aydingocer

52 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

 

That must be nerve wracking....  Have you thought about using Acrylic glue such as Gator Glue? It gives you plenty of time to position the parts. You can always re-enforce with CA glue later on.

 

Yves

That could have worked, too, I guess. I do have Gorilla Glue actually but it didn't occur to me. Though, there is very limited possibility to clamp anywhere on the structure it would be very difficult to keep the parts squeezed until the glue has cured. But anyway, now I did it this way and the result was satisfactory enough 🙂.

Assembling the head ends (with bellows) as well as the swing doors and lobby doors I had prepared earlier.

The swing doors on either side of the bellows, as the name suggests, swing open and close, with the help of a copper bar. The small doors inside the bellows are fixed. There will come a folded iron plate glued on them later. That plate is supposed to be opened to form a "bridge" between the wagons to allow passage, when the doors are open.

Figures 391-397:

This is all for now.
Thanks for watching!

BUILD DAY 37 / 2 hr / (TOTAL: 98 hrs)

The decals on carriage and head ends are ready, now finally it is time to assemble the carriage walls on the structure. A very delicate work where you use CA glue on a rather long structure and get the positioning right at first try. I dry tested and tested and tested and finally got the courage to do it. The idea of laying it on its side on a soft sponge helped get it done more easily.

Below some photos showing the progress and the end result.

Figures 385-390:

16 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

I missed your second post, sorry. Obviously, you are now mastering the technique.

 

It does make a big difference and your results are excellent. The residual stuff around the "140" decals can be gently removed with lukewarm water and a Q-tip, delicately.

 

Yves

Thanks, Yves, I have been following the tips you posted earlier alongside the manufacturer's instructions and results are great. The residue around "140" decal is barely visible anymore (below), after one day from application. The photo is taken under direct table lamp.

Figures 380 - 384: Now I try the Micro Set and Micro Sol chemicals for the first time.

Overall they look much better than standard decal application and I am pleased with the result. The Micro Sol solution is mainly aimed for further softening the decal to better adapt to uneven and irregular surfaces. Even though the surfaces on this train are plain flat, I still used it since it helps them look more like a layer of paint than a sticker.

I dropped a small amount of each on separate cups and used separate brushes for application. I didn't want to dip the brush directly into the bottle.

For detail instructions visit this document from the manufacturer: http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/graphics/Instructions/MSISysteminstr.pdf

This is all for now.
Thanks for watching!

Figures 375 - 379 : Swing doors. Similar construction procedure as the lobby doors.

BUILD DAY 36 / 3 hr / (TOTAL: 96 hrs)

Decal chemicals have arrived and I will start applying the decals.

I have also ordered a new decal sheet from Amati (at a cost). I will replace some of those I had already applied and not looking great this time using the chemicals.

Today's work also includes lobby doors and swing doors. 
- Swing doors, the slimmer ones, will be mounted on the head ends above. They are fixed.
- The lobby doors, the wider ones, are to be placed on both sides of each end of the carriage (total of 4). In addition, it will be possible to open/close the lobby doors.

Figure 369 - 374 : Starting with the lobby doors. Each door is composed of 5 main parts (including the glass) plus the ornaments. No big surprises in building therefore not much to comment, so I just post here the pictures from the construction.

1 hour ago, Old Collingwood said:

Reminds me of the job I once had  working on an actual  sleeper carriage   when I was a  grounds keeper  -  the  land owner  wanted one on his land  placed on the old tracks that were still there  (as his place was an old  station)  anyway  he wanted the inside gutted  and the outside  re painted  including the roof   - just myself  brushes  and  a broom  for the   water proofing  Black on the roof   - took me about a month  to paint alone.

 

OC.

Your work was tougher than mine 

Figures 366-368: Photos showing the ready heads. All except the decals, as explained above, awaiting the decal setter from the mail.

This is all for now.
Thanks for watching!

Figure 365: Preparing for paint. There are two colors here. Blue and matt black. 

Figures 363-364: Some photos showing the assembly process.

Figure 362: More parts, bent and prepared for assembly.

Figures 360-361: You need a 1.2mm diameter hole on each outward facing ear. I used my Proxxon drill base for stability, otherwise the drillbit was sliding away at the contact to the surface.

BUILD DAY 35 / 3 hr / (TOTAL: 93 hrs)

While waiting for the decal chemicals in the mail, I proceeded with then next step: the head ends.

Figures 358-359: They are identical at both ends of the wagon. The black parts in the photos are bellows, made of iron cast. They are made of two parts which you glue together. They take some amount of filing before they fit each other properly. 

On 1/28/2022 at 8:17 PM, popeye2sea said:

 

Still cheaper than travelling on the real thing.  $4000 to $6000 for an overnight trip.

 

 

Regards,

Wow, looking at those photos my kit still misses a lot of details

Figures 355-357: Painted and being glued in their places. 

This is all for now.
Thanks for watching!

Figure 354: Here is a photo showing open and folded tables at different angles.

Figures 352-353: See the folded ears extends over the radiator. They need to be trimmed (the second photo) to allow proper installation of the radiator on the wall. 

Continuing with the radiator/folding table combination.

Tables can be set folded or open. It is up to the builder to decide how many of which to build. I checked carefully with each compartment to ensure that the compartment furniture (such as freely placed the stools) won't obstruct the open table and decided to build 4 of them open and 6 of them folded. 

Figure 350: The radiator, (metal), wooden table surface (wooden).

Figure 351: First folded table ready.

BUILD DAY 34 / 1 hr / (TOTAL: 90 hrs)

Figures 348-349: A recommendation before I start this day's log. I have been using these medium and thin CA glues in this kit. The disposable flexi-tip nozzles fit both viscosities perfectly. No glue stain anywhere else than exactly where you need it to be. Highly recommended.

10 hours ago, Etcher said:

Watching this build is making me want to get the kit myself. Then I looked up the price! 😂

 

Love the interior details!

9 hours ago, druxey said:

Very impressive kit and work.I, too, was tempted until I saw the price tag!

🤣 Believe me I tried to forget thinking about buying it many times, but finally the curiosity won. But it is worth every penny so far. Great kit and great experience!

BUILD DAY 33 / 2 hrs / (TOTAL: 89 hrs)

Now it is time to do the compartment side carriage wall. Here the inner walls for each compartment is separate and therefore it is a bit trickier. According to the instructions you first dry fit the inner walls and make the necessary trims and adjustments, then glue all of them to their place on the outer wall. And then you glue the whole thing to the wagon, hoping that all the sockets, walls and whatnot will just fit and snap nicely 😆. I am sure that it won't be the case for me so I decided take a different approach. If an inner wall requires trimming and adjustment, I will glue them directly to the carriage thereby reducing the risk of preventing a good installation.

Figures 345-347: Some photos below showing my progress of  dry fitting the inner walls.

Before gluing the inner walls to their place, I will need to install on them a few things like the folding table, heating radiator, window stoppers and jacket hook.

Figure 348: Parts for constructing the folding tables and radiators.

That's all for now.
Thanks for watching!

Figures 343-344: Photos from the current status: 

That's all for now!
Thanks for watching!

Figures  341-342: Sliding the window sheets into place and gluing the window rails.

Figure 340: I installed the corridor seat in place while waiting for the wall assembly above to dry.