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Sunshine Kits
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asychis@...
They do take time, but boy are they worth it! Time can be cut down by
assembling two or more kits at once also. While waiting for one assembly to set up, you can get on with another. Good luck. I hope you end up liking them as much as I do. I've built around 50 so far. Right now I'm trying to get the courage (and time) to assemble 9 Westerfield and four Sunshine MoPac stock cars. Jerry Michels |
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Paul Catapano <hpcatapano@...>
I have never built a Sunshine kit BUT...they are coming out with several
Western Maryland prototypes. So from a cold, standing start about how much time is it going to take me to do the first kit, looking for a very ballpark figure here? Days, hours, minutes? Paul Catapano |
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Dave & Libby Nelson <muskoka@...>
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-----Original Message----- I have never built a Sunshine kit BUT...they are coming out with severalIMO, the largest variable will be you -- how long will it take you to act upon the instruction you just read? How well sanded is sanded well enough? Do you know the location of the parts already or does each require hunting down an answer? Are these right angles really 90 degrees (there's usually more than one)? How long will you admire your work before continuing on to the next step? How long it takes to deal with those each time they come up is going to be different for each person and whatever it is usually decreases with experience. Two cents of advise on tools: you'll probably need a visual aid; I use an optivisor so my hands are free. A ladies emory board (for her fingernails) is a better resin sanding stick than a metal file. **Don't** inhale the dust. I like curved or hooked dental picks better than pins for applying adhesives because then I won't have to twist my arm out at some odd angle to reach the spot. I prefer thicker super glue, dunno why but I do... anyway I've found if I pool some in an old plastic Kadee wheelset box (closing it between uses), it'll remain liquid a bit longer (esp. a well used box where the fresh pool sits on top of older, cured glue). If you seldom use a pin vise, you'll likely break a drill bit so have some spares. I've been using a dremel drill press and the accuracy is acceptable and havn't broken any bits that way but I don't know I'd have felt okay about doing it that way when I was starting out. You can buy right angle tools for making up the basic box -- they're expensive but really good, or can get by with something as simple as a couple of business cards stacked on dice. Anyway, two cents worth. YMMV. Ballpark for a newbie? I'll guess 8-12 hours for assembly, assuming you have good tools and are confident in yourself. My own first try took quite a bit longer, mostly because there were lots of little bits whose names and placement locations I did not know. But time aside, go for it! It's really a great opportunity to learn something new and even if your first car doesn't come out perfect it should come out well enough you'll feel great about having tried it. Your only real risk is the darn things can be addicting. Dave Nelson |
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charmantas
In post #9945 Bill Darnaby gives a detailed time estimate for
building house cars (box and reefer)which totals 4 1/2 hours. That's somewhat faster than my results, but after doing a few of these kits, your speed increases significantly. The first one takes the longest. Charles Harmantas |
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Jedalberg
Takes me about five hours on average to do a Sunshine kit. Same for
Westerfield, F&C, etc.lProbably will take you a little longer the first time. Also about two hours for a Red Caboose or intermountain.Depending on the car, of course. Jim |
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Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...>
You guys are amazing, frankly. I spend at least 7-10 hours on
typical assembly of a resin kit.. and usually 4-6 hours on a plastic kit. Then there is the painting and decaling and then weathering, which can add another 4-8 hours depending on the difficulty and the amount of time I want to spend weathering and adding chalk marks, graffiti, etc. And because paint & decals require time to dry and settle, all of this time is spent over 5-30 days depending on my schedule and other things I have to do. In the most productive year I ever had, I only completed 20 freight car models. In 2000 and 2001, I got only a single model completed. Now that I am unemployed I hope to have several models to bring to Naperville this year! Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...> Sterling, Massachusetts |
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Richard Hendrickson
Tim O'Connor writes:
You guys are amazing, frankly. I spend at least 7-10 hours onI entirely agree with Tim. Not to discourage anyone, but assembling a kit, whether resin or styrene, is only half the job. Weathering, chalk marks, loads in open-top cars, etc. take several hours even on factory painted and lettered styrene kits. I spend at least a half hour painting a set of wheels (rust and dirt on the backs and axles, oily grunge on the faces) and then cleaning and polishing the treads. I guess it depends on what you mean by "finished." Richard H. Hendrickson Ashland, Oregon 97520 |
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asychis@...
Well, I wasn't thinking about "finishing" in the sense of the painting,
decaling, weathering, etc. Since that would be common to any undecorated kit, I was only commenting on assembly time. I've recently (earlier today) completed two of the ART resin kits that were offered by Mr. Wegeman (sp?). They probably took 15 hours total (over four weeks) from opening the box to placing on the test track, fully painted, decaled, etc. Jerry Michels |
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Paul Lyons
Thanks Tim and Richard. I was beginning to get a complex over being so SLOW
building resin kits. I spend an hour or so gathering prototype info and photos of a car before I start, 8 to 12 hours to build it, and another 4 to 8 hours painting, decaling (includes chauk marks, reweigh and repack dates) and wheathering. My goal is two cars a month, which means some work every nite that I am not traveling on business. Paul Lyons Oceanside, CA |
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Ron Boham <spnut@...>
Richard Hendrickson wrote [in response to Tim O'Connor]:
No part of the kit should go unattended, even on a decorated model. Every u/f gets painted, every car gets weathered, before they leave the bench. I do keep a few pairs of the various trucks I use already painted and wheel treads buffed, so the trucks are always ready when the rest of the car is done. Ron Boham |
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Dave & Libby Nelson <muskoka@...>
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-----Original Message----- Right now I'm trying to get the courage (and time) toI went for 10 Westerfield stockcars at once. Went well until I stopped (as in all the flash was off and all the wire grabs added for all 10 cars). I paused to consider painting the interiors (buff covered with smeared grime, like a flat car deck) and having stopped I found myself unable to screw up my nerve to return to the task. So Jerry, if you start, I recommend you don't stop until they're thru. 8-) Dave Nelson |
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asychis@...
Dave,
You're over the biggest hurdle! It's all that sanding to remove flash on the stockcars that holds me back. I'll get to it someday. Righ now I'm enjoying building one the the Sunshine C&O kits with the deco ends. Interesting car. Of all the kits I've built (or attempted to build) the Sunshine B&O wagontop boxcar is the hardest. Whenever I've attached the sides/roof castings, the thing never looks right. It seems to bulb out toward the top, not hang straight down. Oh, well, sometime it pays to put these projects down for awhile and come back to them later. Jerry Michels |
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asychis@...
In a message dated 07/23/2002 9:09:04 AM Central Daylight Time,
timoconnor@... writes: Bill Welch cutTim, that's a good idea. If I spaced them out along the floor casting, I think it would do the job. Thanks for the tip. Jerry |
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asychis@...
In a message dated 07/23/2002 9:09:04 AM Central Daylight Time,
timoconnor@... writes: The kit I had the most trouble with so far was the Greenville gondola.That makes me thingk of the early resin kits by Westerfield. Remember how fragile the "metal-filled polyester" castings were? Sometimes it seemed that I was assembling a kit made from glass. Those cars still need a lot of TLC when running them. Any ridge or flange on the car is easily broken off in a derailment. Jerry Michels |
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Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...>
Jerry Michels wrote
Of all the kits I've built (or attempted to build) the Sunshine B&O wagontopI haven't attempted the wagontop yet, but I think Bill Welch cut styrene "bulkhead" cross-sections to support the side/roof castings. I recall him showing it to Martin who thought it was unnecessary... but it seemed like a good idea to me. The kit I had the most trouble with so far was the Greenville gondola. I decided to put a thin lead weight in the floor and it made it much more fragile to handle... Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...> Sterling, Massachusetts |
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tlawler@...
Tim,
Glad to hear I am not the only one "defeated" by a Sunshine Wagon Top. I had the same experience and reaction. Thank goodness for ACC debonder! I have put it down to do "later". I will slay this beast sometime in the future! A Stock Car is easy compared to a Sunshine Wagon Top! To everyone who will attend the Naperville meet... I will finally attend one of these meets and I am really looking forward to meeting all the other "Resin Heads" (or whatever we want to be called) at this show. I hope to pack a few cars and get them safely 2/3's of the way across the country. Hope airport security does not think they are a weapon! See you all there. Tom Quoting Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...>: <html><body>href="http://rd.yahoo.com/M=228862.2128520.3581629.1829184/D=egroupweb/S=1705169 725:HM/A=1155068/R=0/*http://adfarm.mediaplex.com/ad/ck/990-1736-1039-302" target=_top><imgsrc="http://us.a1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/a/co/columbiahouse/D_300x250_4free_yellow p.gif" alt="" width="300" height="250" border="0"></a></td></tr></table></td> --------------------------------------------- Infostations - http://www.infostations.com |
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Dave & Libby Nelson <muskoka@...>
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-----Original Message----- Dave,It wasn't so bad if you just do kit after kit after kit. I'll get to it someday. Righ nowI have that one too but it's not assembled. Just a standard 1937 car w/ odd ends, right? Of all the kits I've built (or attempted to build) the Sunshine B&Ocastings, the thing never looks right. It seems to bulb out toward the top, not hangThat's another in the box. Seems like a couple of cubes could be used to hold the sides vertical so you could eyeball what to do at the centerline joint. Maybe a use a gap there with a strip of styrene on the inside top form a lip. Gap to be filled afterwards and then covered by the running bd. I dunno. Just guessing. Dave Nelson |
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Paul Lyons
I am not quite sure what you guys are talking about, since the kit comes with "bulkheads" that mount on the floor and act as side/roof spacers. Having built both the M-53 and the M-15k I have found the following to work best:
1. Cut an extra "bulkhead" or two(it's been awhile) so that you can position a "bulkhead" at EVERY side/roof seam. In between dosen't work-trust me. 2. Put in a wider styrene ridge pole than what comes in the kit, so you have a little wiggle room. 3. Center the side/roof over the end "bulkheads". The seam down the ridge pole may not run parallel. Equal margins at the the ends is what counts. Glue the side/roof to the ridge pole. Match up the other side and glue it to the ridge pole. 4. Start on one side and ACC the side/roof down to the "top" of the "bulkhads". Just down to the curve. Repeat on the other side/roof. 5. Now the tricky part. I slip a piece of .005 brass under the "side" and covering every thing except the rounded section with a couple of wash clothes I turn the hair dryer on low and VERY VERY CAREFULLY apply a little heat to the curve. I mean a LITTLE heat applied very slowly. The side will start to lay it self down on the the brass backing. When WARM put a metal bar across the top of the side, press gentily down, slip the brass sheet out and ACC the bottom seam. Same for the other side. It won't get all the the bugle out, but pretty near. Yes, I ruined the sides/roof the first time I did this. These are the toughest Sunshine kits. The M-15k is tougher than the M-53. Paul Lyons Oceanside, CA |
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Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...>
Yes, I recall now that Bill (1) added extra bulkheads and (2) added
longitudinal stiffeners. I can't remember exactly... But I think he glued styrene strips lengthwise on the sides. So his bulkheads had to be shaped to accomodate the extra thickness of the walls. I guess one could always just use the 1-piece West Shore kit! I am not quite sure what you guys are talking about, since the kit comes with Tim O'Connor <timoconnor@...> Sterling, Massachusetts |
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Bill Darnaby
I have built 3 wagon tops and discovered a couple of relatively easy tricks
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to improve appearance. I added pieces of .125 x .250 styrene between the bulkheads, .250 side out, just below the roof curve. This provides something else to glue to and alleviaties the tendancy of the sides to buckle inwards. The most important thing I found is that the dimension of the roof portion of the side from curve to ridge is too much. It is, therefore a mistake to attach the sides at the roof ridge first and work down as the extra material has no place to go. I found it best to attach the sides at the bottom first, after making sure the bend in the sides is setting correctly on the corner radii of the bulkheads, and then working up. Then bring the sides together at the roof ridge. You should find that they do not lay down on the ridge as there is too much material on each side. In other words, the edges of the side meet before they lay down on the roof line. This can be corrected by sliding a double sided emory board lengthwise between the sides until enough material is removed from their edges so that the sides lay down correctly on the tops of the ends and bulkheads. This method worked particularly well on the M-15k as it was the only way I could get the sides to match up correctly with the cutouts in the side sills. BTW, by far the toughest Sunshine kit I ever built was a pair of the insulated 8000 gal tank cars. Regards, Bill ----- Original Message -----
From: "Tim O'Connor" <timoconnor@...> To: <STMFC@...> Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2002 9:06 AM Subject: Re: [STMFC] Sunshine Kits Jerry Michels wrotewagontopOf all the kits I've built (or attempted to build) the Sunshine B&O theboxcar is the hardest. Whenever I've attached the sides/roof castings, thing never looks right. It seems to bulb out toward the top, not hangI haven't attempted the wagontop yet, but I think Bill Welch cut |
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