White hitting the hitches now, and base-coating the parts prepping for more brass. Still plenty of work to do.
The glass for the taillights is finished. Just need the clear red to dry and then I’ll glue them in their buckets.
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Nice work, Tim! Going to be spectacular!
Gary
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It’s been a couple of days, but you know I’ve been working.
All the harnesses, halters, straps, and collars have been finished. Three of five hitches are also done, along with three tongues.
Today has been primer and paint. All of the parts that will be brass are now wearing primer, and white had gone on the undercarriage. Unfortunately, Im going to have to do some cleanup and sanding on the front wheels and reapply tomorrow. All part of the experience.
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Looking at all those little parts laid out in primer makes me appreciate another challenge with this build that I hadn’t really thought about.
One of my least favorite parts of aircraft modeling is dealing with all the little pieces that have to be dealt with separately. Priming and painting a fuselage or a wing is easy. It’s all the little parts where you have to figure out how to hold them, spray every side and then put them somewhere without touching the fresh paint that drive me crazy.
Looking at what you’re doing here makes an aircraft seem easy. 
There are so many individual pieces that have to be painted before this whole thing can come together.
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There is a lot of detail work that is surprising to find. I’m coming to understand why we see so few of these in the wild. Deceptively challenging builds. But as each painting step gets finished, I’m that much closer to final assembly.
Obviously, it’s not going to make it to NordicCon this year. And I’m not sure I’ll take it to any shows now. Of course I’ve been shooting video of the progress and we’ll edit that together so everyone who wanted to see it finished can see it finally realized. But this push has been good for me, and I hope it helps others get through burnout or choose a model to finish off their shelf of doom.
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I can definitely understand the shelf-of-doom part of this.
I’ve got a couple of projects that reached that point where solving the next problem started feeling like more work than fun, and it becomes really easy to put them aside and move on to something else. Like sitting on the couch and watching TV instead.
But I’m also discovering that there’s something particularly satisfying about finally getting one of those difficult projects across the finish line. I’m going through a little of that myself right now—check out my Theater Stripe Saga thread if you want to see just how stubborn I can be about not letting a model win.
So if this one gets finished and manages to rescue another model or two from the shelf of doom afterward, I’d call that a pretty successful build.
Plus, it looks like it’s going to be great.
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Very nice work Tim. I recall working on the Borax 20 mule team kit as a kid and just throwing in the towel. Looking forward to the finished product. Do you have a presentation/display in mind?
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Wow, @keavdog, you just brought back a memory I probably haven’t thought about in 50 years.
My family took a trip to Death Valley when I was in about the third grade. My parents and grandparents all went, and my grandparents bought me that 20 Mule Team kit while we were there. I even remember that I had a cast on my arm at the time from breaking my elbow.
I remember coming home and building that kit. I haven’t thought about it in decades.
Funny how somebody can mention one old model and suddenly you’re right back there again.
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Thanks, John. I do have a final presentation idea for this, and that’s a whole other project. It’s too big to sit in an existing cabinet, so it will have to have its own case. Glass will be purchased this weekend.
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I’m curious how you’re planning to build the case, especially since you said you’re buying glass.
Are you going to have some kind of frame made for the glass, or are you planning to assemble the glass panels themselves somehow?
I ask because I may be heading toward the same problem with the P-47/Sherman diorama I’m planning. I’ve made plexiglass covers before, which are pretty straightforward, but I’ve never built one out of glass. I’d be interested to see how you’re going to do it.
When I start, I’ll make sure to share the process. Part of it is my wife is a stained glass artist, so we have all of the cutting and grinding tools in-house. Plexiglass is another option, but I’ve decided on glass. I’m still considering whether I will use brass or lead for the joins. But those are problems for future Tim. The model is my focus right now.
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That’s handy! Very much looking forward to seeing what you decide to do.
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No pics this morning. Yesterday ended up being tome spent sanding out blemishes in paint snd fixing spots where there was blushing on the red. None of that is too exciting.
I’m at NordicCon for next couple of days, so I’ll be away from the workbench. I hope to have some new progress shots on Sunday.
Have a good weekend! Go build something!
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Been mostly lurking this summer, but I have been following this build. Bummer it won’t make it to NordicCon tomorrow, but the work will certainly be worth it! All that tack is coming out awesome.
Hope to bump into you there, Tim. 
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Good to see you at NordicCon, Tom. Thanks for stopping by the by the booth to chat. Congrats on your awards!
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OMG! @Gavinrolstad My dude! Congrats on your Judges’ Choice and People’s Choice awards for your Lanc, AND your gold for it, too! Well deserved! It was good to see you at the show, too, even if only briefly.
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Yeah, that Lancaster was a head-turner!!
Nice to chat again Tim, thanks for taking the time. Gavin, next time, let’s make sure to meet up! I didn’t know what you looked like until, well, your third or fourth time up to the front to accept an award. 
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Chat, we have brass.
A quick test-fit to see if everything is still lining up.
Next, painting the black straps on the collars.
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Now I can see why you went through all the trouble of stripping the original finish and tracking down the Gaia brass. That really paid off. The brass looks excellent.
It’s also pretty cool seeing all these individual pieces you’ve been working on finally starting to come together as actual harnesses. I’m really looking forward to seeing them on the horses.
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