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.
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
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. […]
Saturday, August 4th, 2007
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. […]
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007
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. […]
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007
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. […]
Friday, August 10th, 2007
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.
Saturday, August 11th, 2007
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. […]
Sunday, August 12th, 2007
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. […]
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
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. […]
Wednesday, August 15th, 2007
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. […]
Friday, August 17th, 2007
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. […]
Friday, August 17th, 2007
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. […]
Saturday, August 18th, 2007
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. […]
Sunday, August 19th, 2007
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! […]
Monday, August 20th, 2007
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.
Monday, August 20th, 2007
The boxcar (Gb 5091) and the logcar (Kkp 7352) that I made earlier this year will both be exhibited at:
JAMAICA CENTER FOR ARTS & LEARNING (Jamaica, Queens)
“Where It’s At”: contemporary art and videos
August 27-September 22, 2007
Reception: Thursday, September 6, 7-9pm
Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday 10am-6pm & Saturday 10am-5pm
161-04 Jamaica Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11432
Between 160th Street & Union Hall Street
Train: E, J, Z, or F
www.jcal.org • 718-658-7400
Friday, August 24th, 2007
Starting a new car is like enjoying a breath of fresh air. I plan to take photos of the finished cement silo car and post them tomorrow, pending the sun-shining brightly to aid my photography. So meanwhile, I’m starting the next car.
I’m going to try a number of tweaks and adjustments to the boxcar. I want to make the under-carriage a little more detailed. I took some close-up photos of these type boxcars while I was in Graubünden, Switzerland. The RhB has been modifying these boxcars into wagons to haul containers, so there aren’t many still around. I lucked out and got to photograph a few of them. Thus, now I have a better understanding of how the under-carriage is designed. Plus my skills have improved since the last boxcar. […]
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
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. […]
Saturday, August 25th, 2007
I’ve started piecing the under-carriage together using basswood. I’ve worked out in my mind how I will make the under-carriage this time to incorporate my new knowledge from visiting the RhB last April. I think it will work, but it is forcing me to consider things that I have not thought about in a long time - like how long the screw to hold the coupler in place is - and thus how thick the front porch wood must be to accommodate it. The new design will have to more closely coordinated with the construction of the boxcar sides, also. Should be challenging yet fun - and I had better take good notes!
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
I’m constructing the under-carriage from pieces of basswood. It’s looks a little reminiscent of the logcar under-carriage because I added the flange things. On the previous boxcars, I skipped making these since they don’t show. The boxcars always have a Bristol board floor put in them, which effectively does this job. I’m adding this with wood this time so that I can make the little beams that come out (like on the logcar) - but these meet with the long skinny vertical pieces that hang down on the boxcar sides. I had suspected this was how the real boxcars were constructed, and I got a good peek at them in Switzerland, and verified that it is correct. I haven’t made the little beams yet - I think it may be better to wait until I have the boxcar sides ready, then do the beams to ensure that they meet the vertical side pieces. […]
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
I assembled on wheel hub, and have started the other wheel hub. As you can see from the photo, that the wheel hub is just barely big enough to allow the wheel to turn at the top. You can also see that these are different wheels. These wheels are made by BEMO in Germany. Since they are dark colored, I’m contemplating not painting them…but I probably will end up painting them. I do want the yellow marks on the wheels because the railroad does that in reality (or did back in the 1970’s, which it the time period that I am modeling). I also like how the paint is matte finish. The bare metal is a little shiny. On the other hand, if the wheels aren’t painted, then they won’t have the paint chipping off when run over track. *sigh* […]
Sunday, August 26th, 2007
I mixed a large batch of pink/red paint for the boxcar. It came out close. Since I mixed a big batch, I may use it anyway. It’s so hard to decide if the color matches - photos and printers all give different shades of a color. And my test paint strip looks lighter or darker depending on the light and the angle. The color I mixed is Holbein acryla-gouache titanium white, jet black, crimson, burnt umber, and Naples yellow. I plan to mix some a dirt color for it that is just a little browner and darker. Also need a dark color for the two dark siding boards. […]
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
I painted the under-carriage the gray-purple color that I mixed Sunday. I decided to paint the wheels. I mixed Holbein acryla gouache paint color yellow and raw sienna to make the yellow marks on the wheels. I also added the couplers. You will notice that I cut off the metal curved pieces that hang down from the couplers. I installed them and trimmed them off rather than not installing them because I wasn’t sure that they are useless. I wonder if they help hold the coupler together somehow. I think the wheels hub height will work perfectly, but before I glue the wheels on, I need to add those flange pieces like the cement silo car had. I painted some Bristol board pieces to use for them, but I want them to dry overnight under the weight of some books before I cut and glue them to ensure that they are flat.
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Step 1: Find a large piece of Bristol board and tape it to your workspace.
Step 2: Tape down a piece of wax paper that is just short of the 2×4’s in width/length.
Step 3: Tape down the 2×4’s.
Step 4: Paint the 2×4’s liberally - you want to make sure you get a good coat of paint on them and not miss any places. You also want to make sure you paint the edges. Let the paint dry.
Step 5: Use a flat piece of metal such as a paint knife to work the 2×4’s loose of the wax paper.
Step 6: Remove the tape and free the 2×4’s.
Step 7: Use 600 grit sand paper to lightly sand all surfaces of the 2×4’s.
Step 8: Use soft tissue, such as Kleenex, to remove any sanding dust.
The photo was taken after Step 5.
Friday, August 31st, 2007
I added the flanges along the underside of the under-carriage - you can see the edge of it sticking out in the photo. There is one on the other side, too. I made them using Bristol board that I painted. I find that if I paint both sides at one time, the Bristol board doesn’t warp nor curl. For things like this, I use extra precaution and smush them under a pile of heavy books overnight.
I also added the decking. I need the decking on now because I am making the Bristol board supports for the boxcar’s sides - and these supports need to be carefully fitted to the size of the under-carriage. Since the decking is supposed to stick out a little at the sides, I need it on now. The decking is made from scale lumber 2×8’s, painted with the same purple-ish-gray that I used on the under-carriage. I watered it down considerably, since I wanted a translucent coat. I also did a coat of watered-down Holbein acryla-gouache jet black. I did this to make the boards look old and dirty.
So the under-carriage is ready to have the wheels attached. They are ready and waiting. I will probably glue them on after I finish fitting the side pieces. I did a test measurement, and I think the coupler height change will be perfect. The end result should be the journals being shorter and thus correctly proportioned.