Building this model will be a marathon work, as it has around 4193 parts, spread across 55 A3 pages...
It may not be very complicated because it consists of 6 separate vehicles: locomotive and tender, communications wagon, artillery wagons (2) and cargo wagons (2). Perhaps more a big model than a great model but I'm sure it will look impressive when completed, many months from now
First are the tender frames and suspensions. Nothing complicated, so far.
PP-52 Pilsudczyk / GPM / 1:25
-
- Completed
- Ricleite
-
-
How long will the complete train be?
-
If I believe what GPM says in the front cover, it is 3,95m. But I think it be less than that. Surely over 3m, anyway...
-
Rick,
great to see somebody else tackling this laaaarge model...
Be sure to use 0,8mm cardboard for reinforcements - you will run into fitting problems if you use 1mm thick cardboard.
Should you refer to this fragment of a build report GPM - Panzerzug PP-52, 1:25 - Teil 1: Lokomotive TI-3
be aware that I put the signs of the locomotive onto the trailer and vice versa. Don't copy that mistake.best regards,
Michael -
@ Michael - Thx for the information and the link for your building report. I hadn't yet spotted it and it will surely be useful :).
I'm always a bit wary of GPM's card reinforcement thickness. Sometimes I get the feeling that 1mm should be the total thickness, including the printed paper. That falls very nicely into yours 0,8mm tip.
I often change the recommended card thickness, when it looks better to use a different one... -
The locomotive/tender has no less than 14 wheels and they are very much labour intensive...
I attach 3 construction pictures of the 8 smaller wheels. It is a tricky work because some parts are very thin. One millimetre too much while cutting and you have a problem. As usual, I added a lot of card, both to shape things up and to provide hidden surfaces where to put glue. -
I glued the parts for the spokes to 1mm thick card. This was a bit too much because it makes them thicker than the printed spokes on the wheel flanges. However, the final result is not too bad.
-
Just to add a picture of the assembled tender's wheels, axles and suspensions. The only snag is that the thick GPM paper laminated while forming the axles. It is not very difficult to separate the outer, coloured, layer and use it.
-
Hi Ricardo,
All the best on this new and labour intensive model. Your precision and attention to detail will be hallmarks here as the thread develops. Already, the precision is evident in your photographic construction layout shots!
John -
John, many thanks for your remarks and encouragement. I'll need it as this model is really labour intensive
Before going for the big wheels (there are 6 of them) I decided to make something easier. The flanges were glued prematurely, here. I'm sure they will need to be trimmed to get properly inside the locomotive's body and armour -
Going now to the 6 big wheels. They looked very much like the 8 smaller ones but I found out a very annoying error - the outer, circular, red parts are too thin. That's visible in the picture, if you look carefully. I'll have to make additional parts in order to cover the gap. A silly error, indeed
-
Another shot of the big wheels. The use of card to provide gluing surfaces is quite clear...
-
Rick: Great work!
I am following your build with great interest!
Jim -
@ Fishcarver - Thanks a lot for your interest. I hope it will last for long
Finally, I completed the work on the locomotive and tender wheels, before starting to have nightmares about them :yahoo:
The next task will be to build the main structure. This weekend, probably... -
A couple more pictures, about the front structure for the locomotive and some equipment.
-
The tender's structure is easy to assemble. Parts 1h are a bit too high. They can be trimmed by around 0,5 to 1mm.
-
Rick,
this looks really good. One suggestion: when you make the doors for the locomotive, try to build them movable - then it is easier to have a look at the equipment inside.
regards,
Michael -
Michael - thanks for the comment. I'm planning to make those doors movable, as you say. It looks relatively easy to do that but I have to be careful not to put glue on the wrong places The real trick will be to properly align the doors. As you know, they are double (upper and lower) on both sides.
-
I'm continuing the work on the tender. As you see, there is an excess of green doors and a lack of brown ones! Problems at the maintenance depot? Camouflage match on some parts is not very good, either
The whole thing is looking a bit plain and it will need a lot of detail to get better. -
hallo ricleite!
einfach nur: =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>!!!
allein deine räder sind schon einen baubericht wert!
viele grüsse aus köln, robert
-
Thanks, Robert. The nasty thing is that there are still 28 wheels to be built for this model
I decided to take a break on the tender and build the interior of the locomotive. It is not as detailed as in newer GPM models but it will be almost hidden, anyway...
As Michael pointed out in his thread, the upper cylinder is a bit too high. I'll have to make a hole for it in the intermediate roof. No need, of course, to make a hole on the upper (outside) roof -
Hi Ricleite,
Congratulations! A real fantastic detailing work!!!
=D> =D> =D> =D> =D>
Greetings Friedulin
-
Hi Ricardo,
Your photo layout for the two shots above is briliant! A few pieces lying casually about on the schematic drawing - and to the right, the clean assembled result. Wonderful!
JohnPS. Actually, those parts aren't casually lying about at all. There is method in their placement - you're good!
J.L. -
Quote
Original von Ricleite
As you see, there is an excess of green doors and a lack of brown ones!The same problem will occur on with the locomotive doors. I haven't checked, but maybe there are interchangeable?
I have painted the locomotive doors to match the camo pattern of the body...
Michael
-
@ Friedulin and John - many thanks for your comments The method of putting partially assembled parts near the instruction drawings works very well with GPM. I started it on the Panzerjagerwagen (on the Portuguese site) and don't plan to stop
@ Michael - for a change, let me disagree ;). I have already started the work on the locomotive's doors and their camouflage does match very well. I didn't yet assemble them but the pictures will come
Painting the tender's doors is a good idea, if you can match the colour. The best method is, probably, to scan the parts and paint them in the computer from a sample colour of other part. This way, the colour should look good and the texture as well. I never did this because I try to use the original kits as they are. Of course, you can also say the reason is sheer laziness
Getting back to the kit, I attach two pictures of the locomotive's front end, minus the couplings, shock absorbers and lanterns. Those tiny assemblies have a fair share of small parts and I'll leave them for a latter stage. Yes, you CAN call it sheer laziness, here... -
Rick,
maybe they changed the doors? You can see the color differences here:
I had three green doors that needed to be brown...
Michael
-
Michael,
Now I see what you mean. You are refering to the tender's doors (3 on each side), not those on the locomotive (5 on each side, if I'm not mistaken). The first ones are exatly as you said: 3 green that should be brown. The second ones are OK. Some of them have 2 colours and they all match the base pretty well.
Talking about locomotive and tender may not very correct here, because they are bound together in a single vehicle...Cheers,
Ricardo -
Ricardo,
my mistake... I just remembered that I didn't build the tender, so it must have been the locomotive - but of course the tender is fixed to the loco and therefore I indeed built it. Sorry, I am confused - it is about 15 deg. too hot for me these days...
Michael
-
The coal box seems not to be big enough for some trips and someone decided to make it bigger with timber supported by U-shaped iron beams. The paper version is somewhat tricky because you have to make long and very closely spaced foldings. A bit more than 'half-cutting' the thick GPM paper is definitely recommended...
-
Being on hollidays means that my access to the net is a lot more random but not that I have stopped work on the model. The attached pictures prove that
-
Always remember Rick, with your back to the wagon the flat buffer must be on your left side.
Railways are using flat and rounded buffers to obtain a good contact when wagons are coupled,
groetjes,
Gert -
Hi Ricardo.
Enjoy the holidays!
I just can't get enough of these detailed shots of component parts on the diagrams. I'm sure that much of the fun of the build is in your follow up desktop photography. The layouts are superb.
John -
Back from holidays to 'business as usual'...
@ eskatee - your flat and rounded buffers tip is very interesting. On the locomotive and tender they are all rounded. On each other vehicle there are two flat and two rounded buffers!
@ John - thanks again for your comments We both know well that there are no build diagrams in Instant Durable but they are not really needed, either. In GPM kits, I find them very good and useful both for building and for taking pictures
-
Hi Ric,
The personnel in the railway workshop isn't what it used to be....
In Dutch I was taught at my father's museumrailway:
"Met je rug tegen het rijtuig zit de ronde buffer rechts"
Translated into English, the alletaration vanishes partly
groetjes,
Gert -
@ eskatee - well, I guess I have to say 'that's how life is...'
Getting back to the model, I enclose two more pictures. The second one shows the door hinges. They are functional and allow a slight (and dark) glimpse to the interior. Be careful when building because the hinges are not left/right interchangeable and the quantity needed of each colour is not the same for both sides!
-
It is now time to put the assemblies together, starting with the locomotive.
-
Hi Ricleite!
Just awesome !!!!!!!!!
It is great to watch you, the locomotive looks just great.
Zaphod
-
Zaphod - You tell me (and I thank) if it is great or you. I tell you (and you can believe me) that it is big
Mating the locomotive and the tender was not complicated but I had to raise the locomotive's rear floor level by 1mm. Otherwise, something would not be straight and level, with all 14 wheels touching the ground...
That milimeter had to be taken away from the locomotive's rear structure panels but there will be no other nasty consequences because the doors provide a useful gap to make the transition to the tender.
Enjoy the locomotive's inside view! After gluing the roof, it will only be visible through the doors, when open... -
The locomotive roof is in place, now. You can see that the mating with the tender is not very good. Fortunately, the upper roof will cover the remaining gray area.
I still have to glue some minor assemblies, cover some white areas and that will be it! -
...and there it is - a big locomotive and tender.
Let's start with the front and rear detail...