2-6-6-4 "Bulgar" Steam Locomotive by Dan Vadas - Modelik - 1:25 - CARD - FINISHED

[Jim Lad]

Just catching up with what you've been doing, Danny.  That's amazing work!

 

John

[popeye the sailor]

looks really good!  

[TOM G]

That diamond mesh, look's to have a nice 3D effect to it.    Their was an artist   Andrea Pozzo  who painted in 3D,  back in the17th century , if you google the name you can see some of his jaw dropping work.

Edited October 27, 2019 by TOM G
updated

[Moab]

I just started following your build and it’s amazing. Thank you for the great photos and explanations...Moab

[michael mott]

Probably a dumb question Danny but what glue are you using to put this material together, are you using different glues for different parts of the build?

 

Michael

[Dan Vadas]

22 hours ago, TOM G said:

That diamond mesh, look's to have a nice 3D effect to it

It's not just an EFFECT Tom, it really is cut halfway through the card.

 

Welcome to my build Moab, I hope you enjoy the ride  .

 

Michael, I'm using a Craft Glue. It's a PVA that is acid free, very similar to your "normal" white wood glue. I use a very small amount of CA on occasion to strengthen the edge of delicate paper parts, and to glue metal-to-metal or metal-to-paper when needed.

 

Danny

[michael mott]

Thanks for your answer Danny.

 

Michael

[Dan Vadas]

Hi all, thanks to all those who have commented and "liked" my build so far. My eyesight has been deteriorating lately, hopefully it's just a result of the chemotherapy I've been on and it will return to "normal" after it's over. I can still see well enough with my 8x Optivisor so the build can continue.

 

The wheels. These took me a week to make. Some time ago I bought one of these Circle Cutters, but never had any success with it at the time I tried it. I decided to give it another go and see if I could work out how to actually use it, because there are a LOT of circles to cut - something like 8 or 10 for each of the 12 wheels 

I worked out the technique to make not only a success of it but to cut circles that were better than I could do by hand in MUCH less time. I'll put up a topic in "Tips and Tricks" a bit later to explain my method. Here's the result, and a pic of most of the parts needed :

To assemble a wheel I made this simple jig. It's probably THE most useful jig I've ever made, turning out excellent results consistently :

There are three different types of the main wheels - two Driving wheels (top), two middle wheels without flanges (left) and 8 of the rest (right) :

I'm using the laser cut reinforcements as you can see. These are a bit different to the two wheels I made earlier, so I decided to scrap them and start over. The rim is 1mm narrower than the centre, and the spokes need to be sloped for them to fit properly. I achieved this by carefully cutting the rim off one disc and shaving the spokes down to zero thickness at the outer end. The wheel in the pic is one of the smaller ones which I made last. The large wheels have 12 spokes on most of them :

Once all the discs were glued together I sanded the edge flat using a sanding stick with 150 grit paper :

Then I glued the main edging on, followed by the rear flange on those that had one. There was no edging for the thinner flange, so I printed up some matching grey colour, cut it into 1.5mm strips and glued them on. It looks better than just painting them :

All the large wheels completed :

I modified my jig for the smaller wheels, as they only had a centre hole :

Last job was to clean up the centre hole so that they turned freely on the axles. I used a small diamond coated round file :

All the wheels. Most of them still need a spacer and wire for the crank :

Danny

[Dan Vadas]

Now I fitted the crank pins to all the larger wheels. I've glued them in with PVA, so I cut a groove in the pin with a Xacto knife. This stops the brass pin from slipping :

I fitted the six axles. They are all a nice tight "push-in" fit and shouldn't move again. However I filed out the hole for the Driving wheel axle so it COULD turn - once the cranks are installed both sides will then turn in unison :

Now it's on to the main brakes, quite a big job. Here are the parts for one of the 12 brake shoes. I've glued the inner pads on, but I may have to remove them again later (easily done with a single-edge razor blade) if there isn't enough clearance to the wheel flange. I had to do this on the bogie's brakes, and Stephan also found out that it was necessary on his model. We'll see :

I used a 1mm wire to keep everything aligned while gluing the pieces together :

All done. The contact surfaces will be cleaned up as I fit each assembly, they will need to be sanded to get clearance to the wheel rim :

On to the brake control arms. All the parts are prepared ready for fitting together :

Once again a simple jig made accurate assembly easier :

 

 

That's it for now. I'll move on to fitting the brake assemblies to the main frame next.

 

Cheers, Danny

[TOM G]

Eat raw carrot's Danny........ their good for eye health.

[druxey]

The carrot/eyesight thing is a myth from WWII, in order to disguise the fact that the Allies had radar to 'see' at night!

 

Hope the health issue is sorting out, Dan. Lovely work on your model. How did you keep the circle cutter running true? I always found that the blade tracked off and did not end up where it had started! Is there a trick to this?

Edited November 7, 2019 by druxey

[amateur]

It looks as if those are mrealy functional brakes....

great job on the wheels.

 

Jan

[TOM G]

LEARN MORE      https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-carrots-good-for-your-eyes#carrots-and-eye-health  

[popeye the sailor]

awesome job on the wheels Danny!   circles.....you WEREN'T kidding!    I'll have to look at your tutorial on that circle cutter......I have one and I gave up on it.   darn thing should have been made of metal......not that #@!&%(* plastic!  how did you know to angle the brake pads like that?  all I know is that to master this beast........you really gotta have a grasp of the medium.   I guess you do!   

[Moab]

Wow Danny! The wheels and everything else look great. Your skill and patience are over the top. I look forward to the article about the circle cutter.  I have one and have not had any good results.

I'll keep you in my thoughts...Moab

[Dan Vadas]

On 11/8/2019 at 7:41 AM, druxey said:

How did you keep the circle cutter running true? I always found that the blade tracked off and did not end up where it had started! Is there a trick to this?

Here you go David and Moab, I've made a mini-Tutorial on how I use it. I hope you find it useful.

 

Thanks all for your remarks and Likes. An update will be following shortly.

 

Cheers, Danny

[druxey]

Thanks for the description, Dan. The cutter I had used was the yellow Olfa one. I shall try again!

[Dan Vadas]

I've fitted the axles to the frame. At this stage they are all a tight fit except the Driving wheel one which can turn freely. The wheels will be glued to this axle so that both sides will turn together, and the others will freewheel on the axles - at least that's the plan so far, we'll see how things work out :

I've also fitted the crank pins to the wheels and filed out the centres with a small diamond-coated round file. These things work really well on paper :

I'm leaving the wheels aside for the time being - I've ordered some 2.5mm styrene rod which I'll use to "rivet" the wheels to the axles. Meanwhile I fitted all the brake suspension using the springs I made earlier. I had a drama with the swing-arm brackets, the clear coating on all of them let go when I started working on them so they needed a re-do which consisted of scraping off the coating and re-gluing them - much better :

The springs and swing-arms fitted :

Finally for this stage I made up the two main cranks :

Danny

[CDW]

1st rate work Dan, Really nice.

[mtaylor]

Amazing detail and work, Danny.  

[Moab]

Looking great!  I like the term you used..... "Drama."  I've had soooo many dramas...Moab

[GrandpaPhil]

Dan,

  How do you laminate card without it curling?  I have had a time with it.  

 

I’m looking at starting another card build.  On my last one, the bulkheads and the center keel plate warped badly after lamination and I was wondering if you have any tips.

 

 

[Dan Vadas]

10 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

How do you laminate card without it curling?

I'll post an answer to that in my next one later today Phil, I'm in a bit of a hurry at the moment and wanted to show an update on my loco.

 

Here's where I'm up to at the moment, details of how I got there will follow a bit later :

Danny

[Jim Lad]

That all looks first class, Danny!

 

John

[Dan Vadas]

14 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Dan,

  How do you laminate card without it curling?  I have had a time with it.  

I’m looking at starting another card build.  On my last one, the bulkheads and the center keel plate warped badly after lamination and I was wondering if you have any tips.

OK Phil, let's try these for starters

 

1. I'm assuming you're using an acid-free PVA white glue, aka Craft Glue. Use a nice thick one - the more water content the glue has the more warping you will get.

 

2. Use as little glue as possible to still get a good bond. Too much glue will ...... you get the picture  .

 

3. Use an appropriate applicator. I usually use a squeeze bottle - one with a 2mm tip for large parts like bulkheads or decks, and a much smaller 0.6mm needle-tip one for smaller parts. You could also use a paintbrush for large areas - put the glue into a small container like a plastic medicine cup or similar item and brush it on.

 

4. Work quickly. You don't need to cover the entire area with glue, small areas without glue won't matter, but you need to get the pieces together before the glue dries too much. If it does, apply another thin layer over it.

 

5. On very large things like decks - don't attempt to do too much at once. You may need to do it in two or more sections. I usually align it all and tape down the "finish" end to my work surface. Then I tape a couple of "stops" to each side and the end of the surface so it is easily re-aligned accurately later. Now I run a bead of glue down the "start" end while keeping the "finish" end aligned in the stops, press it down and let it dry enough so it won't shift. Now lift the "finish" end and start applying glue at the "start" end, pressing it down with a flat piece of wood about 20mm behind the glue as you go. When it's all done press the entire deck down with your flat timber and - this is important - bend the piece gently (ends down, middle up) to "pre-stress" the part. Now slip it under a sheet of glass on a flat surface and let it dry THOROUGHLY (over-night).

 

I hope this helps a bit. The main point is - don't use too much glue.

 

Cheers, Danny

[mtaylor]

Hard to believe this is "paper"... boggles my mind.

[Canute]

Yes, looks like you could fire it up and operate the mechanism. Extremely nice work, Danny.

[Moab]

Amazing!!!!...Moab

[Moab]

Phil; I'm not sure this will help but I think Aleene's "Quick Dry Tacky Glue" might help. It's very thick....maybe too thick...Moab

[GrandpaPhil]

Thank you, Danny.  
 

I bought the Mont Marte glue that you recommended a while back.

 

I’ll give it a go with the Big Fitz and let you know how it goes.

 

Moab, thanks for the heads up.

Edited November 25, 2019 by GrandpaPhil