Railway Carriage

This is the Railway Carriage from the kit by Jane Harrop. I chose to make the 24th scale version and some other ladies made the 48th scale. I don't know how the managed with the minuscule parts!

I was given the main carriage parts in order to get them painted and varnished prior to the class since it was over 4 days and I still never finished it.

I decided to make it green since my father-in-law had worked for Southern Railways and it would be a nod to him. However, I hated the colour once I did it. It was worse after I varnished it. My problem is that I live in the sticks and it is very difficult to get any craft supplies and sending for them adds more problems.

The next snag was transporting all the parts without them sticking to each other so I thought wrapping them flat in cling film would be fine. The varnish melted through the plastic and not only stuck to cling film but to each other as well. The small pieces I had left attached to the cutting mat to keep them flat. The varnish had welded them to that.

I was NOT off to a good start.

We made the seats and everyone pulled out fantastic pieces of fabric with the tiniest little prints on them, just perfect as old railway carriage seating. I thought mine was great when I found small print stuff but when I saw what fabulous material the others had produced, I felt even more deflated. I had to use what I had and I cannot change it now since everything else had to be glued in and the seating was the first thing that had to be glued in.

I can only say that I fell out of love with this carriage from the 'get go'. 

A nice comment posted on my GrannyAdo facebook page, has inspired me and I can turn this around. My son was an onliflatne help for people, not crafts. When his own stuff went wrong, he used to get mad. I told him that if it had all gone perfectly he wouldn't be able to help others. 'I don't know what you can do, I've never had that trouble'. So hopefully this page will help in some way.

 

Here are some parts ready to be put together. The fabric for the seat backs have to align with the seat. As you can see, my choice had a very distinct diagonal and that caused a little bit of a problem. You will need to keep that in mind. The racks were very fiddly. I found it easier to thread each strip of wood through individually which took a fair amount of time. The mirror/poster section was an easy build. These parts were the bits that all had to go together, the seats being glued in first. You can now see why I couldn't take them out later, to change the fabric.

I took this picture after more work was done but you can see how the seats are 'trapped' by the other things and cannot be removed. Choose your fabric wisely!

We made the little pieces of furniture and glued them into place. I didn't get round to making the cooker and left it until I got home as I wanted to use different paint. I didn't complete the kitchener and sink unit as I wanted to match paint to the fabric.

I didn't know what was necessary to make every detail of this model. However, Jane had brought a ton of stuff, paint, stain, glue......rather than rush things I decided to finish these bits at home in my own time.

 

I enjoyed making the fence. It was rather therapeutic. For some it seemed to be a bit of a problem.

I found the above images which I had forgotten I had. I didn't take one of the whole green monstrosity but you will get the idea from these. The second one shows the beginnings of the new paintwork. 

I have taken a few pictures of the inside before the sides etc are added. I wont be able to get the camera in to take these shots later.

The batheroom area complete with toilet roll. I wonder if it's the infamous IZAL?

The bedroom cabins really need some bedding.

The corridor side doors. I left one partly open. This was a great opportunity to get a good view of the kitchen dining area. It was a shame to shut all the doors and drawers sine they had shelves and the drawer wasn't just a front part. 

The kitchen diner from the other side. The little grill pan even has a grid section. It reminds me of the old 'MAIN' gas cooker my mum used to have. I still have the cookery book that came with it.

 

My husband suggested I make a larger, more robust base, the size that the kiln was on. He then said I could make a little garden round it with a picket fence etc. I also had a packet of paperclay which had a small cut in the packet so it was goiing to dry out. I found a way to use it up. The bare part in the middle takes the original base.

It is actually hard to believe that this model is the same scale as the Brick Kiln.

Rather than just have a whole fence around with a gate in the middle, I thought I's try to make it a bit more interesting by adding a Crossing gate. I was going to put it in the middle but I decided to put it to one side as it might have become rather a main feature right at the front. I balanced it up by adding a little 'pedestrian' gate at the other side.

Almost finished.

Finished

The little man was the first one I made for the brick kiln, but he was a bit too large. He also looked like Casey Jones! The Kiln was 24th scale, as is this carriage. He looks kind of alright alongside the gate but when I stood him by the door, he was far too big. However, he fits in with the scene and he might just remain, too big or not. I will add little bits and pieces over time and I will add the photos of the additons here.

PS, the blue thing in the graden behind the model, is a bowling ball.