To paraphrase Vane Jones, "Knowledge is of little value until shared with others."

Monday, January 20, 2014

North Shore Line 409 - Part 11 Installation of the Windows and Glazing

The windows were designed so the back of the windows would be flush with the back of the model's brass wall. The wall where the windows are to be installed is 0.040" thick (2 pieces of brass 0.025" and 0.015" thick). With this in mind the sash of the lower window was planned to be 0.020" thick while the sash of the upper window is 0.030" thick. By doing this the window will have nearly the same profile as the other windows in the side of the model.

Before the installation some trimming of the existing glazing had to take place. The piece of clear plastic used for the glazing for the 3 windows to the left (as you look at the model) of the opening was too long for the glazing of the new windows to fit. It had to be cut back just a little. Since this was hard to do with the piece of glazing in place, the glazing was removed from the model. The glazing was then cut to the correct length. This turned out to be a blessing as you will find out later.

So the new windows could mounted flush with the back of the model's wall, a piece of 0.100" thick styrene was covered with one of the thick plastic bags parts come in. The covered piece of styrene was held against the interior wall of the model where the windows were to be installed.

The new windows were pushed in place. Medium thick ACC was applied along the sides of the new windows and the window posts of the model. A pin was used to push the sash of the new windows against the model's window post. A pin has the smallest surface area to be pushed against the new painted window sash. The pin did not disturb the paint.

Once the ACC started to cure the 0.100" thick styrene in the plastic bag was removed from inside the model. The new windows were being held in place with the ACC. The ACC was allowed to complete cure before the next step.
The left of the pair of new windows is above my finger. If you look closely the space between the lower sash and the belt rail of the model can ben seen. This space will be filled with the thick, slower curing ACC.

Once this was done, thick slow curing ACC was applied along the bottom and top of the windows. The piece of styrene backing was held in place while the ACC was allowed to start curing. The slow curing ACC is a gap filling product. It filled in an irregularities between the styrene windows and the brass body.

The following photo, the only other one taken for this post, was taken after the slow curing ACC was used and allowed to cure completely. Before any touch-up painting can be done the area where the new windows were added has to be cleaned of excess ACC.

A small brush was used for touch-up painting. The paint was applied twice brushing in only 1 direction. Allow the paint to completely dry between coats. The 2nd coat dried  to a flat finish. To give the newly painted area a gloss finish like the balance of the model, a diluted Glosscoat was applied. I have forgotten how diluted the Glosscoat is. Using a small brush, the Glosscoat was applied by brushing ONCE in only 1 direction. This is to prevent the red paint from being disturbed.

If an area requires a 2nd coating of Glosscoat, the 2nd coat was applied the same way - brushing ONCE in only 1 direction with NO touch-ups until dry.

The glazing is next. There are 6 windows requiring glazing. The new windows will be held in place with glazing. Using canopy glue the piece of glazing removed for the model to be cut back was affixed  behind the 2 new windows plus the 2 windows to the left. This gave the piece of glazing a larger area to be glued plus this gave the new windows greater support.

For the remaining 2 windows a piece of 0.040" thick clear styrene was cut to size. A piece of masking tape was attached where the frosting was on the other pieces of glazing in the model. Using an emery board the clear styrene was scratched until it appeared as frosted as the other pieces of glazing. This piece of glazing was glued in place using canopy glue.

All the glazing was weighted down until the canopy glue cured. So the side was not scratched, the model was suspended over the work area. A box of parallels was used for weights.
 
The worse of the work is done. The next items are the exterior, non-roof items which need to be added. These are the items which make the 409 distinguishable from other Silverliners.
 
Cheers,
Ed


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