Timberkits The Magician
I believe The Magician was new for 2014. This was one of the more intricate models I've built. I spent a lot of extra time on this kit trying to get it all just right. In the end it's a neat kit and well worth the effort. Below are some tips and fixes I found along the way. I highly recommend not rushing assembly. Check and recheck every step before moving on to the next.
--EXTERNAL LINK-- Click image to go to YouTube video of finished model.
Finished model.
Finished model.
Finished model.
Box and parts.
The instructions were great. Instead of the usual line drawings, this kit came with a full color booklet.
Instructions.
Instructions.
The instructions did not provide specific dimensions for the 20 or so spacers. Many of the spacers look similar, but have subtle differences in length. The only way to be sure of which was which was to match part numbers with positions on the parts tray. Be careful when removing the packing tape from the parts trays. Keep all the spacers in their original tray positions until instructed to use them.
Don't get the spacers mixed up!
Don't get the spacers mixed up!
I was concerned that the Geneva wheels could be a source of binding. I used a sanding stick to create bevels at each slot on the driven wheel. In the event of any misalignment my hope was that the bevels would funnel the drive wheel's pin into the driven wheel's slot. In the end the model worked fine so it's hard to say if this modification was worthwhile.
Geneva driven wheel with beveled slots.
Close-up of Geneva driven wheel with beveled slots.
I'm not a fan of painting these Timberkits models. I prefer plain wood. But in this case I wanted to emphasize that The Magician is presenting four different tricks. So I painted each trick a different contrasting color. I wasn't trying to be artistic, I just wanted to emphasize the contrast from one trick to the next. I had some concern about warping the magic wheel. So before applying any color I sprayed several light coats of Testors Dullcote on both sides of the part. Then I brush applied color using Testors enamel paints. I used painter's tape to create a sharp line at the base of each trick. The magic wheel is reversible so there are two opportunities to paint the tricks. I was happy with my first attempt.
Unpainted side of the magic wheel.
Painted side of the magic wheel.
As I contemplated final assembly of the model I found what I thought might be a fatal mistake... I managed to glue cam 26 opposite to its correct orientation. As it was The Magician would have opened his arms as the magic wheel rotated. I'd have the most talentless magician ever! Luckily I was able to break the glue bond without breaking anything else. First I clamped the shaft in a vice and used a razor saw to carefully cut the glue bond (without cutting the shaft) between cam 26 and its adjacent spacer. Then I was able to twist the cam from the shaft.
Cutting the bond between cam 26 and its adjacent spacer.
Cam 26 has been twisted loose and is ready to be properly positioned.
Also during final assembly I noticed that I could not position part 20 in a perfectly perpendicular orientation without a significant gap between parts 20 and 4. I decided to shorten the upper magic wheel shaft by cutting about 2 mm off the front of the shaft. With the shortened shaft I could glue the joint between parts 20 and 4 both tight and square.
Squaring parts 20 and 4 left a gap at the joint.
I cut about 2 mm off the front of the magic wheel shaft.
Now the joint between parts 20 and 4 is both tight and square.
Having assembled parts 20 and 4 I found that the magic wheel shaft was still running a little tight between part 20 and the table front part 14. I should have cut 3 mm off the front of the magic wheel shaft. But the glue was dry and it was too late to go back. Instead I used a hacksaw blade to thin the spacer inside part 20. The trick was to thin the spacer without cutting through the shaft. With a blade-width of wiggle room, the shaft ran free.
Using a hacksaw blade to thin the spacer inside part 20.
Having thinned the spacer, the shaft was no longer jammed too tightly against the table front.
It looked to me like the model was going to be top-heavy. I found a wood block with a pre-beveled edge at a craft store. I simply glued the model to the block.
A craft store wood block for a base.
Despite my efforts to get the magic wheel glued square to its shaft, I ended up with a bit of a wobble. The model would have worked, but I decided to play it safe and enlarge the slot in the table top. Sometimes these models change as the wood ages. It's best to have a margin of error. The original slot was about 6 mm wide. I enlarged it to about 10 mm using a scroll saw. Before turning on the saw I traced the table top on a piece of paper. Had I completely screwed up the cuts I would have had a template to reproduce a new part.
Table top with original slot.
Table top with enlarged slot.
The cams, spacers and other disks don't always line up square on their respective shafts. My cam 26 had a slight wobble that was causing intermittent friction against the pull rod part 17. Using a sanding disk in a Dremel, I was able to grind down the high spot on the back face of cam 26.
I ground down a high spot (red arrow) on the back face of cam 26 that was rubbing on part 17 (green arrow).
My favorite aspect of these Timberkits models is all the exposed moving parts. I thought I could improve on the concept by optionally exposing the neck mechanism. I cut the left shoulder piece as shown below. I glued the small shoulder piece to the torso as instructed. I glued the larger shoulder piece to the upper left arm as instructed. I did not glue the shoulder/upper arm assembly to the rest of the model. In this way the shoulder/upper arm can be removed to expose the neck mechanism.
I cut a small piece out of the left shoulder.
I glued the small shoulder piece to the torso to support the neck shaft. I also slightly shortened the neck shaft so as to not protrude from the small shoulder piece.
I glued the larger shoulder piece to the upper left arm, but did not glue the shoulder/upper arm assembly to the rest of the model.
The shoulder/upper arm assembly is removed to expose the neck mechanism.
There's a dowel rod in the torso that (I guess) is supposed to support the upper end of the pull rod part 17. But my dowel rod was doing nothing. The model worked, but the neck linkage was just kind of flopping around inside the torso. I saw that The Magician would raise his head a little higher if the top of part 17 was better supported. Also I thought that part 17 would be less likely to warp over time if the top were better supported. So I make and installed the custom block shown below.
Custom support block.
Model as originally built. The dowel rod (red arrow) does nothing.
Custom block installed.
The Magician's fingers are cut all the way through which made it easier to see the magic wheel turn. The problem was exaggerated by the color I added to the tricks. I cut squares of thin balsa wood to glue behind the fingers to better hide the magic wheel.
Squares of thin balsa wood.
See-through fingers.
Fingers with view-blocking balsa squares.
Well I hate having left over parts, but here they are, two of the spacers part 38. No idea what they're for. They're the same size as the eyes, so they could be used to give The Magician a slightly less sinister look.
Left over spacers part 38.
Since there's a bit of play between the Geneva wheels, the corners of the magic wheel don't always line up flush with the table top. I find this distracting. If I had to do it again, I'd cut the corners off the magic wheel. Without corners it would be less noticeable when the trick isn't perfectly upright. Modifying the magic wheel would have been an easy scroll saw project.
The corners of the magic wheel don't always line up flush with the table top.
To do it again, I'd cut the corners off the magic wheel as shown.