Dan's Workbench - D1031 Western Rifleman

[28ten]

Vallejo are also good acrylics too, but not usually available on the high st.

 

[Phill Dyson]

Acrylics versus enamels - I have about 50 or 60 bottles or tins of enamel knocking around and I'm very comfortable using them, to be honest.

I'm a die hard enamels user too Dan, but acrylics are ideal for figures as you can use the same brush for all colours (with a cup of water to rinse between colours of course) & they dry in minutes so all the colours needed for figures can be painted in the same session
Cheers Phill :wave:

 

[Dan Randall]

Some major progress on Rifleman this afternoon - I've finally installed the seats & crew and can now cross two more things off the list.

Here are a few piccies, but please bear in mind the fact that they're cruel enlargements and things look a lot better to the naked eye ...
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I'm actually quite pleased with the final appearance and now feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I've been putting off assembling the cabs/body until the crew and seats were in and can now crack on with this, but may just finish off some other jobs on the cabs before final assembly.

I still have to do the windscreen wipers, marker light lenses, front handrails and cab side windows and feel this would be easier without the rest of the body attached.

More updates as and when.


Regards

Dan

 

[28ten]

I am going to do everything to the cabs before assembly, im glad I didnt follow the order in the 'instructions' :laugh: painting the window surrounds would have been a nightmare...

 

[lancer1027]

Looking Great Dan

 

[28ten]

Are you going to paint the rubber surrounds on the cab windows?

 

[Simon]

Some major progress on Rifleman this afternoon - I've finally installed the seats & crew and can now cross two more things off the list.

Here are a few piccies, but please bear in mind the fact that they're cruel enlargements and things look a lot better to the naked eye ...

I'm actually quite pleased with the final appearance and now feel like there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I've been putting off assembling the cabs/body until the crew and seats were in and can now crack on with this, but may just finish off some other jobs on the cabs before final assembly.

I still have to do the windscreen wipers, marker light lenses, front handrails and cab side windows and feel this would be easier without the rest of the body attached.

More updates as and when.


Regards

Dan

They look just the job to me, this whole project is a truly amazing piece of work

 

[Dan Randall]

Looking Great Dan

Thanks Rob.

Are you going to paint the rubber surrounds on the cab windows?

I might have a bash at it as they're quite noticeable. Perhaps I'll hold fire and see what your's turn out like. :lol:

They look just the job to me, this whole project is a truly amazing piece of work

Thanks Simon. Out of interest, are Gauge 1 figures any better than those in the smaller scales?


Regards

Dan

 

[Scale7JB]

Here are a few piccies, but please bear in mind the fact that they're cruel enlargements and things look a lot better to the naked eye ...

I think it all looks pretty spectacular in the cruel enlargements..

JB.

 

[Dan Randall]

I thought I?d have a go at the marker lights on Rifleman today. The first job was to try and make some lenses. I had an automatic centre punch in my tool box that is rarely used. By twisting the body, the amount of force needed to activate the punch can be varied. With a piece of lead flashing underneath, I tried punching some 10 thou clear Evergreen styrene. Once I was happy with the amount the styrene was embossed by, I modified the shape of the punch tip to be more rounded rather than pointy. Having ascertained the lens shape was now satisfactory, it was time to start work.

For the red lenses, some of the styrene is coloured with an overhead projector pen. Here are the tools and materials and between the punch and the styrene, can be seen some satisfactory lenses?.
[attachment=5:3lgy282y]SNV33291.JPG[/attachment:3lgy282y]



Using a piece of 2mm inside diameter tube and a little spit, one of the lenses is picked up and it and the tube are laid horizontally in a V-block. The tube/lens are pushed hard against an abrasive stick, which in turn is pushed hard against the V-block , whilst moving the sanding stick back and forth?.
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Once the surplus styrene is sanded away, this is what remains?.
[attachment=3:3lgy282y]SNV33293.JPG[/attachment:3lgy282y]
Any dust from the abrasive paper is removed from the inside of the lens and the inside of the lens is re-coloured if necessary. Here it is, ready for use?.
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And held in place with a little canopy glue?.
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A few minutes later and the white lens is done?.
[attachment=0:3lgy282y]SNV33296.JPG[/attachment:3lgy282y]

 

[Dan Randall]

Hold on, it?s getting dark?.
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The actual light source (as some of you already know), is from LEDs via fibre optic cables. For photographic purposes, I just shone a torch down the fibre optic cables, so the white light looks a little harsh. It looks better in the flesh and the end of this particular fibre optic cable has a smear of yellow from an OHP pen, which gives it a nice tungsten glow.


That?s all for now ? I?m just off to cross this job from the list.


Regards

Dan

 

[Scale7JB]

Fantastic!

Ready for Telford ?

JB.

 

[Phill Dyson]

Clever stuff Dan :scratch: & well worth the effort

Phill

 

[Dan Randall]

Fantastic!

Ready for Telford ? JB.

I hope so - I need an excuse to buy another kit. :lol:

Clever stuff Dan :scratch: & well worth the effort

Phill

Thanks Phill - I meant to say, I think it was the late Guy Williams who had the idea of embossing lenses, except he was fitting them to oil lamps on steam locos. He probably knocked up a proper tool in the lathe as well, unlike me, trashing a perfectly good centre punch. :lol:


Regards

Dan

 

[28ten]

Thats very effective because I used a larger diameter fibre optic i will just heat the end to form a mushroom. the thing is we are learning all the time, the next one will be even better

Im already thinking about d1016

 

[Phill Dyson]

Im already thinking about d1016

Would that be D1016 MFYE ?

Phill :wave:

 

[28ten]

[quote=""28ten"":3nfi0qbv] Im already thinking about d1016

Would that be D1016 MFYE ?

Phill :wave:[/quote:3nfi0qbv]
Yes

 

[lancer1027]

EXELLENT Dan. I am seriously thinking fibre optic route for my lighting on the next one. There is a lot of wires in the body so fibre optics would reduce that. Where can i get optic cable from and whats the best size for the headcode/lights?
Rob

 

[28ten]

EXELLENT Dan. I am seriously thinking fibre optic route for my lighting on the next one. There is a lot of wires in the body so fibre optics would reduce that. Where can i get optic cable from and whats the best size for the headcode/lights?
Rob

I think mine are 1.5mm. I got them from eBay, I can look up tha name of the supplier, but they are top of the fibre optic search!

 

[Dan Randall]

EXELLENT Dan. I am seriously thinking fibre optic route for my lighting on the next one. There is a lot of wires in the body so fibre optics would reduce that. Where can i get optic cable from and whats the best size for the headcode/lights?
Rob

Hi Rob. I got my fibre optics from a company called Starscape:

http://www.starceiling.co.uk/

I bought about four different diameters for appraisal, but the one I ended up using was approx 0.5 mm diameter I think (well, I've fed it through a piece of 0.85 mm I/D aluminium tube, so I think that's about right).


My original ramblings on fibre optics can be found here (but you'll have to scroll down a bit)

http://www.westernthunder.co.uk/danthread/



Regards

Dan