S.A.&A.P. Wrecking Crane No. X2...THE BIG HOOK!

[SAFN SAAP]

Hey Y'all,

Taking a break from the wooden cars, as I'm waiting on parts (story of my life) and have begun S.A.&A.P. Wrecking Crane No. X2...THE BIG HOOK! She is a 120 Ton Brown Hoist and you guessed it, the perfect model for the Tichy version. Don't worry, I'll be weathering S.A.&A.P MW 127 Tank Car in a few days. But I needed to start something. So here it goes. I'll try to do a play by play. For now, here's a picture of the real McCoy sitting on the siding somewhere outside San Antonio.

More to come today!

Manny

[renapper]

Manny, I bought the Tichy crane probably 30 years ago, but have never gotten around to building it, especially after the first one was stolen from me by Stephen Priest. Do you happen to know if it has a Frisco Prototype?

[SAFN SAAP]

I do believe that the 120 Brownhoist were on board with the Frisco. I've seen a picture of it, but I'll have to find it. When I do, I'll post it up.

[SAFN SAAP]

I'm almost done with the base of the crane. This kit requires tons of patience to build and strict observance of the instructions. If you don't understand, read, and read again, and also look at pictures on line of the real rig and the model. That will help tremendously. Taking your time is important as there are a lot of small parts, two of which already exercised their "ping" power across the room. Thankfully I found both parts unscathed. Once I get the base done, she'll go into the ultrasonic cleaner for a Dawn Dishwashing bath to remove all the hand oils. She'll dry for a day or two then get her engine black painting. This kit is designed to be built and painted in stages. Tons of detail. Awesome kit, but like I said, it takes patience. Jim James will learn with this one!

[Jim James]

Sounds like a kit I could muck up real quick. Instructions? What are these instructions you speak of?

[SAFN SAAP]

Sounds like a kit I could muck up real quick. Instructions? What are these instructions you speak of?

Believe me. I'm struggling a little bit. The grab irons are plastic. Very fragile. Easy to muck up. Thank God they give you extras because I mucked 4 or 5 of them! Into the bath she goes!

[Jim James]

Is it finished yet? Heck, it's been 40 minutes already. I could've screwed up two kits by now!

[Jim James]

I need to buy some bulk mtal grab irons. Just to have on hand.

[SAFN SAAP]

You are NOT going to finish this kit in 40 minutes. The instructions say 6 to 8 hours. I'd say that's pushing it. The deck was the fun part. No comes all the little small parts, levers, pulleys, etc, that have to be thread. I need a drink.

[Jim James]

A little bit of the recipe to soothe the soul. I hear ya.

[SAFN SAAP]

Well, it's very humbling when you mess up. I built the entire boom and it looks great except I messed up on the pulley. There is supposed to be a double sided pulley on one end and a single on the other. I totally missed it in the instructions. I can't take the boom apart, nor can I fix the pulley, so I'll be calling Tichy in the morning to get four, yes, I said, four replacement sprues. Alas, I will not ditch the fubbed up boom. I will place it in the yard on the ground near the shops as a replacement. Excellent scenery footage.

So, tomorrow I will finish assembling the deck, and will paint it accordingly. Lesson learned. I definitely am going to get another one of these to do one in Frisco colors!

[SAFN SAAP]

Yay! I was able to fix it. No need to get new parts! Nothing broke. Everything is the way it is supposed to be! Yay! More progress tomorrow.

Helpful tip to anyone who may try the kit. Make sure you fully understand the pulley set-up on this rig. There are many pulleys to assemble and it is very easy to miss one. Thank God that I was, with His help, able to fix my boom without difficulties or broken parts. Last picture shows the pulley that was messed up and that I was able to fix. It was the small pulley side I left off, and the orientation of the pulleys was wrong. Double on the left, and I originally had it on the right. "Pay attention stupid!", I said to myself.

There is some slop on the pulleys that will be cleaned up tomorrow. I'm letting the glue set for the night.

Night y'all.

[Jim James]

I knew you would figure something out and save the day. Shucks, you'll be scratchbuilding dragline buckets before long. Keep up the methodical work and have fun running the rigging. That's gonna suck. Thanks for this photo journal of your build.

[Jim James]

Are we there yet?

[SAFN SAAP]

LOL...You're funny. I got a little work done today. The main hook and secondary hook assemblies are complete. The main body of the cab is completed. Those parts are in the ultrasonic wash right now. I will soon be starting the main control deck. This is going to be a slow process, as each part has to be assembled to a point then painted before final assembly. Time for me to start thinking of colors, etc., that I want to use. When I say colors, I'm thinking of metallic surfaces, and reds, green's, blue's for the control handles. Things like that. Pieces are going to have to be painted and weathered before assembly because it will not work otherwise. Too many parts on top of one another to do otherwise.

I'll post up pictures of tonights progress soon. We just got power back from a day of high winds. They shut the systems down out of prevention.

[SAFN SAAP]

Almost finished with the last assembly before everything can be painted. I'll get you pics tonight. I give you my word. This kit is awesome, but not for the feint of heart. What an awesome big hook!

[SAFN SAAP]

Dang tweezers! I got snagged by the "ping" and off went the smallest part into "Parts never to be found land." Now I have to call Heather in the morning and get the part shipped. Drat, drat, and triple drat!

[Jim James]

Ohhh! Nothing more frustrating. What part was it? Can't form a replacement from wire or styrene?

[SAFN SAAP]

Nope. It's the check valve piston off the steam chest. It has to be there.

[SAFN SAAP]

Alrighty,

All the major construction is done and some painting can begin tonight. Other pieces will be getting an ultrasonic bath to remove fingerprints. Here are the pictures of the sub assemblies. As you can see, a lot of small, delicate parts. I'll need to take my time in painting, as I want to detail this out. I know everyone likes solid black, but I like to see some variances. Metallic silver for the cables, then weathered with rust and grease. Control handles red, green, yellow, blue. Gear teeth shiny, and greasy. I even think that the boiler should be bronzed out, instead of flat black. But I'll think on that one. I know this is MOW equipment and little was spared in terms of painting, but a little detail is better than none!

Here are the pics.

[Jim James]

Lookin good. Nice castings and clean assembly job. Should a playground for weathering.

[Sirfoldalot]

That is a NEAT model. I like your ideas for weathering.

[SAFN SAAP]

Thanks Sherrel. I appreciate the support.

This is why I love Tichy Train Group. Spoke with Heather and they're sending me the P sprue at no cost. Awesome customer service.

Switching gears and am starting to weather the tank car. I'll also be doing some painting today on what I can with the hoist.

[SAFN SAAP]

Delays: Waiting on replacement part from Tichy and my Kimberly Clarke gloves to arrive. No oily prints on this job!

[Sirfoldalot]

Naaah... We sure don't want any oil on a tank car ...LOL slapping my face.