for the overlay, and manually impressed rivets with a scriber.
The great advantage of the transparency is that you can posi-
tion graph paper underneath, to guide the formation of exactly
spaced and aligned rivets.
For supports, I cut two from 1/8" balsa sheet, with an upper
radius to fit the tank. I painted these a concrete color, as shown
in (20).
The rivet-impressed overlay sheets were glued to the paper tube
with canopy glue. Then I sprayed the finished tank with gray
primer, and it is shown on the supports in (21). The finish color
was silver, followed by weathering with acrylic washes.
The propane tank
Propane was a
relatively new fuel
in 1953, but some
dealers in rural
areas were begin-
ning to supply it.
I decided to add
such a capability
to my bulk plant.
I began with a
length of Plastruct
tubing, 7/8"
diameter, which
I cut to about a
6-1/2" length.
Plastruct makes
hemispherical
ends for this tube
diameter, part no.
VHH-28, so I purchased
a set of those and added
them to the tubing, using
Plastruct’s own Plastic
Weld cement.
Plastruct also offers tank
supports for this diameter
tubing, part no. VS-28, and
I added those also. To get
them all aligned, I drew a
lengthwise line approxi-
mately at the tank bottom,
and lined up the supports
touching that line. The
tank at this point is shown
in (22).
The tank color was
planned as the same silver as the other tankage, so I airbrushed
this tank that color along with the other tanks. Prototype tank
supports like the ones on this model are often concrete, and I
decided to make mine look that way too. I used a mix of light
gray with a bit of brown to get a tawny look, a color which
reflects the color of the sand used to make the concrete.
Propane unloading platform
A high-pressure tank car, in which products like propane are
shipped, had in the transition era a tank-top structure some
modelers might assume was an expansion dome, but which
was in fact a valve housing. Inside it are the attachment points
19: Completed, painted and weath-
ered tanks are attached to the base,
with walkways and the stile remain-
ing to be attached.
19
20: Supports for the horizon-
tal tank, cut from balsa sheet,
sanded smooth, and painted.
20
Getting Real Column - 12
MRH-Mar 2014
