popeye the sailor

Progress is slowly, as there is not much bench time and I started another in between project, but I finished the underside of the Arado, adding pitot tub, antenna, the parachute release ropes for the starting rockets, steering horns, ... I also touched up the underside color, where necessary. 


 
Flipped to the other side, I started decaling the canopy framing with the supplied rivet decal strips, a task, I wasn't looking forward to. I don't like to work on canopies, but the Arado needed it all, sawing, sanding, painting, masking, gluing, drilling, in other words, many ways to potentially damage the canopy. Luckily this was not the case and the decals behaved mostly well, some, I hope to lay down better with following coats of Micro Sol, fingers crossed. The framing isn't finalized, which will be done, after the decals have thoroughly dried.
 

 

 
Cheers Rob

I visited the Smithsonian museum in 2016 but I don't recall seeing the Arado 234 on my visit. Maybe it was there and I just missed it. I was rather rushed through the visit because my wife, daughter, and granddaughter were with me and as one can imagine, their interest in aircraft didn't nearly match my own. One can spend several days in DC and never begin to make a detailed study of the sites to be seen there. The air and space portion needs at least a full day all on its own.
What he was telling me about, in general, was how the canopy sections fit together and the black gasket material that was between the sections. There was more, but I just don't recall everything he said about it.

Beautiful work, up to up to your usual standards!
 
Can anyone explain how the drag chutes work?  It would appear that they need to be ejected against the slipstream to then wrap themselves around the wing.  Or, do the pods swivel?
 
On a slightly related note, Duluth is home to the Sirius Aircraft Company.  Their production facilities are located at the Duluth Airport about 5 miles from my house.  Sirius is supposed to now be the largest producer of general aviation aircraft in the US.  Their composite fuselage high performance aircraft feature a parachute that can be deployed to float the plane back to earth in an emergency.
 
While the system works, in the hands of an inexperienced pilot it can be dangerous.  My wife’s distant cousin owned one of these planes.  Taking off from an airport, the plane’s engine apparently faltered and he deployed the chute at low altitude.  Instead of floating the plane to a safe landing it dragged it into a tree line killing him and two passengers.
 
Roger

What an interesting encounter. I hope you can repeat the meeting and maybe prepare yourself beforehand. When I get the chance, I will visit the museum to see the real thing. Like I said before, the Arado 234 is one of my favorite planes in many different aspects. 
I'm also eager to see, you doing your magic wit the Hasegawa kit. I thought about buying one as well, but when I decide to build a second 234, it will be another Fly 1/32 kit, possibly the reconnaissance version.
 
Cheers Rob

Use the voice recorder app on your phone or buy a cheap digital  pocket size "tape recorder".  I have one (micro cassette) in my camera bag. 

There was an elderly gentleman at the IPMS show I attended earlier in the year who told me some facts concerning the Arado 234 that is part of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC. He said he had worked there helping to restore that particular aircraft. I wish I had written down everything he told me as he was explaining facts about how the canopy parts fit together but I could not follow without a clear visual image of what he was talking about. Maybe one day I will run into him again and have him tell me about it one more time. This time I will take notes. He had donated a 1:48 Hasegawa Arado 234 and detail sets which I won in a raffle held at the show. Maybe one day I'll get around to building the 1:48 version.
Your model looks great at this stage. Keep up the beautiful work.

I can't tell you how happy I am, to have reached this point. The Nachtigall is not done, there is a lot do do until she is finished, but adding the subassemblies to the underside and remove the masks from the canopy was a major step.

The canopy had some staining on the glass, where I'm not sure, where they came from. Luckily,  could rub them carefully away with a cut toothpick. The framing needs to be decaled with rivets, the black color is only the base level.

I hope the landing gear holds up, as the Arado is a really heavy bird with all the heavy resin bits inside and the heavy nose weight as well.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cheers Rob

Thank you Popeye, the painted variant looked good until I tried to remove the residues of the masks glue . I can live with the decals, silvering on 'silver' is not so much of an issue.
 
Cheers Rob

see........I wasn't gone too long    although I have a couple more steps to do with sizing down the pictures.  I'll get used to it    I added the outer tires to the wheel assemblies.  the hub part needs a bit more paint. the hubs on this trailer are oil hubs. they require 5W90 oil. we used to have quite a few, but most, if not all the trailer that have them, have been taken off the road.  we switched over to bearing grease {I forget what type it is}, which is really runny stuff. the caps are threaded and screw on, rather than the bolt on hub caps for grease.  the caps are mostly clear........our Stemco hub caps were metal with a see-through face.  a red rubber plug in the center is the fill port.  

I wondered how I was going to emulate that, since they are kinda shiny, if not dirty.   I got an idea to use the Testor's window maker........I painted it on them, and it looks the part.  add the red plug and they are ready to add to the wheel assemblies.

the tandem dolly and the landing legs got a coat of paint.  I added the cross bar to the landing legs.

another area that I want to expand on is the service plate.  the service plate is the plate on the front of the trailer that has the glad hands and light receptacle.  on this type of trailer, it is built into the front outer wall.  I need to remove the detail and find something that will bring out the parts better.  I'm sure I have something. 

each side of the trailer interior, is made up of 19 spaces between the wall posts.  I still have that Mahogany stripping that I have been trying to find a use for.  I think I found it here.  I cut up a bunch of pieces, 3 1/2 inches long.  one bad thing is that the spaces are different widths........tooling isn't that exact.  not that I thought it would    each space was measured, and the strip was cut to fit.  one side down...........and one to go  

the scuff liner is the guide.  hopefully, I have it figured out so that the floor will fit.  so far, everything is just set in place.

I may have to trim where the door hinges are, but that can be done later.  more soon!
 

that an old trick........not without it's dangers either.   the same danger lies in the use of 'fix a flat' on passenger tires.  we had a guy working with us at one time, that would dismount the outer tires {if they had a problem} without taking the wheel assembly off the trailer.  the GM didn't like it though and told him not to do it anymore.  we plug and patch our tire repairs.  
 
thanks OC..........I have been trying to catch up on your Battle of Waterloo diorama.  now that my ordeal is pretty much over, I can get back to it  
 
yes friends........leaving your internet provider and changing how we watch TV and go online, can be a real pain.   we dropped Comcast and went to Fidium, and now we stream TV.  Comcast halted my home page, but allowed me to use my e-mail.......or, at least they did    I can't log in now and their reason for it, is that it is expired.  today, I went back to MSN and started a Hotmail account.  there really is no reason why I need to go back to the Comcast account, since all my bookmarks came with me.  I was using windows 8.1, until someone hacked me from Russia {or so they said}, and I found that I was able to download Windows 10.........so that's what I did as well.
   so, other than having to change all my profiles with places I normally visit, things are getting back to normal  .  I do have a small update, and I should have it for you very soon.  thanks for look'in in.

see........I wasn't gone too long    although I have a couple more steps to do with sizing down the pictures.  I'll get used to it    I added the outer tires to the wheel assemblies.  the hub part needs a bit more paint. the hubs on this trailer are oil hubs. they require 5W90 oil. we used to have quite a few, but most, if not all the trailer that have them, have been taken off the road.  we switched over to bearing grease {I forget what type it is}, which is really runny stuff. the caps are threaded and screw on, rather than the bolt on hub caps for grease.  the caps are mostly clear........our Stemco hub caps were metal with a see-through face.  a red rubber plug in the center is the fill port.  

I wondered how I was going to emulate that, since they are kinda shiny, if not dirty.   I got an idea to use the Testor's window maker........I painted it on them, and it looks the part.  add the red plug and they are ready to add to the wheel assemblies.

the tandem dolly and the landing legs got a coat of paint.  I added the cross bar to the landing legs.

another area that I want to expand on is the service plate.  the service plate is the plate on the front of the trailer that has the glad hands and light receptacle.  on this type of trailer, it is built into the front outer wall.  I need to remove the detail and find something that will bring out the parts better.  I'm sure I have something. 

each side of the trailer interior, is made up of 19 spaces between the wall posts.  I still have that Mahogany stripping that I have been trying to find a use for.  I think I found it here.  I cut up a bunch of pieces, 3 1/2 inches long.  one bad thing is that the spaces are different widths........tooling isn't that exact.  not that I thought it would    each space was measured, and the strip was cut to fit.  one side down...........and one to go  

the scuff liner is the guide.  hopefully, I have it figured out so that the floor will fit.  so far, everything is just set in place.

I may have to trim where the door hinges are, but that can be done later.  more soon!
 

it's a wonder why I didn't recall this.........we had trailers with single slider pins.  modern trailers have four,  two in front and two in back.  Wally phased out these trailers...not sure if there was a requirement for the newer system.  I looked at the back page of the instructions,  'cuz I knew that the slider actuator handle was included in the kit.



the G rails still need stop bars though....so I will add them.
 
....a funny story......
a trailer was brought to the shop {drive up,  as we call it} because the driver couldn't move the slider.  the common way to do this, is to chock a wheel position with a 4 x 4 block of Oak.  wood is the best form of chock,  guaranteed not to allow a trailer to 'drag'......ever this was unsuccessful.  so Jim and Little John {these two were inseparable } decided to get one of the trucks and free it by using the Jake brake.  our supervisor Paul was a little hesitant,  but Jim convinced him it would work....and so the 'go ahead' was given.  so,  here they are..........out in the yard,  hooked up to the trailer,  and driving it around the shop,  applying the Jake a few times.  I was talking to Paul,  being funny..............I started to mention a worst case scenario,  where the tandem gets ripped out.........when all of a sudden,  they applied the jake right in front of us!  what a noise it made!.....Paul was quite addled at this point....they were going probably around 30 MPH  when they did it.  they stopped..........of course the dolly moved....it had slid back.  when they backed the trailer up,  the rear stop bar fell out on the ground!  I saw Paul's face drop,  and the two backed the trailer up to the shop door.  by this time.......Paul didn't say anything.........he just turned and went back over to the truck side.  these two get out of the truck laughing.  it wasn't too long before the bar was welded back in place and the driver was hooked back up to the trailer.  you may be curious why they just didn't use the driver's truck to do this...........his truck was logged in assigned to the trailer.  if they would have used it,  Logistics would have been ALL over them....and the driver as well {for thinking  that HE did it}.
 
another funny story would be the day I showed these two how to make an Air Cannon...........but that's another day  

sage advice Jack........I'll definitely keep that in mind {in the event that I lose mine  } 
 
some trailers do have them........most are older trailers though.   I've been seeing more companies leaning towards the container trailer.  the box is separate from the rail frame underneath.......mainly use in shipping to and from other countries by ship.  dry vans are good,  but they damage quite easily....means a lot of repairs.........a container is thick steel and hard to damage.  they are also stackable on the ship and at the yard.  since this trailer doesn't have one, it's a safe bet they weren't equipped with one.  as for the cargo........it probably wouldn't be hard to do.......haven't given it much thought.  I have the Budweiser wagon.......it has the cases of Bud,  but the decals are pretty bad.......after all, it is an old kit.  not only that,  they are stick ons .....YECH!!!!!!!
 
so I got a bit further with what I've done so far......the assembly should start picking up now.   the tandem dolly fits snug on the G rails,  as I mentioned earlier.  the G rails have holes for locking pins on the dolly to fit in,  so it won't move.  the dolly is moveable,  so the weight of the load can be adjusted,  to even out the weight across the axles {truck and trailer}.  on most trailers,  there are holes along the entire G rail.......on the model,  there is not.

seeing that I already have G rails in place,  it might be hard to drill them........but I do want to add the missing parts of the slider assembly.  usually there are four....two in the front and two in the back........but in this case,  since it's a short trailer,  I probably can get away with the two in the front.  I'll also need to add stop bars at the front and rear of the G rails.  more research needed....I'll see if I can find anything on this.

I made a goof already.........good thing it was an easy fix.  to keep the trailer in alignment,  you have the torque arms and radius rods.  they are attacked to the leaf saddles and the brackets on the axle tubes.  torque arms are always roadside,  and the radius rods curbside.  the old method for aligning a trailer {we have a portable alignment outfit}  is to align the rear axle and 'tram' the front axle to the rear.  adjustments are made at the torque arms.   to tram the front,  measure the distance from hub cap centers of the right side wheels and match them to the left side....adjusting the same way....at the torque arm.  my goof was that I didn't pay attention.....I just glues them in place.  thankfully,  they came off with little effort.  I cleaned up the mess and glued them on correctly.  I then turned to the interior.  the inner walls on these older trailer were mostly covered in plywood,  with scuff liners along the floor.  some have plastic dividers....some.....metal.........usually in 4' x 8' sheets.  now,  on 53 foot trailers,  there are thirteen a side {the last being a half sheet top and bottom}.  I' going to do this one another way, seen on newer trailers.  I bought some 1/16 x 1/16 evergreen strip for the dividers,  also simulated wall posts.  the riveted detail on the inner walls will be the guide to place them.  I cut a bunch of 3 1/2" strips,  and began gluing them on the inner wall.

I left room for the scuff liner at the bottom.......first one done.

once the other side was done,  I painted them with silver paint.  I'll let this dry over night


cutting the wood fillers is the next big task.  the front wall will also have a scuff liner and plywood.   the roof already has the roof bow detail molded onto it,  so I won't need to do anything with it.  hope to have more to show tomorrow
 

thank you gentlemen.......gee Jack,  perhaps you can give me a head's up on what to expect for the next 20 years  !
 
I have never seen such an extensive line of 'Coca Cola' models...from what I've seen,  AMT had the exclusive    As mentioned,  I did see a 53 foot kit at Hobby Lobby,  but I was hesitant in pulling the trigger.  it wasn't a long box,  which indicates that the top,  bottom,  and sides were in multiple pieces {filler,  here we come!}.  for this trailer,  I may go with the Coca Cola motif,  seeing the the truck has the same logo.  I do want to do something different for the second one........and hopefully another truck to go with it.   a mural sound like fun too   the decal sheet is large and the kit even supplies a sort of gauge to help in aligning the logo 

the one aspect that is missing here,  is the conspicuity markings along the sides of the trailer.   according to the FMCSA {Federal Motor Carrier safety administration},  any trailer manufactured after 1993,  has to have conspicuity tape markings this enables motorists to see trailers better at night.  

the reflective tape can span the entire length of the trailer,  but regulations state that the amount of reflective tape must be half of the total length.  so,  for a 53 foot trailer,  there must be 26 1/2 feet of tape on the sides,  as well as along the bumper and bottom of the door {s}.  in 1989,  the NHTSA {National Highway Traffic safety Administration} published a rule that all light and reflective devices {reflectors},  be made of a reflective material,  which means that tail lights and the use of reflectors was mandatory.  I started working at Wal Mart in 2004.........we were still dealing with reflectors back then....if some of our trailer had them,  they had to be on there.
      
we use the 6 x 6...6 inches of red and 6 inches of white reflective.  there are other types of reflective tape,  like the 7/11 tape........7 inches of white and 11 inches of red reflective {we use this one too,  but it depends what DC the trailer comes from}.  as far as colors go,  red and white is the main combo.........as for the round or oval reflectors {mainly made of plastic,  but can be found as a placard decal} yellow is used which follows the lighting rules along the sides of the trailer body.....yellow at the front,  red at the rear.  the white tape seen at the top of the buck plate door opening is a requirement mandated a few years later.  the truck doesn't have a lot of reflective tape requirements,  but there must be some on the mud flap brackets,  and some form {whether it be the lights or round reflective material} of reflectives on the back of the cab.  I was having a devil of a time trying to locate some, but Egilman was kind enough to direct me in the right direction.....thank you    although it is not reflective,  it fits the bill perfectly!


whenever I replace any at the shop........I try to miss the rivets.....I hate that.  I came up with a way around this,  but recently,  the higher ups changed the policy that all side wall patches be buck riveted,  so that put a stop to my idea.  inside the box there is printed detail.......there is rivet detail on both sides.  to put my interior mod in the first steps to reality,  the floor must be painted.  it has wood grain detail....more modern high end trailers have metal floors........either of light steel or aluminum.

the little tabs you see along the sides pose some of the problems in fitting the sides.........some are a tad off,  while others are too big.  at this point,  I had finished with one side.

this wood strip will serve as the scuff liner,  wall bumper.  scuff liner are always a constant repair item...........some folks just don't know how to drive a fork lift.  you ought to see what it look like when the forks go completely through the side wall!  I've operated fork lifts and single power jacks.  I've also started to assemble the wheels..........really wish there was more detail here,  but it is what it is  

it's been a while friends.........models started,  and models put back in their boxes.........the draw just faded {but not forgotten}.  I'll get back to them.  I'm getting ready to get nutz with this one,  ans I thought I'd share it with you.  I bought two of these trailers at Wal Mart...the last place I thought I'd ever see models.........

the box shows a Peterbuilt 352 Pacemaker cabover,  but Wally had a GMC "General" {I'm sure there is a model name},  and this one is showcased on a Holiday trailer.  this kit is versitile......there are other kits with different subject matter.
       anyway.........the General will have to do.  looking over both truck and trailer,  I do see some points to correct or expand on,  but I'll keep it to what I know.   I'll try to give some insight to what I do at the shop........I'll try to keep it somewhere between a pity party and a rant    
  this is pretty close to the kit.  this thing that sticks out here is the landing legs.  most modern trailers have a platform style foot {feet 'cuz there's two},  but this particular trailer has the wheels.  now,  whether they turn or not leads to be see....I've never dealt with them.  the reason for this,  is in how they are retracted up to the body and away from the ground.  it's not readily seen here,  but the early design of landing leg folded up under the body.......there was no telescopics to them at all.
modern legs have a hand crank that retract the legs into themselves.  the next thing to note are the wheels and the spoked hubs.  these are what they call split rim, a rim with a ring that serves as the outer bead.  I dealt with them when I was young.......and my father was nearly killed with one.  there is a procedure to mount these tires,  and if not followed,  it can take your head off!  I could tell yuns a couple of stories,  but the admiral mentioned that it's time to run errands.............so,  I'll continue when I get back.

what can you glean from this picture?  I thought it interesting 

see........I wasn't gone too long    although I have a couple more steps to do with sizing down the pictures.  I'll get used to it    I added the outer tires to the wheel assemblies.  the hub part needs a bit more paint. the hubs on this trailer are oil hubs. they require 5W90 oil. we used to have quite a few, but most, if not all the trailer that have them, have been taken off the road.  we switched over to bearing grease {I forget what type it is}, which is really runny stuff. the caps are threaded and screw on, rather than the bolt on hub caps for grease.  the caps are mostly clear........our Stemco hub caps were metal with a see-through face.  a red rubber plug in the center is the fill port.  

I wondered how I was going to emulate that, since they are kinda shiny, if not dirty.   I got an idea to use the Testor's window maker........I painted it on them, and it looks the part.  add the red plug and they are ready to add to the wheel assemblies.

the tandem dolly and the landing legs got a coat of paint.  I added the cross bar to the landing legs.

another area that I want to expand on is the service plate.  the service plate is the plate on the front of the trailer that has the glad hands and light receptacle.  on this type of trailer, it is built into the front outer wall.  I need to remove the detail and find something that will bring out the parts better.  I'm sure I have something. 

each side of the trailer interior, is made up of 19 spaces between the wall posts.  I still have that Mahogany stripping that I have been trying to find a use for.  I think I found it here.  I cut up a bunch of pieces, 3 1/2 inches long.  one bad thing is that the spaces are different widths........tooling isn't that exact.  not that I thought it would    each space was measured, and the strip was cut to fit.  one side down...........and one to go  

the scuff liner is the guide.  hopefully, I have it figured out so that the floor will fit.  so far, everything is just set in place.

I may have to trim where the door hinges are, but that can be done later.  more soon!
 

see........I wasn't gone too long    although I have a couple more steps to do with sizing down the pictures.  I'll get used to it    I added the outer tires to the wheel assemblies.  the hub part needs a bit more paint. the hubs on this trailer are oil hubs. they require 5W90 oil. we used to have quite a few, but most, if not all the trailer that have them, have been taken off the road.  we switched over to bearing grease {I forget what type it is}, which is really runny stuff. the caps are threaded and screw on, rather than the bolt on hub caps for grease.  the caps are mostly clear........our Stemco hub caps were metal with a see-through face.  a red rubber plug in the center is the fill port.  

I wondered how I was going to emulate that, since they are kinda shiny, if not dirty.   I got an idea to use the Testor's window maker........I painted it on them, and it looks the part.  add the red plug and they are ready to add to the wheel assemblies.

the tandem dolly and the landing legs got a coat of paint.  I added the cross bar to the landing legs.

another area that I want to expand on is the service plate.  the service plate is the plate on the front of the trailer that has the glad hands and light receptacle.  on this type of trailer, it is built into the front outer wall.  I need to remove the detail and find something that will bring out the parts better.  I'm sure I have something. 

each side of the trailer interior, is made up of 19 spaces between the wall posts.  I still have that Mahogany stripping that I have been trying to find a use for.  I think I found it here.  I cut up a bunch of pieces, 3 1/2 inches long.  one bad thing is that the spaces are different widths........tooling isn't that exact.  not that I thought it would    each space was measured, and the strip was cut to fit.  one side down...........and one to go  

the scuff liner is the guide.  hopefully, I have it figured out so that the floor will fit.  so far, everything is just set in place.

I may have to trim where the door hinges are, but that can be done later.  more soon!
 

see........I wasn't gone too long    although I have a couple more steps to do with sizing down the pictures.  I'll get used to it    I added the outer tires to the wheel assemblies.  the hub part needs a bit more paint. the hubs on this trailer are oil hubs. they require 5W90 oil. we used to have quite a few, but most, if not all the trailer that have them, have been taken off the road.  we switched over to bearing grease {I forget what type it is}, which is really runny stuff. the caps are threaded and screw on, rather than the bolt on hub caps for grease.  the caps are mostly clear........our Stemco hub caps were metal with a see-through face.  a red rubber plug in the center is the fill port.  

I wondered how I was going to emulate that, since they are kinda shiny, if not dirty.   I got an idea to use the Testor's window maker........I painted it on them, and it looks the part.  add the red plug and they are ready to add to the wheel assemblies.

the tandem dolly and the landing legs got a coat of paint.  I added the cross bar to the landing legs.

another area that I want to expand on is the service plate.  the service plate is the plate on the front of the trailer that has the glad hands and light receptacle.  on this type of trailer, it is built into the front outer wall.  I need to remove the detail and find something that will bring out the parts better.  I'm sure I have something. 

each side of the trailer interior, is made up of 19 spaces between the wall posts.  I still have that Mahogany stripping that I have been trying to find a use for.  I think I found it here.  I cut up a bunch of pieces, 3 1/2 inches long.  one bad thing is that the spaces are different widths........tooling isn't that exact.  not that I thought it would    each space was measured, and the strip was cut to fit.  one side down...........and one to go  

the scuff liner is the guide.  hopefully, I have it figured out so that the floor will fit.  so far, everything is just set in place.

I may have to trim where the door hinges are, but that can be done later.  more soon!
 

that an old trick........not without it's dangers either.   the same danger lies in the use of 'fix a flat' on passenger tires.  we had a guy working with us at one time, that would dismount the outer tires {if they had a problem} without taking the wheel assembly off the trailer.  the GM didn't like it though and told him not to do it anymore.  we plug and patch our tire repairs.  
 
thanks OC..........I have been trying to catch up on your Battle of Waterloo diorama.  now that my ordeal is pretty much over, I can get back to it  
 
yes friends........leaving your internet provider and changing how we watch TV and go online, can be a real pain.   we dropped Comcast and went to Fidium, and now we stream TV.  Comcast halted my home page, but allowed me to use my e-mail.......or, at least they did    I can't log in now and their reason for it, is that it is expired.  today, I went back to MSN and started a Hotmail account.  there really is no reason why I need to go back to the Comcast account, since all my bookmarks came with me.  I was using windows 8.1, until someone hacked me from Russia {or so they said}, and I found that I was able to download Windows 10.........so that's what I did as well.
   so, other than having to change all my profiles with places I normally visit, things are getting back to normal  .  I do have a small update, and I should have it for you very soon.  thanks for look'in in.

see........I wasn't gone too long    although I have a couple more steps to do with sizing down the pictures.  I'll get used to it    I added the outer tires to the wheel assemblies.  the hub part needs a bit more paint. the hubs on this trailer are oil hubs. they require 5W90 oil. we used to have quite a few, but most, if not all the trailer that have them, have been taken off the road.  we switched over to bearing grease {I forget what type it is}, which is really runny stuff. the caps are threaded and screw on, rather than the bolt on hub caps for grease.  the caps are mostly clear........our Stemco hub caps were metal with a see-through face.  a red rubber plug in the center is the fill port.  

I wondered how I was going to emulate that, since they are kinda shiny, if not dirty.   I got an idea to use the Testor's window maker........I painted it on them, and it looks the part.  add the red plug and they are ready to add to the wheel assemblies.

the tandem dolly and the landing legs got a coat of paint.  I added the cross bar to the landing legs.

another area that I want to expand on is the service plate.  the service plate is the plate on the front of the trailer that has the glad hands and light receptacle.  on this type of trailer, it is built into the front outer wall.  I need to remove the detail and find something that will bring out the parts better.  I'm sure I have something. 

each side of the trailer interior, is made up of 19 spaces between the wall posts.  I still have that Mahogany stripping that I have been trying to find a use for.  I think I found it here.  I cut up a bunch of pieces, 3 1/2 inches long.  one bad thing is that the spaces are different widths........tooling isn't that exact.  not that I thought it would    each space was measured, and the strip was cut to fit.  one side down...........and one to go  

the scuff liner is the guide.  hopefully, I have it figured out so that the floor will fit.  so far, everything is just set in place.

I may have to trim where the door hinges are, but that can be done later.  more soon!
 

that an old trick........not without it's dangers either.   the same danger lies in the use of 'fix a flat' on passenger tires.  we had a guy working with us at one time, that would dismount the outer tires {if they had a problem} without taking the wheel assembly off the trailer.  the GM didn't like it though and told him not to do it anymore.  we plug and patch our tire repairs.  
 
thanks OC..........I have been trying to catch up on your Battle of Waterloo diorama.  now that my ordeal is pretty much over, I can get back to it  
 
yes friends........leaving your internet provider and changing how we watch TV and go online, can be a real pain.   we dropped Comcast and went to Fidium, and now we stream TV.  Comcast halted my home page, but allowed me to use my e-mail.......or, at least they did    I can't log in now and their reason for it, is that it is expired.  today, I went back to MSN and started a Hotmail account.  there really is no reason why I need to go back to the Comcast account, since all my bookmarks came with me.  I was using windows 8.1, until someone hacked me from Russia {or so they said}, and I found that I was able to download Windows 10.........so that's what I did as well.
   so, other than having to change all my profiles with places I normally visit, things are getting back to normal  .  I do have a small update, and I should have it for you very soon.  thanks for look'in in.

that an old trick........not without it's dangers either.   the same danger lies in the use of 'fix a flat' on passenger tires.  we had a guy working with us at one time, that would dismount the outer tires {if they had a problem} without taking the wheel assembly off the trailer.  the GM didn't like it though and told him not to do it anymore.  we plug and patch our tire repairs.  
 
thanks OC..........I have been trying to catch up on your Battle of Waterloo diorama.  now that my ordeal is pretty much over, I can get back to it  
 
yes friends........leaving your internet provider and changing how we watch TV and go online, can be a real pain.   we dropped Comcast and went to Fidium, and now we stream TV.  Comcast halted my home page, but allowed me to use my e-mail.......or, at least they did    I can't log in now and their reason for it, is that it is expired.  today, I went back to MSN and started a Hotmail account.  there really is no reason why I need to go back to the Comcast account, since all my bookmarks came with me.  I was using windows 8.1, until someone hacked me from Russia {or so they said}, and I found that I was able to download Windows 10.........so that's what I did as well.
   so, other than having to change all my profiles with places I normally visit, things are getting back to normal  .  I do have a small update, and I should have it for you very soon.  thanks for look'in in.

that an old trick........not without it's dangers either.   the same danger lies in the use of 'fix a flat' on passenger tires.  we had a guy working with us at one time, that would dismount the outer tires {if they had a problem} without taking the wheel assembly off the trailer.  the GM didn't like it though and told him not to do it anymore.  we plug and patch our tire repairs.  
 
thanks OC..........I have been trying to catch up on your Battle of Waterloo diorama.  now that my ordeal is pretty much over, I can get back to it  
 
yes friends........leaving your internet provider and changing how we watch TV and go online, can be a real pain.   we dropped Comcast and went to Fidium, and now we stream TV.  Comcast halted my home page, but allowed me to use my e-mail.......or, at least they did    I can't log in now and their reason for it, is that it is expired.  today, I went back to MSN and started a Hotmail account.  there really is no reason why I need to go back to the Comcast account, since all my bookmarks came with me.  I was using windows 8.1, until someone hacked me from Russia {or so they said}, and I found that I was able to download Windows 10.........so that's what I did as well.
   so, other than having to change all my profiles with places I normally visit, things are getting back to normal  .  I do have a small update, and I should have it for you very soon.  thanks for look'in in.

Good  to  see  you  back  on the  bench  Dennis.
 
OC.

Oh there's all kinds of stories, like the day I was about 50 miles past Vantage on I-90 Riding back to a pickup site when the driver experienced a pair of flats on the Jenny van.... Only two of us and no spare on the trailer... Tires not destroyed but off the rims... (I-90 can be a very lonely place) where I showed him how to bead seat tires with a cigarette lighter and a can of ether....
 
He had to get up in the sleeper and change his pants after the first one, it scared the crap right outta him...  The life of a carney driver....