Concord Stagecoach by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - Model Trailways - 1:12 scale - circa 1862 "Cobb & Co"

[Dan Vadas]

Hi all,

 

I'm finally back after a long layoff due to Cancer treatment, not something I'd recommend but it beats passing away. All seems to be OK now .

 

Those of you who remember me (those of you who don't - check my Signature for past Builds) may recall that I had a Model Shipways (Trailways) kit of a Concord Stagecoach which I'd intended to build for one of my grandsons. The time has finally arrived where I feel up to the task.

 

Here are the "obligatory" pics of the box and it's contents :

 

 

 

 

 

Quality of the parts and especially the instructions seems to be of a high standard. Here's a small start to the project, cutting the tenons for the Reaches - the longitudinal members of the chassis :

 

 

 

More will follow soon.

 

Cheers, Danny

[fnick]

Hi Danny

 

I'm sure I'll be the first of many to welcome you back! Good to know you're still with us! Definitely taking a front row seat for this one. 

 

Nick

[michael mott]

Great to hear the health issue is behind you Danny,I look forward to seeing how you proceed with this kit. I spent hours as a kid looking at similar vehicles in the Science Museum when it had large volumes of models on display.

 

Michael

[Mike Y]

Hoorray, Danny is back!

I missed your buld logs, even if it is not about ships

[Mirabell61]

Welcome back Danny,

its good to see you on deck again.....

 

Nils

[Eddie]

Hey howya goin Danny, welcome back mate good health with you, I'll be following along with this one.

[Mike Dowling]

I echo the sentiment Danny, good to see you back. You may know stagecoaches are a favourite of mine. I have done both the AL version and the Amati which looks more like yours. I didn't know we could do logs except for boats but I will follow yours with great interest.

 

[gjdale]

Great to see you back Danny and delighted to hear that your health has improved. I'll enjoy following along with another masterpiece.

[donrobinson]

Right on Danny, I 'll follow along also

[AndrewNaylor]

Great to see your back and as they say "ON THE ROAD AGAIN"

all the best 

Andy

[Jack12477]

Glad to see you back also, Danny ! Missed your build logs.  Pulling up a seat.

[Paul Jarman]

Welcome back.  glad you are in good health and beaten the big C.

 

[CaptainSteve]

Great to see you back on deck again, Dan. Very pleased to read that you have successfully kicked the cancer to the kerb. Count me in for this build, too - I wouldn't miss it for quids.

[pompey2]

Good to hear from you again Danny glad to hear you are beating it.

[Geoff Matson]

Glad to have you back and making sawdust Danny

[popeye the sailor]

I was wondering why.........even asked where you had gone to.  no reply though     glad to know your back and things are looking up for you.   I've always liked these wagon kits.....form what I've seen so far,  I might even get one     glad to follow you on your first project back on the site!   interested to see what mods and changes you make with this kit.

[Captain Poison]

Great to see you back Dan! and it doesn't matter if it's a boat or a stagecoach, always is a pleasure to follow your logs..

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you all for the kind "welcome backs" and messages of support. I hope I won't let you down with this model .

 

Quote

I didn't know we could do logs except for boats

 It's OK as long as you put it in "Shore Leave", which is a Forum for non-ship related topics. This won't be a really detailed Build Log, more a progress report when I have done anything significant.

 

Forgot to mention earlier, I'm doing the Australian version of the Concord used by Cobb & Co. To this end I bought a copy of the excellent book below to help in researching modifications and colour schemes :

 

 

Here's a pic of a restored coach in the Cobb & Co Museum in Toowoomba, Queensland. I'll build mine similar to this :

 

 

Cheers, Danny

[Jim Lad]

And no doubt you'll be studying a copy of Tom Roberts' 'Bailed Up'.

 

John

[mtaylor]

It's great to see you back, Danny.  You were missed.   I'm happy that all went well with the treatment.

[reklein]

Good to have you back Danny. Your Cobb &Co. wagon looks something like our "mud wagon" that was used in these parts of Idaho. Close to the Concord but not quite the same class. It was a more open ride. They have one in Walla Walla Washington about a hundred miles away. If I get by there ,I'll have to post a picture or two.   Bill

[KingDavid]

Glad to see you here again...looking forward to see more of your stage couch blog here...looks like a great kit 

best regards

David

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks guys,

 

A fair amount of progress in the last few days. Bear in mind that while I may know a bit about building ships I know NOTHING about building stagecoaches, so progress is a bit slower than usual as I'm actually following the kit instructions . Fortunately the basic techniques of construction are pretty much the same.

 

Here's where I'm up to - the Frame assembled and waiting for glue to dry before installing the End Plates and nuts on the Draw Bolts :

 

 

 

Some detail of the rivets holding the Standards. The brass looks out of place, I'll do something with them a bit later. Note the U-bolt Clips, made from brass strip and silver-solder "bolts" which have been blackened :

 

 

The Draw Bolts which hold the whole thing together. I squared the heads of brass pins with a hammer and anvil. The nuts are kit supplied and laser cut from some kind of rubber/cardboard composite to simulate iron. As with the rest of the laser cut parts they are of excellent quality :

 

 

Cheers, Danny

[Jim Lad]

Nice start, Danny!

 

John

[Canute]

Dan, great to read your logs again. Glad your treatments are done.  I'll follow along, too.

[Dan Vadas]

I've completed the Frame, or chassis.

 

Here are two pics of the Brace Header "iron" work, made from brass, silver soldered and blackened :

 

 

 

This is the assembly in place, complete with tiny square nuts and two 1.3mm threaded bolts and nuts :

 

 

The front and rear Standards are supported by struts, cast from Brittania metal. I've found most of these castings to be adequate without being exceptional. The metal itself is in very good condition, easily bent without snapping (except for 1 piece which was easily fixed). The casting was only so-so, with a fair bit of flash cleaning needed :

 

 

 

 

 

One step that the instructions omitted was to check the fit of the CNC lathe turned Wheel Hubs on the axles. This caused me considerable drama, as the axles were between 0.3mm and 0.7mm too large in diameter. Not too bad for the front axle, which was still unattached, but a lot harder to trim on the already-fitted rear axle. After using a flat needle file to correct the front axle I attempted the same on the rear. 10 minutes later I was still nowhere near doing one side, when I came up with the idea of shaving the axle with a #11 Xacto knife - brilliant . It took less than 5 minutes to complete BOTH sides.

The shavings shown in the pic below are from ONE side of the axle :

 

 

 Here's where I am up to. BTW - the brake mechanism actually WORKS :

 

 

Cheers, Danny

[popeye the sailor]

exceptional work Danny........there'll be a place for you,  if we ever have to go back to 'em    {sure beats knuckle bust'in huh!}    the nuts and bolts,  do they come in the kit,  or did you have to outsource them?   looks really sweet!

[Dan Vadas]

Hi Popeye,

 

The nuts and bolts were kit-supplied.

 

Cheers, Danny

[Jim Lad]

Nice bit of smithing, Danny!

 

John

[Kevin]

Lovely work Danny, and even nicer to see you back at the modeling desk