Custom mineral load

[playmofire]

I'm afraid that trains are taking over!  Here is a custom mineral load for the truck which comes with the 4010 train set:

http://www.playmodb.org/setpics/4010.jpg

(Picture from playmoDB)

The load is item 7843 from the DS catalogue:

http://www.playmobil.co.uk/on/demandware.store/Sites-GB-Site/en_GB/Product-Show?pid=7843&cgid=Ds_Eisenbahn

It's not ideal for using in a custom load as the pieces tend to be concave which reduces the area for putting glue on, but overall it's usable.

I thought for some time as to what to use for a base and finally came up with the idea of a polystyrene block.  This has the disadvantage of flaking badly when it's cut however, making the place look as if it's just snowed!.  I decided to see what happened if I first coated it with PVA adhesive which I used without diluting with water.



I coated top and bottom, the sides and the ends and then cut it with this knife which is designed for cutting frozen food:



I used the smoother (lower) side of the blade and sliced rather than sawed away at the polystyrene.  Although some bits flaked off, they were very few.

I coated the cut edges with PVA glue and then painted the top surface with Humbrol grey 32 once the PVA was dry:



To stick the load to the polystyrene, I put the cut polystyrene block in the truck, pushing it down so that the top was just below the top of the truck side.  (If you gently push it down, it stops when it comes up against the ends of the outer handles which stick out inside the truck.  (I'll post a photo of the inside of the truck later.)  Then I coated it with PVA glue and scattered the load over it.  This is where the size and hollow shape of the pieces can cause problems, but with care I found that most of the surface was covered.

(I'll have to stop here as it's time for lunch and then we're going out to the local miniature railway's 80th anniversary.)

[Bill Blackhurst]

Looking good so far Gordon! Can't wait to see how it looks completed!

[bonniebeth]

Yes, can't wait to see the finished product! You've left us in suspense.

[Wolf Knight]

This is most interesting Gordon! Cant wait for the result!!!

[playmofire]

Suspense ended, folks!  You may breathe again.   

Here's a picture of the inside of the truck showing how the outer handles (there are two per side) project through into the truck.  The polystyrene just needs to be pushing down so it is just below the top of the truck side and the higher point where the handle comes through the side will then be a few millimetres into the polystyrene.  You need to have the polystyrene below the top when glueing on the load otherwise bits of the load may project beyond the inside of the truck.



Once the PVA glue was dry, I took the load out of the truck (you need to open the side doors to do this) and turned it up upside down and shook off any loose pieces of the load.  I then lightly ran my hand over it to dislodge any pieces not properly stuck on.  Inevitably, there were some gaps to fill and I did this by sticking in individual pieces using thick superglue.

The final step was to make the load sit lower in the truck and I did this by enlarging the depressions in the sides of the polystyrene where the projections from the handles inside the truck had stuck into it.  This picture shows the enlarged depressions:



So this is how the finished load looked:



And in close-up:



And behind the loco:



Thanks for your interest and I'll post photos of the mineral train when I've made the loads for the other two trucks.  I hope the process doesn't sound too complicated in its later stages - it's just harder to explain than to do.

[Wolf Knight]

  brilliant!!! it looks so good!

[playmofire]

brilliant!!! it looks so good!

Thanks, Panos.

[Luis]

this is very Clever, Gordon. Thank you for sharing

[Rasputin]

Wow that is a lot easier, cheaper and lighter than filling the whole thing up with the coal. I actually looked into buying 50 pound sacks of recycled tires that are ground fine for landscaping. The only problem is that tires have felt strands in them that show up when ground up.

Great idea Gordon

[playmofire]

Thank you, Luis and Ras.   I, too, thought of buying enough of the Playmobil stuff, but the weight of three full trucks would have been appreciable, plus it would have been a lot to clear up if there were a derailment.