Stephenson's Rocket--Working Model

[lathe nut]

Brian that is cute look like two rocket launchers coming down the tracks, I bet that was an experience for people to rid on from the horse and buggy ride to the next town, thanks for sharing with us, Joe

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Looking back to my first post, I see that I started this project around the 07 of May. WoW!!--I've spent almost three months on this build.---and I've worked on it almost every day. That is a long time for me to spend on one model. I haven't done a lot of completely new stuff here, but I have certainly sharpened up a lot of skills that I never use very much. I checked my cad files today, and there are 70 drawings involved with building this. That sounds like a lot, but when you make a detail drawing of each individual part, plus all the assemblies and sub assemblies, it adds up very quickly. I still hope to find an operator and show the engine moving under it's own power, but the build is essentially finished. Thanks for looking.---Brian

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I just sold my first plan set for this engine. Now comes the tedious part---Opening each of the 70 drawings in Solidworks, then resaving them as .pdf files which can be opened without any special software. I used to have a piece of software that would do this automatically, but it never worked very well. Now I have something to do for the next couple of days.

 

[deeferdog]

That will look good with all your other engines, do you have any pictures of your entire collection? Must be quite something. Cheers, Peter.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Peter--I don't have pictures of all my engines together. I have four book cases full of them in my office, and my wife has two or three of them in our main floor bookcases. I have to have new flooring put down in my office, and while I have everything torn apart and cleaned out to lay the new floor, I will build some more shelving units to hold more engines.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

My local "Toys are us" store has pose-able wrestlers and soldiers in the scale I want for about $12 Canadian. They are very good, and I can pose the arms wherever I want to (He has to be able to hold onto a cross-bar that I will install so he doesn't fall off). I can turn a top hat from aluminum and paint it black. Only problem is that they are either naked from their wrestler trunks up, or they are wearing bulky armoured vests. Nobody in my house sews, so I can't just make a black waistcoat and dress the silly buggers. I might go up there tomorrow and have another look. I also made a discovery--the black paint I used on the Rocket is "low gloss" black. ---when it is applied from the spray can. If you spray some into a container and apply it with a small brush to "touch up" any areas, it dries with a glossy finish. I now have a shiny fire-box.

 

[LorenOtto]

Looking back to my first post, I see that I started this project around the 07 of May. WoW!!--I've spent almost three months on this build.---and I've worked on it almost every day. That is a long time for me to spend on one model. I haven't done a lot of completely new stuff here, but I have certainly sharpened up a lot of skills that I never use very much. I checked my cad files today, and there are 70 drawings involved with building this. That sounds like a lot, but when you make a detail drawing of each individual part, plus all the assemblies and sub assemblies, it adds up very quickly. I still hope to find an operator and show the engine moving under it's own power, but the build is essentially finished. Thanks for looking.---Brian

Brian, I have enjoyed following along on this build. A real pleasure.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

I got a driver!! He's a little too tall, but he has positionable arms and a full beard. I'm probably going to section a bit out of his legs to shorten him up, build him a top hat, and paint his upper body to look like a frock coat. Should be fun.--It's been a long time since I played with dollies.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Whatever his name was, it's now "Shorty". He was 7" tall. I just did a 1" section job by removing his knees. He isn't going to need to bend them while he's standing on the Rocket's platform.

 

[deeferdog]

That's the sort of body I'd like, but not at the cost of my knees! Nice one Brian. Cheers, Peter.

 

[Richard Hed]

Whatever his name was, it's now "Shorty". He was 7" tall. I just did a 1" section job by removing his knees. He isn't going to need to bend them while he's standing on the Rocket's platform.

I recognize him. That's James Longstreet.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

It only took a little time to make a fairly decent top hat from aluminum. The issue is that shorty's head wasn't exactly round, which made it difficult to fit the top hat. The solution to that was to grind the top of Shorty's head off on my big belt sander, down to a point where the top hat fit quite dashingly. I will epoxy a #10 bolt into the top of Shorties head and put a blind #10-40 tapped hole into the underside of the top hat (it is actually solid), so that it doesn't blow off on any of his high-speed runs. I lay in bed last night thinking of clothing as opposed to a paint-job, and have decided that it would be very little work to make a cloth cloak. The fingers from a ladies cloth glove might be about the right size to provide coat sleeves for him.

 

[Brian Rupnow]

Shorty got his legs back today. I drilled a 3/16" hole into his lower leg and his upper leg this morning, and used a 1" long metal dowel inserted into both sides with lots of 2 part epoxy. He is standing with a bit of a lean to one side right now, but I will fix that tomorrow with my belt sander. Shorty may get a "hot foot" out of the deal, but at least he will then be an "upright citizen"!!

 

[awake]

The lean makes it more realistic if the train is going around a curve.

 

[werowance]

how funny, looks like hes going to throw that 123 block or bench press it or something. good job on the top had. now just machine him some iron britches.

 

[Shopgeezer]

There are doll clothes online for various sizes of figurines. A bit of research should turn up a period coat with tails and ruffles.

 

[lathe nut]

Brian is that really you, and fooling us with that other picture of you, we will be forced to ask you to remove your shirt so we can check it out, that died hair had us fooled.

 

[Peter Twissell]

I hadn't noticed until now, but there is a certain resemblance. Perhaps the model should have it's hair and beard recoloured to match the builder.

 

[stanstocker]

I think a cigar is needed, sort of a Brunel standing by the anchor chains classic pic!

 

[Brian Rupnow]

When I was 37, my chest was bigger than my belly. Sadly, at 74 my belly is bigger than my chest. Even at my best I didn't have the muscles that my driver does.