Hi Wayne:
Thanks for your efforts!
I had the same problem when trying to remove the styrene discs from my manual punch. The force required caused the same sort of milky deformation in the center of the discs. If I punched about a dozen discs without removing them individually then I could get 4 or 5 that weren't deformed, but the edges were still fractured enough to render them unacceptable. If the cover slip glass fits it will be a perfect solution.
By the way, for all of you who were cringing at the bright coloured clothing on the passengers, I agree! They are totally out of place for 1907. Fortunately I glued them in place with Micro Krystal Klear so they pop out quite easily. They will be repainted in appropriately drab colours.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
doctorwayne ...and the punch used: Wayne
...and the punch used:
Wayne
Holy Smokes Wayne. I have boxes of tools from my Grandfather and Great Grandfather. I am sure there is one of those punch kits in one of them. I had better find it and move it to the train room workshop. I never looked at it that closely and thought it was a rivet press.
Sorry Dave! Back to the continuing story of the great Mckeen kit slayer.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Dave, the only reason the discs are milky-looking in the centre is due to the centre point on the punch. Most of the other size punches have already had the point removed. I've used them to punch porthole windows for F- and E-units, and headlight lenses for various steam and diesel locomotives, with clean edges and no milkiness. The punched discs drop out of the die quite readily, as the hole widens below the stroke of the punch. The changeable die is also adjustable for height within the jaws: for thin material, it works best turned up, while thicker material requires a lower position. It can punch 14 gauge (.075") steel, and thicker sheets of aluminum, brass, copper, and plastic.
If for some reason the glass cover slips don't work I will get back to you.
Thanks again!
I got the 6mm microscope coverslips a couple of days ago and I have decided not to use them for a couple of reasons.
First, unfortunately they are a bit smaller than the diameter of the brass window frames. Gluing them in place with Microscale Krystal Klear left a lot of visible distortion around the edges of the glass where the glue was filling the gap. The glue wasn't perfectly smooth, and the glue line made the windows look smaller then they actually are.
Also, getting all of the glass on exactly the same plane was impossible so the reflection off the glass wasn't consistent. It made some of the windows look crooked.
Finally, handling the glass was difficult. I have one of those suction cup parts holders on order which would make things easier but the uneven glue around the edges of the glass and the inability to get all the glass lined up parallel causes me to reject glazing the round windows.
The other reason for not glazing the round windows is that in every picture that I have seen of the different versions of the motor car the round windows are open. I still intend to glaze the cab front windows. I have some Ngineering real glass window material that I have cut to the exact size. Hopefully the glue lines won't show if the fit is tight.
Doctorwayne - thank you for your offer to punch out acrylic windows but I think I'm going to go for the fresh air look.
Next step is the decals which I'm still waiting on. Then I will touch up the paint on the frame and trucks where handling has taken a toll, add the final few exterior details and then clear coat. Cab windows will go in last so the clear coat doesn't mess them up.
Stay tuned!
Hi Dave,
Darn! It's unfortunate the glass slips did not do the trick.
Joel
Modeling the C&O New River Subdivision circa 1949 for the fun of it!
I just got an e-mail from Scott Wright who is doing the custom decals. He had surgery a month ago and should have been up and about by now. Unfortunately his surgeon messed up and he is going to be in the hospital for at least another two months trying to recover from the screwup.
Bottom line is that the McKeen Motor Car project will be relegated to the back burner until further notice. I am not going to cancel the order.
A long overdue update:
Well, after waiting patiently for the custom decals to be shipped, I decided to cancel the order. I had been promised that the decals would be in the mail in mid January.
It is amazing what action a threatened loss of revenue can produce! I sent the cancellation e-mail on Sunday and lo and behold I received a response on Monday that the decals had been mailed Monday morning!!!! However, I was informed that the shipping cost was now $22.00 USD!?! That much for an 8 1/2" x 11" envelope from the US to Canada??? That's $30.00 Cdn!!!
Hopefully they will be of decent quality and I can have the motor car finished in short order, but I have a bad taste in my mouth. If they are not of decent quality I will ask for my money back.
(Rant...rant...rant...!)
Regards. Thanks for listening.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Bear:
I really hope the quality of his work is superior to his business practices but I won't be suprised if it is not. I'm not holding my breath.
In fairness, he has had a hard time of it recently but I'm a little ticked when he made a delivery promise in January and didn't follow through until I asked to cancel the order.
hon30critter I'm not holding my breath.
I am an optimist too. I'm optimistic that if the first decal order isn't up to snuff then the second will be. I will ignore the cost if I have to buy the second set. The combined costs will be ridiculous!
"Say no more....say no more".
That sounds just a wee bit excessive on the postage there. Whenever I've ordered decals online, they've xome in a regular first class envelope sandwiched between two pieces of cardboard so they don't get mangled in the sorter. That usually works out to just above the standard First Class stamp so you end up throwing 2 stamps on it. Just for grins I calculated potage to London, Ontario. I used a large envelop (the 8x10 kind) and said 8 ounces, which is WAY more than a couple sheets of decals and two pieces of cardboard would weigh. If I don't check the "does not bend easily" option, it's $3.02 for First Class. If I do check the box, it's $9.50. Priority and Express options are $25 and up. But there are other options as well.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I finally received the decals from Solidesign today! Its only taken six months.
My initial impression is that they won't work very well because they don't have a white base. They are simply printed in yellow. I'm going to make up a test sheet painted the same as the Motor Car and then apply one of the decals to see if they show up properly on the CP Maroon paint.
Please be patient. My father-in-law has just been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He has opted to not undergo any further procedures so the next two or three weeks are going to be a bit tough.
Regards.
Sorry to hear of your Father in-law Dave. We also have a senior member of our family that I am very fond of decide to move on as well after a return of cancer. My thoughts are with you, your wife and family at this time.
Take care.
That´s not good news!
Our thoughts are with you and your family!
Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts. Very much appreciated.
Brent, sorry to hear that you are in the same boat.
OK, the car is finally finished!!! The only future change might be to install sound if a suitable sound file ever becomes available.
Here are some pictures:
The decals worked out better than I expected when I first saw them. They aren't quite as opaque as I would have liked but I'm splitting hairs.
I have deviated from the prototype in one respect in that the original had the roof painted in a salmon colour. It really didn't appeal to me so I didn't model it.
As I said earlier I decided to not install glass in the round windows, but I did put it in the cab windows. That was fussy work!
Photos don't lie! I can see a couple of spots where I will have to do some touch up inside the doors.
Sincere thanks to everyone who helped along the way!!
Great looking results, Dave. Very nicely-done.
Thanks Wayne!
Its a bit rough in places but I'm happy with the results.
hon30critterIts a bit rough in places
Thanks Bear!
Yes, I tend to be very critical of my own work but that's what motivates me to do better the next time. One of the things that I'm not happy with on the model is the slight orange peel effect left by the Testors Glosscote. Like other Testors spray paints the spray is way too heavy. If you spray too close you will have runs, and if you back off and do quick passes it sets before it flows out smooth.
I'm going to explore other gloss finishes. Any suggestions anyone?
For Glosscote, I collect it in a bottle by spraying from the can into a large dia soda straw (donated by McDonalds). Then I can spray with my air brush.
If you want to do cans, take a look at Krylon Gloss Acrylic
Great work on the car! One of the decoder used to have a Galloping Goose sound decoder. That would be a gasoline engine.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
Dave,
It turned out great!! Nice to see you finish the project. I have a ton of unfinished projects in the train room, nice to see some one carry it through to the end.
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Hi George:
Thanks for the idea on airbrushing Testors Glosscote.
I have thought about using a Galloping Goose sound file for the McKeen car but I just don't think it would be appropriate. The McKeen engine was huge! It had to be 5 or 6 feet tall. I doubt that the Galloping Goose automobile based engines would sound anything like the McKeen. Unfortunately none of the original McKeen motors survived. Apparently they were so unreliable that they were all scrapped. There are several references to them having to be towed back to the shop regularly.
https://ca.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=McKeen+Motor+Car+engine+pictures&hspart=rogers&hsimp=yhs-rogers_001&type=rogers_pc_homerun_portal
I'm sure there must have been a lot of mechanical clatter just like the Galloping Goose engines, but judging by the sheer size of the McKeen engines they must have sounded pretty throaty too which the Galloping Goose engines do not.
There I go being fussy again!
Thanks Guy!
I can't count the number of projects that are either unstarted or unfinished that I have in stock. I do have to say that I have pretty much stopped myself from buying more stuff on eBay because I do have so many projects on hand. I got a little upset with myself for acquiring so many projects without actually working on them. I think I had fallen into a rut where I justified my purchases by thinking I was actually doing some modeling by buying them. Now I have finally decided to get my rear end in gear, both with the modelling projects and with building the layout.
Way to go Dave, looks great. I have followed this project more closely than most and I have really enjoyed tagging along. What do we get to do next??????
Nice job, Dave!
Chuck - Modeling in HO scale and anything narrow gauge
That's a stunningly beautiful piece of equipment. Good show!
My thoughts are with your family, too, at this difficult time.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL