Steam Punk - The "Aston"-ishing Steamer

[jcf]

"Color" was considered flat wrong: use it and you'd lose a mark for incorrect spelling.

... and the converse is true in the US. 

Having started my school years in Canada and then moving to the US, I got to
experience both sides. Just bloody glad I'm not dyslexic, 'twould have been hell.
 


 

[MaxHeadroom]

Well done, indeed!

I'm not kidding! Me, myself and I are also thinking I have done it in a pretty way, because it was my first job of this scratchbuilding-kind.
I wanted to present a proper result to you.
The longer I do modelbuilding, the more I learn, the more I have the courage to try out, the more I LIKE to try out because I see my improved skills small step, by small step.
(Since ever I am a "master of extemporization" [ask my mom, my friend, my wife/-s, my daughter, my old friends...] - but then it was in a muuuch bigger scale . For example: my first/divorced wife once said: "someone can dump a lorry-load of ordinary scrap in front of our house's door and 3, 2, 1... you have build a working frigde out of". She was right - almost. )


And thank you for the linguistic informations - I like to learn continuously!
I'm interested in many, many things: history, handcraft, techniques, languages, philosophy, politics, literature, film/cinema/TV, computer and computing, internet, military (arms, tactics, stategy, casus belli, vehicles, vessels, airplanes,...), oldtimer (vintage cars, bikes, trucks), old furniture (I love woodwork!) and sooo muuuch more!
In my opinion someone is mentally dead who doesn't have leastways ONE theme of interest and likes to learn about.

Norbert

[Camthalion]

looking good

[MaxHeadroom]

After putting the primer on, I'd created the tubes for steam and water between boiler, condenser and piston:

Note: the "tubes" are only sticked into the holes without glue.
Later, it will look better!

And these are the tubes for the right side of the vehicle:

Please excuse the bad focus; it depends on the small size of the parts.

Norbert

[Kerick]

Will you be leaving the tubes natural copper color or painting them?

[MaxHeadroom]

Natural copper!
It's steampunk, kerick... so copper is part of the steampunk-philosophy.
I will paint some few parts with brass-color and will use wood (real wood) as well as leather (real leather)!
I think, it will harmonize to the paint scheme of the Flying Scotsman.

Btw.: You see the parts for the right side shining red a bit...; I have marked them by a red-inked waterproof pen to keep left and right apart and not to confound.

Norbert

[jcf]

Coming along nicely.  :)

I do have to ask why you have included a condenser on your car, as it would
reduce the engine output. Condensers were not usual practice on steam land
vehicles. 

[MaxHeadroom]

No problem, jcf, and thank you for the question:
I used a condenser because a steamlocomotive has stored usually 4 times more water than coal or oil; and tons of both!
My steamer has only 2 tanks of 250 litre each for the oil and the water, so the relation is 1 to 1 and not 4 to 1.
That means I need a more or less closed circle for the water to recycle the steam back to water to extend the range before I'm forced to refill oil and -especially- water.
(I have to confess, I hadn't looked how the steam-car-builders of the early 20th century -e.g. the Stanley-Company- had managed the water-oil-relation during time of production, so my model comes totally out of my mind and imagination.)

Norbert

[MaxHeadroom]

Short before the finish:

O.k, without the wheels, the drive, some parts of the "cockpit", some small parts, a light shadowing and, most important, the final painting by gloss clear-paint...:





To prevent an over-pressure at the watertank (because of the hot condensed water coming back into the tank) you see an extra valve (red, at the rear end) on top of the tank.

I hope you like the color-scheme of the Flying Scotsman, transformed to the steam car. :)

Norbert

[GTX_Admin]

Looking good!

[MaxHeadroom]

A movable drive?

Yes, gentlemen, a movable drive (in 3 steps):





First I intend to made some more photographs to create an animated gif-file...
Can I upload an anim-gif here at BTS?

And now my thoughts to the guy with the steamer:

First I was thinking about giving a new styling to the figure of the british WW 2 soldier in the plasticbag: in mayor, hand him a long coat to wear.
Then, a few days ago, a friend from DMMB.info sent me some parts and some figures and so the "Landser" in his long coat will be converted into a civilian and the "Tommy" in the bag can wait until further mission.

Norbert

[finsrin]

When I see builds this good :)
It makes me consider switching to knitting or jigsaw puzzles.

[MaxHeadroom]

Thx a lot, Finsrin!!

You make me blush!

Remind, dear friend; for knitting, you need knitting skills and to play with jigsaw puzzles, you're much too old, I think - keep on modelling!
Do, try, make mistakes, do and try again, take the time you need and do and try!
Ask, and you will get help!
Use you eyes to "steal" from others..., and again: ask, do, try, make mistakes, take the time you need and once you will see: it's easy!

Your sincerely,

Norbert

[MaxHeadroom]

First works at the driver's figure:


In details:
- Transplanting the (skin-) head of the british soldier from the plastic bag.
- Giving a pipe into the hand holding the lapel/revers of the coat.
- Removing Reichsadler and "Gott mit uns"-motto from the belt's lock.
- Cutting off the epaulettes from the shoulders.
- Giving heels to the shoes. (I wonder if the Wehrmacht had have shoes without heels!?)
- "Buying" a Bowler in a hat shop.
- Sawing off the skull's top and placing the Bowler.
- Glueing on a mustache and kind of goatee.

But now I'm horrified about the need to mix a real good colour to paint the skin!

Norbert

[Brian da Basher]

I really like how you modified that figure, Norbert!

The pipe & bowler really came out well.

As for the paint, use a pale flesh tone and you can't go wrong. Rumor is all those steam engines led to quite a cloudy atmosphere. I don't recall seeing many tan steampunk people while looking at some artwork on the net.

Brian da Basher

[MaxHeadroom]

Now, the steamer and the driver are ready built.

STOP!
A little dirt and/or dust must be applied to the car and the driver needs also a little finish (look below).

Enjoy the pics of the details - the final presentation will follow when I will have made a nice base for the ensemble (in addition, there will come a suitcase and a bucket):

O.k., the fender at the driver's side (right-hand steering) is a bit out of direction, I know.
And the glasses of the headlights are turned a bit, but they are since I have built the Aston the first time decades ago.












(With a taillight made of original taillight-plastic!)


- Eyes, brows, mustache and goatee.
- Pale-dark folds/wrinkles at/in the coat.
- Collar and cuffs must be coated by matt-clear color, because it should look like flecked fur. (Ivory with black and brown)
- The coat will get some shining parts, because it's not a new one.
- The belt's lock and the buttons are "made" of brass.
- Polished ankleboots with pale black soles.
- The worse was colouring the lips; I don't want to give the driver some kind of bright-red pin-up-girl-lips... I think, I got it the right way.

Norbert

[Kerick]

I would say you got it perfect!

[GTX_Admin]

I would say you got it perfect!

Ditto

[raafif]

fantastic ! great job :)

I like the covers on the front wheels - who's garbage-cans were raided for those ?

[Weaver]

That looks awesome: well done. The driver is very good too.

[MaxHeadroom]

Wow! Thank you dear friends!
Your friendly words makes me feel warm and satisfied.
(But, to be honest: I didn't it perfect - I only did it the best way I can. My skills are able to grow much more than the actual status!)

@ raafif: They aren't made of carbage-can covers!
The complete front-wheels are from a verrry ooold kit of GDR-origin ("DDR" - east germany, if someone remembers). If I don't do a mistake, it must be a from a model of a hot rod.
I'm not kidding! The national people's-own GDR-plastic-model-factory had have a hot rod in it's program!!
I still have the frame of the hot rod in my sample box.

Norbert

[elmayerle]

Gorgeous car and figure: I can just hear it chuffing along the road.

They did a hot rod?  Was it an "American-style" hot rod or a hot-rodded locally-produced car?

[MaxHeadroom]

I think, it was american-style, elmayerle, and not a Trabant or Wartburg hot rod.

Norbert

[Antonio Sobral]

Great concept of a lean mean steampunk machine :)

[elmayerle]

I think, it was american-style, elmayerle, and not a Trabant or Wartburg hot rod.

The mind boggles at the thought of a hot-rod version of either of those.  OTOH, it would be an interesting challenge; I'd love to see what George Barris or Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, or someone of similar artistic ability, could've done with either of those.