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OK so now that we have a semi weathered loco and a
sound unit fitted to a mech, lets put one and one together and we should
have… A MESS! And maybe, just maybe a loco as well.
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I have my own method of mounting loco shells
to the mechanisms that some people disagree with… I glue them on!
Whilst this sounds like it came from page 34 of “Great Ideas Issued
by a Moron” (see page 57 if you get a chance, the article on cinder
block Frisbee is great), it actually works really well. |
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| Firstly I should point out that I am using
PVA glue and we are gluing Pewter to Pewter or Pewter to Styrene. That
being said it is easy to see that in a battle of strength, the pewter
or the styrene will win over PVA on any day that ends in Y. |
| The first thing you need to do is work out the
exact height you require for your loco body to match up the coupler
heights of the rest of your rollingstock. With that worked out,
I use a strip of Plastruct C channel glued to the top of the fuel
tank to build up the height. |
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| I should point out that I use the C channel
because it has a different shape to plain styrene strip and I think it
adds nicely once the weathering is done. |
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The first thing you will need to do in order
to fit a Hollywood mechanism to a 1720 is grind out a bit of the
underframe. I used a cutting wheel on my Dremel to make notches
and then a sanding thing to clean it all out. Once this is done,
a good blow down with air will ensure all the loose specks of metal
are gone. |
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| Please make sure you wear some glasses or
at least blink a lot to avoid getting pewter in your eye… TRUST ME when
I say you don't want to have this happen. |
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With that in place, I simply run a small bead
of PVA glue along the top edge of the C channel. I use a piece
of wire for this. Once done, I carefully mount the body to the
shell, make sure all the wires to the sound unit and headlights
are tucked out of the way.
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| If any wires do get in the way you will
have to take the shell off and refit it as they make sound when rubbing
on the flywheels. If you haven’t fitted a sound unit then you won’t have
any issues at all. |
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As soon as the shell has been placed on the mechanism,
I use a spare length of track and a few scraps of styrene to brace
underneath the cowcatchers. This will ensure that the shell remains
at the perfect height whilst the PVA dries. Try and allow four hours
or so for it to dry. |
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| Once this is done, test run your loco to
make sure that everything fits well and is at the correct height. |
The next step I like to do is get the handrails
onto the loco. For this I use a Dick Smith variable temp soldering
iron. You will also NEED some flux, like Carr’s Red or if you are
really tricky and not hugely fond of breathing Hydrochloric Acid.
Obviously at this point I should mention that no matter which product
you are using BE VERY CAREFUL!!!!
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I strongly recommend using the acid outdoors
as it has a VERY potent smell and it will do damage to your health.
First off I had better explain how I do this as I have had a few questions
regarding handrails. |
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The flux is used to clean the wire and ensure
the solder makes a solid joint with the brass. This is done by the
Hydrochloric Acid etching the metal (i.e. it roughs it up like sandpapering
your face). This gives the solder something to grip on to as it
flows. It also means you will need very tiny amounts of solder to
make the joints. |
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| So first step, drill the holes on the underframe
for mounting the uprights of the handrails (use the prototype info
section of our site to find all the photos you need, I do). Once
that is done, I make the top rail by bending it to shape to form
the top and end rail. With this said, you should now have the rough
outline of your handrails ready to be glued into position. |
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| I dip the end of the wire in superglue and
then press the ends into their respective holes. Then I like to let this
dry whilst I try and work out exactly what Jade is mumbling this time.
Next I dance around in a funny way after noticing that Jade’s mumblings
had rather a lot to do with my moustache catching on fire from a cigarette
that I thought had gone out (DON”T SMOKE KIDS… you could end up looking
dumb like me). |
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Once that has dried and the laughter has subsided…
Its time to start getting the uprights positioned. This is where
the flux comes into play. Take an old model paint brush and put
a small amount of flux on the wire. Then with a small amount of
solder on the iron, touch the tip onto the wire. |
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| You should see the solder start flowing
along the wire (its ok to be impressed by this because I still am). This
process is called “tinning”. |
Once you’ve tinned the top rail of your handrails,
tin a few short lengths of wires the same way. With this done, bend
a short section at right angles and fit it into one of the holes
for the uprights. With this done, just touch the tip of the iron
where the two pieces of wire meet and they should melt together.
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With this done, you are ready to put the remaining
uprights in.
With that all done, you should have no problems installing the rest
of the handrails.
So now I simply paint the handrails and then finish weathering the
loco. |
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We shall see how we go.
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