Fall is here...

[Downeaster]

and Winter is coming, so the diorama and modeling bug is stirring.

One of my projects for the diorama this Winter is a model of my shop.

I spent about an hour applying "peel and stick" laser cut paper shingles to the front gable end. Looks pretty good in scale, just wish the color was more like a new untreated cedar shingle.

Plan is to have a removable roof and populate the interior with 3D prints of the major tools.

I've designed and printed a scale model of my lathe. First attempt was...well...let's just say there'll be a second attempt. It actually looks okay, but I printed a bunch of separate parts and gluing them together was less than a spectacular success. Mod I will have integral prints to avoid that.

I've also been laying in supplies for a 1:25 scale kitbash of a Heavy Service Truck. Basis will be an International Paystar 5000 cab and chassis with a scratch built service body, crane, welder, air compressor, bulk fuel tanks, etc. etc.

 

[Downeaster]

Basic building is done and mounted on it's "slab". Removable roof is 95%, just need to add the eave and gable trim once the paint on the metal roof is dry.

I've been finding or designing power tools as necessary and printing them at 1:64 scale.

I've placed the completed ones in the shop in the position they occupy in the 1:1 shop. I'm trying to make it as accurate as possible within the limits of scale and skill. Plenty of benches, tool boxes, shelves and details to add yet.

 

[Downeaster]

Well, that went far too quickly. "Winter" project finished before Halloween...

Soooo, I bought the pieces-parts for another "Winter" project and started on it. Probably done before Thanksgiving, but what the hey...

I've been enjoying building trucks the last couple of Winters, (the Autocar log hauler and the Binder with the log trailer) and thought I'd start another. Building them out of the box is too...ordinary... so I bought an IH Paystar 5000 dumptruck kit that I'll convert into a service truck more-or-less like the picture.

I had to pretty much complete the chassis and mock up the cab position so I could design the service body. Knowing that the first iteration is hardly ever the final result, I mocked it up out of poster board. This is Version 2A and I'm pretty sure that's what I'll go with. Compartments down both sides, welder, air compressor and a crane mounted on the body, bed full of tools, diesel and hydraulic tanks, etc.

Working on the service crane. Telescoping booms are commercially available plastic shapes, the brown stuff is 3D printed. Once it's detailed with a lift cylinder, drive motor for the winch, hoses, cables, hooks etc. I think it will do nicely.

 

[Downeaster]

Mocked up to check articulation. I'm happy with that so paint, hydraulic hoses and winch cable are next.

 

[Downeaster]

Basic structure of the service body is complete.

The cutouts for the doors were saved and marked as to which hole they came from. I've printed 40 itty-bitty (3mm x3mm) hinges and have started mounting the doors. I went through 3 designs and 2 versions before I came up with an acceptable hinge. They're a bit large for scale, but the truck is run by a mechanic who's favorite tool is a hammer so...

 

[Downeaster]

Still struggling with finding a satisfactory door mounting system on the service body truck, so went back to another stalled project - building a knuckle boom crane for a different model. Had the basic concept built out of sheet stock months ago but couldn't get the joint for the folding boom right.

A while back Neighbor Dan had a 1:1 truck mounted folding crane parked by his shop for some repairs and I grabbed some pictures that explained the folding mechanism - Actual examples are better than semi-educated guesses - and all I had to do was 3D print about 5 iterations to get the pivot points and cylinder mounts right. Would have never happened if I'd had to scratch build each attempt, but with the printer ya tweak it, hit print and go do something else then rinse and repeat until it works.