HINTS AND TIPS - THE FOLLOW ON
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Refreshing Lichen Scenery
From Several Modellers
All Lichen, even the glycerine treated stuff will dry out over time. You can mix up a batch of glycerine and water and either remove and soak it or spray it lightly in situ. It will refresh the Lichen and make it pliable again.
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Restoring a Decal Sheet
From Dan Nelson
If you are like me you buy decals ahead of time for future projects and of course will not be used right away they should be stored in a cool,dry dark area. But what if years go by before you get to apply them or you are out at a show and find the long lost set of decals?
A lot of times when they first hit the water and you try to slide them off of the sheet they will Explode or Disintegrate not to worry!! If this happens shoot the decal sheet with a clear coat before using they will then hold together so you may apply them.
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Safety in Soldering underneath a Layout
From Several Modeller's
From a question about overhead soldering and how to do it especially underneath a layout…
- The obvious answer is do not do it and certainly do not do it if your head or other burnable body parts are underneath the joint. Get your head in there, wear good safety goggles and to do the best you can.
- Solder off to one side or the other. Better to have hot solder drip on an arm…than in your face or eye! Strip the bus line…tin the bus line and the feeder with a small amount of solder. Then I wrap the feeder around the buss a few times. Get a small amount of solder on the tip of the iron…touch it to the area.
- Do not get too hyper about overhead soldering. Easier done than said! Use paste flux, smear a little on the bus wire, tin it where you want to attach the feeder wire to. Pre-tin your feeder wire, then hold the two together and let the iron do the deed. You might make a small clamp to hold the wires together, so your hands are free with a clothes pin, alligator clamp or similar.
- Do it the easiest and safest way. Try to solder it from above. Solder the wire to the track first and drop the wire down. You may have to take portion of your track up again but that may be better in the long run. Do not risk your eye sight or health. One splatter or drop of hot solder in the eye and that would be it. The time you tried to saved under the table will be lost in the hospital Emergency Room. I can solder really good (3 touch soldering) and I do not think I would try it upside down as it is just too risky. Although many aspects of our hobby look simple and easy, they are not. We use power tool and equipment that magnify the level of danger many fold. Always ask yourself the question "Is it safe" before you take the easy route.
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Crazy Paving
From Tring and District Model Railway Club
Have you ever tried to reproduce crazy paving in either four mm or 2 mm, and then you will realize how laborious a task it can be. A quick and easy way is to retain egg shells in as complete condition as possible, paint both the inside and the outside to the required colour and then when dry break off a section applicable to the area to be covered and press firmly into place. This will shatter the shell and in so doing make it appear as ready laid crazy paving, to fix, apply a diluted solution of PVA and there you have it.
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Need an extra pair of hands?
From Tring and District Model Railway Club
A third or fourth hand is often required when modelling with small or fine pieces of material such as brass, copper or plastic. One method is to use double sided tape upon which the components may be held whilst adhesive or bonding is achieved. An alternative method, especially where sections of metal are to be soldered and require support, is to make use of a potato where the components may be inserted and held quite firm without detriment to the soldering process.
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Printing Scalescene Buildings
From Tring and District Model Railway Club
Do you use the buildings etc from this website. Instead of printing onto A4 paper get some A4 labels (Staples ther UK based stationers have had them in packs of 100 sheets at a reasonable price in the past) and print directly onto the labels. This saves a lot of messy work with adhesives and ensures that you have 100% coverage.
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Indelible Pens in Model Railways
From Several Modeller's, N Gauge Society
Black Pen - Particularly in N scale, have you ever tried to paint the plated wheel rims on locomotives and stock black, and wished for more control, a thin covering and a lasting job? Indelible (waterproof) black pens will do this, as well as touching up metal loco kits and lettering patches on wagons. Use a pen with a fine point.
Silver Pen - This fine nibbed pen can be used for putting silver rims on black plastic wheels and window frames. Both gold and white pens in several tip sizes are also available. The white pen is suitable for wide markings on wagons and for road markings. For yellow road markings, recolour the white markings with a yellow fibre tip pen.
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Toning Done Mortar… using Black(?)
From Several Modeller's, N Gauge Society
To damp down the rawness and bring out the texture of planking, masonry, brickwork, or roof tiles, give them a dose of matt black emulsion before assembly. With your finger rub it over the surface and into the cracks. Very soon it will be slightly tacky, so wipe it over with your hand. We all know mortar does not appear black in external light, but the result is effective.
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Improve the running of tenders
From Several Modeller's, N Gauge Society
Find a flat length of track, remove the wheels from the tender and place them on the track and put your 6" (150 mm) rule edge on across the axles. Then see if the rule will move all sets of wheels and axles along the track.
If the sets of wheels do not move together, sort out a set of wheels that will. The variation in wheel diameter is enough to prevent one set turning, by lifting the rule off of one axle. If fitted to the tender one of the set of wheels would be clear of the track! A packet of new wheeled axles may be a better option for you than those originally fitted.
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Ground Texture and Colour
From Several Modeller's, N Gauge Society
Having tried various commercial scatters I find them rather 'samey' and dull, especially with time, so have developed my own textures and colouring method. The textures come from things like tea bags, and my wife's peppermint tea, lemon and ginger. Chinchilla sand is a favourite of mine. It's cheap and very fine, just needing some sieving to remove any little seeds. Sieved wood flour is similar to the 'commercials' and has its place, as do coal and ashes, and you'll think of others. My commercial scatters are all mixed together now in one jar, so have ended up a muddy brown colour, but it still provides a good texture base.
For colouring, coal and ashes and the ordinary and peppermint teas do not really need anything, but the others I colour with watered-down emulsions and a pipette. The various emulsion paints are watered down a roughly two to one with a tiny amount of detergent, just as you might with PVA, and PVA itself can also be applied in this way. Before I dribble on the paint I spray the texture material with water and a few drops of detergent dispensed from an old plant spray. This makes the material more receptive to the colour. The paint can, of course, double as the glue. One pipette will do everything because emulsion paints and PVA dissolve easily in water.
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Redecalling weathered wagons.
From Chris Pearce (Victoria Australia)
I had to recently decal 170+ N scale wagons for an up and coming photo shoot by the Austtralian Model Railway Magazine and all my wagons had been dulled and weathered from my previous 30+ years of modelling.
All I did was to paint ONLY the decal area with Gloss (Microscale) and when dry put the decal on as usual.
Re-apply a dullcote to the gloss area only and weather the general area again if need be.
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Curving Backdrops From Several Modellers
- Sheet styrene worked fine for me. Very smooth and takes acrylic or latex paint well, and makes curved corners if needed. My was mounted on unfinished dry wall, but I know it can also be framed on the back. I got mine at a plastics store in town. I used 4x8 sheets, but I know they can cut it to size as well. (Hal Shanks)
- Foam core board is what you need.You can get it at art supply stores,but its kind of expensive. For a cheap source, you could go to an appliance store and ask for a refrigerator box, cut the cardboard to your dimension and mount your artwork with spray contact cement. (Bob Klein)
- Several Modellers report using the smooth side of Linoleum!
- I work in HO and based my backdrop on .060 styrene strips stapled to the wood frame, then .080 styrene sheet secured to the strips with Weld-On #16 solvent cement (2-3 minute working time; plan carefully!). The cement is very strong, and I am confident the backdrop will stay up and flat. I did mine in three sections: The back (2'x6'), the side (2'x3'), and the coved corner to connect the two. I filled the seams with gap-filling CA, which I built up slowly and sanded smooth. Several years later and the backdrop has not moved. (Rick Krall)
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Modelling a River… Colours etc?
From Several Modellers
For the river color, i would use a black or a dark blue color, and then near the shore, fade that color into a tan to suggest shallower water. For the water itself, i use and would recomend Woodland Scenics Realistic Water with their water effects bottle thrown in for fun, this stuff is so good that i even used it on science project. Just make shure you fill all the holes in the layout, even the smallest of ones. (Des Tierney)
I painted the bed with cheap acrylic paints, working from blacks and blues in the centre to tans near the edge. I added real sand and some talus (rocks) to the bed as well. Envirotex Lite makes very nice still water. I did 3 or 4 pours here, each about an eighth of an inch thick. I tinted each one differently with a drop or two of cheap acrylic paint - black for the first (deepest) layer, then blue, then darker and lighter green. This graduated approach gives the water itself "optical depth," so you avoid that clear-as-glass look, and add some murkiness to the water. As it gets deeper, it gets more and more opaque, more the way real water is. (Mike Kitchener)
sMy favorite way is to paint the river surface the color you like. Get a photo for examples , Then use gloss acrylic media to surface over the color. Paint it on so the brush strokes resemble flowing water. It may take a couple layers. Then go back over with white to simulate ripples. (Bob Klein)
Last edit: by xdford
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Simulated Loco Sand
From Joe Farrugia
I recently ran across a product that simulates clean, white sand rather well. It is a Non-Skid Floor Finish Additive and is a very fine white silica product that I feel nicely simulates the white sand spilled around a locomotive sanding facility. It can be found with the porch and floor paints.
Last edit: by xdford
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Hints & Tips No.744
Simulating Clouds – With Polyester Filling?
From Charles Schaedel
I have just tried using Polyfibre fill to simulate a 3 dimensional cloud. Essentially it is teased to shape and glued on the back drop, left alone for light wispy clouds or pre painted with greys of varying intensity to simulate overcast conditions.
Hints & Tips No.745
Shiny Matt Paint ? Pt 1
From Jonathon Buckie (UK)
I have experienced matt paint drying to a shiny finish even after mixing with a paddle in my minidrill. to that end I'm now adding a spot of Precision paints matting agent (PQ14.) to the paint on the pallet before using it as insurance. I normally give models a quick blow over with matt varnish afterwards in any case.
Last edit: by xdford
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Shiny Matt Paint? Pt 2
From Several Modeller's
Matt paint is gloss paint with a matting agent stirred in. Usually if the paint comes out with a gloss finish, it has not been mixed well enough, or sometimes is just "past it".
The residue that settles in the bottom of a paint tin is usually the matt pigment … very often I will scoop that out on the end of an old brush handle into a container (like a jam jar lid) and mix it up with more of the paint from the tin to make sure it is well mixed up and will dry matt.
Last edit: by xdford
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Concrete Southern Region Style Method 1
From Paul Cambridge (North Devon UK)
After undercoating the building with a grey acrylic primer, I painted the Permanent Way hut a sort of concrete colour which at the times was an old tin of Humbrol 'Unbleached wool', which is now no longer available. This painting as it was, turned out to be unnecessary! So proceed as follows directly onto the undercoat. Select some suitable concrete colour; i.e. matt concrete, a matt dull sand and a matt dull grey. I have noted from local examples up here in N Devon, that the SR concrete has a yellow hew to it. I have seen the suggestion to paint a small area of the work with any colour (old bristle brush) then dip into a tub of talc. I believe this was a method used by Martyn Welch. I actually used a satin varnish over the undercoat, then applied the talc. Lightly dab onto the work. You know when it is right when the paint is dry and gritty. Too wet, and the talc will disappear, too dry and the talc will not stick. Repeat using your selected colours, blending the work in. This is art work stuff, not precision modelling!
Last edit: by xdford
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Concrete Southern Region Style Method 2
From Paul Cambridge (North Devon UK)
Undercoat the building with a grey acrylic primer. Obtain a cheap plastic tea strainer and an old tray. Varnish one side of the building. Sprinkle the talc on as if you were sifting flour over a loaf… (This does sound like a recipe!). Leave to dry for a couple of minutes then tip the building upside down and shake off the surplus talc. Blow off the rest. Do not try this inside the house! Repair any unpainted patches bald patches by lightly dabbing with pain and talc.
Last edit: by xdford
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Using Freezer Go Between for Rollingstock Storage
From Terry Cunningham (Sydney, Australia)
I find the best thing to use for wrapping rollingstock in confined space is FREEZER GO-BETWEEN made by Glad. There are other equivalents elsewhere in the world but here it comes in a 15M or 30M roll. DO NOT confuse it with Glad-Wrap or you might never get you loco or carriage back again.
I use it for any model fitted into a confined space and have been using it for 20 years or how ever long it has been on the market. I started using it with brass locos as the wrap they came in was often coated with oil & I have been using FREEZER GO-BETWEEN ever since. If you just "loop" it around the model it is strong enough for you to lift it out like in a sling using the GO_BETWEEN as a handle so you don't have to turn boxes up-side-down or jam your fingers down the side to get it out.
(From Ian McIntyre) – Do not put the models in, simply wrap lightly and place into either containers which will hold the model comfortably. A little bubble wrap or “Post Pop Corn†(the foam ball stuff used in packaging) can also be used.
Be careful of foam rubber as some varieties act like sand paper or the corners and edges of your model.
Last edit: by xdford
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Getting Additonal Traction… from your track.
From Steve Mountjoy (Worcester)
I had one loco on an old layout that would not run up the smallest of inclines. I tried more weight etc. In the end I made the section of track rougher by scoring diagonal lines across the tops of the rails for the length of the incline. After that never had any trouble with that loco (0-6-0) or any other. It would even pull 6 cars up the slope.
There were also no problems with cleaning the track as I just used a standard track cleaning block. To serate the track, I used a very fine cutting disc in a Dremel and just touched the top of the rails every 2-3 mm. It worked for me. Make sure you make your track marks go diagonally otherwise your wheels may make some strange sounds when they go over the rough section.
Last edit: by xdford
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