Soda Crates

Soda Crate construction in "O"Gauge

Size, scale and accuracy

"O" Gauge, 7mm or 1/43 scale are all about the same, there are a few who beg to differ though.

I'm not so pedantic to fuss over a fraction of a millimetre so whether it's scale seven, 7mm, O gauge or 1/43 scale it is only a tiny fraction of difference.

However... whichever scale you model in, the smaller models that you build like these crates suffer terribly from inaccurate measurements so a magnifying glass, plenty of light and a ruler are essential. I use a 7mm/ft scale ruler to model with as it gives me a clear indication of how many inches and feet there are on the model as opposed to using an ordinary ruler whereupon I have to spend time working out how many "scale" inches there are in 1mm.

Here we can see the ruler in action and although the actual crate size is 18" x 12"  too small is too small so a nice modellers licence "average" was employed.

Downloads

I found a website called modeljunkyard:-

http://blog.modeljunkyard.com/2014/01/18/vintage-soda-crate-templates-download-scales-1-5-6-8-10-12-16-18-25-32-43-64-87/

The Modeljunkyard was created by Iggy and Seb so many thanks and much gratitude goes to them for all their hard work in making these free downloads which you will find on the page.

 Technique.

Cardboard is ten a penny and can be got by saving cereal packets and the like although it must be thin, as this I am using here is a scale one inch thick where the actual crate is about half an inch so this would matter, indeed in some of the pictures you will see how cruel the camera can be.

Here in these two pictures we can see the various stages of construction, I found it best to mark out the card in multiple sections rather than one crate at a time, make the card slightly shorter then the printout as the latter will be shorter when wrapped around the corner of the crate, I allowed for the thickness of the other piece of card !as we can see below

I used a precision glue applicator at this scale of miniature modelling and found Bostick to be the best for me, although you could well get away with Evo stick, forget about P.V.A it takes too long to dry, super glue or the like with a precise applicator is best. A scrap piece of card is sometimes handy to spread out any excess glue.
I use a sharp craft knife, razors blades and cutting blades and always use an ordinary steel ruler (not my scale rule) to cut out the printouts. 

Above:-
 I decided to be brave and have a go at some compartmented crates, I found it easier to make the sections a little higher so there was at least something to grip wtih the tweezers !

At this point I can highly recommend self closing tweezers, I just find them easier to work with at this level of modeling, when all was dry the tops were snipped level with some large scissors.

Sub painting

Painting techniques below :-

Sub painting as I call it now gives a base colour to the otherwise "white" card, the tops of the crate will show up terribly and painting after applying the printouts is a big no-no as you will spoil them.

I used watercolours and went for a light brown which in actual fact dries even lighter to the shade of stained and well used wood.

After the printouts were applied I ran a brown coloured pencil along the white edges of them to tone them down a bit, here are just a few of the finished crates that will look very well on my model railway layout.

Many thanks to Modeljunkyard, Iggy and Seb for the downloads .

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Chris Russell 

Modelmaker

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Fork truck project

Fork lift truck build.

First i had to decide which type to build and it was going to be a little more difficult to attempt an all terrain vehicle so a smaller type of truck seemed appropriate.

I started by playing around with a pencil and a block of balsa and drew an approximation of the outline of a basic truck shape then carved it all out with a dremel and various fitments .

 Now the tines and lifting mechanism had to be assembled and this was done by using a mixture of scrap brass and some of my stock, with a bit of nifty soldering, cutting and grinding some kind of progress was made and more parts were added to supplement the detail in this part of the model.

 It all fitted together quite nicely as I measured as I went along each part adding and cutting as I went.
A retainer was added behind the fork assembly as I found out it slid up and down easily and I realised It could be made to work .... in a fashion.

The working mechanism :- below

At this point a steering wheel had to be added to ascertain the model as a whole looked right, so a long rod was cut to size and an old wheel of some kind was added, ( a lucky find from the scrap box) 

A small hole was drilled into the centre to accommodate the completed part in the bulkhead. 

 The cabin was made up of small square brass sections laid on a plan drawing then both sides soldered together with two short bits of square, the roof is the motor vehicle body repair mesh from Halfords.
The seat is also a lucky find although some kind of backrest will have to be fabricated.
Two pedals were added, one accelerator and one brake, no clutch is needed as this is a semi auto box and justs needs a gear lever adding to the column.

The dashboard is a thin strip of brass and will accommodate the oil gauge, temperature gauge and warning lights. The three levers are dressmakers pins and operate the lifting mechanism.

One is for lifting up and down, one is for sideshift and one is for tilt.  

Below the main ram was in the wrong position and had to be moved between the masts where it should be, I did manage to knock together some kind of hydraulic ram which surprised me, but had to be done to look correct. Needless to say it works like a dream and I'm happy with it.

Below:- the gear lever added to the steering column, here a close up view of the pedals can be seen.

 Below:- The seat back rest made up from scraps and fixed onto the main seat body, here can also be seen a nice close up view of the operating levers.

Above the completed model is operational and needs painting.

A slight change was needed as the levers were on the wrong side so the cabin had to be changed around, an exhaust was fashioned from micro tube and a roll of paper wrapped around to create a muffler. Finally a coat of grey primer was added.

Below:-

Finally the topcoat was added and the details touched up like the steering wheel and control handles, The Toyota badge on the rear was printed of on the computer onto crafty computer paper waterslide transfer paper. All in all I'm very happy.

It's not an exact representation of any particular truck..... just a truck in general, I can't be too pedantic about it with the materials available for a complete scratchbuild.

End blog.

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Shipping containers

Shipping containers.

I marked up six bits of cardboard... NOT card, cardboard... two ends 60mm x 62mm two sides 160mm x 60mm  and a roof and floor both 160mm x 64mm it is thick and strong, then glued them all together to form a square box with SQUARE corners A scale height of 8.5 feet is about right.

The printouts are available free online from many places.

The locking devices / bars are made out of scrap brass parts and soldered together.

Johnson Class 1F upgrade

New plunger set.

Slaters kit 7mm scale

First of all the body was removed from the chassis

Upon closer inspection the nuts seem to be okay and free from too much grime 

      

Except some of the springs were stuck in the plunger body.

I also noticed the brake rodding needed modifying as the adjusters needed to be on the inside, a slight error on my part whilst building this kit.

                                                       

A lot of muck and grime needed to be cleaned off 

 Take a look at the old set they are very worn out after ten years, although some were pretty much okay I replaced the lot.

Bit of fettling was needed around the inside of the plunger body to allow the brass plungers to move freely and without snagging.

 Wiring up the brass connectors.

 And

 slowly

 refitting

 all the parts

a little oil was added and the mechanism tested, and a note here :- do not use mineral oil on plastic gears as it will react and damage to the gears may occur.

Then it was time to touch up any bare metal on the chassis, refit the body, add a little weathering and do a test run to check all is running well.

                                      

The finished serviced 1F is ready to go.

See below how the brake rodding is now correct and sits behind the rear eccentric cams

Here is a link to a British railways 1F No. 41708 showing the brake rodding.

http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/01/24/33/1243386_54123890.jpg

Cabin detail.