8th September no responses · Modelwork

Made a major decision with the project this week changing it from 1:24 to 1:12 scale. Primary reason behind this is the diminutive nature of the prototype. At 6′ L x 3′ W., the model would be 3″ L. x 1.5″ W. — tiny, a little too tiny to achieve the level of detail I’m [...]

29th August no responses · Modelwork

Finally got the time to finish the superstructure drawings and renderings for the 15″ gauge Heywood Brake Van in 1:12. The construction of the roof is based on information gleaned from the original van before it was rebuilt in 1981 for the Minimum Gauge Exhibition at the National Railway Museum in York, UK. The present [...]

21st March no responses · Modelwork

Back in the 80s I bought this pair of Alvin #450 Proportional Dividers. Made by Alvin & Company, the dividers are machined duraluminum with steel points. Alvin makes two sizes 7 1/2″ and 10″. I have the 7 1/2″ pair and have never found any need for the larger. A precision tool, they are pricey [...]

20th March no responses · Modelwork

Just completed the drawings and renderings of the bench assemblies for the Heywood Brake Van. The floating panel doors underneath each bench give access to storage compartments under the seats, just enough room to store a stout Mackintosh, a ploughman’s lunch and a pint. The doors are hinged on a cross member that runs between [...]

15th February no responses · Modelwork

As promised in the post about his 1913 Indian 700, here are some photos of Pere Tarragó’s 1920 Henderson K. A professional model builder who specializes in 1/6 scale models of classic motorcycles, predominantly European marques, be sure to check out his web site for more information and photos of his marvelous models. — • [...]

14th February one response · Modelwork

Check out these photos of a beautiful 1/6 scale model of a 1913 Indian 700 built by Pere Tarragó from Spain. Pere is a full-time professional model maker specializing in classic motorcycle models, predominantly of European marques. On his site you’ll find photos and descriptions of some of his other models of such prototypes as [...]

13th February no responses · Modelwork

First discovered this project a couple of years ago and thought it about time I included it here. Jerry Kieffer is building a fully-functioning 1/8 scale model of his 1947 Knucklehead. Yes, the engine actually runs and is started by the diminutive kick-starter. The pictures below will serve as an introduction to this incredible model. [...]

31st January no responses · Modelwork

Just a quick update on the Brake Van project. Cad work is completed on the basic superstructure framing for the Brake Van. The first drawing below shows the seven primary components of the cab framing. Basic components of superstructure frame Drawing below shows detail of joinery work between main components plus the ship-lap planking on [...]

24th January no responses · Modelwork

Over the past week I made some changes to the structural design of the Heywood Brake Van after review of some detail photographs and discussion with Mike Decker (Deckers Trains) concerning the joinery aspects. On the joinery between the sole beams and end beams, I’ve replaced the double mortise and tenon joints with a single [...]

17th January no responses · Modelwork

The Sir Arthur Heywood 15″ gauge Brake Van built for the Eaton Hall Railway is one of the current model projects I’m working on in 1:12 scale. My primary sources for reference material on the van come from Mike Decker (Deckers Trains) and his excellent drawings from 1997, published originally in issue 32 of the [...]

5th January no responses · Modelwork

As mentioned in the previous post on the various Radiating Axle systems, I accepted a challenge to build a 1:24 scale operating model of the Heywood Radial Axle. One of the early stumbling blocks I had to overcome was a scarcity of dimensional information and contemporary drawings to use as reference sources for my CAD [...]

31st December no responses · Modelwork

This is a follow-up to my previous article (A Sticky Subject) on creating accurate joints in scale models. I use a Preac Micro-Precision Table saw for cutting most of the materials for my modelwork. The Preac is an excellent miniature saw, but to make it easier to use for cutting joints with absolute accuracy I [...]

20th November no responses · Modelwork

As with the Marking Knife article elsewhere in this blog, this article is an updated version of one published in the Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review back in July 1997 (Issue 31). It was one of a series of articles in my column At The Workbench. Recent questions and interest from online forums [...]

24th October one response · Modelwork

As an aside to the 1:24 Katie project, I’ve become interested in the Heywood Radiating Axle while waiting for some of the Katie research materials and references to arrive. Katie, being an 0-4-0 was not equipped with these but they were in use on 0-6-0 Ella and 0-8-0 Muriel. I’m working on a 3d CAD [...]

17th October no responses · Modelwork

This article was originally published in the Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review in April 1996, Issue 26 as part of a series called “At the Workbench” which examined basic tools and techniques for fine craftsmanship. I have updated the article and prepared new illustrations for republication here. A Marking Knife is quite simply [...]

7th October no responses · Modelwork

Looking for a Ferrari to display in your living room — check this out. Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear introduces us to Pierre Scerri who has built a fully-working 1/3 scale model of a Ferrari 312PB. He spent three years preparing the necessary engineering drawings from photographs and another twelve completing the actual fabrication. Equipped [...]

21st September no responses · Modelwork

Just came across a couple of photos of one of a series of transport cases I made a few years ago. This particular case was designed to carry a 1:48n3 Kodama K-27. Unfortunately the image quality is less than ideal. These are scans of prints made from 35mm transparencies, however you should get the general [...]

9th September no responses · Modelwork, Prototype

For the past 30+ years I’ve been working in 1:48 mostly North American narrow gauge prototypes and the time has come for something completely different. For several years I’ve been collecting information on British industrial and light railway narrow gauge with the long-term view of building a small operating diorama in a larger scale. My [...]

5th September no responses · Modelwork

Continuing to resurrect posts from the old blog, this one presents a technique I use for making running boards on 1:48 locomotives. The running boards for the 1:48n3 Lima Shay documented in another series of posts here will be made using this technique. Running boards are often easily damaged, especially on operational models that receive [...]

29th August no responses · Modelwork

Continuing with the pilot beam bracket assemblies, in this installment I’ll describe how I made the scale square-head bolts that connect the pilot beams to the brackets. I didn’t have any correct-size square-head bolts in my parts bin and rather than try to locate and purchase the correct bolts, I opted to produce my own, [...]

23rd August no responses · Modelwork

This is a short update dealing with finishing the pilot beam brackets and mounting them to the ends of the frame rails. In order to locate and mount the wood pilot beams securely to the brackets, a scale bolt will be used which will pass through the pilot beam and terminate in the bracket. A [...]

23rd August no responses · Modelwork

In this installment in the series of articles covering the construction of a 1:48n3 model of Mich-Cal Lumber Co. shay #2, I’ll cover how I extracted the pilot beam brackets from the original PSC pilot beam castings. These pieces could have been fabricated from scratch, but I felt it was less work to adapt those [...]

22nd August no responses · Modelwork

Early in 2008 I began publishing here a series on the construction of a 1:48n3 Lima Shay #122. The series was lost in a subsequent server crash and coincidental hard drive crash. I was able to reclaim the images, however the text of the series is gone. I have had several requests to restore and [...]

16th August no responses · Modelwork

If you want to see some truly outstanding model-building check out these photos of  models built by Francesc Pulido. Pictured here are a selection of photos of his 1/10 scale 4 1/2 litre Blower Bentley and a Bugatti Type 57 Corsica. The Bentley is complete, the Bugatti is a current work in progress. For more [...]