Large Scale Central

Thanks to Me Ken Brunt....

General Discussion
#1

who took time off from his busy schedule to mail me a pack of Ozark truss rod turnbuckles.

Thanks, Ken - as you know, that was all I needed to complete my otherwise-finished ‘looks-something-like-a-Sandy-River-caboose’ project.

I’ll be getting onto it right away, you can be sure.

What with g’daughter and friends robbing the local Starbucks/MacDonalds/Costa for coffee stirrers, mrs tac for dress-making pins and much frantic searching in the scrap boxes, this has been a scrounger’s journey. I just hope that now it’s finished, but not ‘coloured-in’, that my peers think it was all worth the trouble.

Pics, soon.

Best to all here

tac, ig, ken the GFT and the Gleep Mountain and Flarp Lake Tunnel Boys

#2

I got to meet him at the ECLSTS. He’s a great guy. Nice to have good people here on this forum.

#3

Well, that was quick! Just sent it out there on Friday.

Your welcome, my friend…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#4

Ken and his ilk are the folks that make our great hobby even greater. I’ve found, over the many years of ‘playing trains’ that there are real treasures among us, some of whom are not fully appreciated until their fires have gone cold, and the ashes have been dropped.

Bless 'em all, I say.

tac, ig, ken the GFT and the Cold Comfort Farmboys

#5

And this is what he needed the fiddley bits for:

Those little doo-hickeys on the truss rods.

(don’t let him fool ya. I have it on good authority that Ig is the one building this fine piece of craftsmanship)…(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#6

I hafta admit that Ken has the right of it. There’s no way I could get MY paws around some of that stuff. As a negzampil, lemme tell you how he made them ladders. ig continues…

First, get two bits of brass channel from the KS Metals stand on the counter in your friendly local hobby store and cut them to the appropriate length[s]. They will be the side-rails of the ladder. Remember that one SHOULD be somewhat shorter than the other to take into account the curvature of the van roof. [Caboose is you are from down there.]

Then get some 1/16th dia alumin[i]um tubing and cut three pieces to replicate the rungs.

Beg/steal/sneak six dress-making pins, and cut them down to about 1/4", leaving the head on, of course. Make sure that you don’t inadvertently use a pair of those VERY expensive Xuron sprue cutters to do this, but a proper piano-wire-grade side or end-cutter. Please don’t ask why I know this, OK?

Drill a series of 3/64th holes in the rails where the rungs will be affixed, and push a pin through the hole, and thence into the hole in the alumin[i]um. A drop of CAA on the end of the pin will spread into the tube AND over the inside of the rail - joining everything together. Do this three times for one side, and then follow on by applying the other rail, thus completing the ladder.

The pin heads look just like the rivets of the real thing and the channel has the appearance of, uh, channel, adding a better appearance than that obtained by simply using flat stock [IMO].

Do this twice.

You can embelish the ladder by putting extension rails to the tops - mine were not made by me, but were off-cuts from a PE brass model of some kind that just happened to be the right size. Good, eh?

Many more handy hints and tips available, dependent on the weather.

ig

OVGRS & POCRR

PS - to our friend Keith Yundt over on the island - these are YOUR trucks in yet another incarnation - thanks again for the use of them!

#7

Dunno where all the crap has come from on the post above - please ignore the strike-through and italic stuff, OK?

tac

#8

Thanks for the update, Ig.

#9

Guess it’s me paws what does it with the typing. I usually get HIM to do that bit. We’ve finally settled on a colour scheme, too. Deep ochre bodywork with Brunswick green details.

I’ve asked HIM to make contact with our good friend Stan to get some lettering done, but asking HIM to make up his mind what he wants the lettering to read is like knitting fog…

ig, Chief Bodyshop Overseer.

#10

Ken Brunt said:

That’s the kind of thing where it is almost sad to have to paint it.

#11

Too late!!! The paintshop called it in this morning, and the first white priming coat has gone on - still looks like wood though.

'sfunny how carefully-contrived plastic can be made to look like painted wood, albeit with a deal of effort, while real wood, when painted, still looks like real wood, almost without any effort at all.

I’ll keep you guys UTD as it progresses, but down on the modelling thread, to avoid getting my butt kicked for being in the wrong part of the forum.

tac

OVGRS