James Cannon Model 1841 by Tom E - FINISHED - Guns of History - 1:16

[Tom E]

Evening, 

Thought I would throw my hat into the "Non-Ship Categorized Build" section.

This looks like fun!

As much as I love ship modelling, I do dabble in other things.

WW1 aircraft are a passion. I have the ME Curtiss Jenny in my stash, which may be started sooner than later!

This is my first cannon. 

 

The obligatory box shots.

Well packed kit of a few pounds. 

Cast parts that you would expect. They will need some clean up. 

All rope will be replaced with Syren rope. 

The chain I'll blacken with Birchwood/Casey. 

The way the parts list is organized, one can label the packages with ease. 

The one thing, 

The instructions are fine, read them and you'll do well.

But it looks like its been photo copied a million times and the diagram has faded.

Its workable and shouldn't pose a problem. 

Tom E 

 

 

 

[Jack12477]

Nice cannon,  Tom.  Looks like new addition to ME's kits.  I did the Whitworth cannon, Coffee Wagon, and Limber wagon kits some years ago. Lots of fun.

[Tom E]

Evening, 

Well...here we go! 

When I first started this I was going to pre paint everything prior to gluing. 

That changed on the very first few steps. 

I am using a 5-minute epoxy for the first 3 main pieces, The left and right Trails and the Tow Bar/Skid.

Not quite sure what would happen when pre-painting, then applying the epoxy afterwards if it would screw up the bond.

In the end, the 3 pieces went together, then I'll paint. 

They fit relatively easy.

Plenty of sanding and trimming extra metal. 

All where washed and dried overnight before gluing together. 

They went to paint afterwards.

These pics are after the first coat, I tend to do three. 

I REALLY need to invest in an airbrush set up. 

There's a lot of touch up to be done where the white and black paint meet. 

 

Tom E 

 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

nice start......I've never done a cannon.   it's always good to go where your interests lie.........my sweet tooth is pretty large.  I've built anything that passed my table.  not only that........if your a reformed plastic modeler like me,  it's always good to dabble in the medium to keep your skill up.   look'in forward in seeing updates on build'in this beauty   

[Tom E]

Thanks Popeye!

It's my first cannon as well.  It's fun to build something different, mix up the scenery a bit!

I do love ship building, but this new "non-ship" section is cool.

There's a lot of techniques done here that translate into ship modeling, at least I think so.

 

Tom E 

[Tom E]

Evening, 

Just a small update on the James Cannon.

Most of my weekend was spent with my Niagara.

 

There's a lot of painting!

I started the 2 Cheeks and Elevator Screw/Housing.

Below, the cheeks have only the white primer, and the first layer of black on the edges. 

The Elevator Screw was easy.

A few coats of black and I glued it to the main body. 

I started to spruce up the Main Axle.

I assure, It didn't start out that shiny!

Lots of sanding, and a faux wood grain to the metal that you don't want to completely remove. 

It will get a bath, dry, then a coat of primer. 

 

Tom E 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

please tell me that red on the plate wasn't you!     I put a nice gash on my pinkie finger over the weekend.......a non modeling mishap,  but my modeling has suffered a little because of it.  can be a pain getting rid of mold lines on metal,  but so far it looks good.   nice work   

[Tom E]

Nope,

That reds not me, well at least not yet!

I hate to admit, but I would have to say on most of my builds I've gotten myself.

Really opened up my thumb last April! No stiches but you'd think I spilt spaghetti sauce! 

Band-Aids are always well stocked.

 

Tom E 

[Tom E]

Evening, 

Now that I seem to be on the mend from last weeks fever, updates are needed.

I haven't been building much, but it's coming back.

 

The below pics are purely just play.

Nothing is glued together, purely just a test fit.

Plus, I wanted to get an idea of what this will look like.

There's still plenty left to do. 

Odds and ends to be painted and attached to the sides.

The Adjusting screw for the Cannon needs to be trimmed.

I'll hold off on that for now until a bit further along. 

The Cannon and wheels themselves need some serious work. 

Back to reality! 

The Axle has it's first few coats. 

I'm so close to pulling the trigger on a proper airbrush set up. All in good time.

Appropriately planned purchases wont hurt the household bottom line! 

Tom E 

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

air brush will be your best friend,  once you get used to it      I was sick too a couple of weeks ago,  so I deeply sympathy with you.   no modeling for me either.  rest up and get better.........to keep yourself from being a bump on a log,  getting the metal mold line to go away will take some time  

[jct]

Nice progress Tom...I agree with Denis you'll find an airbrush indispensable once you have one...or six  a question though why did you name your cannon James

[Jack12477]

1 hour ago, jct said:

Nice progress Tom...I agree with Denis you'll find an airbrush indispensable once you have one...or six  a question though why did you name your cannon James

I think it is named after General Charles T James who developed the James system of rifling to convert smoothbore cannon to rifled cannon. See http://www.civilwarartillery.com/calibertopounder.htm

[Tom E]

J, 

That airbrush should be soon!

Still doing my homework before a big purchase like that. Trying to stay away from these "starter sets" I see online. 

Seems better to make the initial investment piece by piece with quality equipment. 

 

Jack got it right, It's named after General James.

Besides, shouldn't a weapon have a girls name!?!?   

Charlene or Christine seem most popular!

 

Tom E 

[jct]

2 minutes ago, Tom E said:

Still doing my homework before a big purchase like that. Trying to stay away from these "starter sets" I see online.

You may want to take a look at the NEO series of brushes...they are made in China but under Iwata's direction, I've had one for a couple years now and it has become my go to brush, and they are very reasonably priced...but no mater what you buy be prepared to practice

21 minutes ago, Jack12477 said:

I think it is named after General Charles T James who developed the James system of rifling to convert smoothbore cannon to rifled cannon. See http://www.civilwarartillery.com/calibertopounder.htm

Thanks for the info Jack

[Tom E]

The NEO CN brush is on the "to buy" list. 

What really caught my eye on that one is the different sized, and detachable, paint cups.

Seems clean up would be easier. 

I've pretty much made up my mind on the Badger TC910 Aspire Pro compressor.  

Just waiting on some tax money.

 

Tom E 

 

Edited March 26, 2019 by Tom E
Grammar

[jct]

That’s the neo I have like it a bunch it is east to clean, I made a top for the small cup out of styrene as it one has a cap for the large.  

 

I use a Califonia air cat-5510 we, really quite I can even shoot when the test of the house is asleep with no issues 

[Tom E]

Thanks J, 

I'll have to take a look at that one. 

Just did a quick search on Google and there's a lot of info on that model.

The quieter the better!  

 

Tom E 

[vossiewulf]

I did the 3 inch Ordnance Rifle in this series a few years ago, I was very frustrated with the poor surface quality of the white metal castings and replaced the cheeks and axle with my parts, and sanded/filed down all the surfaces of the wheels and trail and then re-engraved the wood pattern. Thankfully yours appear to be considerably better than what I received, but I still am baffled as to why they don't use resin with its far, far better castings surfaces.

 

 

[Canute]

Probably depends on how old the original design is and their comfort/familiarity with the white metal medium. If a mom and pop kind of operation, they may not want to take the step to newer technologies. I looked at picking up a 3" Ordnance Rifle some time back, since it was the gun used by horse artillery units attached to cavalry troops. The all metal parts turned me off.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

perhaps the reason for metal castings,  is that one could tap drilled holes and use screws to assemble it.  Micro Mark sells an assortment of tiny screws.

     resin is aimed at the more experienced modeler......it can be unforgiving if the correct cement isn't used.  paint is another issue

[Canute]

Denis, the tap holes need to be pretty square or it could end up looking like it took a hit from another cannon. And tapping plastic and resins are a heck of a lot easier than metals. And no tapping fluids needed, either.

 

Painting resin?  Just need to wash off molding agents, just like cleaning plastics. Dawn dish washing liquid works well. Guess I'm a fan of resins over metals. Gluing these pewter metals are no easier or harder than resin. A good clean mechanical joint, in conjunction with either CA or epoxy, is what I do. Getting a good square joint is where I need to get as tight as possible, otherwise your bonding agent is not effective in holding parts together.

 

Overall, I'd rather work with wood and styrene plastic.  And the cannon looks great.

[Tom E]

Overall, I didn't think it was too bad. 

It has some flash to cut off, a good sanding, and a warm soapy bath and they cleaned up well.

Now, the caveat to that is that this is my first metal build and have nothing else to compare it to. 

I've noticed since I've started painting that some blemishes do get filled in.

 

Vossiewulf, 

That's a nice looking rifle.

I don't think I could reproduce that with what comes in the kit. 

 

Tom E 

 

[bruce d]

On 3/26/2019 at 11:32 PM, Tom E said:

That airbrush should be soon!

When I was a youngster (and dinosaurs roamed the earth...) I saved up for one of these ...

... and learned that I could do anything with it. Later, when I became engrossed in modelmaking, including in my working life, I got other airbrushes. There were Badgers, Iwatas and other great tools, most of which I still have. Now that I have returned to modelling as a hobby I have dusted them off.

Why am I telling you this? Because for decades I defaulted to the basic Humbrol unless I had a particular reason for using one of the 'better' airbrushes. I learned, because I had to, how to do soft edges, large areas, small mottles, fine lines and just about anything with the cheap and cheerful basic Humbrol before I could afford/justify the bigger toys, and when I eventually my time with got those nice tools I used what I had learned from the basic tool. 

Not telling you how to do it, just how I did it. And by the way, I like your cannon.

 

 

[popeye the sailor]

you'll have to pardon me Ken...I'm not in the know about tapping metal parts....I'm not a big fan of metal parts either.  but the reason for tapping the holes would be to fasten another part via a screw....how would the hole be seen?  it's something I thought might be a good idea........not that I've done it as a practice     this also goes for the scuttle butt information I've gathered about resin....I've heard that it's a bear to work with,  unless one is experienced with it.  since I'm a confirmed enamel user,  I have little experience with acrylics or other brands of paint.  this is good new to me though,  because I have a resin Batman and Robin to paint    I'll draw a bath for them right away!

 

I've never owned an expensive airbrush outfit.......using the outfits sold by Testor's mainly.  I feel that it's mostly the experience of the modeler that will dictate how the airbrush will perform.  true,  there are some that don't have the ability to paint fine lines and various functions,  but as creative folks have reported,  there are work arounds.   here is a link to a friend on mine,  who has tried many different types of airbrushes.  perhaps there is something here that might interest you:

 

Don's Airbrush Tips

[Tom E]

Don is awesome!

I just spent about 2 hours on his site, and still not done.

Thanks for the link Popeye.

 

Tom E 

[Canute]

Yes, that is a great airbrush site.

 

Denis, this is all a cooperate and graduate kind of affair. I learn stuff all over this website. I have played with resins and worked some metal stuff, too. Tapping zamac is  an exercise, with using a fluid (I use 3 in  oil, because it's handy). Nice and easy does it. Ain't no race.

 

Drawing a bath for Batman and Robin? I'm sure they'll like it. Some guys also rub the resin parts with alcohol wipes. I don't know about that. I would recommend keeping your bare fingers off the freshly washed resin, to prevent finger oils contaminating the bare resin. I'd do the same for styrene plastic.

[Tom E]

Evening, 

Time for an update. Chores are done, hot cup of Tea in hand, and the Celtics are on the TV. 

Good times, good times......

Some progress has been made. Admittedly, most of today was spent on my Niagara build.

Most here was done last night. 

Since all the major parts are essentially painted, there's always touch-ups, I decided to attach the Axle to the main body. 

My little jig worked well, kept everything aligned real well. 

A tight grip and it was left overnight. 

It sets up well. 

I used epoxy to attach the Axle. There are some gaps where the two pieces meet.

I might try and fill those. Painting may help that. 

I probably wont touch this for the next few days. Let it set. 

The two side cheeks will be added next. 

Tom E 

 

 

 

[jct]

Looking good Tom...what are you painting with...I've never had any luck getting anything to take to metal other then old school enamels?

[Tom E]

Thanks J,

I am using Model Expo paints. Those are acrylics.

It's all Primer, Hull Spar Black, and White from an old 18th Century Long boat paint set. 

It takes about 3-4 coats for an acceptable look. I probably don't help things by watering down the paint. Model Expo's stuff runs thick in my eyes.

All by hand, I don't have an airbrush. 

It takes a few coats but the model doesn't "look thick" due to numerous paint coats.

 

I have a bit of a pre paint ritual which may doing the trick. 

All pieces get a good sanding and wipe down with a micro fiber cloth, I do the same for wood. It takes care of all the sanding dust/fuzzies !

Then they get a warm, long, soapy bath. No hard scrubbing but a good washing and air dry. 

All pieces get one coat of primer, then several coats of the main color. Also, some things will sit for a week to dry before its next coat of paint.  

It works. 

 

Tom E 

 

[jct]

1 hour ago, Tom E said:

Model Expo's stuff runs thick in my eyes.

Some have described it as hose paint...I wont disagree, and don't even try to airbrush the stuff. clod your brush in a New York minute...your technique seems to be working