Anglia105E

Have a good vacation in the mountains David, and model building will resume around two weeks from now . . . David W.

Seven of the eight roof section panels have now been fully tiled, so there is only one remaining . . . I began to apply some strips of tiles today, and having done an accurate estimate, this large roof section will need 16 strips of tiles . . . There are still three sheets of tiles in the pack, which means that I have 33 strips available, This is more than enough to complete the roof . . . This following photo shows the bungalow model outdoors in natural daylight, taken on the patio table . . . Only one day before I leave for Cornwall, so not much model building will happen. David

That was something that always surprised me Paul, when I would allow the software to calculate the estimated print time and this would quite often come up with 10 hours, 12 hours, 20 hours plus . . . Leaving the printer running in my loft room, much of the time unattended, and even sometimes with nobody at home was a constant worry . . . The fire risk was probably the only downside of 3D printing I would say. As you say, the prices are coming down, as we all knew they would, so at some point I may take another look at getting a 3D printer. My best model to date is the O-gauge ( 1:48 ) Pannier Tank steam loco, which was a completely free download and I printed 26 parts for the assembly. Once printed, assembled and painted this produced a really nice model . . . ( see following photos ) David

Hello David G. . . . Always good to make someone happy ! Yes, I really miss that cheap 3D printer, which in spite of it's limited spec, did an excellent job. There was no fire at the time fortunately, which would have been bad for my loft room . . . The old gent who appears from time to time in my photos is Harold, and he is the best 1:43 scale figure that I have, in terms of detailed painting ( not painted by myself, I hasten to add ). The roof of the bungalow should be almost fully tiled during the next day or two, although I shall run out of tiles before completion. Once I return from my holiday trip I shall order some ridge tiles, and a further pack of the roof tiles . . . David W.

The roof trusses are much more rigid now, so the eight roof sections were taped in place and the ceiling panel, roof structure baseboard could be placed onto the lower rooms assembly . . . This showed up an obvious area that required attention. At the lower edge of the tiled roof section, where it forms the apex of the gable end at the rear of the bungalow, there was some foam board material protruding beyond the eaves . . . Harold was soon up his ladder and swiftly removed this excessive material, satisfied that the roof section was now fitting correctly . . . The chimney stack that you can see in the following test fit photos was 3D printed and painted by myself, after I had designed the chimney stack using FreeCAD software, probably around two years ago, before my 3D printer exploded in a blinding flash of blue ! . . . The chimney stack has been removed from the garage model it was intended for, as I want to use the part for this bungalow build. The length of shaped wood for the gulley was also test fitted at this stage, and I think this should work quite well . . . David

Thanks Steve . . . I didn't expect to get this far with the roof structure, before I go away on holiday in 12 days time. Your continued interest is much appreciated . . David

The remaining four roof section panels have been cut out of sheet balsa, and these do require some slight adjustment to fit precisely . . . I wasn't happy with the roof truss attachment to the roof structure baseboard, because they kept moving out of position as I was lining up the roof sections. This prompted me to secure the trusses, using PVA glue along the lower edges . . . All ten roof trusses are now PVA glued in place, and they will be allowed overnight setting. The eight roof sections will be completed once the remaining four panels have been tiled . . . David

Your comments are always well received David, and I recognise that you have more years of experience in model building than I do. I do take your point regarding the thickness and volume of material that we are working with, although in this case it is entirely due to incorrect angles on my part . . . The lower edge of each template, and also the top ridge, is a simple horizontal on flat paper, but then you have inclines and also gulleys that cannot be measured on flat paper. As each template required two attempts to get anywhere near right, I ended up using the ' pin ' method . . . One pin at each corner of the card provided me with a precise point of reference, and by simply joining the dots ( joining the pin holes ), I was able to define the exact shape. Basically, this is a 3D visualisation of the problem, and not a 2D visualisation . . . Now I get it . . . David W.

The three roof sections at the front of the bungalow have been fully tiled . . . For the next task, I positioned all of the ten roof trusses. Each truss was fixed onto the roof structure baseboard using Bostik Glue Dots, one glue dot in the centre of each truss . . . Today I was able to measure and cut out the remaining four roof section templates from thin white card. I realised that my method of measuring the length of each side of the roof sections was problematic, because each time the first attempt failed. The template did not fit onto the trusses properly, and was often out by a considerable margin . . . The problem was not the length in millimetres, but actually it was the ANGLES that were wrong. Then a new method came into my head, and this has worked much better. First I cut out a piece of card that was roughly the size of the area, and then I pinned each of four corners to the foam board trusses. Once the pins were removed, I could connect the four pin holes by drawing black lines between them . . . Cutting out the template by leaving about five millimetres just outside each of the lines allowed some margin for error. This not only worked well, but also this method was easier and quicker. Four templates were completed during the day, so these can be transferred to sheet balsa tomorrow . . . David

Those header pipes really tested your model building skills David G., . . . The alignment with the exhaust pipes adds further challenges ! Nice work on the grille trim chrome, and that was a good idea of yours to use the box art picture as a reference . . . Having built cars of this period, such as the Delahaye 135 and the Talbot Lago Record Cabriolet, neither of them American, maybe I should add this Cord 812 to my collection ? David W.

Thanks David G., . . . I have a feeling that this roof structure is going to look pretty good . . . fingers crossed ! David W.

Nice and easy to apply, although quite time consuming, and the process requires a considerable amount of patience as you have found Paul . . . ! David

Yes I agree . . . Which is why I am building the bungalow from foam board, as you can see in the W.I.P. Dioramas section. Makes a refreshing change from building cars . . . David

Today was all about applying the strips of roof tiles. These have a peel off self-adhesive backing, and they are a very nice product to work with. The wooden ' gully ' was also test fitted, and this will be glued to the roof sections, with grey emulsion paint applied afterwards. As well as this gully at the front of the bungalow, there are two more gullies at the rear of the property . . . The small roof section to the right of the front gable end was tiled first, and then the triangular section to the right of the garage was fully tiled. The larger centre front section will be tiled tomorrow hopefully, and then I can move around to the rear of the bungalow to measure and cut thin card templates for the sheet balsa roof sections . . . There are four of these, and one of them is a large complex panel, similar in shape to the front centre one. David

This is quite a different subject for you Charles, and it really works . . . No trucks or Land Rovers, and this is not an industrial building ! David

Thank you kindly David G. . . . Certainly, this whole process feels like what I would have to go through in order to plan and build a real 1:1 bungalow !! David W.

This build of yours, of the 1937 Cord is really interesting David G. . . . I can see how you must have struggled with the pivoting headlamps, and also the hinged hood issues. Lifting off the hood to view the engine bay seems to be your best option, given the circumstances . . . The blue paint colour is absolutely perfect for a Cord, and also for this period of motor car production. Wheels, tyres, interior, seating, bodywork and soft top . . . All good !! This could turn out to be one of your most satisfying builds. David W.

The central front roof section turned out to be extremely difficult to calculate, in terms of angles and dimensions. This was no surprise, as the shape of the roof area is quite complex, which is further compounded by the angle of incline, as the panel rises to the top ridge . . . Maybe I should have used a truss frame and rafters type of construction, rather than opting for the solid foam board trusses and the sheet balsa panels. Anyway, as I am now committed to my chosen method of construction, this involves painstakingly measuring and cutting out thin card templates, which are then translated into sheet balsa panels . . . Each template required two attempts to get the dimensions to an acceptable level of accuracy. Three balsa roof panels are now almost ready to be test fitted to the roof structure, using the orange tape to hold them in place. The largest roof panel is already in place on the left hand side of the bungalow at the gable ends . . . This represents four of eight roof panels prepared so far. I had great difficulty determining the length of the gulley in relation to the ridges, and consequently the required angles to align the whole structure precisely. Some foam board material was removed, in order to provide a chamfered edge to the front of the ceiling board and the roof structure baseboard. David

Having checked that the two sets of French doors at the rear of the bungalow open and close without issues, the garage doors and the main front door were also checked for normal functionality . . . Then the remaining white areas of the baseboard, including the outer edges, were given a coat of grey emulsion paint. Shortly I shall be applying Mr White Putty R filler to all of the exterior parts of the walls that have gaps showing. Once the filler is sanded smooth, I can then apply a further coat of emulsion paint , which is mostly the ' Cushion Craze ' pink colour . . . Meanwhile, I decided to carry out some work on the roof structure. The roof structure baseboard and the ceiling panel were separated, and the ceiling panel was placed on top of the lower rooms assembly. The outlines of all the rooms are marked in pencil on the ceiling panel, which will make it easier to position the lighting for each room, including the garage . . . From the following photos it can be seen that the roof trusses near the gable end wall needed a 45° angle to provide a tidy joint, so I set about cutting the angle manually. This was my first attempt at cutting a 45° angle, which I did using an offcut of foam board. As this turned out well, I repeated the cut with the actual roof truss, and this was also a success . . . To the right hand side of the gable end at the front of the bungalow there needs to be a small roof panel that slopes down to the gully. Before committing myself to cutting a piece of balsa wood, I first measured and cut out a piece of thin card. The measurements were then modified slightly, following a visual inspection, and a second version of the template was taped in place against the roof truss . . . I placed the largest roof section, which has already been tiled, up against the other side of the roof truss, and examined the overall alignment. I shall need to do some further 45° angle cutting at the edges of the ceiling panel, to allow the roof panels to be seated correctly . . . David

Oh I see . . . These are what I call my ' weight bottles ', and basically I fill empty plastic bottles with water, so they get used a great deal for holding things down, or bracing upright structures . . . Thanks ! David

Sorry Paul, just woken up and the brain is not fully functioning this early in the day . . . When you say creative use of ' bracing '. what did you mean ? David

Having mounted both gable ends of the bungalow, I moved on to mounting the longest side wall that runs between the two gable ends. Prior to this, the front entrance door and frame was mounted between the walls of bedroom one and bedroom two . . . The bathroom has all four walls in place, and the hall is now nicely squared off at the corners. Three paintings by Edward Hopper are now hanging on the walls of three rooms, these being ' Gas ' in bedroom one, ' Hotel Lobby ' in the kitchen above the fireplace, and ' Nighthawks ' above the fireplace in the living room . . . There will be one more Hopper painting hanging in the hallway. The final wall of sixteen was mounted this evening, which is the back wall of the living room, including the opening French doors. Once this has been allowed to set over a period of 24 hours, the entire lower floor structure is ready for further painting . . . David

Thanks Paul . . . Generally, the PVA glue is what I would describe as a ' friendly ' adhesive, and I like using it. The lengthy and slow setting time doesn't bother me really . . . Super glue on the other hand, is what I would describe as an ' unfriendly ' adhesive, and I hate using it, but sometimes I am forced to use it . . . The damage from the PVA glue seeping under the 1-2-3 block is easily fixed, and actually looks like a typical garage interior after many years of use. David

Steadily moving forward, as the wall panels are being mounted onto the baseboard, one at a time, with an overnight setting time of 24 hours to allow the PVA glue to dry completely . . . Yesterday, I did manage to mount two walls, which were the rear and side walls of the garage. Today, I carefully mounted the front wall panel of this bungalow, which is the wall that has the window for bedroom two and also the double garage doors. Now that this wall is firmly glued in place, the hinged double garage doors are locked into position, and cannot be removed. The two upper hinge rods and the two lower hinge rods are slotted precisely into holes that were drilled into the upper and lower styrene strips . . . Some PVA glue seeped out from under the garage wall on the inside, and found it's way between the 1-2-3 block and the garage floor. When I slowly removed the 1-2-3 block a section of the garage wall and floor was torn off . . . This damage has since been rectified, using some grey emulsion paint. Having started in the centre of the bungalow and gradually moved outwards, over to the right hand side of the baseboard, I can now continue across to the left hand side of the baseboard . . . The walls for bedroom one, the bathroom and the two gable ends are going to be mounted during the next few days, along with the longest wall that runs along the left hand side of the bungalow . . . This will leave only one wall at the rear of the living room, that has French doors, and also the main front entrance door of the property. Thanks for following the build this far, and pretty soon the roof structure will be coming together decisively . . . David

Once the rooms are completed and all of the 16 wall panels are firmly in place, the ceiling panel will rest on top of the upper wall edges. The ceiling panel will not be glued to the walls, or attached in any way. The lighting for each room, including the garage, will be mounted within the ceiling panel. The entire roof structure is being constructed on it's own baseboard, and this baseboard will rest on top of the ceiling panel . . . Both the ceiling panel and the roof structure baseboard can be lifted clear of the lower room compartments, giving a free and unobstructed view of the room interiors . . . I have made this bungalow model so that the ceilings and roof structure assembly fits within both gable ends, as shown in the photo below . . . David