I took it apart last night and soaked the various parts of the mask in hot, soapy water overnight. Then today I cleaned up the mechanics and gave the machine a good going over with an air compressor. Next I printed up some decals. This afternoon I dried the parts to be resprayed, primed them, put on a plastic texture coat, and then (after some time pondering various colours) a top coat and the new decals. Here was me yesterday complaining about the heatwave we've had, and today I was appreciating the warm, still, fast-drying weather.
Anyway, the Remington is back together already and I think it looks fabulous.
Anyway, the Remington is back together already and I think it looks fabulous.
Here is what it looked like last night. Especially note the surface of the ribbon spool cover:
And here is the mask and other bits, taken apart and washed before priming. At this point I donned my Fallow Fields Writing Machine Company overalls and cap and got down to the serious work, the paint job:
The ammunition: from left, plastic texture coat, primer, top coat (I changed my mind about the colour several times):
A few hours later the reassembled result:
Finally, a test type ...
12 comments:
That is an absolutely superb result. I'd love to be able to perform a similar operation one day. I'm very impressed with the transformation.
Sweet machine! Needs some dice..,
Very nice transformation!
Oh my gosh! You were serious about the name! I'm flattered!
The color is a welcome burst of energy; this good typewriter suffered from drabness long enough.
The decals look excellent.
I love it, Robert. Well done.
'Fiddly Bits' - ha!
A+ for this, Robert! I want to steal this from you. ( :
Now that's one funky atomic Remington typewriter, alright! I love the decals; what kind of material you used to print them? A transfer paper of sorts? They look very good!
I cannot believe how quick the metamorphosis! I'd have dawdled and dabbled a good month at such an operation, and still probably with a lesser result. Fabulous!
A question and concern, however: were you able to preserve or restore the scale, or is it readable painted over with orange?
Thank you Ray, Scott, Bill, Richard. Duffy, Ton, Miguel and Doug.
To be honest, these photos don't do it justice. It looks even better in the flesh, really specky. I have found new feed rollers for it, as the original ones were very dry, and once I have replaced them I will begin typecasting with it.
I know what you mean about dice, Scott, your comment reminded me I used to live next door to a guy who had a hot rod in exactly this colour.
The decals are printed on decal paper made by Testors. I can't buy it in Australia any longer, so import it from the US (through eBay), which is just as cheap.
The decal on the Polt Challenger toy typewriter was actually made from cellophane, believe it or not!
So pleased Richard likes the Polt-Righter!
As for the scale, Doug, I use something like liquid paper or white shoe polish, smear it over the scale ridges, let it harden a bit, then wipe over the metal with a soft, damp cloth, leaving the white markings in the groves of the scale. It works very well. I sometimes use the same technique when I want to photograph hard-to-make-out serial numbers.
That, is very cool.
Got to get going on my paint jobs soon!
Bloody vandal! Looks a million dollars! Nice job. I reckon you could even turn a profit on that one :-)
Nice job you made with that typewriter. Do you know where I can find the Quiet-Riter decal? I looked through the web, but couldn't find it.
Thiago
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