# Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Continuing with the 2005 Sam's Club coaches that I was last taking the Xmas decals off... 

Way back some time ago I came across a great tutorial by Jack Thompson on how to make a tarpaper roof using masking tape, CA glue, and paint. I dug that how to out recently and while my results are not up to Jack's level the technique is simple and it turned out fairly well given my level of ability (or inability ).

Out of the box you have the shiny plastic textured roof:










Jack's tutorial walked me though getting the masking tape on and sealed (shown here side by side with an untouched car):




















Some paint (grimy black then straight black for the "tar" strips) and it sures is an improvement. Do keep in mind that I am all thumbs with cameras and these pictures do not do the finished work justice):










And a side by side comparison:










Many thaks to Jack Thompson for taking the time to post the tutorial:

http://4largescale.com/Thompson/49.htm

and thanks to everyone on MLS who shares all their wonderful tips and know how on this great hobby.

Best,
TJ


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## chuckger (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi TJ,

Looks good to me, much much better than the stock paint job. I like the contrast between the gray roof and the black tar stripes. Nice job.

Chuck


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Chuck, 

> I like the contrast between the gray roof and the black tar stripes. Nice job. 

Thanks! I'm very pleased with this first effort. Jack's How To is wonderful and easy to follow. The pictures really do not do it justice. 

Best, 
TJ


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

That is a GREAT looking roof! What did you use to seal the masking tape?


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

> What did you use to seal the masking tape? 

Following Jack Thompson's guide (see the link at the end of my original post) I used Krazy Glue (a fairly common CA glue that comes with a handy brush applicator). Only difference is that Jack was able to find the "Change color" flavor that goes on purple and dries clear. I could not locate this locally and was too impatient to wait to order it over the internet so I used the clear stuff. The change color feature would certainly have helped given the large area I was trying to cover. But I think either works okay if you are careful and patient.

Best,
TJ


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Looks great, TJ..... Very nice job.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

TJ, Nice work. Jack's idea of using masking tape is certainly a viable one. However, in the October 1997 issue of Garden Railways, the late Lee Vande Visse, art director at MR, wrote an article entitiled "Finishing & Detailing a Bachmann Coach," which described using velum typing paper cut into 1-1/2 inch squares and glued to the roof, which was then painted with Grimy Black. I used this technique on my Bachmann combine and it looks pretty good. I'd post a photo, but since the car sat undusted on my living room floor for a couple of years, it has a natural coat of real dirt that needs to be cleaned off before I shoot and post a photo.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Stan, 

Thanks! Hope to work my way up to your level some day ! Really love that "short" line engine you did. 

Joe, 

I'd sure like to see a picture of that when you get the chance. 1997 is way before my time in the hobby. 

Best regards, 
TJ


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## Big65Dude (Jan 2, 2008)

TJ -

Let me add my congratulations and a hearty "Well done!" Glad I could be of some help.


"Jack T"


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Jack very nice . Alway nice to see someone take on a project and use ideas and how toos from another person. Later RJD


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jack,

I'm a big fan of your modeling work, thanks so much for going to the trouble of posting your how-to on this. You can't beat this hobby and MyLargeScale.com in particular for finding resources to help with any project.

Very best regards,
TJ


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## Richard Smith (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

TJ, 

Nice job on the roof. Really looks great! Thanks for the post. I've been contemplating lengthening a couple of Bachmann coaches just a bit. The joints are the hardest thing to conceal. Your technique looks like just the thing for the roofs.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Richard, 

> Your technique looks like just the thing for the roofs. 

Not my technique, I got the idea from Jack Thompson (http://4largescale.com/Thompson/49.htm). I just adopted it to my more beginner level. But it works great and would be just thing for hiding a joint in a lengthened car. Plus is just a much better roof than the shiny plastic that comes out of the box. 

Best, 
TJ


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## Bob Pero (Jan 13, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Your tarpaper roof makes the coach look very real. Nice work.


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## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

TJ, I finally cleaned off my combine and tacked down all the unsightly edges that had peeled back after the car satd around for three years. If the photo shows it, my roof done in Lee style, looks different than yours, which is done a la Jack, and looks neater. And, being tape, it will probaly last longer, although ya never know.

Meanwhile, for those of you interested in Lee's reroofing method, here's my combine photo. Sorry about the image quality, but resizing to 60K?! Barbaric.

BTW, in the Garden Railways article, it says to cut the paper into 1/2-inch squares. I'm sure it's meant to say "1-1/2 inch" because I tried it the other way and the pieces were way too small. Also, the paper I used is made by Mead and is called "Academie Tracing Paper." You stick it on with Elmer's or maybe Aalene's, then paint it Grimy Black.


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Joe, 

Thanks for sharing that picture. Very nice! 

Best, 
TJ


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

I decided that the new roof really called out for some detailing on the car. A little paint and the end decks look a bit better, I think.




















I certainly appreciate the comments and feedback on this ongoing project. One car down, one to go.

Best,
TJ


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Those look great! I recently redid a couple old bachmann cars myself and now I wish I'd done the roofs

One thing I re-did which I really liked was the clerestory windows. On mine they were pink, which looked really odd with the green color I chose. I replaced them with strips of clear styrene that I ran back and forth over a sanding drum





















But why didn't I think to paint the brake wheel! Now I'm inspired to get back to work on them


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

using masking tape is certainly a viable one. However, in the October 1997 issue of Garden Railways, the late Lee Vande Visse, art director at MR, wrote an article entitiled "Finishing & Detailing a Bachmann Coach," which described using velum typing paper cut into 1-1/2 inch squares and glued to the roof,


The other option is Kevin's (Mr EBT) - aluminum foil duct tape used by the a/c guys. I guess it has a different texture from the masking tape. See his coach #3 thread: 
*[url]http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/forumid/8/tpage/1/view/topic/postid/16587/Default.aspx#16587*[/url]* 
* 
And here's Mr K's pic of his roof:


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

What a difference TJ! Very nice. I'm going to have to give it a go sometime.


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## K27_463 (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

One of the important things to remember when doing this -since the roof is SO highly visible part of our models- is to NOT be too neat and uniform. I have studied the real car roofs in Golden, Durango, and so on, they are randomly patched with roofing tar, covering cracks, seams etc. Sometimes the canvas/tar roof has areas of differing vintage and hence a different color. Remember, these are primitive cars, designed in the 1800's and all the work is by hand, including all the various rebuilds and fixes over the last 100+ years. On a roof painted grimy black, a small brush with some engine black will make a great tar strip. 

Jonathan/EMW


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

is to NOT be too neat and uniform.


And there hangs the difference between an artist and an amateur. Making a not-so-neat roof look like you planned it, rather than you screwed up the neat roof, is definitely an artform!


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Lownote, 

Thanks! I really like how your windows came out. The Sam's set I'm working on (2005) have green tinted windows so they don't look too odd. But for future reference, how did you remove the pink plastic? I looked at removing the installed windows but they are solidly glued in on my set and removal would be a major undertaking. 

> But why didn't I think to paint the brake wheel! 

I like the way mine turned out. I wanted to keep the brass railing look, but I debated painting the pole it sits on. I'm not sure how one vertical black post would look... 

Pete, 

I considered K's aluminum foil duct tape method but that stuff strikes me as much harder to work with than masking tape which (along with Jack T's excellent step by step document for reference) I figured was more in line with my current skill level. 

Jim, 

> I'm going to have to give it a go sometime. 

It's actually been a pretty enjoyable exercise, although taking longer than I originally figured (which describes about everything I do in the hobby). I find that detailing and fiddling with the cars I have beats buying new stuff that I don't have anywhere to keep anyways . 

Best, 
TJ


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

*RE: Tarpaper coach roof (pics & thanks to Jack T.)*

Jonathan,

> On a roof painted grimy black, a small brush with some engine black will make a great tar strip

That's what I did with mine. I'm using acrylics from Michaels so I mix my own grimy black by mixing Delta's "black and Folk Art's "barnwood" about 2/3 to 1/3. Then just black for the strips.

Best,
TJ


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## Alan Aspinall (Jan 2, 2008)

Excellent photos. I really like the effect.

Isn't it odd though that the seams on the original car's roof run short-wise and not length-wise? They seem more likely to leak and would have more wind resistance. The wind would be more likely to pick up a seam and tear the fabric.

With a house the seams are run in the opposite way. Start at the lowest part of the roof go all the way across and move up one layer partially overlapping the first layer and so on to the peak. 

Alan in PA


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