Good morning, rail fans. I wanted to share my modeling experiences, featuring my brass Soho HO Union Pacific dome observation lounge. I’m planning a series of posts in this thread describing the steps I took in decorating it. From time to time, I will also comment on my plastic Walthers or Rivarossi cars when a new or slightly different approach or use of something is worth mentioning. I intend to concentrate on the interior detailing, including lighting. There’s already so much great info, tips and how-to’s on painting and decaling the outside, especially in these forums - I just don’t think that I can add much. But, I will gladly share my experiences if asked about the exterior.Here’s a list of some of my more popular tools.1. Dremel , variable speed.2. Lots and lots of #11 Exacto blades. I’ve used a least 20 blades on this car so far. They dull fast, even with plastic, and I change them often to keep my cuts clean, sharp and easy to execute.3. Lots and lots of tooth picks and wood stick cotton swabs.4. A couple of good pairs of scissors for cloth/fabric and thin sheet plastic, paper and card.5. Good pair of calipers.6. Precision needle nose pliers, side and flush cutters, tweezers7. Machinists square.8. 6in and 8in metal straight edge/rulers. I glued a strip of soft material on 1 side to minimize scratching my plastic.9. Precision metal scribes.10. 2x2x12in wood block with a strip of tape, sticky side up, for holding parts.11. Variable temperature soldering station with a sleek pencil iron and flexible cord. I have a Weller.12. 0.7mm mechanical pencil13. Opti-visors.I’ll start with getting the inside surface ready. The naked brass in the Soho really needs it. There is a lot of excess solder all over the inside, little pieces of brass from outside components sticking out, rough edges, and it’s all corroded and dirty. I use a lot of scratch built overlays for the walls, especially in the brass cars, so the surface needs to be cleaned up (more on overlays later). I used a dremel and sand paper to carefully smooth down those solder blobs and grind/cut protrusions. I got a little too picky once, removed too much solder, and a butt seam cracked. Had to fix that. That’s why I use overlays. It’s just too much of a hassle to get the inside surface of a brass car smooth enough for a finished wall. I tried to leave about .005-.010 in of solder everywhere. I tried flexing the butt seams. The car seems more than sturdy enough, and it’s smooth enough for the overlays. I also removed the step boxes and the plate they are on so I could paint, mask and glaze the vestibule area. There were 3, weak solder tacks that were easy to cut loose. I just glued it back in later with JB weld after all the painting was done. When the machining and smoothing is done, I clean the surfaces with PPG grease and wax remover. I get it at Tri City paint, along with my blue painter’s masking tape. I’ve even used this cleaner lightly on my clear styrene and painted surfaces with no ill effects. It will remove fresh paint, but takes a lot of rubbing to remove cured paint.On the Walthers cars, I take them apart. I very carefully pop the sides off. I pop out the glass by carefully cutting the glue joints and cutting the glass into sections, if needed (get a new blade). The glass gets tossed. I make my own window glass. I also take the frame box off and the detail piece out. I smooth and clean up the wall surfaces for finish painting on the Walthers cars, cause I don’t overlay or build any partitions in the Walthers cars; just paint, glaze, add some shades and sharpen up what is there. All gets painted, but not yet. The Rivarossi cars get wall overlays, partitions, curtains, furniture, carpeting - the works, like the Soho. Part 2 will be about laying out the interior, making some patterns, partitions and painting the interior surface.
Have a great day.
DC
http://uphonation.com
Hello DCFixer,
Thank you for posting this thead. It's not an exaggeration, but you are definetly a Craftsman! You take passenger car detailing to a high quality level. Good tool list. I see a few items that I will defeintly include in my inventory. Your tips on the brass car are helpful. I never considered that a modeler may have to deal with solder blobs and metal burrs. I've considered getting brass cars before but my budget at the time would not allow it.
PPG products are excellent. Sounds like you're using #330 Wax & Grease Remover.
For me, the Walthers Budd roofs come off easily with the "twist" method. However, getting the walls off is still a daunting challenge for me but I'll gently keep working at it. . A puzzler: You're actually able to replace the factory flush fitting windows for your Walthers cars with windows that you make yourself ? Do you create templates?
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Interior Detailing a UP Dome Observation Lounge-Part 2:
Hi, all
I got the interior surfaces all smoothed, cleaned and ready to paint. But, before painting, I designed and constructed as much of the partitions and rooms as I could. (get a new #11 blade). I didn't worry about all the detail in the rooms at this point, but constructed the outside walls, cut out the doors, etc. I worked on getting a good fit and how everything would attach in there.
I also made as many patterns/templates of the walls that I could. These would be used later to cut out the finished overlays (if your like me, you have a lot of clear styrene laying around that's been scratched too much to use for glazing the windows - this is a good place to use it - more later on making the finished overlays). I cut some .010in styrene sheet into pieces, fitted and trimmed until each piece covered the particular wall area that I was working on. For those pieces that include windows, I held the piece in place on the inside, or taped it down in position if there was room, and scribed out the windows from the outside. I used the scribes; a blade can scrape the inner edges of the windows. Then I cut out the windows (get a new blade), test fitted, trimmed, started over until I was satisfied with the fit of each piece and how they lined up with each other. In coach, lounge or dinner areas where there are curtains or other window dressings, I just made a strip for the wall area above and a strip for the area below the windows. I covered the area between windows later with the curtains or window dressings. I spent a lot of hours making and remaking those templates, so I stored them somewhere safe for later.
I cleaned the inside surfaces again, and painted the wall areas the color that I wanted to show as a thin outline around the windows, or as a floorboard or other detail. I did the dome obs walls in steel. The ceiling I did in cream (the color of the ceiling will have some effect on the over all color of the interior light and the final effect).
To paint the inside of the side pieces on the Walthers cars, without screwing up the outside paint job, including the inner edges of the windows, I stuffed some Play-Doh through the window openings from the outside. Then I shaped the doh on the inside with a tooth pick to get the inner window edges masked without covering the inside wall surface. The doh cleans off easily.
While the inside is curing (min 4 days to be able to withstand masking - more the safer), I had the partitions/rooms to paint and detail. I also had some overlay sheets to design and print out on the computer (...hint, hint...), curtains to make, chairs, flooring, research.........
Part 3 will be the lighting, dedicated to Antonio, who has provided so much support and encouragement for me.
Want to spend some time with the family.
Later
more pics here http://uphonation.com
AntonioFP45 wrote:Hello DCFixer,Thank you for posting this thead. It's not an exaggeration, but you are definetly a Craftsman! You take passenger car detailing to a high quality level. Good tool list. I see a few items that I will defeintly include in my inventory. Your tips on the brass car are helpful. I never considered that a modeler may have to deal with solder blobs and metal burrs. I've considered getting brass cars before but my budget at the time would not allow it. PPG products are excellent. Sounds like you're using #330 Wax & Grease Remover. For me, the Walthers Budd roofs come off easily with the "twist" method. However, getting the walls off is still a daunting challenge for me but I'll gently keep working at it. . A puzzler: You're actually able to replace the factory flush fitting windows for your Walthers cars with windows that you make yourself ? Do you create templates?
Antonio, you are just too kind, sir. I just have fun. I do have a high tech, mentally demanding job, so the hobby is also very therapeutic for me.I use a lot of #860 reducer. So far, for me, it’s only been enamel for color and lacquer for clear coat. Maybe it’s only me, but there seems to be a lot more, ready-available colors of enamel in small quantities. I mix and match a lot of my colors, so that’s convenient. Using Dulcote and Krylon Crystal Clear for clears, I haven’t yet found a need to thin them out, I just warm them up in the bottle or can a little before use.Some think I’m freakin crazy.…I am, LOL, but I do sacrifice the fff windows. From the outside, they look great, but from the inside, it’s a big, ugly hunk of plastic. Also, all that plastic takes up a lot of room. I basically just glue a close fitting pane over the opening on the inside. The interior is my top love and priority (so far) in this hobby. I’d rather have a finished, smooth wall with a nicely framed window and dressings to peek in at. It is a matter of choice and personal preference. It would be great if someone out there would share an easy, clean way to make individual windows that are flush on both sides. I’ll have more comments and detail on this in Part 4. My son’s coming home from college tonight. It’s my wife’s birthday this weekend, so I won’t be working on Part 3 much till Sunday. I hope to get it posted Sunday night or Monday morning.Got to get to work.DC
Confess! How did you make...
The Comfy Chairs!
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley wrote: Confess! How did you make...The Comfy Chairs!
Gladly, and thanks for showing interest in my work.
I don't know which chairs you are referring to, so I'll describe all 3.
The dome mauve divans are Palace Car co, coach seats. I cut the back down to lounge chair size and planed the bottoms off. Next I fashioned a piece of .010 styrene to fit the backrest, but extend over the arms. Glued the piece to the back rest, trimmed the sides of it from the outside edge of the arm rest up to the top so it has the angle typical of the divan and the back is over the arms. Puttied the edges, sanded, puttied, sanded...till it was typically rounded and smooth, etc. I also puttied the crack on the seat. I glue on some legs that I bashed out of some Red Cap Line kits. Painted, finished with dulcote.
The card room chairs are Palace Car Co. lounges chairs. I planed the bottom up, glued on legs that I bashed out of some Grandt Line lounge chair kits, painted and finished with a mix of 50-50 Dulcote and Krylon Crystal Clear. This gave it a vinyl look without being too glossy.
The ACF 44 seat coach chairs are Red Cap Line Sleepy Hallow kits (these got to be it - they are so awesome ). I scribed in the folds on the seat bottoms for the UP 44 seat coach; no folds on the seat bottom, no scribing for the UP ACF dome coach. Finish is 3-1 Dulcote-KCC.
Order lots of the Red cap Line and Grandt Line kits.
Maybe they'll start turning them out again.
pics here: http://uphonation.com
csmith9474 wrote:As far as the glazing goes, American Model Builders has been doing them for some of the Walther's passenger cars. I saw that they finally did a set for the "Pleasure Dome" and I have been looking for something better than what Walther's includes with their cars.
Thanks. I'll check them out.
I just wanted to mention that the Pullman Standard Library (Randall, Anderson) is an excellent source for those Pullman floor plans. There's a lot of interior shots and descriptions as well. Vols 13 & 14 especially cover a lot of the streamliner cars.
A prototyper once told me that if I had the whole set, all my questions about the streamliners would be answered. That is yet to be verified, though.
DC,
Maybe I should hire you to do the interior for my Santa Fe full dome car!
Antonio is right...you are a true craftsman. Your work is absolutely beautiful. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!
Robert Beaty
The Laughing Hippie
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The CF-7...a waste of a perfectly good F-unit!
Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the
end of your tunnel, Was just a freight train coming
your way. -Metallica, No Leaf Clover
Arjay1969 wrote: DC, Maybe I should hire you to do the interior for my Santa Fe full dome car! Antonio is right...you are a true craftsman. Your work is absolutely beautiful. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!
The car is looking beautiful Arjay. Who makes your ATSF full dome-Soho or The Coach Yard. I'm just curious as I have Overland's ATSF full dome 60.
Charlie
MP 53 on the BNSF Topeka Sub
Thank you so much for your kind words.
I love Sante Fe and the ATSF. I almost boarded the HO Chief...maybe I still will. I can re-tool and buy some more trains when the UP streamliner is done and I finally get to retire.
Where can I see some pics of your work and play?
Arjay1969 wrote:I haven't even started on mine yet. It's a Bachmann, actually. The brass ones are a bit out of my price range right now.
I understand what your saying regarding the prices of the brass domes. I shelled out 420.00 for my Overland models ATSF dome car 60. But, for the price I paid, I only had to add figures and still need to add some more. I just have to re-build my Coach Yard SP 3/4 dome car 3600.
Charlie wrote: Arjay1969 wrote:I haven't even started on mine yet. It's a Bachmann, actually. The brass ones are a bit out of my price range right now. I understand what your saying regarding the prices of the brass domes. I shelled out 420.00 for my Overland models ATSF dome car 60. But, for the price I paid, I only had to add figures and still need to add some more. I just have to re-build my Coach Yard SP 3/4 dome car 3600. Charlie
I read that the Coach Yard UP dome obs lounge will go for about $650! I paid $180 for my undecorated brass Soho dome. That's a real good deal, from what I have gathered, but still pretty insane. But if ya just gotta have it...
dcfixer wrote: Charlie wrote: Arjay1969 wrote:I haven't even started on mine yet. It's a Bachmann, actually. The brass ones are a bit out of my price range right now. I understand what your saying regarding the prices of the brass domes. I shelled out 420.00 for my Overland models ATSF dome car 60. But, for the price I paid, I only had to add figures and still need to add some more. I just have to re-build my Coach Yard SP 3/4 dome car 3600. Charlie I read that the Coach Yard UP dome obs lounge will go for about $650! I paid $180 for my undecorated brass Soho dome. That's a real good deal, from what I have gathered, but still pretty insane. But if ya just gotta have it... DC
I looked at the Coach Yard ATSF Full Domes, too. VERY nice, but VERY out of my price range. I'll stick with my Bachmann for now, even though they messed up the letterboard. Well, the Bachmann shell and underframe, at least...the trucks have been replaced with the very nice ones from Train Station Products.
dcfixer wrote: Arjay1969 wrote: DC, Maybe I should hire you to do the interior for my Santa Fe full dome car! Antonio is right...you are a true craftsman. Your work is absolutely beautiful. I look forward to seeing what you come up with next! Thank you so much for your kind words. I love Sante Fe and the ATSF. I almost boarded the HO Chief...maybe I still will. I can re-tool and buy some more trains when the UP streamliner is done and I finally get to retire.Where can I see some pics of your work and play? DC
Mine's a mish-mash of different manufacturers. Union Station, Walthers, American Model Builders, Athearn, Train Station Products...oh, and an Athearn car or two (upgraded a bit, of course). I'll take pictures soon, I promise. I'm usually so gung-ho about working on projects that I forget to take any pictures.
To paint the inside of the side pieces on the Walthers cars, the window openings from the outside. Then I shaped the doh on the inside with a tooth pick to get the inner window edges masked without covering the inside wall surface. The doh cleans off easily. - end Quote"without screwing up the outside paint job, including the inner edges of the windows, I stuffed some Play-Doh through
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just reread that particular post. That is an excellent idea! Painting the inside wall sections above, next to, and below the windows has always been a tedious task for me. I've always used a bristle brush instead of an airbrush to paint the areas because it was diificult to mask off the inner window edges.
The last time I had Play-Doh in my hands was about 36 years ago when Penn Central was running trains through my New York neighborhood! Glad to see that I may now have a new use for Play-Doh it.
I would recommend upgrading the trucks on the dome lounge obs with Train Station's 4 wheel outside swing hanger trucks. You can either file down the bolster by .10-.20 or shim the couplers by the same amount and add a set in interior lighting wipers to the trucks.
Charlie wrote: I would recommend upgrading the trucks on the dome lounge obs with Train Station's 4 wheel outside swing hanger trucks. You can either file down the bolster by .10-.20 or shim the couplers by the same amount and add a set in interior lighting wipers to the trucks. Charlie
I have thought about that, too...more than once. I have some nice pics of the car in the 50s with the 41-CUDOs. I saw them at Walthers. I am sooo tempted, but hesitate to alter the Soho. I have had the same struggle within, concerning a couple of Mustangs - stock or mod? I lean toward stock, preserving the original. I think it's a matter of personal preference. It would look sharp, though. I'm going to get the trucks, just in case, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Also, I will have to rip up the flooring.
They're not all metal? Will they mount the same as the Sohos? I got lots of wipers, but that car rolls great the way it is!! I'm going to loose some of that, huh?
Thanks, Charlie.
dcfixer wrote: Charlie wrote: I would recommend upgrading the trucks on the dome lounge obs with Train Station's 4 wheel outside swing hanger trucks. You can either file down the bolster by .10-.20 or shim the couplers by the same amount and add a set in interior lighting wipers to the trucks. CharlieI have thought about that, too...more than once. I have some nice pics of the car in the 50s with the 41-CUDOs. I saw them at Walthers. I am sooo tempted, but hesitate to alter the Soho. I have had the same struggle within, concerning a couple of Mustangs - stock or mod? I lean toward stock, preserving the original. I think it's a matter of personal preference. It would look sharp, though. I'm going to get the trucks, just in case, but I haven't made up my mind yet. Also, I will have to rip up the flooring. They're not all metal? Will they mount the same as the Sohos? I got lots of wipers, but that car rolls great the way it is!! I'm going to loose some of that, huh?Thanks, Charlie.DC
You may also want to check out The Coach Yard's offering on trucks.... http://www.thecoachyard.com/Pages/Catalog.lasso?CatalogDisplay=S
I have used TSP trucks on a Soho car in the past, and they went on without a problem and looked great, so that is a great option. I suggested the CY trucks since they look great, but they do cost a bit more.
Interior Detailing a UP Dome Observation Lounge-Part 3:
Good morning.
LED or Incandescent? I like incandescent for the scenery, like, street/highway lamps and buildings. For the confines of a passenger car, can't beat a surface mount (SMT)LED. It's small, easy to conceal, low low power consumption, little heat generation, long life and highly reliable. My dome obs has 17 LEDs (I said 19 in another post...another senior moment), and draws less than 40ma. Since the white LED as considerable bluish tint, I filter it with simple blonde masking tape. I like the Scotch masking tape. It gives pretty true colors, and diffuses nicely.
Ok. The interior surface paint has been applied and is cured. I cut small strips of copper tape (get a new blade) and used them to make the electrical runs back, forth and around the car. Since the brass conducts, I put down strips of Scotch Super tape (packing tape) first, and then laid down the copper on top of it. I ended up with less than .005in build up. That's small enough to overlay without bulges. I got strips running behind wall panels/overlays, under carpeting, and it makes good contact points. Obviously, electrical insulation is not necessary on the plastic stuff. But, keep in mind that you have to heat up that copper to solder. Too much heat and too long of an exposure will warp and melt the plastic. That is REAL bad! The layer of packing tape will help, but this is where a variable temperature soldering station comes in handy. Set it as low as possible, and still be able to flow the solder. I strongly suggest practicing on a junk car to get the technique down.
I made 2 light rails to run across the ceiling from end to end using .060 or .080 styrene strips and the copper tape. At the spots where I glued the rails down, I scratched off the paint down to the bare surface. I set the rails down at masking tape width.
I used a full wave bridge rectifier and 3v constant voltage regulator to power the car. The bridge is needed so the LEDs will be on in any direction off travel. There are a lot of low voltage regulators to choose from. One can go lower, but I'm not sure 1v would provide enough light through the tape. Whatever, but 2 things to think about: (1) Regulator with Low Drop Out. This is the minimum supply voltage required to maintain the regulated output voltage. There's not much point to having 1v regulated to the LEDs if it takes 5v in to get it. (2) Maximum Supply Voltage. Need a regulator that can handle the track voltage.
I installed each LED with 100 ohms, 1/4 watt in series to start with. At low currents, light output may very considerably from LED to LED, so I just adjusted by lowering or raising the resistance of some of the LEDs. By putting a resistor in series with the output of the regulator, the over all brightness of the car can be adjusted. The wiring doesn't look pretty, but LED placement is flexible, it's easy, fast, reliable, and it's covered up anyway.
Here's a partial parts list. I get all my components at Mouser.com; reasonable and pretty fast.
(1)Bridge: DB101 (6pin DIP)
(2) Regulator: Sharp PQ15RWO8J00H
(3)White SMT LED: Optek OVS9WBCR4 (big enough pads to hand wire)
Data sheets and application notes can be found at Mouser and on the net. I get ends and scrap copper tape at work, so I the only suggestion I have is to get on the net. I'll ask at work in case there's trouble finding it.
Part 4 will be wall, window and floor coverings and dressings.
more pics at http://uphonation.com
AntonioFP45 wrote: "Quote from DCFixer: To paint the inside of the side pieces on the Walthers cars, the window openings from the outside. Then I shaped the doh on the inside with a tooth pick to get the inner window edges masked without covering the inside wall surface. The doh cleans off easily. - end Quote"without screwing up the outside paint job, including the inner edges of the windows, I stuffed some Play-Doh through ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DC, I just reread that particular post. That is an excellent idea! Painting the inside wall sections above, next to, and below the windows has always been a tedious task for me. I've always used a bristle brush instead of an airbrush to paint the areas because it was diificult to mask off the inner window edges.The last time I had Play-Doh in my hands was about 36 years ago when Penn Central was running trains through my New York neighborhood! Glad to see that I may now have a new use for Play-Doh it.
Play-Doh... who would have thunk? Kudos to my wife for suggesting Play-Doh.
Sometimes I miss a spot, and the inner eges get frosted a bit. I wait an hour or 2 for the paint to set up a little, pull out the Play-Doh and clean up those inner edges with a cotton swab, dampened a little with good ole PPG #330.
The TSP trucks are good rollers provided you use excellent wheel sets with them. I think I have a pair of Soho's later OSH trucks that have better detail and relief on them. All you would need to do is paint them HM gray. I have several UP cars I'm planning on getting rid of. PM me if interested. I will list the cars and prices.
Smitty Thanks for the tip. Those CY trucks look pretty nice. I wonder if they are all metal. That's really the way I want to go to avoid the drag and maintenance of wipers. I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.
I love this forum thing. There's such a wealth of experience and knowledge to be had, and so many nice people willing to share. Thank you all.
Thanks again, Smitty.
dcfixer wrote: Smitty Thanks for the tip. Those CY trucks look pretty nice. I wonder if they are all metal. That's really the way I want to go to avoid the drag and maintenance of wipers. I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.I love this forum thing. There's such a wealth of experience and knowledge to be had, and so many nice people willing to share. Thank you all. Thanks again, Smitty.DC
The CY trucks are all brass. Some are sprung, and some aren't (I personally prefer trucks that aren't sprung).
dcfixer wrote:I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.
I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.
A suggestion...take a piece of brass tubing that has an inside diameter large enough to clear your axles. Cut off a piece about 1/8" long. Now grind off one side of it so that you can slip the tubing onto the axle without removing any wheels. solder the tubing onto the original wiper, and you have a new pickup that will not only last forever, but give (in my experience) better contact (larger surface area coming into contact with the axle). Voila!
That's one of the things I love about it too...I learn something new just about every time I log on.
csmith9474 wrote: dcfixer wrote: Smitty Thanks for the tip. Those CY trucks look pretty nice. I wonder if they are all metal. That's really the way I want to go to avoid the drag and maintenance of wipers. I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.I love this forum thing. There's such a wealth of experience and knowledge to be had, and so many nice people willing to share. Thank you all. Thanks again, Smitty.DC The CY trucks are all brass. Some are sprung, and some aren't (I personally prefer trucks that aren't sprung).
That cinches it for me. If I buy new trucks, it will be the CY trucks. I just got to look at some pics, and determine if they are "I" bar or "rectangular" equalizers.
Arjay1969 wrote: dcfixer wrote: I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.A suggestion...take a piece of brass tubing that has an inside diameter large enough to clear your axles. Cut off a piece about 1/8" long. Now grind off one side of it so that you can slip the tubing onto the axle without removing any wheels. solder the tubing onto the original wiper, and you have a new pickup that will not only last forever, but give (in my experience) better contact (larger surface area coming into contact with the axle). Voila! I love this forum thing. There's such a wealth of experience and knowledge to be had, and so many nice people willing to share. Thank you all. That's one of the things I love about it too...I learn something new just about every time I log on.
dcfixer wrote: I got wipers on all the Rivarossi stuff. They're OK, but they slow down the wheels and require periodic cleaning. I can tell by the wear that they will also require replacement in the near future.
That is an excellent idea! More surface contact means more friction, also. Do you use a contact grease? I use a GE red contact grease (just a thin film) that I get from work. It seems to improve electrical contact and stops the squeeking, too. Anyway, I'm going to be upgrading my Rivarossi cars with the new Hippie pickups.
Thanks, Robert
Interior Detailing a UP Dome Observation Lounge-Part 4:
I do the outside of the car at this point. Enough said on that for now.
It's hard to imagine how I would make skinny little fake wood paneling, tiny little pictures and signs on the wall or a decal without a computer. I find just about every pattern or picture I want on the net. All the paint, capture and image manipulation software, plus the print technology make the computer a very creative tool for a modeler. I think everyone here has caught on to that. When shrinking an image, I resample at a higher resolution. Normally, 600 dpi works. I clear coat the printed sheets of photo paper with Krylon Crystal Clear Satin. The paper should last a long time and shouldn't fade or yellow. Colors will darken, so I allow for that. Using the wall templates I made earlier, I cut out the overlays (get a new blade, and often) from the printed sheets. When I'm satisfied that the finish overlay or picture/sign is good enough and fits in there, I clear coat it lightly again to get all the edges.
When working with fabric for carpeting or the chair guard panels under coach windows, I back the fabric with the clear packing tape. It helps minimize fraying, holds the shape and the glue doesn't seep through. For different pile, patterns or to alter the color a little, I airbrush Dulcote and/or paint.
Making curtains and drapes out of fabric is somewhat tedious, but pretty easy. I cut about 3in wide by 6in long strips of the fabric I want to use. I lay down a strip, backside up, on a sheet of plastic. Starting at one end, I fold back about 1/2in to make a crease across the strip. I open the fold back up and spread a fair amount of Testor Clear Parts Cement and Window Maker in the crease and about 1/4in to each side of it, fold the fabric back over and press it down. I use just enough of the glue to slightly soak through the fabric. It dries clear. I cut the folded piece about an inch from the end, and continue down the strip, making a bunch of single folds in the same manner. After the glue sets, I cut the folds off (get a new blade, and often) with a straight edge about .040in from the end of the fold. By varying this dimension, I get curtains of different thickness. I then glue, using small amounts of CA glue, the .040in strips on top of each other till I get the width of curtain I want. My 2x2 wood block with a strip of tape, sticky side up, comes in handy here for laying out and holding the strips. If I want a curtain that looks partly drawn open, I glue thicker folded strips on edge between the tight folds. After the CA glue sets, I cut curtains to desired length.
I start assembling with glazing the windows. I cut .005 or .010in strips of clear styrene long enough to cover as many windows in an area as possible, and then glue them down. This is one reason why I like brass. The walls are thin, and the glazing, shades and wall overlays end up giving a thicker, more real appearance, and the windows look flush. Next I build up the area around the glazing with scrap styrene to keep the wall surface flat for mounting the shades and overlays. I make my shades out of scrap .005in styrene, and taller than the window so I can glue them down above the window. It's a lot easier and cleaner than gluing them to the window pane itself. I put the wall overlays down, glue in the curtains, and that's about it...well, except for the re-dos. With .005 glazing, .005 shades and .010 paper, only .020in per wall is taken away from the inside dimension.
That's all I have for now. I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this thread. I have had so much fun in this forum the last few weeks that I haven't done crap on my cars...except for acquiring some new ideas, of course. I have also neglected my web site. I'm ready to get back to work on the railroad.