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

[Dan Vadas]

I've made up the Boot Leathers, using the kit-supplied "leather" material. Wayne and Mike, I see what you meant about the stuff curling when painted . I'm hoping I can rectify the situation.

 

I've also made the various straps. The buckles came in the PE set :

 

 

I painted the boots in a colour called Koala Grey. I think it will look quite good when all is completed - the kit pics show a similar colour, though they claim to have given the "leather" a wash of dilute Burnt Umber.

 

I chose the colour because it's about the same colour as our Koala Bears. It was a little publicised fact that Koala Bears were used to make the boot leathers - they were a lot cheaper than cattle and tasted foul to boot. If word of this had got out the Wildlife Conservationists of the time would have been up in arms .

 

  Danny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. I'm pulling your leg about the Koalas being used for the Leathers - none were harmed either in the original production run, or in the making of this model . Although I'm not kidding about their taste (I prefer cow any day). Lucky for the Koalas, or they would have gone the way of the Dodo .And I don't think there would have been a single Wildlife Conservationist anywhere in the world back then .

[Dan Vadas]

I've fitted all the Brasswork. I know it looks a bit "blingy" (the pics don't do it justice), but my grandson should like it. He's only 5 years old, and not all that into historical accuracy yet :

 

 

  Danny

[Eddie]

Hey howya goin Danny mate, wow nice clean brass work there mate, looks real good. I do like the roof.    

[stangone50]

Hey Dan!

Been a while, just came to check what you were up to and its nice to see you are still at it doing amazing work as always.

[reklein]

Hi Danny nice job on the coach. I read somewhere that the thoroughbraces were more for the horses benefit than the riders or the coach. I think they kept the jolting wagon from jerking the horses around. It certainly would have made the ride smoother. Another word about coaches. The pounding of rocks hit on the roads had the effect of pounding out the steel tires and lengthening them thus loosening the wheels. Its amazing the trivia one picks up when researching projects.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks guys .

 

On the home run now - fitting the Thoroughbraces to the body. They went on a lot easier than I was expecting :

 

The brace brackets pinned and expoxied with slow-set :

 

 

Somehow I managed to lose the threaded bar for the main swivel that attaches the Running Gear to the Chassis . I made a new bolt by cutting two threads with an Xacto blade, while rolling the bar at a slight angle. It took me about 1/2 an hour, but it worked :

 

 

The Thoroughbraces were then attached to the stirrups :

 

I'd forgotten to fit the two Brace Irons - not as bad as it seemed at first, I only had to remove the centre pins and managed to slip the ends under their pins :

 

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

A few minor things added, like the Running Gear, Brake Lever and Wheels and she's all done and FINISHED. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out :

 

 

  Danny

[Jack12477]

Very nice Danny.  Love the color.

[Moonbug]

Very nicely done Danny!  Great little project.

[Eddie]

Hey howya goin Danny, WOW, so thats what an Australia stagecoach looks like, I'm impressed, nicely done mate. Question those straps you got holding up the coach what would those be made of back in the day, leather?    

[mtaylor]

I'm with the others.... very well done, Danny.  Congratulations.

[gjdale]

Congratulations on yet another fine build Danny. I'm sure your grandson will be delighted.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Jack, Bug, Eddie, Mark and Grant - much appreciated.

 

As Kits go this is one of the better ones, especially at the price . I found my Invoice which I'd left in the bottom of the box - $AU145.00 (plus Postage from USA of $AU190.00 - the cross we bear in the Colonies ).

 

The Laser Cutting was superb, except for one small piece of 1/32" ply which was a bit "how ya goin' " compared to the rest but still better than most laser cutting I've come across before. The Plans - 4 large sheets with to-scale drawings on most stages plus a lot of Isometric Views, a separate sheet for the wheels, 5 smaller sheets to identify the parts, and a 31-page full colour booklet containing the step-by-step Building Instructions - written in PERFECT ENGLISH BY A MODEL-MAKER . Most parts fitted together with a minimum of extra work needed.

 

My only complaints are minor - 1. A couple of pieces of the Roof Sheeting timber missing, and nowhere near enough of the 8-gauge brass nails from which to make the Suspension Pins etc.                2. The PE for the Rooftop Seat Brackets is far too flimsy and bends easily without a lot of care. A thicker material would have been more suitable.

 

I give the kit a 9.5 out of 10 .

 

  Danny

[Jack12477]

$AU190 just to ship it from US to OZ ???  Holy S*** !  Does that include import duty as well.......  ?  Yes, you're right ! That is some cross to bear in the Colonies.

[Dan Vadas]

It's all-inclusive Jack. A lot has to do with the size of the package I suppose. Lucky I wasn't in a hurry and went with Express Delivery - it would have raised the bar even higher .

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up after some time away, Danny.  Your coach really looks superb!

 

Just as a sidelight - this photo is of the Cobb & Co. Station at Wanganella, down in the Riverina.  perhaps your coach called there on occasions.

 

John

 

 

[Mirabell61]

A beautiful built coach Danny,

you managed to build it in a remarkable short time, excellent performance !

 

Nils

[Mike Dowling]

Well done Danny, another one toad to your tally of brilliant builds.

[michael101]

Hello Dan very nice job !!!

It was my last finished project 

i have a link in my signature to my model (youtube)

 

Best regards 

Michael.

 

[popeye the sailor]

awesome looking coach Dan,,,the accents are very cool!  

[James H]

Lovely work Danny 😎

[Richmond]

Dan,

 

I've never been into carriages but that is an impressive kit and an impressive build.

 

Notwithstanding, I was looking the Amati Orient Express which is around 700 EUROS, Amati state on their website that postage is free but I haven't tested this theory yet.

 

RICHMOND

Edited August 4, 2018 by Richmond
too much waffle

[riverboat]

Hi Danny...first off ....so glad to hear everything went well for you and happy to see you back here at MSW.... nice build ,looks like an excellent kit... I'm sure your grandson will love it..

again welcome back...

 

Frank

[BETAQDAVE]

Dan

    Just reviewed your build log now and discovered that you had a bout with the BIG C as John Wayne referred to it.  My wife is also a cancer survivor and has been doing well for the past 15 years or so.  Hope you also have a lengthy bout of good health to follow now.

     I was just wondering about the fact that major portions of the coach's cab appear to be some kind of plywood product.  Was that just what they supplied with the kits model material, or was it in fact what the actual coach was made with?  It seems that it would have been something very hard to form in such complex cured shapes, not to mention the fact that I didn't think that plywood was all that common back then. 

    As far as your job of building the kit goes, I was impressed with how you were able to deal with the shortcomings of the kit and your improvements to it.  To me, that is one of the aspects of model building that I like the most.  Excellent job! 

Dave

[twintrow]

How many days before grandson comes in with the coach and says "I dunno Grampa, me and Billy were just looking at it and it broke".....

I have 14 grandkids....I usually make them chairs!..  One is now married and has two of her own, and the chair is still intact.

 

Still great job, as usual.......

 

Tom

[John Allen]

Ditto to all, congrats on finishing treatment. The Boss finished hers but still has the pet scans and infusions  every 90 days but as you say it beats the alternative. Grandkids will go crazy over this one

[Dan Vadas]

On 8/10/2018 at 4:34 AM, BETAQDAVE said:

I was just wondering about the fact that major portions of the coach's cab appear to be some kind of plywood product.  Was that just what they supplied with the kits model material, or was it in fact what the actual coach was made with?

As I mentioned somewhere in the Log Dave, I know NOTHING about Stagecoaches. So the answer is I DON'T KNOW . I merely followed all the kit's instructions - first time in a long time .

 

Thanks all for the well wishes and comments. The grandson loves it, and it's still intact after 18 months .

 

Danny

[michael mott]

Nice looking model Danny, looks as good as any I saw at the South Kensington Science Museum when I lived in England.

 

Michael

[Bob Cleek]

On ‎8‎/‎9‎/‎2018 at 11:34 AM, BETAQDAVE said:

     I was just wondering about the fact that major portions of the coach's cab appear to be some kind of plywood product.  Was that just what they supplied with the kits model material, or was it in fact what the actual coach was made with?  It seems that it would have been something very hard to form in such complex cured shapes, not to mention the fact that I didn't think that plywood was all that common back then. 

    As far as your job of building the kit goes, I was impressed with how you were able to deal with the shortcomings of the kit and your improvements to it.  To me, that is one of the aspects of model building that I like the most.  Excellent job! 

Dave

Plywood? Egads!!! No plywood in a Concord coach. 4'x8' plywood sheet as we know it wasn't commercially available until 1928 and even then it suffered the limitations of the adhesives of the time. Glued veneers were around beginning in the 1850's but not suitable for outdoor use. It wasn't until shortly before WWII that adhesives technology had advanced to the point that "engineered wood" was suitable for exposed applications. The war production USN PT boats and Higgins landing crafts were some of the first and more well-known applications for it and, as the saying goes, "they were expendable."

 

Concord coaches were distinctive for the leather strap suspension, which made for a far more comfortable ride on rough American roads, particularly in the West. They were made of oak, ash, and basswood (to save weight.) The wood was solid and shaped with hand planes using the same techniques used in wooden boatbuilding. All metal fittings were iron. Made in Concord, NH, they were widely used in the US and also exported to Australia and South Africa. I don't know what they cost then, or in today's dollars, but they were by far the most expensive coach of their time and remained in service in some places into the early 20th Century.  A fair number have survived and been restored. It's not unusual to see one in local parades in the Western United States. They are "Old West" icons these days and very cool.

 

Growing up in San Francisco, there was (and I guess still is) an original Wells Fargo Co. Concord stage coach in the lobby of the Wells Fargo Bank headquarters lobby museum.  I never miss the chance to stop by and check it out when I'm downtown. There's one in the Wells Fargo Museum in Sacramento, Ca., too.

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

14 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

 

        Plywood? Egads!!! No plywood in a Concord coach.

 

 

 

Yeah, I know . But as I said at the beginning of the log - I don't know anything about building stagecoaches, so I went with the kit directions .

 

BTW - not a bad replica of my model that they have in the bank's museum .

 

Danny