NC&J:ABC Steam Elephant/Steam House

**cjwalas** · #1 (**permalink**) 08-04-2008, 05:54 PM

My choice for this challenge is the ABC model kit of Jules Verne's Steam Elephant and Steam House, sort of a horse and buggy idea.
I've started with the steam elephant as it's the easier of the two, only three pages. I figured if I started on the Steam House first, I might get easily discouraged and give up! As long as I get the elephant done, I'll be committed to finishing both models.
se1.jpg
I've done a number of ABC kits and most of them have been well designed and well-fitting. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be one of them. The leg cylinders only roughly fit, so while this elephant hasn't been challenging so far, it definitely fits the "no joy" aspect.
se2.jpg
I was surprised that the feet almost leveled out evenly as the legs themselves looked quite uneven as I built them.
I've finished the bottom half and started on the top;
Se3.jpg
As is typical with ABC models, the only visual instructions are a single diagram. As this one has a movable piece on it and I can't discern quite how it goes together yet, I'm not attaching the top until I understand a bit more of the moving head aspect.
I must say this is an interesting change from airplane kits!
Chris

**dansls1** · #2 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 08:01 AM

Good start. Looks like an interesting model for sure.

**Don Boose** · #3 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 03:27 PM

Looks great, so far, Chris. Definitely in a league with the Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Don

**cjwalas** · #4 (**permalink**) 08-05-2008, 09:20 PM

In my typical fashion, I got completely obsessed with the model today;
se4.jpg
There are four windows in the howdah and the kit supplies little pictures for the inside of three of them. The fourth one is for the ABC logo. I decided to replace it with a quick drawing of my own.

se5.jpg
The howdah went together much better than the elephant legs did. There was a little mismatch on the top of the dome, but nothing serious.

se6.jpg
Headless elephant with howdah. Attaching the top of the elephant to the bottom was a real struggle and it took some serious manhandling of cardstock. Even so, on the other side, there was one seam I couldn't keep together no matter what I did.

se7.jpg
The head was an interesting design and a bit of a challenge on its own. It's a number of odd bends and curves to get the form. Not how I would have designed and elephant head (if I could design anything!). I pulled my usual stunt of gluing pieces and leaving the room while they dried out of position. This is especially evident on the trunk;

se8.jpg
This is the finished model and you can see clearly where the cylinder at the base of the trunk dried out of place. Like the legs, the trunk cylinders were not the best fit. But the mistake is entirely my fault and shouldn't have happened. Hopefully, I can go back and fix it later.

se9.jpg
Here you can see the section of the forward backpiece that stretched open under the strain. It really was tough getting the piece in place. I reglued that section, but it just wouldn't hold. I think some paint is in order.

The action aspect of the model does work, but where I thought the head would rear back in a mighty jungle bellow, the head merely gives a little mechanical hiccup. It only takes pennies and smaller coins, though.

Anyway, so much for the easy part. This wound up being a bit more difficult than I expected, mainly because of the slight misfits. Now it's on to the hard part of the challenge...the Steam House. I have to say I am intimidated by the number of parts and this is the kind of modeling I'm least good at...lots and lots of straight lines, even folds and matching corners. I think I'll take a couple of days to go over the parts and plans in detail to make sure I understand what goes where before I start cutting!
Chris

**Don Boose** · #5 (**permalink**) 08-06-2008, 05:40 AM

Fast work, Chris.

The minor seams do not detract from the appearance of the steam elephant -- had you not mentioned them, I would have assumed they were a part of the mechanism of the creature.

I think it looks terrific.

Don