Rio Grande Progress

I was doing a demo on craftsman kit construction at TrainFest over the past weekend.  I used the Raggs to Riches Rico depot model as the subject.  I spent the two days adding the planking around the perimeter of the building.  The kit is well engineered, I did not need to split any of the planks to make them fit the surface, amazing!

KBScale Update and New HOn3 Module

 The above photo shows where things stand with the KBScale McEwan locomotive.  The body is just about done I have only to complete the jackshaft covers and add the brake rigging.  I did receive the replacement connecting rods from the manufacture so now its back to getting the mechanism running.  The figure is a 1:48 model so it is slightly under size for 1:43.  The kit has a option to build to 16.5 mm track gauge (On30) so this gives an idea of what it would look like in a 1:48 setting, looks good to me.
 

 This is a new iron in the fire, an HOn3 module, 1foot deep 5 feet long.  This photo shows the basic inglenook 3/3/5 switching puzzle track arrangement.  This will allow it to function and give me a chance operate both my Blackstone K27 that I purchased a couple of years ago, and my new C19.

I have added the passing track to the front edge and applied the fascia around the baseboard.  Keeping with the Rio Grande theme, on the right is a Raggs to Riches Rico depot (yet another iron).  I have a completed Banta model of the Pro Patria mill (also located a Rico CO), so I am planning on a 2 foot by 3 foot module on the left of this one for it.  The mill will be served by an extension on the middle track. 

Later,  David 

New NAPM Project

It has been well over a year since I have done any major projects on the NAPM layout, the last being the mountain project, so it is time to get going on something new. The city industrial area has not had any serious efforts made to it in several years and there was a great desire to get the wharf area completed as one of the club members is just about done with a model of a tug to complement the car float. Unfortunately, the tug will be on the aisle edge of the layout and there was no plan to do anything with the area behind. If the scenery was done on the front it would have been subject to damage when the scenery was done behind it, it became necessary to come up with a plan for the background.

The track work in the area was particularly difficult as the double track main passes over the

single track main at this location.  The length of the area is about ten feet and the width varies from four feet to two feet.  The area where the track is located is about twelve inchs wide 

My solution is to cover the area in large structures all placed at angles to hide the track configuration and produce visual interest. The views from various directions need to make the tracks look as though they disappear behind buildings. in essance we are creating a short tunnel through a ridge of buildings.  The following photos show my initial plans.   

Here are some low angle views to give an idea of what it looks like if you were looking at the scene at eye level. 

Five Plank Wagon Done

Finished with the Slaters 5 plank wagon! It has been quite a pleasure building this model and I am pleased with the results, I am looking forward to building another car, most likely a goods van. I learned a new weathering technique in the process so it is a real win for me.

The local NMRA is having the first meet of the winter season on Sunday and the popular vote contests will be on. Freight cars is an open category so I will enter this, needless to say it will be the only entry of a UK freight car. Since it is not an "American" prototype I would not expect great results in the voting but it is fun to display something that you are proud of and share it with other modelers.

The KBScale locomotive progress has gotten back on track. I have received the iron and having it and the RSU gives me great flexibility in this form of "hot gluing"! I had not heard back from the manufacture so I went forward with problem solving on my own. I fabricated a new end for the connecting rod from some of the scrap material and used the good rod as a pattern, I also needed to fabricate my own rivet to assemble the rods. I decided that I would solder the rivet to the outer rod, a very tiny dab of solder paste made that a snap. I used a small scrap of paper as a separator to keep the solder from flowing to all the rods. It worked! Twice!! The photo on the left shows the hand made parts. The photo on the right shows the cab front, frame and engine cover/fuel tank. This has been a pleasure, especially the learning of new skills.

Progress Slowed

No pictures today but I have added the brake gear to the Slaters wagon. When I was working on the parts I managed to lose one of the brake lock down fixtures so I will need to scratch build a replacement using styrene strips.

I have managed to ruin one of the connecting rods on the McEwan and have written the manufacture to see about a replacement and some construction advise. I attempted to peen over the end of the rivet holding the rods together. Instead of expanding the end of the rivet I caused the entire shaft to expand seizing up the pivot hole. In my efforts to loosen it I tore apart the end of the rod. I should have asked how to do this first!

To aid in construction of the body of the locomotive I have order a temperature controllable soldering iron. The resistance soldering unit works well for attaching a part but I have not had much success with soldering seams, the iron may be the correct tool for that process, we will see when it gets here.

Later David

Slaters Continued 2

Model building is continuing, this weekends work has been on the 5 plank wagon. I painted the under carriage Polly Scale light freight car red and then washed the exterior wood with a diluted mix of the same color. When dried I painted the iron work with Model Masters raw umber as a rust base, splotched Model Flex rail brown onto the umber, then brushed on hair spray. Each color was allowed to dry between coats. I had never tried the hair spray weathering method so I experimented with the process. I applied Model Flex Milwaukee Road dark gray to the iron work and then used water to lift off the paint. At first I let the paint dry a little to long and it was really difficult to remove, later I found that you needed to let the paint set but not dry completely. It is hard to describe how long to wait you really need to experiment and it may always work out a little differently each time. This closeup of the buffer and wheel assembly shows the result. This seems to work well in 7mm scale not sure how it will work in 3.5mm. I will find out. Later David

KBScale McEwan Locomotive

I have started the construction of a etched brass locomotive kit produced by KBScale. This link will take you to an album that shows the parts that make up the kit. It is definitely a kit because it is compsed of nothing but parts, some assembly required!

KBScale McEwan

I am using a resistance soldering tool and an 80 watt heavy duty soldering iron for assembly. So far so good as I have gotten the chassis completed. I have had the resistance unit for quite a while but have never used it before, it has worked well for attaching the bearings. For the major assemblies I have used the iron, its large heat capacity makes seaming the joints quite quick without excessively heating the surrounding material.