Kit Bashing
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Ratio 592 SR / BR 28 ton Bogie B
Tried 3 Beetles over the years, slight dimension issues with all three and too much flash on 2 of them. Could have been the batch of plastic/run as I bought them all at the same time.Try regular grey primer (Canadian Tire) versus Testors model primer, there is a difference (and not just the price). The imperfections that primer fills just happen to be size of many details that we want to preserve as modelers.
Team build. Not a bad idea. Not sure I want any more 4mm UK stock though, too much already and it needs thinning. I do have a couple of 80-foot heavyweight passenger cars that need building. Same principles - underframe and battery box/brake details, interior, body shell, details. Not a starter kit though. Plus some Intermountain and P2K 40' freight car kits, but again they are not starters, and the body shell comes as a complete molding (as do nearly all NA freight cars). None of any great interest to most on this site.
As this is about the principle, I'd go cheap and cheerful (Ratio banana van or Dapol meat van), and not necessarily highly detailed (or prototypical). Or if there is enough interest, straight into the Bogie B and do a master class (and in sync).
Nigel
©Nigel C. Phillips
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Still you have done a nice job on that one in your photo, John.
:thumbs
Jeff Lynn,
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Staying on the thread Kevin.
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I wasn't suggesting that the team build all do the same kit although that would be cool.
Jeff, you're right, the Beetle is for prize cattle and would have travelled in a passenger train. I got it because I wanted a livestock train having bought the very lovely Hornby horsebox and completed 3 PD ex LNER cattle wagons. A train which includes these would travel at passenger speed. Livestock wagons would normally be vacuum braked so as to be able to travel at the front of the train where the ride is better.
Kevin, soldering wiring and soldering brass kits is not quite the same thing. You want uncored solder for brass, typically with a melting point of 145C or 185C. The higher the melt temp. the stronger the joint. I've found over the years that there is a bit more flexibility with the flux. I've got a MSE signal kit waiting for me to have ago at.
In the meantime, I got my kits out today and made a start on one, just to make sure I still have "it". Best get a move on, once I get a bug I want to bash on. I'll put some pics in my workbench thread.
John
John
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Model Planes years ago? and you ended up peeling it off your fingers?
I have used, as I said, with mixed results plastic weld. But I wasn't sure how to clean the brushes. But I will have a look at the offerings of Cambrian and Parkside Dundas. I have heard back from "Ratio" about alternative bogies for the Bogie B Van ( via Peco ) " Unfortunately we do not produce the ready assembled bogies you require" and it goes on?
"This said, I am reliably informed Hornby has made something similar in the past and it may be worth contacting them directly to ascertain whether these are still available". I think that is a strange answer, but it was straight from the horses mouth. Kevin
PS. Would it be possible to fit Kadee couplings to a wagon, during the building of the kit? Or would that involve guesswork , and mean fitting the Kadee once the wagon is built.
Last edit: by Passed Driver
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Check out my workbench thread, I am doing some Slaters kits. Don't worry, I'll save some for later.
I'll be installing Kadees on these wagons.
John
John
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Solvent (such as MEK or acetone) welds the pieces together. Plastic cement contains styrene monomer as well as a solvent. These days it's thin (compared to the stuff that came out of tubes supplied with the kit) and is best put on with a brush. The Testors cement I use comes with a brush on the cap, way too big for delicate work. A regular sable brush works fine.
The Testors still uses some MEK in the ingredients, that may have to change given the safety issues with this solvent and the current shortages (that's why it's expensive). It also evaporates very quickly, if you put it on the surface then join them together you have to be fast. That's why we paint into the joint, not onto the joint. Humbrol and the like need to be put on the joint, too much and it gets over the outside surface. Just like the old days.
The only way to get to grips with using these products is to do some work with them. Other products that have moved on from Humbrol and the like are Tamiya Fine Tip Liquid Cement and Tenax 7R. That said, Hubrol and similar has it's place in gluing one sheet flat to another, as the working time is a lot longer. Unfortunately so is the outgassing, which for big pieces can be months.
John and I will continue to discuss the merits of grey car primer versus model primer for many years. Again, you have to try them out to determine what works for you. Truth be known we should be using plastic primer (transparent) on plastic models, not bare metal primer. That said, acrylic paints seem to go on clean grease-free styrene without any problems anyway. I suspect we should be using primer only when working with bare metal, changing color from light to dark (or vice versa), or painting on a surface that is incompatible with the new paint (old cellulose-based paints for example) as they are all meant to slightly etch into the surface and provide a barrier. I can make no comment on solvent-based paints as I don't use them.
Nigel
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You're right about what primer to use or even if it should be used at all. I have two kinds of primer, both bought at Canadian Tire (our version of Halfords). One type says on the tin that it is suitable for plastic. The other is for metal. I think priming gives a pleasing surface texture and uniform colour and will continue to use it :cool wink.
I keep saying that it is up to the individual to find what he/she likes best, so we're agreed there.
John
John
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Personally, I use the car primer on many jobs. It works particularly well on resin train or bus kits where the resin can have many subtle lumps, dips and pits, with the primer hiding a multitude of sins, scrapes and file marks. I use it on white metal and brass kits too, and sometimes on plastic items, but rarely on repaints where the original paint job is of a decent condition; a quick rub back and clean is all that is generally required then.
John and Nigel are both right: if in doubt, try it out for yourself. If there is a risk to the model, try it on something else that does not matter to you, or on a part of the model that will be hidden.
To some degree, we all have to learn for ourselves the hard way, in spite of, or even because of, advice received from others.
I once repaired a faulty casting on a K's Q1 tender; a corner part of the top casting was missing, so I repaired it by using solder to build up small layers at a time until the approximate shape was restored, followed by filing it smooth. I used normal melting point solder! No one told me that this would not work and that I should use low melting point solder, so I did it … successfully!
Jeff Lynn,
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John
John
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40 odd years ago , I did actually buy myself a "Blueprint" of a Southern
EMU , it might have been a "2BIL"?, I also had the white metal castings for the "Cab Ends"(the under carriage details were on the blueprint but what might have been? Didn't get done) apart from that not much else? But I did my best to cut out the windows on white plastic ,rather crude by today's expected standards. Of course over time things get put aside and go amongst the missing? all the best. Kevin
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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John
John
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Jeff Lynn,
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I am still considering my options on wagons, Cambrian or Parkside Dundas?? Maybe a piece of plywood glued inside during construction might work and add the weight all in one
all the best Kevin
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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Even looking at my own photo, above, I have spotted the tie bar on the bogie nearest the camera has a break in it.
The couplings are from the kit and are also quite thin and delicate. I will replace them at some point with some newer ones from Bachmann or Hornby.
The lightness is simply because I didn't add enough weight when I built it. There is weight there, but I should have added more!
Last edit: by SRman
Jeff Lynn,
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Plastic stepboards always break, but can be made from scrap brass strip and wire.
I mentioned before I think, that Ratio bogies (at least the ones I've had to deal with) are terribly fragile. There are replacement bogies available from MJT (Dart), Brassmasters and Bill Bedford (Eileen's Emporium). When made up, you can glue cosmetic sides.
John
John
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Even the goods that you have suggested might not be any good in my hands? I will update you, all the best. Kevin
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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As to primer, I tend not to bother on all plastic kits. I tend to use Humbrol acrylic aerosols trying to get the best match from a military paint - Tank Grey for old GWR wagons and "Coke" or "anthracite" from a company called Montana (which I discovered in an artists shop for when I'm trying to match Hornby GWR toads. For Black I use Chaos black from a wargaming company whoes name I forget.
Sadly his eclectic mix has arisen due to the demise of my local model shop and the need to look further afield and rely on toy shops.
For glue I use either Slater's Mek-Pak or some Methyl-ethyl-ketone I bough from a chemical supplier on ebay (having previously bought a small bottle of the stuff from a stand at a model exhibition).
Modelling the GWR in the Welsh Borders, and the Glyn Valley Tramway with quite a few bits from elsewhere!
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Last edit: by Passed Driver
Staying on the thread Kevin.
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