I have never built a train kit in my life. when I received this kit from my friend at work, you can imagine how I was feeling........what a challenge! the last time I worked with wood, was my "stick and tissue" days, flying balsa airplanes. yes, I was elated.....but i also had a bit of doubt......could I pull it off?
When i got home and settled in, I sat at my desk and opened the box. the kit had been started and the aluminum had been cut. the work that had been done on it was very good, the grandfather knew what he was doing. I did a quick check and found that all the parts were there.....another plus. I sat there, fitting parts together, while drinking a beer, pondering how I was going to start the build. soon, doubt took over, and it ended up back in the box, and stashed away in the closet. .......I gotta find the right glue for it anyway, was my reason for such behavior. I was building the Cutty Sark, a 1:96 Revell plastic kit, at the time......too far involved in it to put the effort in a little wooden kit. it stayed in the closet for quite a while, and I'd bump into it every time I fumbled around in there. I wondered when I would ever get around to building it. to me, everything has a place and time.......one of these days, there would come a reason for this kit to hit my table.
By this time, the Nordkap came into my life.......given to me by another friend. this was July of 2010, and this July will be it's first "birthday" with me. I tried to remember when I got the snow plow....but it has to be well over a year by now since. the Cux 87 came to me in October of 2010, and by this time, I was totally into wood......even the Cutty Sark took a back seat, although the search for the right rigging thread was the reason for such a decision. these two builds are still currently going on, the Cux 87 is almost at the rigging stage. the Nordkap.......well........it need some refining in the hull painting department. meanwhile, the snow plow still sits in the closet, untouched by my hands.
7:30 PM, Sunday, February 27th.........the day has come! it started like most evenings always do....me coming home from work, settling in, and reading my e-mails over a beer. there was a notification there from a fellow inquiring about the snow plow and the plans for it. he had read the blog I did on it and was asking if I would be kind enough to send him a copy. he was trying to do one from scratch, and wasn't having much luck. I got his e-mail address from it and sent him one to confirm this....can't be too careful. while I was waiting for the return, I got the box from the closet and scanned the plans. of course, while this was going on, I started to tinker again with the parts. before I knew it, I was reaching for the Elmer's glue, and putting the caboose section together....
I still need to install the window frames on the right side....the left side already had them in place. I had installed the rear wall and the corner molding, which doubles as the jam molding for the doors. I then shaped and installed the plow divider.
The roof was the next pair of parts to be shaped. the cupola is shown in the picture above....here are the parts that comprise it.
the two parts on the table are the side "wings" that will fit in the cavities along the sides of the plow. they still need to be assembled with braces and hardware to support them. this kit has metal hardware that will give the build detail. railings and steps {grabirons}will adorn the roof and walls. there is the front coupler, a headlight that sits above the plow, and the smoke jack on the caboose roof. other bits of detail require some assembly.....like the brake wheel and the linkage for the wings. this is a nicely detailed kit! the aluminum that I spoke of earlier, will serve as the skin for the plow in the front.....careful shaping is a must! the kit says that if I should mess this up...I can write to them and they will send me another, at no charge. they will even bend and shape it for me for .50 cents........I wonder if I can still get that??? LOL!!!
I got the reply within a couple of hours. I sent him the plans and a few pictures that I had on file. I had done another search, and i found a few more pictures of the snow plow.......even one in New Hampshire!
I will try to devote as much time as I can afford on it, but the ships take priority. after all, I'd much drather smell the salt air of the sea, than the salty brine they put on the open roads!
