Virgin Church 11 / Krueger Electric 04 / Saw Stop

Lately I've been working weekends, which has cut into model making time.  The time change also seems to have really messed with my alertness, and has made morning model sessions before work a no go.  Even so, I managed a couple hours in the shop and made some progress on the Church and on Krueger Electric.  I made up the corner boards on the church.  I glued them up rather than mill them, mainly because I am a walking zombie from lack of sleep, and I did not dare go near anything with a motor, much less something amounting to several horsepower.  

Earlier in the work week I managed to trip the Saw Stop--not with a finger, but with an aluminum fence.  That I got the fence so close only reinforced the fact that I needed to step away from the tools, slow down, and take my time.  It's also a good reminder that knowing your tools and being confident with them does not make up for fatigue.

Blowing a blade and cartridge is an expensive mistake.  It's still reassuring to know that the system works.  I've been using table saws regularly for 25 years.  The only serious issue I ever had was a kick back issue when I first started working in a model shop--one incident at age 17 was enough to open my eyes to the real value of safety.  I've been using the saw stop for many years, and this is only the second accidental trip I had.  A small price to pay for the added safety.  

Returning to models . . . .

While I was waiting for the corner board pieces to dry on the Church, I turned my attention to the roof of Krueger Electric. Given that I had three to do, I turned to one of my favorite materials, aluminum tape.

Once it's painted this self adhesive tape can do duty as metal plating (it takes rivet embossing well), passenger car roofing, or even tar paper.  It all depends on how it's cut and painted.  

I spray painted the tape black, and streaked white paint on it.  Alone it did not look like much, but layered and dusted with gray chalk it made a credible roof that matched well with the paper brick.  If I have time tonight I'm going to do the handrails.

As always, looking forward to getting back to the models.  With luck, I'll get work sorted and back under control.  

Passenger Cars 03

Last I posted on the Passenger Cars, I had a plug of the roof pretty well done. . . . turns out that in my frenzy of work I managed to make it many feet too short, and my already short 41' car was shorter than it should have been.  That's what I get for rushing.  Good thing that plug number two went much faster, as most things do the second time around.

I returned to the drawing board, and re-cut some new sections from my original cad file.  Rather than jigging them on a spline as before I jigged them in a wooden tray, which worked much better.  It was much straighter and stronger after gluing and required less Bondo to smooth.

Here is the piece after the Bondo, some sanding, and some paint.  I am still debating how I will make the finished product, whether it will be a casting or a "lay up": I'll need a mold either way.  Sorry to say that there is not much else to post this week as I have been travelling for work, and we are in the throws of lambing.  Even with the challenges I'm hoping to keep the Christmas time momentum rolling.  Still a few more hours tonight to do something on the Church. . . .