CHAPTER XXII
NOTES ON PAINTING THE TOYS
The tin toys should be painted with a good grade of enamel paint. Enamel paints have varnish mixed with them and dry hard and glossy and form a very durable and attractive finish for the toys.
There are several popular brands of these enamel paints on the market and almost any of them will give good results if properly applied.
Several colors should be purchased to start with, black, white, cherry red, chrome yellow, prussian or royal blue. With this assortment of colors, it is possible to get a variety of shades by mixing. A can of vermilion and a can of khaki-colored enamel paint, as well as small cans of gold and silver and bronze paint, will prove very handy additions to the above collection of colors. The vermilion, gold and silver paints are used to paint certain details of the toys that need to be emphasized.
Be sure to keep all the cans of paint tightly covered when not in use, so that the paint will not dry up and become thick and gummy from contact with the air.
Several paint brushes should be purchased at the paint dealers, the largest brush should be of soft hair about ½ inch wide, and the smallest brush a tiny pointed one for detail and line work. Always keep these brushes covered with turpentine after using them or wash them out immediately after by scrubbing them on a cake of soap with plenty of warm water.
Cut several small cans down to tray size and use them for mixing the paint.
Always stir up a can of paint before using it. Use a small stick for stirring and keep at it until the paint is thoroughly mixed. Enamel paints may be thinned with turpentine and a bottle of this should be kept on hand.
Do not use your paint too thick. It should be of such a consistency as to drip slowly from the brush before the brush is wiped against the side of the can to remove the surplus paint upon commencing the work.
Be sure to mix up enough paint to cover the entire surface to be painted if using mixed colors, as it is very difficult to mix a second batch of the same shade of color.
Think how you are going to apply your paint before starting. Try to plan your painting so that you will not have to work over a painted surface a second time until that surface is thoroughly dry. The paint should be applied smoothly with a brush. Just enough paint should be held in the brush so that it flows onto the tin without streaks of the tin showing through the paint.
Generally speaking, you should start at the top of a piece of work and paint down. Each fresh brush stroke should overlap the one above it and mop up any surplus paint of the former brush strokes.
Paint the intricate parts first and then the plain surfaces. For instance, when painting the aeroplane weathervane, use a small brush and paint the struts first, then paint around the bases and tops of the struts on the surface of the planes. Change the small brush for a larger one and flow more paint over the surface of the planes, gathering up the paint around the ends of the struts as you paint along.
When painting a large model, such as an army truck, and not being quite sure of the quantity of paint needed, mix up enough paint to paint all the parts of the model that show the most and leave such parts as the bottom of the frame and the inside of the body until last. If you have to mix up more paint for these last parts it will not matter if it is not exactly the same shade.
If you have not had very much experience in mixing and combining colors, it is generally better to use the different tints just as they come from the cans, without trying to mix them.
Do not use too many colors on one toy, but try to get a pleasing effect with two or three colors that look well together. For instance, a truck may be painted an olive green or khaki color over its entire surface, excepting the front of the radiator which should be painted with silver paint.
When the first coat of paint is thoroughly dry, lines of black may be painted about the body and various edges emphasized with black. The hubs of the wheels, the lamps, the rim of the steering wheel, and the filler cap on the radiator may all be painted black with good effect. The part of the wheels which is supposed to represent the tires should be painted a dark gray. (Gray may be made by mixing black and white together.)
Study the large trucks seen about the streets for inspiration. These large trucks are nearly always very simply and attractively painted.
Real locomotives are painted black at present, but a small toy locomotive looks much better if the wheels are painted red (vermilion). A red band may be painted about the top of the smokestack and the tin strips framing the cab windows should be painted red, as may the number of the engine, etc.
The whistle should be painted with gold paint and also the inside of the headlight, and broad lines may be painted about the boiler with gold to represent the straps seen about locomotive boilers.
Paint the tires of the engine wheels with silver paint. The driving rods may be painted either black or silver.
A toy locomotive thus painted will prove far more attractive to a child than if it is painted a plain black like a real locomotive.
Generally speaking, the toys should be painted one dominating color of an attractive tint and relieved or brightened with lines and certain details painted with a bright or contrasting color.
Always allow one coat of paint to dry thoroughly before painting on it again.
Tin toys may be baked in an oven when they are freshly painted. The baking dries the enamel paint very quickly and tends to make the paint dry very hard and smooth. The baking oven of a coal or gas range will do very well for the baking, but be very sure that the oven is not too hot, as a hot oven will cause the solder to melt and the toys to fall apart. It is better to leave the oven door opened slightly when baking the painted toys over a slow fire.
It is not necessary to bake the toys after painting as they may be simply left to dry in the air.
Always paint slowly and carefully. Toys that are attractively painted to match good construction are much more satisfactory than a well-made toy poorly painted.
INDEX
A
Aeroplane weathervane, 187-191
Ambulance body, 154, 155
Anvils, 40, 41
Appliances, shop, 39-43
Ash trays, 86-93
Assembling auto truck, 139-145
Auto truck, making, 107-145 army, 153-155 axles, 114 bodies, 146-156 cabs, 165 chassis, 118-126 coal truck, 152, 153 dash board, 135-138 drilling holes in wheel centers, 113, 114 fire engine, 155, 156 fittings, 161-165 hood, 127-134 horns, 163 lights, 161-163 mud guards, 160 radiator, 125-134 soldering filler cap on radiator, 132-134 soldering seat, 138 soldering wheels to axles, 141-143 starting crank, 157, 158 steering wheel, 159 street sprinkler, 151-153 tank truck, 151 tool boxes, 163, 164 vents or louvers in hood, 130-132 washers for axles, 143-145
Auto truck wheel centers, finding, 37, 38 wheel making, 107-118 wheel, making hole in center, 112-114
B
Bench, work, 41, 42
Bending strips of tin to design, 81-83 wire in vise, 157
Biscuit cutter, 44-53
Block, punching and forming, 50
Bodies, ambulance, 154, 155 auto truck, 146-156 coal, 152 different bodies fitted to same chassis, 149-156 fire engine, 155, 156 street sprinkler, 151, 152 tank, 151
Boats, 166-175 battleship, 171, 172 ferry, 172, 173 row, 166, 167 sail, 167, 168 scow, 167 tug, 169-171
Burns, remedy for, 26
C
Cabs, truck, 165
Cabs, locomotive, 176, 177
Camp equipment, 195-199 canteen, 196 coffee pot, 195 cooking pails, 196 frying pan, 196 hot water bottle, 196
Camp equipment, match box, 199 shower bath, 196-199 toaster, 196
Candlesticks, 94-99, 192, 193
Cars, railroad, 178-181
Charcoal and wood fires for heating soldering coppers, 59, 60
Chassis, forming truck, 118-126
Cleaning and scraping tin for soldering, 71-73 cans, 21-25
Connecting rods for locomotive, 177, 178
Cooky cutters, 79-85
Cuts, remedy for, 26
Cutting away surplus tin at can rims, 101, 102 holes in tin with chisel, 96, 97 into cans, 22-24 narrow strips of tin, 80, 81
Cylinders, locomotive, 177, 178
D
Dash boards, truck, 135-138
Dividers, spring, 33
Double cutting shears, 24
Drilling hole in wheel centers, 113, 114
E
Electrical soldering coppers, 60, 67, 68
F
Filing tin, 45, 46 the soldering copper, 63-65
Fire engine, 155, 156
Fittings for truck, 161-165
Flux, applying, 74
Fluxes for soldering, 55, 62-70
Folding tin by hand, 50, 51 hatchet stake, 123-125 vise, 123 wooden roofing folder, 120-123
Forming chassis for truck, 118-126 mallet, 42, 43 using, 87-91
Forming a wire handle, 105, 106
Frying pan, 196
G
Galvanized wire, sizes, 30 used for axles, 114
Gas furnace for heating soldering coppers, 58, 59
Gasoline torch for heating soldering coppers, 58, 59
H
Handle, forming for biscuit cutter, 49-53
Hatchet stake used for folding, 123-125
Heating apparatus for soldering coppers, 55-60 soldering coppers, 65-68
Hood, truck, 127-134
Horns, truck, 163
Hot water bottle, 196
I
Ice pick used as punch, 112, 113
K
“Killed” or soldering acid, making, 68-70
L
Laying out work, 32-39
Lantern, 192, 193
Lights, truck, 161, 162
Locomotive, 174-179 boiler, 176 cab, 176 connecting rods, 177, 178 cylinders, 177, 178 fittings, 178 frame, 174-177
Locomotive wheels, 177
Lugs for pail handle, 102-105
Lye bath, description, 20 used for cleaning cans, 72, 73
M
Marking awl, 32 off work, 32, 33 line around a can, 22
Match box, 199 holder and ash tray, 91-93
Materials needed aside from cans, 30
Mechanical toys, 182-191 aeroplane weathervane, 187-191 sandmills, 182 steam turbine and boiler, 182, 183 water wheels, 182 windmill, 187
Melting off can lids, 110, 111
Metal shears, 25
Mud guards for truck, 160
N
Notes on painting the toys, 206-210
O
Oil stove used for heating soldering coppers, 56-61
P
Painting tin can toys, 206-210
Paints used for tin can toys, 206
Points to remember about soldering, 75-77
Preparing cans for toy making, 20-22 toys for painting, 200-205
Punches, 47-49
Punching a hole in tin, 46-49
Punching holes with ice pick, 112, 113 holes in radiator, 129
R
Radiator, truck, 127-134
Riveting, 100, 103-105
Rivets, 30
Running boards, truck, 160, 161
S
Sandmills, 182
Sconces, wall, 192
Scrapers, 201, 202 home-made, 201 plumbers’ and roofers’, 201, 202
Scraping away surplus solder, 200-202
Seat, truck, 138
Sheet tin, 54
Shower bath, 196-199
Smokestack for locomotive, 178
Soft solder, 54 other methods of applying, 78
Soldering, 54-70 candlestick, 99 cleaning and scraping for, 71-73 cooky cutter, 83-85 filler cap on radiator, 132-134 heating apparatus for, 55-60 hood and radiator to truck chassis, 139 “Killed Acid,” making, 68-70 narrow strips of tin, 81-83 paste, 62, 63 other methods of applying, 78 points to remember about, 75-77 practice piece, 73-78 process, 55
Soldering, scraping away surplus solder, 200-202 soft solder, 54 strips of tin to flat piece 83 wheels to axles, 141-143 copper or “iron,” 60-62 cleaning with “killed acid,” 63-67 electrical, 60, 67, 68 filing, 63-65 fitting handle to, 62 heating, 65-68 tinning, 63-68
Springs, truck, 140, 141
Squaring up a piece of tin, 34, 35
Starting crank, 157, 158
Steam turbine, 182, 183
Steering wheel and column, 159
Street sprinkler, 151-153
Strip washers for axles, 143-145
Strips of tin, cutting, 36, 37, 80, 81
Supplementary tool list, 31, 32
Sugar scoop, 53
Surface gauge, using, 38, 39
T
Tank truck, 151
Tin cans used for toys, 19, 20 sheet, 54 strips, cutting, 36, 37, 80, 81
Tinning soldering copper, 61-68
Toaster, 196
Tool boxes for truck, 163, 164 lists and costs, 29-32
Tools, 28-32
Try square, 33, 34
Turbine, steam, 182, 183
Turning edges on round trays, 86-91
V
Vent holes for draining, 204, 205
Vents or Louvers, cutting in hood, 130-132
Vise, description, 39, 40 used for bending wire, 157 used for folding, 132
W
Washers, strip, for axles, 143-145
Water wheels, 182
Wheels, making, 107-118 axles for, 114 centers, finding, 37, 38 drilling holes in center, 113, 114 from tin cans with rolled-rim ends, 117, 118 from tin cans with soldered ends, 108-114 ice pick used for making holes in centers, 112, 113 locomotive, 177 sand, 182 soldering to axles, 141-143 water, 182 windmill, 187
Wire, galvanized, sizes, 30 used for wheel axles, 114
Wood chisel used for cutting tin, 131-132