Another dose of modellings tips for you, starting with a thankful Alan:
“Alastair,
many thanks to those who helped out over the Corrugated Iron. I went shopping on Saturday morning and after 2 hrs. and 30 kms. I found the corrugated card in the 5th shop I tried.
A couple of other tips for your younger readers.
1. Some years ago I held a very small round part in a pair of tweezers. I squeezed too hard and the part disappeared across the room never to be seen again. I purchased a pair of stamp tweezers, two broad flat ends, I superglued two pieces of very fine sandpaper to the blades and have never lost a part since.
2. Tea Lights come with a round aluminium base. Take the base and insert a piece of steel tube that will fit snugly into the base. Hammer it flat on all four sides, paint it and fill with anything. Place around the factory yard and it looks for all the world like a well used rubbish bin.
Glue match sticks on the bottom so the fork lift can move it about.
3. Alternatively screw (2mm) an “N” scale bogie to it. Lay a length of “N” scale line from the engine shed to the ash heap.
4. I have a fair selection of rolling stock from the 1950′s. Meccano Hornby Dublo and Lines Triang. In those days the back to back wheel dimensions were fairly elastic, especially with Triang. Hornby always used a code 100 rail on their 2 rail system, but Triang was at least 150 if not more. Consequently the Triang stock derails on Peco 100 points when branching into the tangent track. I use an Automotive Distributor Points file, which fits perfectly between the stock rail and the plastic check rail on Peco 100. File away some of the plastic. Its a bit of a chore but well worth the effort if you want to keep the old rolling stock. Don’t do it in situ, do it on the work bench, believe you me its much easier.
5. As I am an inveterate scavenger I regularly trawl the Disposal, Junk, 2nd. hand shops armed with a scale model ruler. On one occasion I puchased a large bundle of, scale 1 ft square, plastic strips for a song. It cut cleanly and could be bent by a Tea Light and Aluminium Angle to a perfect 90 degrees without tearing the outside corner. It froze in its new shape in about 10 secs. However nothing would glue it. I tried Poly. Cement, Super Glue, K Bond, Araldite and Aquahhere. In the end I tried “Plumb Weld” PVC pipe cement. It stuck. And it will stick other plastics of indeterminent origin. CAUTION it is Highly Flammable, Poison, and a Skin Irritant. Breathing the fumes wont do you much good either.
Apply with a match stick and not the Yard Broom that comes attached inside the lid. A small container is not expensive and will last for years.
5. Never become a rivet counter. It does not have to be right. It only has to look right. If it looks right, it is right. After all we are only creating an illusion.
With Kind Regards
Alan Warner”
“If you gather the winter “sprouts of the Live forever plants the make authentic American Elm trees and you can vary the scale by the clumps you cut off.”
— Michael
“I like to paint my rails, but I hate those typical rail colours you get. I use my nail airbrush, fill it with water and black paint (acrylics, inks, and enamels work here) and mist on the lowest air compression settings possible for slightly dulled down and bolder railway track. Really simple homemade idea.”
— J
“Rubber cement works well on a flat car to keep loads from sliding off. Brush a little on the car surface. If the load is wood or plastic, just place it on the rubber cement. If a vehicle is being carried, place a bit of rubber cement where the tires will be (tyres for those of you on the big island.)
The cement can be easily removed by rubbing it with your finger. It’ll come off in little beads.”
— Ben
“Have a single ended siding? Need a bumper (buffer) for freight cars?
Perhaps you need a way to load and unload flat cars, (even TOFC cars).
Here is a good idea. Take one TOFC car, cut it in half; trim all the details off the under side. Next remove the couplers. Then take one half of the car, cement the wheel set at one end to the tracks near the end. Then, using plaster, or any other type of material, build a short ramp up to the end of the car as it lies on the ground. Let dry, then color to match the surrounding ground. Presto – You have a loading/unloading ramp. You can then use the other half of the car in the same manner elsewhere on your layout. This idea is not unique, as real Class 1 railroads have used this idea in the past; especially when they had need of a quick way to load or unload flat cars; and didn’t wish to spend the time, or money to build a more substantial dock and unloading ramp.
The project will take from 10 to 25 minutes total, start to finish; but when finished, you have a “prototype” loading/unloading ramp.
For those who don’t understand the short hand letters, TOFC and COFC stand for: “Trailer on Flat Car” and “Container on Flat Car”. I find it easier to refer to such cars by their short hand names, over spelling it all the way out.
BTW – If you or any of your readers have problems understanding prototype practice, shoot me an email, stating the problem, and I will try to answer it.
Thank you”
— Dragon
Like ’em? Lots more, just like them, here.
Best
Al
