Hey thanks Zuleski & I refer you to my 19th April opening para about my first name vs last name! Hi Paul, yes having looked at the clip about Kneadatite it could be the most practical proposition – I’d knead hoho to check it has more flexibility than (say) Milliput but it should if resin-based. I imagine making up a few mo*lds – like rubber stamps – with different “negative” cobble patterns (straight, curving, edges etc) and pressing them into the layer of stuff in small sections laid between/around the tram tracks. The guy selling it talked about wetting the fingers to avoid adhesion (like when using Milliput) so I’d also need to check that dipping the mo*ld-stamp in water before each pressing worked OK – or maybe it would be smarter to use an atomizer to spray the surface instead.

Then there’s the cost, but I wouldn’t expect to need a layer thicker than c. 2mm so it should go a long way. Thanks for the tip, maybe now I can sleep through again!

More excellent Timsmithing scratching going on , love it !!
I have obtained more knowledge following on your build about this particular event in time from you and the collaboration of others than any one history book or Google search .
Very cool reading the history and watching the build unfold !!!

Thanks for reply Tim on my Schwerlastwagen topic. Talking about the tracks, even worse, the switches you will have to build. This might be very useful:
http://www.buntbahn.de/modellbau/viewtopic.php?t=11448&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=10
The man is a genius scratch builder. He explains how to build a tramway rail track and switch, showing lots of examples.
For us, in plastic welding society, a lot can be adjusted for the clean picture of Diorama. To dig real deep (if interested) click the blue posting link.

Keep digging and kind regards,

Robert Jan

Thanks Robert Jan that’s a fascinating and scary link - I was surprised he was 3D-printing way back in 2013, how time flies. Maybe I’m just lucky or unobservant but I can’t see any switches in available photos of the scene - I guess there must be some there but until/unless I can see ‘em they’ll stay in our imaginations – I have enough nightmares about the overhead cable matrices, can’t avoid those

Thanks Glenn I’m not done learning stuff either e.g. Exhibit 943: when I posted the last of those 4 streetscapes last week and re-read the German investigator’s notes written on it I finally realized the implications. They show that Kubis’ bike (furthest away) was abandoned in situ with the briefcase containing a spare grenade & fuses. The left-hand note indicates where Gabcik’s bike was parked, the point being that when Kubis ran between the tram & trailer to escape (firing his Colt into the air to clear the panicking disembarking passengers out of his way) he pedaled away on Gabcik’s bike - understandable because it was closer and unladen. Whatever Gabcik thought about his mate hi-jacking his ride, once he’d decided he was never going to un-jam his Sten it certainly explains why he didn’t attempt to sprint all the way across to Kubis’s bike, with Heydrich closing on him (if he’d only known Heydrich’s pistol was not loaded at all) and chauffeur Klein chasing Kubis in the general direction of both bikes; instead he chose to run all the way back up the long hill.

But I still don’t get (1) why both agents parked their bikes so far away? They ended up standing around suspiciously without any cover for well over an hour waiting for the delayed Heydrich’s limo, about 20 metres apart from each other and 30 to 40 metres from their bikes. So many reasons for having their bikes with them, including the pretense of bike maintenance. (2) why Kubis (and Gabcik) didn’t finish the job immediately with their pistols instead of fleeing (3) or why Kubis didn’t turn and shoot Klein (who’d just accidentally ejected his Walther’s magazine onto the road) lumbering after him, rather than fire into the air? He (Kubis) did have a shrapnel head wound & blood running down his face so maybe he just couldn’t see well enough to aim - as far as I can work out there wouldn’t have been any bystanders in the line of fire.

Incidentally I doubt Heydrich knew the pistol in his door-pocket wasn’t loaded until he tried using it, otherwise it’s unlikely he would have ordered Klein to stop the car to chase the would-be assassins down. So his “collapse” on the sidewalk & ordering Klein to continue the pursuit was maybe less about his wound and more about finding himself defenceless - just like Kubis, Gabcik had no idea his adversary was also a sitting duck.

Well it’s all academic & the final fatal outcome (for Heydrich and the agents) would have been exactly the same. (All information above derived from Pannewitz’s memoir of his own police report)

I’m out of town until next week, so time for some quiet reflection…









…or rather the lack thereof. The late morning sun was about right for Anthropoid-time, the trailer positions about right for final photography, all 24 windows & 8 doors & inner roof dry-fitted in place…so where are all the reflections that afflict every shot of the real thing?? Obviously I’d have got some with the sun behind me but that’s not how it was. If there be bulkheads maybe the glass in them might light it up a bit but even so I’m not sure whether to be pleased the glass is perfectly transparent, or ticked off that the lack of reflections prevents taking any liberties with the interior details.

Talking of which, hopefully I’ll have something to show by the time I get back

Magnificent scratchbuilding buddy,
J

Outstanding modeling. A real beauty this wagon.

Kind regards,

Robert Jan

Really beautiful work! I often wonder if the MiniArt folks are watching this.
...🚋

Cheers!🍺
—mike

Thanks so much guys & yes Mike it’s crossed my mind too – we all know what’ll probably happen, they’ll announce an Anthropoid limited edition 24 hours after I’ve finished the s/build...

So I was just packing then to go away when…bleep bleep incoming encrypted message from Agent Vida via my Spy vs Spy Optivisor HUD…



OK I’ll decrypt that later…..



Uh-huh….



Uh-oh…



You used your laser-cutting what…??



No way!



Whaaa?!...



Unbelievable!!



Mission accomplished & in the blink of an eye she was gone. My eternal gratitude to her & my other heroine Agent Dasha; as they say it’s not what you know….

So let’s see…yep pretty much nil points for guessing what it looked like inside. The most important sentence of the text is the penultimate one - trailer 624 has been restored to its appearance in the 1930s, the original 1909 glazed bulkheads & sliding doors, and the alternative seating arrangements I’d already gambled on building, were all ripped out in 1913. Back to the drawing board next week…

You appear to have run into the cardinal law of scratchbuilding which states "Thou shalt findeth the missing reference when thou dost completest thy build".

Sorry man,but the law is the law,
J

Hmm interesting, thanks to all lurkers for checking in – nearly 4,000 views in a week?! Must be all enjoying some schadenfreude regarding my deluded version of 624’s interior, & maybe others are taking cover from the crossfire on the AFV forum. I know I am, but at least this full moon will soon wane. Anyhow, as if this build hasn’t been challenging enough the de-scratching/re-scratching has taken it to a new level of pain. I didn’t bother photographing the destructive phases & tended to get into a trance (or chew up too much real furniture) while rebuilding, so image-lite today. Trance-inducing groove de jour…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzTWeArdLik

The ghost of Jim Morrison lives on & yeah maybe some inspiration for my civilian figures right there…I was talking about the crowd below, now focus…remember those beautiful, fabulous back-to-back pairs of benches I made with all that intricate masking & painting?…



*sob* (in every sense)



…so why didn’t I just build afresh from some Evergreen v-groove? Because the thickness of that particular grove-width sheet makes it very hard to bend “inside”, and trying to join two cut strips to make the curve is…well, beyond me. And remember those nice smooth rib-less ceiling panels that took so much measuring/cutting?….



Sit rep:



From the back – the slatted curved wall-panels in the cabs now replaced with smooth, and the compartment window frames amended on the insides. The eight doors’ inside panels & the two bulkhead cross-pieces are ready for masking - check out Vida’s pics, fun it will not be. Benches (& their end-pieces) also ready for masking/re-painting, and there I finally reached my limit of endurance - the 1:1 benches have 4 legs/metal braces but mine have 5, and also the reconstituted one’s a few m.m. shorter than the other one. So bite me, but if you’re still awake consider what would be involved in making those changes. My defense: field mods/repairs. And lastly the new ceiling’s ready for painting with and a bunch of detailing to come, lights, handles, vents etc.

Scary thought – this coming week I should finish this final interior which means I need to start road-testing shades of red

I've got faith in ya , I've seen your skills !!!


https://youtu.be/EGtjT1Wi5GY

Shaking all over from laughing, that was a long time ago

“de-scratching/re-scratching”... double the work at twice the fun!🤪
Cheers!🍺
—mike

Just a thought Tim , this pic. got me thinking , which my wife considers a felony , about finishing the benches .
When you do figure their placement , you could have shiney , lacquered non trafficiy areas on the bench and butt and back worn matt wood areas where the passengers have worn away the finish .

Just havin me coffee and spitballin here ...........

Workin’ on it…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WisUYRRO4VE

OUCH!!! Was that his actual sound of his ribcage crunching?
J

Like the sound of styrene, snapping after an utmost perfect cut with a blade 11.

SOS guys- if you keep a spares box please let me know if you’ve got 2 of these lying around, or if you know of an aftermarket set that looks like ‘em – they need to be about 5mm diameter…





They’re close enough to artillery elevation/traversing wheels (or railway wagon parts?) but MiniArt doesn't supply them in the Tram kit, I got nothing in my spares, & Google searches have failed probably because I’m not using the right key words. Plastic, brass, resin, anything will do.

What about these, Tim ?


There are 32 parts in the set below but no dimensions are given on the Resicast website (where this set has a new item number - 354401) ...



H.P.

Hello. Wanted to throw out an idea. I have never ordered any of these from SHAPEWAYS Railhead Products by Michael Collyer but they look similar to your photos.
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/railheadproducts


Since this is a 3D printed resin vendor, I wonder if he would modifiy the computer model of these wheels to more exactly match your needs?

I have had good luck when I have requested a change in scale or minor changes to others selling on Shapeways. Just a thought. Really enjoying following your work. Best of luck. - Stuart

Hey Tim,
Gotcha' covered, brother!... Weighing-in at exactly 5mm diameter.📏
Shoot me a PM with your info. and I'll get 'em sailing to Australia ASAP.



Solid!✊🏽
—mike

Many thanks H.P. & Stuart for the viable suggestions – my railroad mate’s cycling across Belgium the last I heard (he’s only 81) & away for weeks to come, so local 3D printing wasn’t an option. But I think you’d agree Mike’s offer beats all, talk about being blown away…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSbBvKaM6sk

Mike – thanks so much, message in your inbox & welcome to this project’s list of Credits & Contributors

I agree Tim. Montana is renowned for its 5mm hand wheels

Well done Mike !

H.P