HINTS AND TIPS - THE FOLLOW ON
Posted
Full Member
Cleaning Track Alternatives Pt 4 By Dave Knight (Ontario)
A good light duty cleaner is a wine cork. Cut the cork lengthwise so you have 2 "D" shaped pieces and use like a regular cleaning block. Cleans the muck off, will not scratch your track and when it gets too grubby either sand off the surface to get a clean start or drink another bottle of wine and start again!
A note from Trevor – Who is going to join me in populating the model railway world with track cleaners? One of the better ideas!!!!
Last edit: by xdford
Posted
Full Member
Avoiding Superglue Marks By Nick Worton …
If you have ever used superglue & the tell tale white “kicker fumes†have appeared on your work here is the way to stop it.
Connect a small fan to a 12V power supply allowing the fan to blow over the work as the glue dries this will keep the fumes on the move & no marks
I use a 4'' square fan connected to my bench supply keep the fan as close to the work as is possible take care if the fan is on when you are applying the glue the fan does not blow fumes or more importantly glue into your face.
Last edit: by xdford
Posted
Full Member
Decalling to avoid curling By Bill Moore …
When fixing decals, I put a piece of folded kitchen roll in a small bowl (I use the wife's corn flake bowl) then pour the water into the bowl so as to float the kitchen roll.
The decal can then go on top of the roll and it does not sink or curl and it is much easier to pick up.
Last edit: by xdford
Posted
Full Member
Installing or replacing Bogies/Trucks in kits Pt 1 By Randy Rinker (Pennsylvania)
Attaching bogies to bolsters does take a little care. Plastic is generally soft and it is easy to cross thread or strip the hole.
For installing bogies/trucks you generally do not want them too tight anyway. They need to swivel. Long term wisdom from before my time tells us that best is usually tight enough so that one truck swivels but does not rock with the other slightly loose so it can rock a bit. This was commonly called the "3 point" suspension method which date back to the days of Linn Westcott in Model Railroader nagazine and definitely helps the cars get over any bumps on my layout without derailing
Posted
Full Member
Installing or replacing Bogies/Trucks in kits Pt 2 By Bob Knapp (Massachusetts)
if the bolster pin "holes" are too large or have been stripped for the 2-56 tor similar size screw to thread properly, you may need to fill the hole w/ styrene rod or use a shaped sprue which would otherwise be thrown away from a plastic kits, then drill w/ the appropriate #50 bit and tap.
I sometimes need an odd sized plastic dowel and will use the "stretched sprue" method by heating an appropriate sized sprue with a match or lighter and then carefully stretch. You will end up with a taper the once cooled and hardened can be cut to size, glued and trimmed off flush. Then the centre marking with a #11 blade and drilled and tapped for the 2-56 screw.
Posted
Full Member
Blackening Valve Gear Pt 1 By Crandell Overton (Canada)
If you can clean the rods first, just about any paint would work, but it would take a deft hand for it to look 'right'. The paint will not adhere where lubes have migrated, so you will have to clean the rods, preferably by disassembly first.
Probably Neo-Lube is the best bet if you want a quick and dirty fix that will work even around the pins where the levers have been lubed. Many rods have shiny metallic edges with darkened recessed webbing of sorts. It would be cool if a steamer in scale had finely crafted rods of that nature. A very fine micro-brush with Neo-Lube or a dark grey acrylic (clean rods!!!) would work in that case so that the machined edges of the rods could remain shiny and metallic
Posted
Full Member
Blackening Valve Gear Pt 2 By Paul Gillette
Depending on the railroad or railway depending on where you are, some steam had machined metal rods while others were painted. Try dry brushing the face and top of the rods with Dullcote or another flat clear brand. Or apply some dark colored pigment powder to simulate road grime. Use the self adhering variety so you can skip the Dullcote application.
Posted
Full Member
Blackening Valve Gear Pt 3 By Pete Engard
Try a sharpee marker. Not as thick as paint and sticks to everything and is very controllable.
Posted
Full Member
Removing Track By Pete Engard
If you have laid track using caulk on cork, you can use a thin flexible putty knife to get under the track and pop it free. If it is ballasted you can soften the ballast with some windshield washer solvent. Make a solution and soak some rags until dripping and lay it on the ballasted track. Wait about a half hour and the ballast should be softened enough to use the putty knife.
Posted
Full Member
Using Sharpee Pens By Pete Engard
Sharpee markers work good for a lot of things. I used a red one to paint the window mullions on a structure, I used a yellow highlighter to tone down the blueish tint on an LED headlight to look more like an incandescent bulb.
Posted
Full Member
Ballasting around points Pt 1 By Richard Cowman
When you are ballasting points/turnouts paint the area (cork or whatever roadbed you are using) with a color similar to our ballast. This way you do not to ballast very heavily at all to get it to look like it is ballasted. There are some textured paints that look very realistic.
Posted
Full Member
Ballasting around points Pt 2 By Wayne Toth (Grimsby Ontario) …
Before wetting the ballast, apply a couple of drops of plastic-compatible oil to the tops of all ties over which the points move - I like to place a drop beside each point rail, then move the points back and forth until the oil is spread - the real railways often applied grease on these areas, so it is not unprototypical. Next, park the points in a mid-throw position, so that they do not touch either of the stock rails. If the points are sprung, a small piece of styrene may be used to block them in position.
Now, mist the area with "wet" water, making sure to apply enough to soak the ballast right down to its bottom, then apply your diluted white glue. I like to use a plastic applicator bottle which dispenses it in drops, making sure to take care around the throwbar area. Allow this to dry fully - at least overnight, and longer if necessary. Once the area is dry, carefully attempt to move the points - occasionally, they will be partially stuck, but some judicious prodding should get them moving without causing any damage.
Posted
Full Member
Railroading in a hot climate Pt 1 By Paul Gillette
Living in Arizona, I have 4+ years of experience in addressing heat expansion issues. I suggest the thermal expansion for an isolated 6 foot of track is different from a much longer run, like 40 ft, due to the aggregate of the expansion. My railroad is outside on benchwork. Welcome to Phoenix, the land pretty much devoid of basements.
The comment about framing swell due to increased humidity is valid but I have experienced catastrophic damage to a #8 crossover due to rail expansion and deformation (hand laid Micro Engineering code 83 on wood and copper clad PCB ties). The turnout was mounted to a single piece of 1-inch )25mm) thick plywood (laminated from 2 thicknesses of .5 inch). The plywood had been sealed with elastomeric exterior paint so moisture migration into the wood was minimal. Rather the culprit was my forgetting to add a 1/16 inch (1.5mm) gap at each end of the turnout.
i have 43-inch (1125mm) radius on the main and they are even more susceptible to the effects of heat gain. I now allow a 1/16 (1.5mm) gap every 6 feet (1800mm). I also cover the track with a radiant heat block material during April through October. Is it a lot of trouble? Certainly a nuisance but so is repairing damaged track and expensive turnouts. It's part of the tariff for having the model railroad I want.
A NOTE FROM TREVOR
This marks the near end and there are only 30 more Hints and Tips to the end of the series… I got a few extras from you guys as a group and found a few more so please… if you have an interesting idea or technique or even a different slant, please share it with us all … and it gets you some recognition as well…
TIA
Trevor
Posted
Full Member
Correcting Peco points connectivity By Crandell Overton (Vancouver Island)
Peco have metal blade-type wipers under their points, and I am afraid they are somewhat hit and miss. If you have intermittent power transmission, and can lift the turnout relatively easily, you can attempt to clean and to restore the contact, pressure-wise, between the two metal surfaces.
However, most of us would say to forget that short-term measure and just solder a single thin filament of wire between the stock rail and the butt of the point rail. Get it over with once and for all. Let's face it, if the point tip held tightly against the stock rail by the over-centre spring isn't doing it, and the wiper below the point blade isn't doing it…what's left? Discard the entire appliance? Solder a wire and positively run around the defect in materials and design?
Last edit: by xdford
Posted
Full Member
Making Fences By Andy Vines (Harborough UK)
I scratchbuild my own Post and wire fencing using post made from matchsticks (I buy the modelling kind with no heads as I find them more consistent than normal matches) I drill these and then thread through fishing line, the problem is getting the fishing line taught.
Once threaded through and secured both ends, if you take you heated soldering iron and pass the iron very close to the fishing line it will cause the line to shrink, pulling it tight through your posts, just be careful not to actually touch the line.
Posted
Full Member
Sanding Edges on Plastic Building Kits Pt 1 By Brent Caldwell
One method I use often, with a very fine grit paper, is to lay a larger sheet of sandpaper flat on the work desk and move the piece around on it. I find I can keep walls and other edges nice and square doing this as the whole edge is touching at the same time. Work cautiously and do not be in a hurry.
Posted
Full Member
Sanding Edges on Plastic Building Kits Pt 2 By Wayne Dougherty …
It is easier for me at least to place the sandpaper flat on a bench top, then slide the wall edge from the kits along the paper. It is less prone to round the edges of the wall this way than if you held the up the wall on its edge and slid the paper.
Posted
Full Member
Painting Precision Wood Kits By Brent Caldwell
My limited experience with Laser wood kits has taught me that painting with primer and letting things dry on wax paper between some weighty items is the way to go. Painting after construction left me with a slightly twisted model on the layout. I would also use wood to brace the corners etc. Plastic tends to flex more and is likely to come unglued over time as the plastic and wood expand and contract to different degrees. I have lots of experience building R/C airplanes (including scratch builds) and know this from experience.
Posted
Full Member
Sanding Edges on Plastic Building Kits Pt 3 By Jim Bernier
I just use a large 'fine cut' mill file to 'square up' the ends of these kits. There are also sanding blocks available to mount sandpaper
Posted
Full Member
Sanding Edges on Plastic Building Kits Pt 4 By John Busby (Western Australia)
For plastic kits I use a hobby knife to scrape away minor imperfections. or an automotive points file to deal with larger imperfections. Points files (sometimes called Magneto Files) are not expensive and you should be able to get one easily enough.
The local auto chain store will have them and some petrol stations should have them. Alternatively a piece of sand paper stuck to a sheet of table top glass will do the job. I have a piece of table top glass I use as a flat surface to build kits on as it makes it easy to get things vertical and square.
Last edit: by xdford
1 guest and 0 members have just viewed this.