for the burnt umber, which didn’t work. And I tried adding ultramarine deep, which resulted in an ugly purple/mauve kind of color. […]
Maybe I’m starting to split hairs - these photos never look the same as reality - but I think this is a closer match than the previous attempt. I’ve been trying each combination of my reds and yellows, with white, and with either cerulean blue or cobalt blue. So far, I’ve learned that it only takes a smidge of the blues to get an effect! This color is scarlet, Naples yellow, titanium white, and cobalt blue. Not exactly in my color pallet - but hmmmmm. I’ve got a few more color combinations to try tomorrow. If nothing else, I learn a lot about what colors combine to make what. I made a hideous green color that might be useful someday on an oil tank.
Ok, I’ve made a decision to go with that last set of colors I mixed last night. I’m going to use the color on bottom for the base color, and the color on top for the dirt. They are both made of scarlet, Naples yellow, and titanium white. The bottom color has cobalt blue added, and the top color has cerulean blue added. This totally messes up my creating a color palette for my train cars, which might be a good thing. I mean, have you ever seen a train that matched? […]
I’ve marinated for a couple days about the blue in these gravel car color mixes. The basic color has cobalt blue and this first coat of dirt has cerulean blue. I’ve decided for the moment to go with it - I could always start over if I decide later if it doesn’t work, but my gut feeling is that it will be ok. This is the first color of dirt, next will be a light gray. The one on the right side of the photo, came out a little more heavy-handed on the dirt. Typically, I have found that as I do this, I will think something looks too heavy or gaudy, but at the end of making the car, I will think it wasn’t gaudy enough. It’s sort of like stage make-up, it really has to be over-done.
I added some light gray. I mixed a little Holbein Neutral Gray #4 with a titanium white. Again, I used the dry brush technique of just jabbing the paint brush at the surface to be painted. I rubbed a lot of the paint off of the brush first, since I don’t want the dirt to make solid coverage. I’ve got a number of old paint brushes that have gotten fuzzy, and this is a good use for them. […]
I painted some basswood pieces that will become the supports for the bristol board pieces that I have been painting. The basswood supports won’t really be seen, but it works nicely to paint them both sides at one time as they don’t warp that way. I smushed them under a pile of books nonetheless.
I made a cut-out guide from bristol board to use to draw the shape of the sides onto the painted bristol board pieces. Then I trace out the shape with a pencil, and will next cut these out - cutting just inside the pencil line.
I trimmed off the extra basswood. I had cut out the sides made from the painted bristol board, and I had glued them to the painted basswood. Then I let them dry overnight under a hefty pile of books. They still managed to warp a little. I also put too much glue on; the glue oozed out from under the edges of the bristol board. Oh well. That made the trimming not go perfectly - the x-acto knife cuts very nicely (and I put in a new blade), but it won’t quite cut straight through dried glue. I sanded the edges lightly with 600 grit sandpaper, which helped some. […]
Well, I cheat. I start with a dark gray and mix white into it, then add whatever I want to make it cooler or warmer. I have had some luck with mixing gray using the three primary colors plus white, but it is difficult to get gray, and even more difficult to get it more than once. […]
Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007
I decided to go with the dark gray that I mixed last night. So, I assembled the wheel hubs and painted them. I made them the same as last time - basswood pieces plus styrene rod to hold the axle, and a little light filing. After I got them painted with two coats of dark gray, I used the “dry brush” technique and added a little Studio Lascaux mix of anthracite and a dab of titanium white. I wanted to lighten the anthracite a little without making it lighter than the gray. The idea being to add some “dirt” in hopes that it will make the wheels look more real if the paint job isn’t so perfect. This will be more effective on the wheels and especially the journals.
This time I’m filing basswood instead of balsa wood. The basswood is tougher and doesn’t smell as nice. But this isn’t too different from using the file to shape part of the undercarriage for the boxcar before this. This difference is that on the boxcar, I could cut and glue all the pieces of basswood for the undercarriage together and then file them into the correct angles - this gave me something to hold onto while filing. This time since the angle are not at an edge, I need to file them before I glue the pieces together - and there is really nothing to hold onto. Much more difficult. I made the pieces to be filed at an angle longer than needed, and filed about half the length, thus solving the problem of something to hold onto. I will cut the filed portion off before gluing it into place.
And yes, I am going to paint those wheels!!!
I pieced together the undercarriage for the gravel car [Schüttgutwagen] using pieces of basswood. I did a rather sloppy job…no particular reason, just lazy. This is the first attempt at making one of these cars, so despite my need to sharpen my skills, I don’t feel strongly that this car has to be perfect. It is sanded and ready to be painted. There will be some additional basswood pieces added as this car has a low part between the wheels, but I think that it will be better to add that after I get the wheels, brakes, and journals on.
I painted the entire thing with the gray (Studio Lascaux mix of anthracite, titanium white, with dabs of cerulean blue and bright red). Then I painted the edges the dusty gray mix that I had made from the Holbien paints for the sides. I also added the dirt - both the darker pink and the light gray that I used on the sides. I left the underside and deck the gray. The deck gets some wood decking eventually. It is really tough to tell from the photos what color the deck is - I’m guessing it is dirty and thus gray where there is no decking.
I initially used a brush to paint the gray. I then used the paint knife to apply the dusty pink - two coats. This gives a smooth finish more like that of painted metal, whereas the brush leaves brush strokes and leaves a rougher finish. I used a dry brush to apply the two dirt colors.
I painted the wheels and glued them on. This time, I set the wheels the same distance away from the closest end. I always wonder about the front end having the wheels set back further because of the front porch thing - thus centering the wheels on the length of the car excluding the front porch. But the drawings that I have for this car indicate that the wheels should be centered on the entire car, so I did. This car doesn’t have a clear front porch like the other cars, though it does have the front railing. […]
Yup, I made the brakes for the gravel car [Schüttgutwagen] today. I did the same as the last two times, though with a few tweaks.
I used the micro basswood “lumber”, 8 x 8’s, cut to make triangle shaped pieces. I then used the flat jeweler’s file to file down the 90 degree point. And one of the rounded jeweler’s files to shape the things sort of moon-like so that they fit the wheels. This time I didn’t file them as much, because last time I over-did-it. […]
Wednesday, May 30th, 2007
I glued the brakes on and started working on the wheel journals. This set of brakes turned out quite nice. They fit better than the previous sets, but they rub against the wheels. Rubbing was expected, but it sometimes stops the wheels from turning. The irony - the brakes actually work as brakes. *sigh*
Thinking back, I should have spaced the wheels correctly.
I started on the wheel journals for the gravel car [Schüttgutwagen]. I made a tiny adjustment to the dimensions - I made the bottom 2mm wider. In the photo you can see (upside-down) the bristol board piece without any paint or other pieces glued to it. Pieces just being started look so incongruous at this point.
I spent a little time this evening pouring over photos of a gravel car that a friend gave me copies of - starting to think about how I will make the underside part. This is the really hard part - deciding which details to include and how detailed to make them, and how much to omit. Some details add more to the realistic appearance than others, but I have found that I am a lousy predictor of which these are. This gravel car in particular, is one of those cars that looks simple, but is really quite complicated.
I’m still plodding along with the wheels journals. In laminating the second layer of bristol board to the first layer, I made the exact same mistake that I made on the previous car. Maybe I should start reading my own blog! I drilled the holes into the first layer, then glued on the second layer and had to re-drill the holes. Someday, I will learn to glue the two layers together, then drill the holes once. Aiiiggghhhh! […]
Whew! I added a new detail - if you look carefully where the journal attaches to the undercarriage. I had some trouble gluing the journals on. I tried the Grrrp Craft Cement, but didn’t seem to be getting the job done very well. I glued the remaining three journals using the Wood Carpenter Glue. That seemed to go better. I’m going to wait until morning to see how the first one glued with the craft cement turns out. As Lurch (from the “Addams Family”) would say, “Uuuuuuuhhhhh”. […]
Wednesday, June 6th, 2007
I worked some more cutting and piecing the basswood for the underside of the gravel car [Schüttgutwagen]. Some of the wood here has been glued together and some of it is just propped in place. I really enjoy doing this woodworking stuff. My Dad does a lot of woodworking, so I figure I inherited my enjoyment. […]
I finished piecing basswood for the underside. I painted them using the gray that I had mixed and used for the wheels, brakes, journals, etc. I’m about to run out of this gray, but there isn’t much more need for it. After gluing the parts, I added the dark gray/black paint for the dirt. Other than a little glue showing here and there, which I will touch-up paint, it is looking pretty good. […]
Excuse me while I dump some thoughts out of my head. […]
Saturday, June 16th, 2007
I spent most of today working on the gravel car [Schüttgutwagen]. I added the steps at the front, and painted them with the gray color, then a light coat of the pink dirt color. I also added the gray blotches to the sides of the undercarriage, and the route info to the sides of the car. And finally, I made the pieces that go slant-wise to form the box that holds the gravel. I also painted the top of the deck - not much of the deck will end up visible. I’m still feeling twitchy about the paint on the top of the deck, though. […]
I assembled the top part - the box - that holds the gravel. And of course, the first things I see are the flaws. I think I will sleep on that - and make a list of improvements for the next time tomorrow. There’s still work to be done. Next item is the front decking. I started the decking - painted the basswood with very watered down Studio Lascaux Anthracite. This deck will be like the cement silo car. […]
Thursday, June 21st, 2007
I added the front deck tonight. The decking is painted with Studio Lascaux “anthracite” that has been watered down. I wanted to give the effect of old boards that were never painted. The boards are not perfectly straight; I made them fit the space. […]
The glue dried overnight, and today I put a thick coat of light gray acrylic paint on the inside. I mixed Studio Lascaux anthracite and titanium white for this. I painted up the entire inside of the gravel box and the top edges, then painted the dusty pink on the top edges and down into the box a little. The photos that I have show the box as being two-toned much like this when empty. No idea why. I plan to fill the box full with gravel. […]
Saturday, June 23rd, 2007
I got quite a lot accomplished today. I added the front railing and the heavy-duty railing that supports the handwheels that are used to open/close the underside gates that control the gravel being let out (in reality - this is a non-working model). I also added the wood pieces to the front steps. I’m quite pleased with how this car is turning out. […]
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
This gravel car [Schüttgutwagen] is turning out way better than I had expected it to when I started it. I was really concerned that it would turn out like the cement silo car [Zementsilowagen] - slightly out-of-scale and cute - but it is turning out quite nice. It has its flaws and is not perfect, but I’m very pleased that so many pieces have turned out so good. […]
Thursday, June 28th, 2007
I put in two euro-cents on bottom, then a nickel, and a quarter on top. The gravel car [Schüttgutwagen] weighed 14g before adding the coins, and 29g after. It will gain a little more weight upon completion, but I’m not sure it will make it to the 36g that it is supposed to weigh.
Thursday, June 28th, 2007
I made a false bottom for the gravel box. And now I’m waiting for the glue to dry so I can paint it. I decided to make a false bottom so that I can put in less gravel. Less gravel should equal less wet glue, which should equal a shorter drying time. And hopefully, less chance of the wet glue damaging the car. […]
Saturday, June 30th, 2007
Well, Mother Nature decided to help me out with some cooler, dryer weather. Thank you!!! I glued in the gravel last night. And the gravel car spent the night with a fan blowin’ on it to make sure the gravel dried as quickly as possible and as completely as possible. It feels dry this morning and appears to still look ok. Whew!
I added a little dirt (water-down anthracite paint) to the front steps. And it is now complete and ready for a photo-op.
Here ya go - photos of the finished car. If somebody had told me back when I was starting this car, “it’ll be great”, I would have responded, “fughitaboutit”. But it did turn out great, and it has made me wonder - just how much better at this can I get? The next car will be a cement silo car, with the intention of taking it to NMRA for judging on Nov. 3. […]