Scratchbuild Project - Sperry Detector Car in N Scale

[bbussey]

Tim,

I'm following along.  Top to bottom:  .040 and .080 above the louvers, .060 and .040 (with a slight gap) below the louvers, and .030 on edge to the right of the louver panel?

[BCR 570]

Hi Bryan:

My notes say .040" and .080" above, .060" and .030" below, and .020" either side and in between.  The gap at bottom was unintentional and will be filled.

Three music festival performances this week and helping run a musical production all next week so progress has been/will be slow until I am clear of all that.


Cheers

Tim

[BCR 570]

I am returning to this project after an absence of six months due to a very busy spring at work which concluded with my retirement.  The summer was spent adjusting to life at home and I enjoyed a month of travel in September and October.  While other projects are currently on hold waiting for parts, I am returning to this build in hopes of making some significant progress.

Carbody Sides (cont.)
My attention now turns to the motor compartment on the right side.  As with the left side, I have cut a front corner post from .040" quarter round styrene which will be left off for now, until the side is built out to its eventual thickness of 040".  The first component on the right side behind the corner post is the engineer's window, which measures 27" high x 27" wide.

I cut a piece of #128 .020" x .188" for the side sheet below the window.  This was cut to a length of 33" for the height and the .188" measurement gives me the 30" width.  This was glued in place using a square to locate it accurately:




Next I installed a piece of #131 .030" x .030" for the belt rail below the window.  This was cut long and glued in place again using squares for precise alignment:




When this piece had dried I cut it flush with the front end of the side using a #17 blade:




For the letterboard above the window I cut a piece of #126 .020" x .125" to a length of 7'-0" as it will extend across the top of the cab door on this side.  This piece will get notched out for the door a a later date.  Once again, my thin set square was used for alignment of the part:




The rear post for the cab window was cut to size from #122 .020" x .040" strip styrene and glued in place:




Unfortunately some glue leaked underneath the square during the previous step and damaged the part, but this will not be an issue as this area will be cut out for the cab door:




I used Plastruct #90709 .010" x .010" strip styrene to frame in the cab window:




The front and rear inner posts were cut to length and glued in place.  I used a square to align the front post as the corner post is not yet fitted:




I then added the top and bottom inner frame pieces, and I cut a centre post for test-fitting.  I will not glue this in place yet as the window has to be cut out, and I may leave the window open:




After the window comes the cab door, which is identical to the one on the left side, except that it is further back due to the control stand on the right side.  I fabricated a second door from #108 .010" x .188" styrene and cut out the window in the door.  (The door has been cut long and will be cut to size later.)  For the sill below the door I used a piece of #122 .020" x .040" styrene and glued it in place:




Tim

[Dwight in Toronto]

Tim, it’s great to see you back at it. 
Following your early posts inspired me to construct my first scratch build (a little box cab, which I documented here on TRW).  Looking forward to more watching & learning.

[dandopinski]

Nice work Tim! Good to see I am not alone in being fastidious and precise.

[JoeD]

Thats some old school modeling.  Great to see how you build this. 

Joe

[mmagliaro]

Test Sections



I will have to think of another way to accomplish this effect; perhaps a horizontal piece in behind above and below the windows with the curve filed into it that the end can follow.

MARVELOUS work and project!  And as an added benefit, since you already carefully documented the prototype and made your own drawings for your model, you have completed way more than the documentation you will need for the NMRA AP judging to qualify this as a scratchbuilt locomotive.  (The required point score of 87.5 isn't even a concern.  I have no doubt your work here will earn you much more than that!)

Now, if you haven't already solved that problem of the curved surface... Yes, you could hand-shape horizontal pieces, or use heat to bend the surface sheet, or sand the outer surface where the bends are.  But I would suggest just sanding the surface of the spacer strips themselves, where they will touch behind your main outer sheet.  Unlike sanding the outer surface that is visibile, sanding the strips won't have to be all that perfect.  Just take out the pronounced rectangular edges and what will probably be enough to avoid kinking/bending on the visible surface.

[BCR 570]

Hi Max:

Thank you for your suggestion.  I will likely try a few more test ends when I get to that stage.

I may need to chat with you and/or Randy when it comes to powering this thing . . . . .


Tim

[mmagliaro]

Hi Max:

Thank you for your suggestion.  I will likely try a few more test ends when I get to that stage.

I may need to chat with you and/or Randy when it comes to powering this thing . . . . .


Tim

Not to worry.  This is a supreme effort and it deserves a smooth-running drive train.  I will help you out however I can (and while I can't speak for Randy, I'm sure he will too!).

[BCR 570]

Thank you!

Tim

[BCR 570]

Carbody Sides (cont.)
The next portion of the motor compartment on the right side is a panel with six drop grab irons providing access to the roof.  Two of these grab irons are behind a metal cover which is painted black with a "Danger High Voltage" decal.  A similar arrangement can be seen on the left side towards the rear of the car.  In some photographs the black panels are swung out perpendicular to the car side, so I am thinking that they are some type of safety measure to warn people going up onto the roof of a potential hazard.  I am not certain if the high voltage relates to equipment on the roof, or if it is perhaps a safety measure when operating under catenary, such as in the northeastern United States.

This panel appears to be 21" or 22" wide, so I cut a piece of #127 .020" x .156" styrene and thinned it down to the desired width using my NWSL True Sander, with a square to keep the piece aligned correctly:




The piece was cut long and glued into place, using a square for alignment on the side sheet.  This piece butts up against the letterboard at top and the cab door sill at right:




After the glue has dried, the piece is trimmed to length using a #17 blade:




For the grab irons I used a drilling jig from BLMA.  This was placed on the model and I used a pin to mark the holes for the four grab irons (the other two will be hidden behind the safety cover):




I then drilled the holes for the grab irons with a #80 drill.  The pin vise is a Starrett A which holds the #80 drill bits securely during use:




I will be using the BLMA 18" drop grab irons for this application:




Time to confirm the fit in each pair of holes:




Here are the four grab irons sitting loosely in their holes:




The remaining two grab irons will be hidden by the safety cover so no need to drill for those.  The cover is a piece of #126 .020" x .125" styrene cut to a length of 24".  I do not want to install the grab irons or safety cover yet; in fact that might wait until after painting and decaling as there is a black panel surrounding each grab iron, and the safety cover is also black, so probably easier to install and paint later.  Here is the safety cover sitting in place for a test fit:




This completes the left and right sides of the motor compartment for now; in addition to the aforementioned grab irons and safety cover, there are some drip rails to go on at a later date:




Next up is the galley section, which is fairly short but requires a very small window on one side and a door with a small window on the other, so some fiddly work ahead.


Tim

[Dwight in Toronto]

Dumb question time - what’s BLMA?
Those pre-made grabs look nice - I’ve struggled to form my own, and these would be so much easier.

Suggestion - maybe this build should be moved to ‘Weathering Detailing & Scratchbuilding’?  Easier to find, someday down the road.

[rodsup9000]

Dumb question time - what’s BLMA?
Those pre-made grabs look nice - I’ve struggled to form my own, and these would be so much easier.

It was a company that made rolling stock. Atlas bought them a year or 2 ago.

[BCR 570]

Suggestion - maybe this build should be moved to ‘Weathering Detailing & Scratchbuilding’?  Easier to find, someday down the road.

As with past build threads, I would prefer that it stays here as the focus is very much in N Scale.


Tim

[Scottl]

I don't often comment, but I always follow these detailed and careful builds.  Beautiful work @BCR 570 Tim