Harry P.

You don't have to shovel rain...

Yeah, that "all chrome" look just didn't do it for me. I have no idea if these units were actually available with all the components chrome plated, but even if they were, I like a more toned-down look.

Right! There isn't anything in the photos that didn't come in the kit box. I changed up the appearance of a lot of it... but nothing here is aftermarket. It's a nice kit, very well detailed right out of the box. The pinstriping decals you see on the frame rails were a huge PITA to apply, and I mean HUGE. The problem is first, the decals are incredibly thin and "floppy," and second, the clear carrier layer extends only a little bit past the stripes themselves. For example, that set of stripes that goes up and around the arch on the frame rail is all one decal, which would be fine... but the problem is that there is no clear film between the inner and outer stripes! There is no clear film in the area "inside" the stripes–the decal is sort of a "loop" of stripes. Trying to slide that decal off the backing sheet in one piece and into place, and then trying to get the stripes straight and to follow the curve of the arch, was nearly impossible. I still don't know how I managed to do it, not once but twice (the other side, too!). Somehow I managed to get everything lined up correctly without tearing the decal. So far the decals are by far the most difficult part of this model.

My wife and I had our apartment broken into years ago. I can understand the feeling... it's not only the stuff that was taken, but the weird feeling you get knowing someone has been through your personal belongings while you were away. And in our case, the feeling that the thief or thieves would be back. Luckily they never did come back.

Here's a better view of the rear axle and leaf springs. That big "tray" in back held the coal that fired the boiler. There is a small door on the back of the boiler where the coal was shoveled in; it's hidden in this photo by the righthand side frame rail and leaf springs.

In this photo you can see the cylinders installed at the top of the pump drive mechanism. Still to be installed are the drive arms that connect from the cylinders and rotate the crankshaft (you can see the end of the crankshaft where these drive arms will attach, sticking out in the middle of the crosspiece of the red vertical support arms: Those red vertical supports were also chrome plated; I went with red instead. The nuts where the verical supports are connected to the frame rails were brush painted Testors Silver, and the small "brass" nameplate between the vertical supports was brush painted a mix of Testors Silver and Brass, then blackwashed to bring out the engraved detail.

And here is where I'm at as of today. As you can see, the main frame has been assembled, along with the pump mechanism. The various components that make up the moving parts of the pump are very spindly and thin, with very little surface area between glue joints. Also, all of the various levers and arms and supports have to be kept parallel to each other while assembling. The best way I could figure to build this mechanism and keep all the components lined up correctly was to start on one side by cementing the outer support arms in place. Once these were parallel and plumb and the cement dry, I added the inner structure, then the crankshaft and flywheel, then the other side inner structure, and finally the other side outer support arms... always letting the previous assembly dry before adding the next one:

This is the cylinder head assembly (the cylinders are driven by the pressurized steam from the boiler, and transfer their motion to the pump). All of these parts were chrome plated, but in my attempt to "de-bling" this thing and make it look less like a museum restoration and more like a workaday vehicle, I lost all the chrome and went with what I think is a more "1890s" look. I like the contrast between the semigloss black and the brass. All of the "brass" parts were blackwashed with my custom mix of Future/acrylic black after being painted Rustoleum Metallic Brass. The nuts on the side plates were brush painted Testors Silver, then a black wash applied to highlight them.The upside-down "U" shaped pipe is the steam intake from the boiler, the other pipe is the exhaust (which in this case would be nothing more than water vapor). BTW... all of the chrome-plated parts in this kit are actually molded in red plastic, as you can see by the area on the intake pipe where I scraped the paint away to be able to glue it to the boiler.

I'm self-emloyed, so Monday means nothing special to me. If I have work, I work... Monday, Sunday, whatever it takes. Any day of the week is a potential "work day." Or day off!

Did you photoetch that perforated aluminum yourself or is it a store-bought item? If aftermarket, I can see a lot of uses for that stuff.

That's very impressive! You must have spent a small fortune on foliage alone!

I've made a lot of progress since the last photos I posted. New photos coming tomorrow.

Time to look into a whole-house alarm system like ADT, for example?

Besides cars I build: old 19th century steam locomotives, old sailing ships (wooden kits, not plastic), WWI planes (1/32 scale), motorcycles, cable cars, old electric trams and old buses, and all sorts of 19th century horse-drawn vehicles including (so far) covered wagons, stagecoaches, buggies and buckboards, a Civil War ambulance wagon, and a lot more. What I have no interest in building: modern (WWII or newer) aircraft, space/rockets/sci-fi, figures, or military/armor (other than WWI planes).

I have to wonder about the white metalflake wipers on the first one... and the clear wipers on the second one.

That's a beauty. The only thing I might add is a radio antenna, and possibly a black wash on the wheels and the C pillar trim.

Why do you assume that a thread will get new responses every day?

Believe me... you're not missing anything by not knowing what "twerk" means...

This week's car is a SsangYong Actyon A230, built from 2006-8. http://www.parts-specs.com/SSangYong/Actyon/A230-2WD-Dynamic-2006-5-door-suv-043909 Who got it right: Badluck13 GeeBee trogdor wisdonm matthijgrit ChrisR george53 MikeMc customsrus maltsr

World's first donk?

Beautiful!

Only if you're a Norwegian lute player...

Beautiful work, John.

Bill, consider yourself up to date!

Google Miley Cyrus...