I’ve just received my first Campbell kit and am getting ready to start and was wondering if anybody could give me any tips or pointers on assemblying the kit. I’ve built lots of styrene ones (detailed and kitbashed but I’m more interested in trying these types lately.
Any advice would be appreciated, anything from type of glue used (diluted white ?) to stains used etc, etc.
Cheers.
As with any wood kit, stain/paint/color all of the pieces before painting. Residue glue on wood will not accept stains. Use undiluted white glue like Elmers.
When I’ve done their kits, I’d always sort out all of the pieces for each section into piles of similar ones so they were easy to locate. Campbell colors the ends of the wood pieces to identify them (or at least they used to), but if you cut off the colored end you may not be able to identify which use it was intended for. So cut off the ends without the color!
I would check off each step in the instructions as I completed it by running a pencil mark through the instructions. So when I returned to the kit later I knew where to start.
One problem I had when I first built one of their kits was the inconsistancy of the instructions. Some places they would identify the pieces to be used by their actual dimensions - 1/16" by 3/32". Other times they would use the scale sizes - 6" by 10". This makes it hard when you’re new to this stuff!
I built their coaling tower, water tank, shed under construction, abandoned house, and a bunch more smaller ones that I don’t remember. I do remember that building these kits was a great learning experience, as I was later able to use their methods to scratchbuild my own structures. Much cheaper!
Good luck!
Bob Boudreau
Good Morning:
It’s not in the instructions but the first thing to do is enjoy this kit. It’ll give you many years of pride in having built it.
Bob left out one step in the glueing stage - put a small blob of white glue on a piece of pressboard or kit box and use a toothpick or small strip of wood to put it on small pieces.
I just put a check mark by the completed instruction in case I want to go back and re-read it.
If you are building sub-sections they don’t always have to built in the order in the instructions.
Beware - THESE KITS ARE ADDICTIVE
What kit do you have?
Have a blessed day
Bob
A good idea, but I found a better way a long time ago. I found in a shop a glue syringe, probably from a craft shop. You can put some white glue in it and apply just as much or as little as you want. It can be used with one hand, forcing the glue out with your palm on the plunger. The glue hardens on the tip after a while of no use, but it can easily be broken off. It stays good in the unit for quite some time before starting to harden.
The glue applicator is made of plastic and mine is marked “Monoject 412”. I only cost a few dollars and I found it to be very useful in assembling wood kits. It was especially useful when applying Campbell roofing shingles, as I could run a small bead of white glue all along a piece before applying. This works better that wetting the glue on the back of the shingles.
Bob Boudreau
Thanks for all the advice. I’ve got the Seebold & Sons Manufacturing kit. I’m impressed that the kit includes detail parts and castings as well. Some of the larger kits look like they would take some time to complete !! I’m lucky that where I work I can build my models on my breaks, which saves me lots of time at home. What types of paints or stains do you use? I’m looking for a weathered type of structure.
One more thing I found usefull is to get a nice flat piece of sturdy cardboard. Like a 12" x 12" piece, and also several pcs of wax papar and no less then 20 1" pins. You will find that putting down the cardboard followed by the template for the piece you are making followed by the wax paper. Laying the pics on the wax paper above the template and holding them down and plum with the pins will give you some nice pcs when dried. The wax paper will keep the glue off of the instructions. I also bought a small needle to get just the right amount of glue to the pcs. If you ever seen any of the videos By George Sellios on his railroad you cab get some great tips on weathering your Campbell kits. If you don’t have the videos just send me a blank tape and I can record the weathering tips for you. You have to see his weathering tec. to believe how easy it is.
Good Luck, Campbell makes some nice lits.
I would only add that I use smooth ceiling tile as a building board. These are some of the finast building kits on ther market…and have been for more years than I’d say. I bet there’s very few Campbell kits I’ve NOT built. Still have many on my layout.
Good Luck
Use solvent based stains (with ventilation of course) or alcohol and shoe dye for that old wood look. This will keep the wood from warping as much as water based stains. I have had good luck staining the wood and then putting it between two pieces of waxed paper and then putting a heavy book on top of it while it drys to keep the warping to a minimum. It also helps to stain both sides of flat wood like walls to keep them from warping as much. One other thing I would suggest is to get a couple of small squares to keep the walls square and some small but heavy weights to hold things in place while they dry. I use Elmers wood glue both the white and yellow kind for assembly. Like someone said above enjoy learning from building this kit. And yes craftmans kits are addictive and I love them!
I hope you don’t mind me joining in the conversation. I am impressed with the advice you have received. We look upon Campbell kits as a very good way to learn the ultimate capability; scratchbuilding. Campbell Scale Models recently moved to Central Point, Oregon from Durango Colorado. Leo Campbell the founder and creative force was quite sick last year but thankfully is on the mend. Starting in March of this year my wife and I moved the company to Central Point and are running the company on Leo’s behalf for the next two years. Please give me a call to discuss assembly techniques and suggested improvements. We have already received a number of ideas. I have been assembling the kits since the early 60’s and they are ADDICTIVE. Recently I have been using shoe leather dye (not shoe polish) diluted in alcohol to “age” the structures. Black gives a sun weathered light gray and Dark Brown give a rain weathered look. Red shoe dye gives a weathered “barn” look etc. Give it a try. The glue needle was an excellent suggestion and I would only add I use the Elmer’s White Glue at full strength on the wood structures and in diluted form with a couple drops of detergent for scenery. Michaels Craft Store sells a squeeze bottle with a needle attachment. Sometimes, I paint or “double stain” the corner posts of the structures to enhance the “outline”. Try using Scotch double sided sticky tape on top of the templates to hold the small pieces in place while the glue dries. Scotch makes two versions; permanent and temporary. The temporary has less holding power but it is easier to remove the part when the glue is dry. Xerox copies of the templates can often help but make sure you get a one to one copy. Sometimes you can pin the pieces while the glue dries but see if you can find acupunture needles because they are so fine they will not split the wood. Using undiluted white glue; the work can proceed quite quickly but when I am impatient I put the drawing, double sided tape and wood pieces in a microwave. Our number
Duncan
Do you guys have a website?
Thanks
Ed
Sorry; we do not have a web-site yet. As I mentioned in my previous reply we are very busy reestablishing full production while trying to fill new orders. You can see all our kits on the Walther’s web site. It is important to CSM to establish a chat room for discussing improvements, tricks of the trade, problems and solutions etc. Please keep an eye on our ads in MR to find out when our web-site will be launched. By the way someone already has the domain of CampbellScaleModels.com thereby blocking us from using our own name even though we have been in business for 44 years!