Stagecoach 1848 by John Bartley - FINISHED - Artesania Latina - 1/10

[bartley]

Preparing the Front Panels for Planking

 

This is an interesting process. In order to produce a concave or domed contour on the front and back of the cabin both surfaces are covered in 5 mm battens.  These are much like the ribs on a ship and are eventually faired to produce the curved shape to support the planking.Some of the steps are shown below:

 

Battening around widows and doors:

 

 

Horizontal battens on the top and sides of the front panel

 

 

 

Full  battening of the left side of the front panel

 

 

The completed battening:

 

 

The instructions suggest fairing the battens with course sand paper.  I started the process with a small Luthier's plane and finished off with sandpaper:

 

 

The completed fairing job is hard to photograph.  In the photo below you can see the general effect but the perspective makes it looks as if there are bumps and hollows.  In fact the curve goes very smoothly from about 5mm near the top of the door to virtually zero at the outside edges.

 

 

The horizontal planking which comes next will accentuated the domed shape.

 

By the way thanks for all the "likes" it is very encouraging.

 

John

 

 

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by bartley

[Kevin]

lol i forgot to do the door, yours looks very nice

[bartley]

Planking the Front

  Firstly , in order to ensure that the first plank on each side was in the same position and perfectly horizontal, I clamped a registration guide along the front:

 

 

 

Then planking began in the standard way using 5X1 mm mahogany strips:

 

 

 

It was only on the second side that it dawned on me that just as on ship planking a slight bevel to each plank helps to achieve a tighter and neater result!  So after planking was complete each side was sanded back using these sanding sticks:

 

 

I went down to 600 to achieve this result:

 

 

Then after a couple of finishing coats with alight sanding between each the final result

looked like this:

 

 

 

 The next task is to plank the curved sides and bottom.

 

Cheers,

 

John

Edited March 30, 2022 by bartley

[bartley]

Lining the Exterior Curved Wall

 

The exterior curved wall is now lined with the same 30X0.6 mm Mahogany veneer  that was used on the interior. this ids quite straight forward really.   started at the middle and drew a center line and another 15 mm eqch side.  It was clearly important that this first sheet was correctly aligned and centered since all the alignment of the other sheets will depend on it.  I painted PVA glue onto the sheet clamped each the sheet each end:

 

 

To make sure that the curved part was tight against the frame by rubbing it with a flat piece of waste  timber, I finally "clamped" the  sheet with a couple of large rubber bands:

 

 

I find these useful for a job like this which is difficult to clamp with conventional clamps. Each subsequent sheet was buttted tightly against the previous one and secured in the same way.  After trimming off the excess the rsult looked like this:

 

 

The next task is to construct the dome shaped double bottom which sits on the suspension straps.  The instructions would have you glue the two curved formers to the cabin bottom first and then plank over these with 5X1.5 mm strips.  I felt that it might be difficult to align these both parallel and square, so I decided to construct the initial "box" shape off the model:

 

The curved former pieces are on the right and left and the first planks above and below.  Incidentally, these former pieces have to curve on both sides side since the bottom itself is curved and a tight fit is required so that the glue will form a strong bond.

 

This frame was then fitted between two parallel guides clamped the the bottom at an equal distance from each side:

 

 

This unit is then fully planked over with 5 X 1.5 basswood planks to form a base for the veneer.

 

 

After the veneer was applied to the frame in the usual way, two small endpieces were made to cover the formers..

 

 

These were clamped while the glue dried:

 

 

 

 

And the completed unit after sanding back and one coat of finish:

 

 

So finally all the veneering is complete.  Quite time consuming task but now I can move on to lining the windows and doors.

 

John

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by bartley

[BobG]

Fantastic work, John!

[bartley]

Window Frames and Cabin Edgings:

 

The windows are framed with 1.5 mm thick walnut strip between 8 mm and 10 mm wide depending on the depth of the window from the curved front and back of the cabin.  This quite straightforward and gave a nice crisp edging to the windows and covered the boxwood ply edge of the cabin. These frames were flush on the inside but allowed to protrude about 1mm on the external side sanding back where necessary in order to achieve this.

And the completed window frames:

 

 

The edging to the cabin involves bending 2 X 2 mm Mahogany strip to fit the shape of the cabin.  This is quite a sever right-angled bend and previous experience with mahogany is that it is quite brittle compared with other timbers such as Alaskan yellow cedar and basswood for example.   First I constructed a jig to establish the appropriate curve.  Then I heated the Mahogany strip in boiling water for about 10 min  Then bent around the jig using a heat gun in order to achieve this.

 

 

 

Once four pieces had been bent they were glued to the edges of the cabin using CA (two on each side with a join at the center).

 

 

Next some decorative features.

 

John

Edited April 25, 2022 by bartley

[bartley]

Cabin Decorations and Window Molding

 

The cabin decorations are curved embellishments made from 2 X 2 mm mahogany strip.  These were bent using a similar process to that for the cabin edging in the previous post. 

 

They were shaped to fit and then glued to the cabin walls with CA.

 

The window molding (referred to in the instructions as moulds!) is simply an extra 1.5 X 1.5 mm  strip glued on top of the original window frames. I guess this  does give a crisper edge.  It seems to make the frames protrude a long way but it would only be 25 mm at full scale so it is probably about right.  Here is the final result:

 

 

John

Edited April 28, 2022 by bartley
Spelloing

[bartley]

Coachman's Seat and Box:

 

For some reason this is translated in the instructions as "winch"!  Strictly speaking I should be constructing the doors next but I am waiting for some more timber for these so I decided to start on this coachman's box.  This is quite an elaborate unit.

 

It starts with two curved panels, a bottom and a back piece:

 

 

 

The panels are veneered on both sides with 0.6 X 30 mm Mahogany:

 

 

The initial assembly after veneering looks like this:

 

The curved bottom is also veneered:

 

 

two internal and two external panels are then covered with black napa and then attached to the sides of the box:

 

Sternthening battens made from 1.5 X 3 mm mahogany are attached to the curved bottom:

 

 

two side pieces are then constructed from veneered panels with 3 X 1.5 mm walnut capping pieces:

 

After attaching these and constructing a foot board from 1.5 X 3 mm mahogany strip, the box at this stage looks like this:

There is more to do on this unit but this will be attended to in the next sesion.

 

John

 

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by bartley

[Kevin]

looking very nice

[Javlin]

John that is looking Very Nice from this end.I kept looking at the wood going "what is it?" thinking a mahogany mainly Sapele could be?

[bartley]

13 hours ago, Javlin said:

John that is looking Very Nice from this end.I kept looking at the wood going "what is it?" thinking a mahogany mainly Sapele could be?

Yes, Javlin, It is Sapelly  which is a poor man's  mahogany.  Most panels are veneered over bass wood ply. I looked at buying Mahogany or Sapelly panels but they are hard to come by and expensive.  I am coating with several coats of Danish Oil sanding back with 600 grit in between coats.

 

Regards,

 

John

[bartley]

Cabin Doors

 

These are constructed in much the same way as the cabin itself.  First, 2X 5 mm basswood battens are laid down and sanded to fit the shape of the cabin. Then 1 X 5 mm Sapelly planks are glued to the outward facing side and a simpler set of plank to the internal side:

 

 

Window frames  and side frames are then added once again in a similar way to the cabin itself, starting with 1.5 X 12mm walnut strip:

 

The padding for the inside of the door Involves first gluing foam pieces to  board and then upholstering this with brown nappa cloth. A buttoned effect can then be created by nailing a paper pattern to the upholstered surface:

 

 

The final effect looks like this:

 

This is then glued to the inside of the door:

 

 

The doors turned out to be quite a tight fit into the cabin and  quite a bit of sanding was required so that hey could move more freely

 

 

John

Edited May 28, 2022 by bartley

[bartley]

Handrails for Coachman's Box

 

These are made from 2 mm brass rod.  The parts making up the rails were soldered together with silver solder. I  made a simple jig to make sure that the handrails on each side were identical as near as possible. r:

 

The padding for the side armrests was made from black nappa cloth

 

 

The rails were painted black and then treated with weathering powder to make them look more like metal.  This effect is quite subtle and might to show well in the photograph.  However I think it is effective. the top rail is just black paint and the bottom one is weathered

 

The padding is slipped over the middle rail and the final effect is shown below:

 

 

These will now be attached to the roof of the box along with the seats for the coachman.

 

John

 

 

[bartley]

Seating arrangements

 

The seats and the backrests are upholstered in the usual way.

Foam fillers are glued to a ply backing board of the appropriate size. Brown artificial leather is then folded over this arrangement and glued to the ply backboard.  The seats themselves are left plain and the backrests are buttoned in a similar way to the door padding.

 

 

These main seats are mounted on a bracket attached to the interior side wall and the back rests were glued to the front and back interior walls.

 

The support for the middle row of seats is made from a flat platform and six supports. These are veneered on both sides with sapelly sheeting:

 

The padding for the three seats in the middle row are made in a similar way to the above.

 

 

These were in fact removable but I have glued mine in to stop them moving about.

 

Here is  a shot of the completed interior:

 

 

John

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2022 by bartley

[bartley]

A few more Details - A bit of shade and a bit of light

 

1. Blinds

 

These are made by stating with a 45 x 90 mm sheet of artificial leather

these are then rolled up around a brass rod and secured with  2mm strips of the same material

 

2. securing the doors

 

The door bolts are fabricated by first mounting small saddles on a block of walnut, securing them to the  sides and then sliding a small piee of brass rod through them.

 

 

3.  Lamps for traveling at night

 

lamps are made in two parts and then the small windows supplied are glued inside

 

4. Mailbags

 

Companies such as Wells - Fargo in America and Cobb and Co. in Australia negotiated quite lucrative contracts to deliver mail. In fact this this led to a considerable improvement in the turn around time for mail delivery.

 

The two mailbags are made  by wrapping the artificial leather around a brass frame

 

The straps are made from 2 mm strips of the same materials and buckles are simulated with small brass rod

 

It was a rough ride in these coaches in spite of what the operators claimed some some hand holds were provided:

 

 

Once all of these items are attached the cabin  now looks like this:

 

 

Once I am satisfied that the interior is complete it will be time to attach the roof.

 

John

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2022 by bartley

[bartley]

Construction of the roof

 

The roof template is a shaped piece of 3mm basswood which is veneered on the inside with 0.6 mm mahogany

The top side is covered with 1.5 X3 mm walnut strip and 0.6 X 2mm basswood in alternate rows. 

 

This arrangement presumably provided some traction for moving about on the roof.  In fact in some cases extra passengeerd rode on the roof top:

 

Finally the roof is attached to the cabin

 

 

John

[mtaylor]

I've never seen that last photo before.   Was the roof seating considered "first class" with fresh air and a view?  The "smoking" section?   Or another form of "steerage"?

[Canute]

Nice when the weather's nice. Not so hot when it's raining or sleeting.

[bartley]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:48 AM, mtaylor said:

I've never seen that last photo before.   Was the roof seating considered "first class" with fresh air and a view?  The "smoking" section?   Or another form of "steerage"?

Yes, I suspect that in this case they might have been posing for the photograph but I have seen other examples with a few people on the roof.  You would hope they paid less than the inside passengers!

 

John

Edited October 16, 2022 by bartley

[bruce d]

On 8/18/2022 at 2:01 AM, Canute said:

Nice when the weather's nice. Not so hot when it's raining or sleeting.

...but that was your seat whatever nature throws at you. As I understand it, outside seating was even sold on the longer routes and it was entirely up to the inside passengers (who had paid more) whether they would allow any of these 'top riders' inside even in the hottest or wettest weather.. Hollywood doesn't address this often.

[bartley]

Completion of the Drivers Box

 

You may remember sometime ago I fabricated the railings for the Drivers box. 

 

However, these proved difficult to install until the roof was in place.  Now that tat is done this section has been now been completed

 

 

and the seats installed

 

 

This completes this area and fabricating the luyggage rack is next.

 

 

John

[bartley]

The Luggage Rack.

 

I actually began construction of this some time ago but needed to wait for some more black nappa in order complete the task.  This  is quite a complex item The first task is to create the luggage rack itself.  This is then covered with brown leather which would have protected the luggage from dust and stones etc. 

 

First the base frame  on which the luggage rested  is constructed from 2 X 4 mm and 3X 1.5 mm walnut battens:

This is then covered with brown nappa:

 

Now another framework is constructed on the rear of the cabin (presumably to protect the rear wall from damage if heavy items moved during the journey}. This is constructed from 1.5 X 3 mm Sapelly battens.  For vertical battens are glued to the rear wall and then five horizontal battens are nailed to these.

 

The frame of the luggage rack will rest on the 4 X 4 mm beam  which see under this frame.  The base frame is supported by two 3 X 1mm brass straps:

 

Mucjh of this good work will in fact be obscured by the leather cover which come next.  First the sides are covered with a triangular piece of leather.  A triangular piece of brass wire is glued to a square piece of nappa which is folded over and glued to form the triangluar shape:

 

Staps are then attached to two of the sides using brass nails:

 

These straps are wrapped around the brass supports and the lower luggage frame:

 

I found this part quite tricky since the leather needs to be cut to fit the gap quite precisely otherwise unsightly creases will appear.  The next stage is to make a leather cover which is fixed over the rear of the luggage rack.

 

Work on this item continues.

 

John

                

 

Edited October 16, 2022 by bartley

[Landlubber Mike]

That's a real beauty there John.   I've always wondered how these were to put together.  You're a walking advertisement for this kit - looks fantastic!

[bartley]

Thanks , Mike. 

 

Yes, it has turned out to be quite interesting it was supposed to be a short interlude before the next ship but it ended up being quite a challenge and quite fun too!

 

John

[bartley]

The Luggage Rack (completed)

 

This has taken me a while to complete due to several distractions (including my tax!)

 

So, the cover for the luggage rack (which actually obscures most the good work done earlier) 

 

Forming the cover starts with cutting a piece of black Nappa approximately 155 X 120 mm

 

Staps are then attached to these with 5 mm nails

 

Finally some strengthening bars are added

 

 

The buckles were made from 0.5 mm brass wire and then a small piece od f Nappa folded over these so that they could be glued to the back of the straps

 

 

 

 

This final cover was then folded over the frame constructed in the previous step

 

A few bits and pieces such as the blinds became detached during the construction of the luggage raxk so once they are repaired I can proceed with the roof rack

 

 

John

Edited November 12, 2022 by bartley

[BobG]

Your work is stunning, John!

[bartley]

Thanks Bob, and everybody else for your "likes".

 

John

[bartley]

Roof Railings.

 

Back to modelling after an extended holiday.

 

The front part of the railing was constructed as for the drivers cabin using 2mm Brass rod, bent to shape and silver soldered together using a jig to ensure uniformity

The rear part of the railing was constructed from 1,5 mm brass rod and 1-hole stanchions again silver soldered together:

 

As the construction proceded the framework was tested out on the roof and holes drilled in appropriate places to take the vertical stanchions:

 

The assembly was painted black.  My standard method for brass is to use an etch primer and a topcoat of Humbrol Matt Black.

The final assembly looked like this:

 

Finally the whole assembly was attached to the roof and secured with a few drops of CA to the in the holes:

 

 The next step will be to attach the cabin to the chassis.  I have already prepared the brackets for this step since the cabin needs to be inverted and this could damage the roof rack once it is in place.

 

John

 

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

This  would  look  so  superb  as  part of a dio   with  horses  and  some figures.

 

OC.

[CDW]

On 8/17/2022 at 8:48 PM, mtaylor said:

I've never seen that last photo before.   Was the roof seating considered "first class" with fresh air and a view?  The "smoking" section?   Or another form of "steerage"?

I've generally heard riders on top like that called, straphangers. Don't believe it was first class by any sense of the word.

Edited January 18, 2023 by CDW