Launching this year s model competition: Flatbed trailer in World War 1 livery

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1 Launching this year s model competition: Flatbed trailer in World War 1 livery Part One The drawings and instructions for building the trailer are in this magazine, the detail for painting will be in the next. Of course you are free to build and decorate as you like, but get it done and bring it to Dorset! You can use your own measurements, but if you follow these use either the imperial or metric, not both, as they might not agree. Materials Mountboard: Try your local framing shop for scraps. Card: Supermarket boxes are strong, pet food boxes tend to be thin and strong, but glossy surfaces may not glue as easily. MDF: Thin MDF is great for this but DO NOT inhale dust when cutting! Wheels: Try wheels from Hobby s catalogue ( or look on ebay Towbar / A-frame Try a wire coat hanger, or something a bit thicker. Planking: Coffee stirrers, lolly sticks, old wooden table mats or thin card (cereal packet) cut into strips will look realistic when painted. Glue: I used wood glue. Instructions Base: You need to begin by creating a sturdy base, one that won t flex or wear over time and stress when being pulled by your Mamod or Wilesco. I suggest putting three layers of mountboard together, 11ins x 4.5ins (28cm x 11cm). Leave the glued board under a weight to dry or it will warp! You could also use thicker card, MDF, wood, whatever you have available. When it s dry add a central board to reinforce it, 11ins x 2.75ins (28cm x 7cm). Glue these together and on to the underside of the base. Again leave to dry thoroughly under a weight. Front and Back Boards: Use two pieces of mountboard 4.75ins x 1.5ins (11.8cm x 4cm) for each end, glue together, weight and leave to dry. For the side boards repeat the above with pieces 11ins x 1.5ins (28cm x 4cm). I then covered the outsides of all four boards with trimmed coffee stirrers to look like they are built of planks. To finish the job really neatly glue stirrers across the tops of all four pieces. You could also plank the base, you will need wider pieces of wood for this to look real, lolly sticks would do well. Decide whether you want to fix the sides on the trailer or hinge them. If you want hinges, these are easily made from two strips of thin material glued along the length of both sides (see photo). You will need to devise a method of securing 7

2 them in place. Glue the head and tails boards on in line with the sides. Wheel and axle assembly: I have included two sets of instructions, easy, and more adventurous! Simple method: Cut two strong circles about 2.5ins (6cm) diameter (or four of mountboard and glue in pairs). These will form a simple turntable for your front wheels. Put a small nut and bolt or other fixing through the centre to allow them to turn. It is a good idea to put a piece of tracing paper, greaseproof, or even a bit of Vaseline between to ensure it turns easily. Attach two small blocks to the underside and fix your wheels and axle to them. Mount this at the front of your trailer on blocks to give your wheels enough clearance. Advanced method: Have a careful look at the pictures! Create two frames, these will carry your turntable rings. Make two rings from board, card wood or metal, about 2.5ins (6cm) diameter, 0.25ins (6mm) thick. Assemble your structure by gluing the rings onto your frames and then bolting the frames together. You then need to create leaf springs from card, wood or metal and attach these to your frame. They don t need to work! Gluing layers of card around a former works well. Remember to check that your wheels will be able to turn over the edge of the upper frame. Add a towing bar to the front of the lower section of your undercarriage assembly. For the rear wheels the most important thing is to make your trailer level. You need to carefully work out the position of your wheels/axle and then add leaf springs and blocks to make the trailer level. Hopefully you now have a trailer! Ideas for painting, embellishments etc. will be in Part Two in the next issue. An original War Department trailer. Photograph reproduced with kind permission from Colin Tyson, Old Glory. 8

3 Advanced Front Turntable Turntable assembly: Upper layer showing cut back corners to allow wheels to pass and position of turntable ring. Glue together upper frame/turntable/greaseproof and lower set. Make sure bolt is not too long to prevent fixing axle across leaf springs. Nut and bolt k Upper frame k Upper turntable k Layers of greaseproof k Lower turntable k Lower frame k Leaf spring k 9

4 Trailer base (partly planked) and sides. Simple undercarriage assembly. Trailer assembled showing fabric hinge. 10

5 Advanced alternative front turntable construction. Underneath of trailer ready for gluing. 11

6 Paint Job For Your Trailer Elaine Massey Hopefully you are all busy building your trailers about now ready for the model competition! (If you can t find the plans, look online or in the last Raising Steam) Obviously the first thing to do is paint your trailer grey. I have used acrylic, but even household paint, eg tester pot, will do the job. If you are mixing black and white then make sure you mix enough for each part as a change in mix will really show up. For the lettering, you can do it freehand, use a stencil, print it on your computer and cut it out, or even paint it in. I cheated and used a tippex pen I found in the drawer! Simple! Job done! Well, after that you could add all sorts of extras... Make a base for it to stand on, (and landscape it) add accessories like rope, chain, wheel chocks, tarpaulin, loads, or even distress your trailer with damage, knocks, mud, whatever you can think of.

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8 Special Competition Announcement Model Competition Starting this year you can also enter the SAC model competition by submitting photographs! If you cannot attend the Great Dorset Steam Fair in person, you can still enter the model competition by sending us photos of your model. You can send up to 10 photos, please make sure there are at least three of the finished model, and include photos showing the different stages of the build (so we can see how you ve built it!) We will put a selection of your photos on display at GDSF, alongside the usual model competition entries. (All your photos will be shown to the judges). Entries should be ed to: sac.webmster@ntet.co.uk Please include your name, age and membership number. You can tell us about any special features of your model. Entries, both physical and photographic will be judged at the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Winners will be announced at GDSF, on the SAC website, on Facebook and in Raising Steam. All entries to be received no later than Monday 24th August NOTE:- If you are intending to bring your model to GDSF as usual, there is no need to send photographs.