popeye the sailor

I didn't do much yesterday...concentrated on putting some of the basic assemblies together. I also did more sanding to the joints on the boiler, getting them to the point that they aren't so noticeable. firstly......for you Ken, the options for the couplers the civil war and the post civil war styles. the cylinder & valve chests could be assembled and painted as a unit. the front covers are a different color, but I can easily mask them off. there is a left and right.........not too tough to do. again.......as will be the case for the entire build, there was a lot of sanding to get rid of the flash and flared edges....there is some mold puckering too, but unless I want to go nutz with the filler, they shouldn't impact the model too much if brought down with sanding. I was browsing through pictures of the actual loco, and of the model online. amazed with the different takes of her.......some looked as if there wasn't a lot of painting {just detailing}, and some that went with an entirely different look. I saw one as a Christmas train that really looked nice some left the gray/white plastics show......some blacks and greens.....especially concerning the truck frames and equalizers { I liked that}. there was another that was done in what looked like a metal flake blue and gold, that looked really nice too. I was going to add more to the boiler and noticed that the side boards on the boiler has wood grain detail to them....so does the floor in the cab. dark brown appears to be the answer here, but I'll see how others painted these parts. the parts for the front pony frame was brought together, and cleaned up for the next bit of assembly. I'll try to keep the wheels ability to turn in mind. I did make one mistake with this assembly, and that pertained with the springs and shackles. I cemented the inner half to the outer side of the equalizers, without thinking that they also need to wrap around the frame too. the equalizers are a two part assembly, and they need to wrap around the frame when I realized the problem I created, I cut between the shackle and frame it was cemented to.........thankfully, they hadn't fully cured. this might not be seen on the finished model, but I think if I were to cut thin slivers of sprue to fit between the shackles, it will solve the problem. unlike the tender trucks, the axles must be put in place when adding the equalizers.......the opposite side must be done in it's two piece form, since the equalizer shackles must wrap around the frame. the outer side was added to the opposite side, making sure that cement doesn't touch the axles. ....and unlike the tender trucks, this one was designed to pivot {note the stem in the middle}. the wheels are to be cemented on the outside of the truck, rather than trapped inside, like the tender trucks. I looked into making the tender trucks pivot....sad to say I may not be able to do it. dummy me cemented in the top plates and king pin plates.......and of course I had to make them nigh impossible to remove without damaging them. it doesn't look good for the pivot. I did make one small contribution so far though on the fire box door. the handle for the door looked thick and squared when placed in the opening. I sculpted out the handle so it has is thinner and has sort of a hook to it. it looks like a handle now, rather than a thick plastic appendage. gett'in ready to do some painting

never thought of doing it that way........pretty ingenious

thanks Carl.........interesting poem here is my all time favorite song from Queen......... one of my smaller hobbies is writing......haven't written a meaningful poem since the Susan A {the old Regina build}. in my younger days, model cars were my biggest subject.......until I got into the larger scale Revell ships. glad you liked this jaunt off the beaten path J & CDW...........love your car.....from what I can see of her, she must have been a looker me....I was a confirmed Olds Cutlass / Chevelle fan..owned many of both ....looks like a rainbow.......very nice size indeed! I haven't done any looking yet........if I find the two ingredients, I may get them and try putting them together. there was only one time where the admiral got between me and a car........there was an Olds Cutlass on the side of the road with a for sale sign on it. I saw potential...she saw a train wreck. got out to look at it......she was complaining all the way......and when I opened the trunk and saw that there was no trunk {floor rotted out}.......that pretty much ended the tour right away. one hates it when they get that 'told ya so' looks on their face! of course, I will have to pose my idea to the budget director, but I think I can pork barrel it through thanks for the many likes and onlookers.....I'm glad you enjoyed my little tangent into the mechanical world. I'm sure there will be more. well.......we got about 4-5 inches of snow last night.......guess I should mossie on out there and clear the driveway

looking very good Glenn........some folks simply use a darker filler for tree nails, but I have seen a few do it in the method. gonna look great when you get 'er all done

welcome back Caroline..........Peg looks just as great, as when you last touched her

awesome deck work Greg........superbly done

I tend to rough them up too......I'm finding more kits don't have "square" edges. could be something with the plastic too.

it's a stealth fleet........old Indian proverb: he rides fastest, who rides alone

nuth'in says lov'in like a model kit

you can also wind a bit of rope around where the rope attaches to the pulley {the eye}.....to make it look more period to the model. the pulley assembly looks good.......no crossed ropes allowed great job!

really gett'in into the thick of it eh?!?! looks like a really neat project Jack.......I'll pull up a seat too

thanks J.........I still made a couple mistakes, but it came out better that the English Leather. even though I filled the void with this one, I'd still like to find another kit.......then I could do more than I did back then. the underside shot is odd........something not usually photographed. I promise to keep her on all fours I don't usually do a top coat.....the times I have, the decals were flat, not gloss, and I did it to even every up. I'll have to look through the old model kit site.......I could have sworn I saw an accessory kit for 1:16 scale cars. I've seen them around still.........it would be cool to buy one and soup it up. if I can find it.......either the Chevy Bel Air, or the Nomad. pipe dreams........us guy would be lost without 'em

oh...oh

I'll have to get more flat black.......the stuff I got is so saturated with thinner, that if I were to do a wash with it, I'd be afraid that it would orange peel the base color. sounds like some testing is in order......I'm beginning to wish the ties were a separate part. I'd sub them with wood

now that the "three steps back" is finished........here's to you do'in a whole shot to the finish! I didn't know you were runn'in a chop shop?!?!?! look'in good!

the cockpit looks awesome I never use flash for any of my pictures......

I didn't have to fiddle 'round too much J........drilled the holes in the top of the oil filter bracket and installed the hoses. there was one other hose that went from the bottom of the tank, to the pump. the Revellution is now complete here is the gallery 🏁 ...here's an odd shop of the underside. thanks to all who followed along.....I'm very glad you enjoyed it

now that's what I call a detailed kit I love biplanes.........should be a very fun project!

sorry....I got carried away with the subject at any rate........the Revellution is finished! pictures soon.

wow.........thanks for the suggestions Ron. I have Walther's and a few other train sites bookmarked......I haven't ordered anything yet for the snow plow diorama. the box alongside the track {I really should do a log for it here} has been gutted......hence all the screws off to the right of the picture. on it, I was going to scratch build a small building, to hide it. a manual switch sounds like a very good idea. when I finally pull it back out, I'll do a small log so you folks can see it thanks for the paint tips too........the instructions say to paint the gravel a light gray.......they must mean crushed rock. primer red for the ties.....touched with perhaps a brown and black wash? that was my thought. thanks Ken......they show both types of couplers in this kit......the pin and the knuckle, which was a later modification. and yes.....apparently the kit doesn't show the period drive gear either.......the model is aimed at the later years of the loco it seems. I'll post a picture for you or the couplers...at least they got that right thanks for the ideas about the wood load.......I'm sure I can scrounge up a cord or two...of something. something about the size of my little finger should do it......after all, I gotta split it too. I'll take a poke and see what it looks like one more day and I should get back to it thanks to you as well Jack........mebbie I kin borra yer 'lil friend there ta hep me split tha wood thanks CDW and J...........and thanks for the likes

glad you decided to jump in seeing your accomplishment here.........you got me fiddling with mine.

the body is look'in really good now! the decals came out great.......and the chassis's coming along nice as well. I guess I'd better get my butt in gear, before you beat me with this second one

it was like pull'in teeth......but you did it I had no doubt that you'd win over the decals and paint. your even the first one done...........beat me by a couple of hoses oh well.......I'm just glad you finished and had fun doing it super looking model!

I'm not even done with my work week, and your done already you did an extremely nice job on the model......top notch!

the B&M snow plow is HO scale.......small.......the fact that the kit is old, is what draws me to it. I found the trucks for it, since they and the couplers aren't supplied in the kit. I haven't seen too many of these kits around.......mostly Varney and Rio Grande. as a matter of fact. R.G. has a snow plow too. I don't want to go too crazy......painting the fake wood will suffice. I did mention that later in years, these locos were converted to burn coal.....I won't be going that route either I was looking on old model kits, and they have a kit of the General for sale......I don't think that the admiral paid $145.00 for this kit.......a bit too expensive, so they can hang on to it for a while the box art is different though, so it may be a real MPC kit. mine is a reissue from Round 2 models. I'm kinda hoping that some train folks visit....I look forward to any suggestions on weathering and paint.