Almost finished. But as always the last jobs still take a lot of time.
The final painting jobs before the assembly can be undertaken.
A black part is painted on the bottom two planks in the left lower corner.
The lines are 2 mm wide.
This black part is used to stick on destination papers of the wagonload (left box).
With chalk track numbers are written on the right; this shows the shunter were the wagon should be positioned for building up the train.
The floor is painted to resemble the individual planks.
On the real wagons the floor was only treated with hot linseed oil.
The inside is painted gray. In this case I've used a brush. I bought a brand new one: a sable hair brush. Expensive, but what a difference in painting. It's very smooth and brings on an even coat of paint.
Also the inside of the brakeman's cabin is painted gray.
The assembly of the frame starts with the sole bars. The frame extensions clip in to the end of the T-profiles.
The subframe for the brake gear is assembled on the workbench first.
An overview of the frame, with the major components installed.
With the wheels in place, an overall third coat of varnish is sprayed.
Fortunately the weather is good, so I can spray outside.
My son, who 3D-printed the Märklin logo, requested that it was painted in a different colour, so it stands out nicely.
Buffer heads and coupling hooks are blackened by heating them with a flame and dipping them in oil. This leaves a nice black coat on the metal.
After greasing and oiling all movable parts of the frame and brake gear, the wagon is on its wheels again.
The door hinges and locking mechanism are greased as well, for smooth operation.
According to the painting instructions of the real wagon, all the parts that are gripped by personnel, should be painted black. This is done with a small brush.
So the wagon is almost finished; a few parts like the lamp irons, coupling and windows are still to be made.
