Hatches

I made my hatches wider then the ones I guesstimated from the Train Troll version .. I made mine to fit the plank width I had.

I thought about following the Train Troll version and make the hatches from wood but . hey .. I have my Prusa i3 MK3 FDM printer so I decided to print mine to look like metal. I am not that big on reality when modeling so .. metal it is.

I also printed off an ‘Opening Jig’ .. basically a rectangle the same size of the hatch openings I could use to file the openings to size.

I primered the hatch covers followed by vallejo Dark Grey then Rust washes.

I punched a series of ‘nailheads’ across the width to represent hidden ribs. I need to add more at least to the opening nearer the ends.

Angle Jig

The prow is angled back at 45°.

To sand that 45° angle precisely I made up a jig.

There is a slot that holds the board at 45° so the edge could be sanded down to the jig.

Here’s how the jig works .. using magic (Sketchup and Paint Shop Pro) to show how it works. Simple .. good example of using a FDM printer to make work much easier.

Post Cross Bollard

Photo from Train Troll website

I couldn’t get a really good photo of the bollards used on the Train Troll barge. They are called Post Cross Bollards. Just about as simple as a bollard can be.

Bollard Jig

My attempts to drill a hole straight and in the correct place varies .. usually not that well. I created a drilling jig to address that.

I created the jig in two parts so I could print them without any supports .. afterwards I glued them together with Weld-on 3.

Bits and Pieces

To drill the holes I only have to slip a 1/4″ square dowel into the jig and drill through the guide hole.

The holes for the cross bars are drilled to fit the fancy toothpicks shown.

Finished – Sorta Kinda

Well .. finished more or less or .. sorta kinda as I said. I haven’t glued in the bollards yet and the wood is completely unpainted. I will correct that but want to pick the right way and color.

Weathered Paint

.. and finally some paint. I used mostly (variation perhaps) the Chuck Doan method of weathering .. turpenoid, paint, wire brush and tape.

.. and .. am I finished? Perhaps not .. I came back over the painted surface with a darker red using a small brush. A very diluted white wash over the red .. perhaps .. to tone down? Donno .. will see.

… more Weathering

I thought that the surface was too garish to some extent so I went over the entire model with Builder In Scale Blackwood weathering solution. After this had dried I went over all surfaces of the model with steel wool and then sandpaper.

On the Layout

Just sitting for the photo .. no attempt to set it into the water yet .. some handy ‘junk’ for the photo.

I just realized looking at the photo that I need to provide something to tie it to the concrete wall … a nice rusty iron ring should work.

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