I can usually do a paint job within an hour, excluding priming. I spray one pass, then I apply the fan. I purge the airbrush, wait for the paint to dry. Once dry, I do another pass, etc. Acrylics dry fast. Curing takes at least 48 hours.
Depending on the project, it takes about one-third of a bottle. So $3.00? Not the most expensive part of my projects...
Simon
I started on the rivet decals last night. I'm largely using my imagination to figure out where to put them. Some rivets are visible in the pictures of the original but they are really hard to see.
I got about 1/3rd of one side of the front part of the shell done and then my hands started to shake so I had to quit.
I haven't tackled the task of applying the rivets around the curves that surround the rotary blades. I think I'm going to have to do that two or three rivets at a time. The straight rivet strips don't want to follow the curve. I'm being a hypocrite because I told doctorwayne that I didn't want to apply the lettering one letter at a time, but here I am applying tiny strips of rivets. This is going to take a while because I will only be able to do a few at a time.
Click on the picture to get a better view:
I am using Micro Sol to apply the decals. Water doesn't work other than to loosen the decals from the carrier sheet. I started out trying to use just water but as soon as the water dried the decals were almost falling off on their own. So far I have only wasted about one 5" strip. I'm amazed!
Cheers!!
Dave
Update:
The curved rivet strips are installed on one side of the plow. I did them two rivets at a time. It only took about two hours!!
Still lots more rivets to go on this side.
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Dave, nice job on the curved rivets.
Rich
Alton Junction
richhotrain Dave, nice job on the curved rivets. Rich
Agreed!
"Dave the Riveter" Rosies brother.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Dave, the best primer that I've used was Alclad II Grey Primer & MicroFiller. It comes in a 4 oz. plastic bottle, with BB-like pellets in the bottle to agitate the contents, making it useable for airbrushing, with no need for thinner of any type.
As for your curved rivet decals, Micro-Mark offers a number of small arcs plus some full-circle ones, too.Archer may have also offered curved ones, too, but they're currently closing-up their business.
If you need some curved 3-D rivet decals, I can send you some, as I'm unlikely to need them, as my steam locomotive detailing projects are winding down.
Wayne
Thanks Rich, Brent and Wayne,
I have two large sheets of rivet decals from Micromark which include the small curved decals. I'm going to use a couple of the curved decals on the tender on top of the semi-circular sides beside the coal doors. The tender had rivet details there but I managed to damage them when I was cleaning up the flash.
Wayne, thanks for the tip on the primer. I'll have to get some. I have discovered that the automotive primer that I first used on the tender and plow has not adhered very well. Part of the issue is likely my fault because I didn't etch the metal tender body before priming it. I did wash them with Dawn detergent.
Nice work Dave, I have to do some serious scrolling of past pages to catch up!
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewiNice work Dave, I have to do some serious scrolling of past pages to catch up! Mike.
Thanks Mike,
I'll have to do a short version of the thread when the plow is done.
I got a few more rivet decals applied tonight. I'm letting them dry for a couple of hours before going at them again. If I try to do too many at a time I just end up messing up the ones that I have just put in place. Patience is a virtue, but not one that I possess in great quantities!
I ordered the Alclad Grey Primer and filler that doctorwayne suggested. It's too late for this project but it will be handy to have on hand. I also ordered another bottle of the Rapido Protopaint boxcar red so I won't run out of it before the plow is finished. I was worried about the Protopaint hiding details because it requires so many coats, but that doesn't seem to be the case. After three coats the details are all clearly visible.
hon30critterI got a few more rivet decals applied tonight.
Thanks for the update, Dave and Looking GOOD!
Speaking of Rivets —
I'm not sure how many of you have been following availability of Archer rivet decals but for those of you that use them you might want to secure a few packages for future needs.
https://www.archertransfers.com/ArcherMain2%20CLOSING.html
Just a heads up for those interested.
[edit] I just now see that Dr. Wayne had mentioned this a few posts above
Regards, Ed
Still working on the rivet decals. It will be a couple more days before they are done and I can go back to painting.
hon30critterI also ordered another bottle of the Rapido Protopaint boxcar red so I won't run out of it before the plow is finished.
Oops! The Proto-Paint I just received is the wrong colour! That's what I get for guessing at what the colour was! I think I have enough of the Mineral Red to finish the job. There is more left in the bottle than I thought there was. There had better be enough because the Mineral Red is sold out everywhere in Canada, and shipping paint from south of the border is frowned upon.
I have almost all of the rivets done on the plow and I am now working on the tender. I finished one side of the tender this afternoon. I have to let those decals dry before I can move on.
My rivet applying abilities have improved enormously since I started! It is amazing what a little practise will do! I did make one major goof though. I managed to knock the bottle of Micro Sol over and half of it spilled all over the cutting mat where I just happened to have placed multiple strips of cut decals ready for use. I was able to save most of the decal strips by just separating them and letting them dry. Apparently the decals aren't harmed, but they do take a bit longer to separate from the carrier sheet.
I finally have almost all of the rivets in place on the plow and the tender. I need to add a few bits to the shell where it meets the rotary blade enclosures and the vertical stationary blade. I will have to mount the shell on the frame temporarily in order to fit the pieces into place, and then take it apart to apply the rivet decals and the paint.
I'm a bit concerned that when I am handling the shell to install the remaining bits the already installed decals may come loose because they are not sealed in place with paint. I think I will apply a light coat of paint to make the decals more secure before working on the shell. Do you think that is necessary?
Thanks,
I'd opt for an applicatin of Solvaset, rather than paint. However, I've also experienced some incidents where the rivet decals wouldn't respond to Solvaset, but did respond to MEK...the caution there is to apply the MEK at the edge of the decal film, rather than on the decal's surface, so that it's drawn under the decal. When the MEK is applied to the surface of the decal, the rivets often decide to leave for other venues.
I would like to state for the record I was a bit disturbed a while back.
I was faithfully following your thread contributing to it and when you did'nt even respond to me that last time I replied to you with a few geometrical diagrams.
Haven't been the same or here since
I must tell you Dave, you really hurt my feelings But I've still been following, admiring your Talents just as well as I did your Rotisserie Layout Kid.
Track Fiddler
doctorwayneI'd opt for an applicatin of Solvaset, rather than paint.
Hi Wayne,
Maybe I'm being paranoid about the rivets coming loose. After applying the Micro Sol and letting them dry they seem to be pretty firmly attached. I have to paint them anyhow, so I figure that a light coat now won't hurt.
I'll keep your Solvaset suggestion in mind.
Track fiddlerI would like to state for the record I was deeply disturbed a while back.
TF!
I apologise profusely for any offense that I have caused!!!
Ummm, can you remind me of your post that I totally ignored? I've had a few too many libations tonight to go searching back through my own admittedly long winded and verbose thread. I need all the help I can get!!
I put the shell on the frame tonight so I can figure out how to fill in the gaps above the rotary blade enclosures. I thought the wee beastie looked rather attractive if I don't say so myself!
Nope!
I'm too bold headed of a Scotsman.
You'll have to unravel your own thread and find that one for yourself!
I still love you though Dave
TF
Apology accepted whether you find it or not because life is too short.
In my book, you're still a good Scotch egg because in the same book it takes a Man to apologize
We're all good here!
Track fiddlerApology accepted whether you find it or not because life is too short.
Causing you upset bothered me enormously, so I went back to the beginning of the thread and read every post until I think I found the one you were referring to:
https://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/291158.aspx?page=9
Again I apologise for not responding to it directly. I will confess that my eyes glazed over a bit at the level of detail in the post. I'm not much into precise formulas. I tend to wing it most of the time.
In any case, thank you for taking the time to do the research and share it.
Yep
That was it, and I never meant to make too big of a deal of it last night.
No apology necessary!
I have been very interested in your thread here and was just trying to help when your blades didn't fit for the next time you do something like that. After no response, I fell out.
It's all good Dave. I must say I think you're a very talented man and I really appreciate the craftsmanship of your projects you do here
Along with your rotisserie layout idea I would have never thought of, all I seen was brilliance.
You have been an inspiration to me and you sure have a lot of patience and perseverance to find what your minds eye can tackle for some very complex projects.
When all is said and done, Hats off to you Dave, I think you're Great Because of you there's always something interesting here on the Model Railroad Forum.
Track fiddlerIt's all good Dave.
Hi TF,
I'm glad to hear that!
Thank you for all your kind words. I must say that your modeling is inspirational too.
Off to work on the plow!
I have run into a snag. The vertical fixed blade on the front of the plow doesn't fit properly anymore, and the 0.010" styrene that I used for the sheathing on the blade is cracking in multiple places.
I have two choices. One is to try to modify the existing blade to get it to the right size, and the other is to start from scratch. I'm still weighing the alternatives, but I think I'm leaning towards starting from scratch. If I do that I can use thicker styrene for the sheathing which will make the whole assembly much more solid, and obviously I can make it fit better.
Stay tuned!
I decided to try to repair the original vertical stationary blade but that just turned into an exercise in frustration. The more I handled it, the more pieces broke off. I guess that's the problem with using 0.010" styrene for the outside surfaces. I'm using 0.040" this time so I won't have to do much reinforcing.
I have completed the basic assembly on the wedge part of the new blade so all I have to do is add the straight panels behind the wedge and add a mount for the nut that will hold the blade in place. The blade has to be removable so the rotary blades can be installed.
Probably a good idea going with the thicker material Dave. I'm sure you'll have it sorted out and back together soon. Still enjoying following this build. You are doing a great job keeping us up to date. Thank you!
Mike
Water Level RouteYou are doing a great job keeping us up to date. Thank you!
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the kind words.
Tonight I had planned on adding more bits to the vertical plow blade. Note that I said "...had planned...". I didn't get to the blade, and here is why:
The first thing I did was to test fit the new partially assembled vertical blade and I was amazed to discover that it fit perfectly! Horseshoes!!
Then I decided that I should install the rotary blades and drive mechanism so I could see what clearances I would need for the vertical blade side panels that form the inside surface of the rotary blade enclosures.
Once the rotary blades were in, I decided that I should test their operation before going any further. Then the trouble started! One blade was stuck on its enclosure and would not turn.
I thought I had tested the fit previously but apparently not. It took me more than two hours to get the rotary blades properly located. The main problem was that the Kadee 0-80 tap and drill set came with a dull tap drill. When I started building the plow I used the frame from an Accurail boxcar including the steel weight. The drive system is screwed into that weight to keep it in place. The Kadee tap drill took forever to cut its way through the plate and it wandered out of place on me twice before I got two holes in the right places. By way of contrast, the tap cut the threads through the steel easily.
The bottom line is that I never did get to the vertical blade.
I have finally finished building the new front vertical blade and it seems to fit quite well. Initially I thought that would leave the blade as a separate assembly and just use a single screw through the bottom horizontal fixed blade to hold it in place. The problem with that arrangement was that the stationary blade assembly and the body shell would be difficult to keep properly aligned. I realized that I could attach the vertical blade assembly to the shell and still be able to lift it off if I ever needed to take the rotary blade drive system out of the plow.
I'll have to wait for the glue joints between the vertical blade and the plow shell to set before I will be able to determine whether or not my theory is correct.
Here is the new vertical blade. If you look closely you will see that I (as usual) used too much glue on the plates on the leading edge of the blade. Nothing that a little Tamiya putty can't fix. Rivet decals to follow.
My little plan worked. The shell with the vertical stationary blade attached permanently slides on and off the frame with ease. There are five screws holding the shell in place. Four of them are 0-80 machine screws with captive nuts on each of the four corners of the frame, and the fifth is a wood screw that goes into six layers of 0.040" styrene glued into the bottom of the vertical blade.
The shell looks like something out of Game of Thrones with the nose attached. The picture makes it appear that the front blade is crooked but it's not:
I have decided on a place for the decoder. It fits quite nicely on the top of one of the rotary blade enclosures, and the location will allow me to hide the wires. This decoder is silent. The sound decoder will be mounted in the pusher engine:
My next step will be to go back and re-apply all the rivet decals that got destroyed in the process of replacing the front blade.