1/16 Katyusha

[vlpbruce]

Dicky: Thanks very much. It's good to have things rolling again.
Bones: Thank you too. The tire will probably take a little while. I think I will end up putting about 260 pieces on this one half. It's a good thing I will be casting all 22 tire halves I need to have.
Thanks again to all.

[wbill76]

Hope your time with Sam was productive Bruce!

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Bill. The time with sam was very good. I (we?) managed to figure quite a few things out. There should be another update on her very soon.

[Leon]

Really looking forward to your next update Bruce.

[Prop Duster]

I'm following this one with interest, anticipation, excitement, awe and amazement. Also with just the tiniest bit of jealousy,  feelings of inadequacy
and work bench envy.


Lead on! vlpbruce your minions await....me I'll just have a bite until the next installment

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Leon and Steve. There should be another update on her in a few days.

[ironhand6]

lookin good buddy! hope you guys stayed warmish during this past week.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Clint. It was tough, but we made it through all right. We ended up with about a foot of snow, and -40 wind chills.
I did get a fair amount done on the cab when we were snowed in. It should be ready for paint in a couple of weeks. I'll post some pictures of it in a few days (when I get some visible results).

[ironhand6]

cool(forgive the pun!)im glad you all came out ok. i heard that you guys got hammered pretty good, but the upside is we get some scratchtastic goodness from you.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Clint.  I did use the time to get a good jump on the cab roof.  It still needs a bit of cleaning up and adjusting, but I think it will work.

[wbill76]

Glad to hear you survived the Polar Vortex! Nice progress on the cab Bruce.

[bullardino]

Very nice, I suppose the framing is real wood.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Bill and Luigi. She's coming along well now (the mental block is over). The cab framing is wood (as the real one was). I think just enough of the grain will show up on the model to show it off.

[ironhand6]

Yep, lookin real good bruce.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Clint. I am making good progress on the cab right now. I should have a few pictures to post soon. We may get snowed in again tonight, so tomorrow might be a good day to build.

[Leon]

Bruce,Nice work on the cab roof.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Leon and Dicky. The picture is of an ancestor of mine.
I have been getting more done lately. The cab roof is on the back now. I have been putting the final details on the interior. It should be ready for green pretty soon. I also managed to get the steering wheel done, and I started putting the rivets on the rails.
Thank you all once more for your support.

[bullardino]

Very nice, Bruce. Keep up the awesome work

[Leon]

Some more great scratch work Bruce.This is coming along nicely.

[ironhand6]

nice work bruce. how did you keep the spacing even on your rivets?

[Teabone]

Bruce

More outstanding beautiful work on the Katy, the cab is a fine piece of work and I can never get a steering wheel to look that good.  No doubt the rivets are going to take a huge part you current build time but they will make the finished build when complete.

Bones

[vlpbruce]

Luigi: Thank you very much. She is coming along well now.
Leon: I thank you as well. She is coming along. I am pretty happy right now.
Clint: Lot's of time my friend. I probably permanently have screwed up my eyesight.
Bones: I can't thank you enough. I have about 2100 rivets to put on the rails, but I am getting there.

More pictures to come soon (I hope).

[vlpbruce]

Hi again everybody.  I have been taking advantage of the bad weather (cold and more snow) to get some good time in on Katy.  I got the exhaust done as well as the back and roof of the cab.  I still have a few details to put inside the cab, but they are minor.
Thank you again for everything.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Dicky. It's actually tubing. You are correct about the diameter and material.  I didn't use any heat, just a lot of time with my tubing bender.  Amazingly, I got it right on the first try!!!
Thanks again.

[Leon]

Nice work on the exhaust Bruce,looks really good.

[Teabone]

I didn't catch the aluminum piping, sure looks like aluminum.  I would assume that aluminum rod would would give you more flexibility in bending than tubing, I have avoided aluminum as it has never seemed to want to bend easily.  Good work on the pipes and the cab rivets.

Bones

[vlpbruce]

Thank you Leon and Bones. The exhaust is aluminum tubing (with a plastic muffler). I am still trying to figure out how I managed to bend it right (on the first try) without any kinks. 

[bullardino]

Great progress Bruce, the exhaust looks awesome.

[vlpbruce]

Thanks Luigi. I surprised myself on this one. I should have the interior of the cab ready for paint very soon. Pictures will be on the way.

[wbill76]

Good thing the weather's been poor lately Bruce otherwise we'd be deprived of a regular update! So does this mean we should be hoping for MORE cold/snow in your area?