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 Posted - February 17 2015 : 03:32:13 AM
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Any one here ever build a Ambroid wood kit? Any advice or pointers? Looking to buy and build the ACL water melon car kit. Plan on body mount Kadee's and metal trucks from Kadee.
" Heck with counting 'em rivets, TRAINS ARE FOR FUN! Not called the Mad Scientist for nothing either!"
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Posted - February 17 2015 : 07:20:01 AM
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One of my biggest hang-ups with wood kits is that without a sufficient amount of work, the 1:1 woodgrain is often still visible under any paint job put on them. While I know that "back in the day" these were what people had to work with, I've seen so many wood kits at shows that show the woodgrain through any paint or varnish attempts, and it just ruins the scale realism for me. I've got an Ambroid Helium car kit, and I doubt that I'll ever builld it, as it would be tough to seal the dowels to prevent the woodgrain from showing through. I'm sure there are some sealers out there that you can put on, and with sufficient multiple sandings, achieve a degree of realism, but I'm just not into that much work. One reason RTR was the big killer of kits, it jumped the realism bar very high, and no investment in time to build the kits. I know some hobbiests bemoan the loss of the kit industry, but it was always a specialized niche, and most people haven't the time nor inclination to do that much work. When done right, it's a joy to behold, but I'd rather spend my time mechanically tinkering, not detail sweating. 
Sorry, I'm not any help on this post, other than to claim that I also have an Ambroid kit, plus the walthers Piker and Oscar wood kits,too, but painting has not been on my list of skills to acquire yet. Perhaps some day, but most of my efforts are towards mechanically reviving engines these days.  Wish you luck on your efforts, getting it realistically correct will be a challenge. Hope yours turns out nicely.
Jerry the non-wood kit guy in VA
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - February 17 2015 : 12:59:33 PM
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I collect the built ones I find, but I've never come across an unbuilt kit I can afford and find the time to build. From what I've observed:
1 - Choose your glue wisely. Parts held on with Walthers Goo or rubber cement will come off eventually.
2 - Make DAMN sure everything's precisely square - I have one Ambroid Matheison Dry Ice reefer fully built and assembled w/ kadees, and one half-assembled in the box. I was hoping to finish it, but every bit of the outside bracing on the sides was crooked, and so was everything else. All I could do in the end was pirate the metal bits and call it a day.
3 - The same woodgrain issues Jerry brought up - part of me actually likes that effect, just for the vintage kit feel. It shows off that it's a wood kit that someone really put their heart into building well. But it certainly detracts from the realism a bit.
--CRC
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Posted - February 17 2015 : 3:21:44 PM
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quote:
3 - The same woodgrain issues Jerry brought up - part of me actually likes that effect, just for the vintage kit feel. It shows off that it's a wood kit that someone really put their heart into building well. But it certainly detracts from the realism a bit.
Originally posted by PRR 4800Â -Â February 17 2015Â :Â 12:59:33 PM
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The ACL watermelon car is a wood car, so the woodgrain will probably look great. :)
Also, despite their old-time appearance, the real cars ran into the 1960s at least, so you can put them behind diesels without fear of having your rivets counted. :)
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Posted - February 17 2015 : 5:56:45 PM
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I built a couple of wood kits many years ago and I have a few unbuilt kits.
One build in progress right now.
I use Ambroid glue. Hah!
I'm certain Titebond wood glue will do just fine. Typically these kits are made from Basswood.
Like PRR 4800 said, make sure everything is square. You may need to build a jig to hold the pieces. A very small T-square or machinist's square is pretty much a necessity. Or even those little 90 degree plastic things from school supplies.
I am using a magnetic building board for the first time with this build. It's very helpful.
As far as wood grain goes, I go along with PRR 4800's comments. If the woodgrain bothers you,
I have had good results with Sanding Sealer. Takes 4 or 5 coats and sanding, typically I use 400 grit, finish with 600 grit.
Edited by - NC shortlines on February 17 2015 6:08:29 PM
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Posted - February 22 2015 : 10:30:16 PM
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Hi Redneck Justin,
Where to begin.... Wow, I have built quite a few wood kits including several Ambroid kits. In fact, I did build the Watermelon car and while I was at it, I scratch-built one as well. Here is a link to my scratch built version.
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=24682&whichpage=1
Scroll down a bit to see it. I got 88 points at the 2007 NMRA National on it.
This is not a bad choice of model to start with. If you have a kit that includes decals, GOOD, if not, then you will have lots of fun matching the pre-painted sides. I did match the paint after mixing boxcar red and oxide red. I think the formula was something like 3 parts oxide red to 1 part boxcar red. But to make sure of a match try several times and make sure to match DRY paint and not wet paint.
A friend told me to use a wood sealer, but I haven't for years and was still happy with the results. Any decent wood sealer will work. Currently, when I remember to use it, I use Behr, water based acrylic sanding sealer. It comes highly recommended by the model airplane guys. I used to use Elmers white glue years ago, when I built a Quality Craft triple decker auto carrier, my first craftsman kit. I still have it and it is excellent condition after more than 40 years. However, I shifted to yellow glue, currently Titebond, and am happy with that. I have a friend who built EVERY Ambroid kit and he used Ambriod cement, so that works as well, but it is trickier to use, in my opinion.
Take your time and let the glue dry between working, so that things don't get moved while the glue is setting up. For wood to metal or plastic, I use a GOOD brand of CA. My choice is Loctitie, but other brands are good also. I do not recommend the bargain brand 4 for .99. You do get what you pay for.
As you work with the car, feel free to post here and I will try to follow along an answer any questions that arise.
Regards, Vic B.
Vic Bitleris
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