Hi all,
I have started on a 1:76 scale narrow gauge coach, which will be from a fictitious meter gauge line somewhere in a mountainous region of a 'European' country. The design is vaguely based on stock from the Rhaetian railway I travelled on last summer and other narrow gauge lines in Slovakia and Wales, with a slightly older feel to the design; no connecting corridor or toilet on this, low seats and no AC. It's the kind of railway that is neither entirely for tourists nor just a functional line for locals. As much as the size allows, I intend this model to have some moving parts, so that doors and windows can open.
The parts sheets were drawn in Inkscape with a lot of back and forth on the calculator to get the measurements correct. Printed on some light card as there will be an internal frame for reinforcement. The next sheet of parts will be done once I can take measurements from these parts in sub-assemblies. I need, for example, to work out if the coach is wide enough that 2+2 seating is viable.
The eagle-eyed might have spotted that the internal walls are the same dimensions as the external, which would seem to create awkward gaps outside when built up, but I intend to create rounded corners using some kind of filler part, so this is quite intentional. We'll see how this goes...
First to be assembled is the underframe. Some thick bits of double-layer corregated card from a box were liberally coated in sealant and attached to the beams, with additional strips along the sides. It's a pretty stiff structure once everything has dried and more sealant has been used to plug gaps. The fact that some card strips overhang slightly actually creates a nice 'welded' look once painted with a couple of layers:
Rough painting with a mixture of black, white and a tiny bit of sealant was used for a weathered metallic finish. I might go over with a pencil and some fixative too to enhance this.