Eking Out

I blogged a couple of days ago about how I was down to the dregs of my current stock of resin - well, at least one of the two liquid components - so I needed to be very sparing in how I used it.

The good news is that I've managed to cast enough sets of seat and table bases for the interior of superbarn 120.

I've also been able to cast a few more side pieces for our own design of the standard modern FR carriage bogie, which Himself has been pestering me for.

The few drops I have left I'll be using up over the next couple of days casting a few more seats for a friend who's asked very nicely.

I've no idea why he wants them, because to the best of my knowledge he doesn't have a superbarn or an observation car to put them in, but I shall endeavour to do as I am requested.

Because I'm nice like that.

Fiddly Furniture

I've had (yet) another of those spells where you suddenly realise to your horror that you've not got any meaningful modelling done for the best part of three weeks.

(I my case I blame the Easter holidays, a visit from relatives from the other side of the world and finding myself used as an unpaid chauffeur for the kids.)

Clearly this situation is unacceptable, and with Himself otherwise engaged this week the blog would have ground to a halt if I didn't pull my finger out and do a bit of work.

So I've been getting on with assembling the seats for the new observation car 152 from the castings I made around a month ago.

It's quite fiddly work completing the sixteen seats for the rear saloon which need to have the arm rests created out of small pieces of square section styrene strip.

Twelve of them are fixed back-to-back to be located at the window pillars.

The carriage body is with Himself to have the brass roof and the front window pillars made up in brass so these seats will be set aside until it comes back to me for the interior to be fitted,

Comfy Seats

It's been a quieter period on the modelling front for me.

The one small job I have managed to get done is casting the seats to go in the Superbarn observation car 152.

The castings are fresh out of the moulds and so still need their flash cleaned up.

Bucket seats in the front saloon come in two halves which need to be glued together and the big arm chairs for the back will require me to add legs at the front and arm rests in styrene.

They will be fixed back-to-back before they're put in place in the carriage.

There's no hurry to have them ready because the body shell is at the back of the long queue of work in progress with Himself to fit the brass roof and the window pillars at the front.

Seats In

I've been rather putting off fixing the interior into place in carriage 150.

Quite why I was being hesitant I don't really know, it was just one of those things I felt uneasy about.

I decided the other day, however, that I couldn't put it off any longer so I have made a start with the vestibule at the corridor end of the carriage.

It is unusual because the interior partition has a curved profile at the top to match the underside of the roof - normally they are flat because of the false ceiling we fit.

I've also taken it to extremes and included the step up in the middle.

So the first two saloon seats are fixed in position helping to keep it nice and vertical.

There's a long way to go yet, though.

Fully Furnished

After two weeks making masters, moulds and then castings I've finally assembled all the seats and tables to make up the interior of new Observation Car 150.

I'm pleased with the way the tables have come out which is going to be a lot more elegant than the previous way of doing it with a big supporting pillar in the centre.

Before I can fit in the carriage I'll have to make up the rear bulkhead and the shaped screens which divide the observation saloon from the armchair section behind.

And to do that I'll need to very carefully remove Himself's curved glazing without scratching it. Eek.

Best Seats In The House

Half a dozen lucky passengers get to sit in comfort at the business end of 150.

I've made these like I did the armchairs in the main saloon as a mix of castings and bits of styrene glued on to complete them.

The main 'bucket' section of the seat is one casting and the other is the square base and four legs.

The base has proved to be a very awkward piece to cast reliably. It is the devil's own job to make sure that there are no air bubbles trapped in the legs which are just short sections of 1mm square strip.

Even the smallest bubble fatally weakens them and on half of the seats I've had to graft on styrene replacements.

Anyway, that's good progress on the interior with all the seats made.

Now just the tables to go before I begin gluing these bits into position.

Armchair Critic

So, the first few of the main saloon armchairs for 150 are cast and have had the extra details added in styrene

What do you think?

As you can see I've decided they do need some support at the front but I've drawn the line at adding individual legs - there's only so much detail you can see inside a 4mm scale carriage, especially one with curtains each side of the window pillars.

To give you some sense of the size of these seats here's a hackneyed shot posed next to a penny piece.

Now you're really not going to quibble over two wee bits of styrene on that, are you?

DFS - Damned Fiddly Seats!

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet.

I've been chewing over how I would make the first class seats for 150 for quite a few weeks - not in any kind of constructional detail, just thinking about how curvy and awkward they are.

You see what I mean? Not your average seat, is it.

Having said that (or indeed, written it) it's reasonable to aspire to make up something that looks vaguely like it in 4mm.

It is not, however, reasonable to make sixteen of them. Not for me, anyway.

So I shall reach for the resin and I have begun work on a master I can make a mould from.

The trick here, given that I don't do split-mould casting (yet) is to break the seat down into bits that can be cast in an open-back mould.

One of the issues is that these high back seats have a pronounced bend in the lumber area.  (The old Pullman seats do as well, of course, but it's hidden by the wings to a large extend so you can get away without representing it)

To do this in a way which is mould-able I have filled the gap with my old friend Millput.

I have also had to leave off the front legs.

I may add them on later, or a may not, given that no one will ever realistically see them and the seats should support themselves quite adequately because they are either placed back to back or up against a partition.

The same goes for the armrests.

I will most likely add them on to the castings with strips of styrene, but to put them on the master would increase the probability of miscasts greatly.

I don't need that much frustration in my life, I have quite enough already, thank you.