I built this wagon in a fit of creative enthusiasm at least a one weekend ago, and it’s been sitting on the shelf ever since. This is an experiment that’s been a long time in the offing: a 1:32 scale tippler. I’ve had a vague notion to build a 1:32 scale model since seeing pictures of Christopher Payne’s Paradise Mining, which happened to be just after I read Michael Palin’s book ‘Pole to Pole’ which contains this description of arriving in Longyearbyen, the main town of Spitzbergen after two days of snowmobiling over the mountains:
“Although we make fast progress towards Longyearbyen the weather hasn’t finished with us. Turning in to the broad valley that leads to the town we are hit full in the face by a blizzard of stinging wet snow… a hard and uncomfortable end to the ride.
After five and a half hours of travelling we see through the murk the first lights of Longyearbyen, and the snowmobiles screech clumsily along the wet highway.
It’s half past ten and we’ve reached our first town, 812 miles from the North Pole.”
(from “Pole to Pole” by Michael Palin, BBC Books)
The idea of a grimy coal railway in a barren snow-ridden landscape appealed and I’ve been making the odd doodle ever since. I don’t know when this project will take place, in fact I strongly suspect it’ll forever remain an idea for ‘one day’ as ephemeral as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, so this quick and easy project was more to get a bit of experience making models out of cardboard and recycled materials than a statement of serious intent, and this isn’t exactly how I envisaged the wagon to be, but considering that this started life as several ‘Krispy Flakes’ packets I’m pretty happy with it.
At some point I’ll get around to painting it.
Looks good. I imagine such a railway being electrified, but not sure whether or not the wires would freeze up!
As far north as it is, something like a Kellogs “Frosted Flakes” box would have been grand to make it out of
Details in card can be built up just like snow – layer by layer by layer.
Hey, ya gotta start with something.
For humidity stability here in Missouri summers thinned varnish or clear lacquer (whichever is on hand) is applied to card to seal and harden it.
Sometimes applied before cutting parts, sometimes after cutting, sometimes after assembling – but – much, much, easier to see pencilled cut lines Before applying varnish.
Remember to apply to cut edges to seal them.
Can’t tell what percentage thinner to varnish but likely half to three-fifths thinner when all is said and done.
Even after sealing with varnish, glues together just fine with Aleen’s Tacky white craft glue.
Wonder what would be equivalent where you are?