HO Deck Girder Bridges

[carl425]

Has anybody compared the Micro Engineering and Walthers Cornerstone HO deck girder bridges?  I'm curious about the level of detail and ease of assembly.

[j. c.]

Tichy makes one that to me has better detal than walthers ,never see a M E one so can't say on them.

[BigDaddy]

Popp assembles a ME kit in the Thin Branch series.  He calls it an 'intermediate" kit in terms of assembly http://mrv.trains.com/how-to/modeling/2013/06/thin-branch-series-build-a-bridge-part-1-kit-assembly

It's a 4 part video complete with buillding guard rails.  I am a recent subscriber to MRVP and a big fan. 

[wp8thsub]

I haven't assembled any of the Walthers  deck girder bridges, but have built several of the Micro Engineering kits.

The ME bridges have only a few parts.  There are the two outer girders, some X bracing to go bwtween them, and zig-zag bracing that goes along the top and bottom.

The only real issue with assembly is dealing with the occasional warped part.  Sometimes you may have warping in the bracing, less often with the girders themselves.  Careful assembly can eliminate any problems.  I recommend Tenax 7R or equivalent fast-acting solvent cement (i.e. not the standard Testors stuff or plain MEK) to get everything in place while you hold any warped parts straight.

On both of the above examples, I replaced the plastic tie track with wood 8"X8" bridge ties and 6"X8" guard timbers.

[7j43k]

wp8thsub

 

I recommend Tenax 7R or equivalent fast-acting solvent cement...

 

 

I spent a good bit of time looking for some recently.  Appears to be unavailable.

 

I also recently ran into trouble using my trusty MEK.  It had *"gone bad".  The joints just fell apart.  I tossed what little I had left and refilled the bottle.  The Mojo was back!

 

 

 

Ed

 

*  gone bad, in this case, appears to mean it had sucked enough water out of the air to dilute itself enough to not work

[carl425]

7j43k

I spent a good bit of time looking for some recently.  Appears to be unavailable

Try some of this and let the rest of us know if it works.

http://www.micromark.com/same-stuff-professional-plastic-welder-refill-2-fl-oz,9002.html

 

[Bayfield Transfer Railway]

I got a bottle of Ambroid Plastic Weld, same stuff.

 

[7j43k]

carl425

 

 

7j43k

I spent a good bit of time looking for some recently.  Appears to be unavailable

 

 

Try some of this and let the rest of us know if it works.

http://www.micromark.com/same-stuff-professional-plastic-welder-refill-2-fl-oz,9002.html

 

 

 

Since I was able to get my MEK working again, I doubt that's gonna be me.

 

Anyone else?

 

 

Ed

 

[j. c.]

havn't been to a shop that carries tamiya in some time but there exrta thin is about the same as tenax 7R, but i no longer use it what i use is a mix of acetone,butyl acetate and MEK(the real stuff not the sub.) works like the tamiya stuff at a fraction of the price.

[CentralGulf]

j. c.

havn't been to a shop that carries tamiya in some time but there exrta thin is about the same as tenax 7R, but i no longer use it what i use is a mix of acetone,butyl acetate and MEK(the real stuff not the sub.) works like the tamiya stuff at a fraction of the price.

What percentage of each, if you don't mind sharing?

CG

 

[j. c.]

CentralGulf

 

 

j. c.

havn't been to a shop that carries tamiya in some time but there exrta thin is about the same as tenax 7R, but i no longer use it what i use is a mix of acetone,butyl acetate and MEK(the real stuff not the sub.) works like the tamiya stuff at a fraction of the price.

 

 

 

What percentage of each, if you don't mind sharing?

CG

 

 

not at all, 20cc mek,20cc ba,5cc ace.

[CentralGulf]

Thanks.

CG

 

[ROBERT PETRICK]

j. c.

 

CentralGulf

j. c.

havn't been to a shop that carries tamiya in some time but there exrta thin is about the same as tenax 7R, but i no longer use it what i use is a mix of acetone,butyl acetate and MEK(the real stuff not the sub.) works like the tamiya stuff at a fraction of the price. 

 

 

What percentage of each, if you don't mind sharing?

CG

 

 

 

not at all, 20cc mek,20cc ba,5cc ace.

 

Is this the same stuff you can buy in quart cans at the big-box stores? If so, once mixed in the above proportions how long a shelf life? Ed mentioned about his solvent going bad from absorbing moisture from the atmosphere.

Thanks.

Robert 

[j. c.]

ROBERT PETRICK

 

 

Is this the same stuff you can buy in quart cans at the big-box stores? If so, once mixed in the above proportions how long a shelf life? Ed mentioned about his solvent going bad from absorbing moisture from the atmosphere.

Thanks.

Robert 

 

 the mek from box will more than likely strip kleen sub. don't have any idea about how it will work as it has a slower evap. rate, i get mine from auto paint place , the ba i got from place that restores old air craft it kind hard to find in small amounts,ace. comes from napa , i mix 5  45 ml. jars about every 6 or 8 months depending on usage, never have had a problem with water getting into mix as i live in the desert evap. is more of a problem for me.

[CentralGulf]

Some box store carry real M.E.K.  Some carry the fake stuff. It depends largely on where you live. Here in Tennessee, Lowes carries Jasco M.E.K. I haven't looked in the Orange Borg for awhile, so I can't say for certain that they still carry the good stuff.

CG

 

[doctorwayne]

j. c.

Tichy makes one that to me has better detal than walthers...

 

There's none listed in their catalogue - are you sure the one which you have isn't from Micro Engineering?
Central Valley offers a through girder bridge in single- and double-track versions and also sells the girders separately.  If the curved ends were removed, the girders could be used for a deck-type bridge, although the cross-bracing would need to be fabricated...perhaps from Evergreen styrene shapes.

 

I have quite a few of the Micro Engineering spans.  The upper bridge uses both the 30' and 50' ME bridges, while the lower one uses two 30'-ers.  The longer span over the road is an Atlas through girder bridge converted to a deck-type, and the two deck trusses are also Atlas:

 

 

30' and 50' ME girders here, with more Atlas deck trusses:

 

 

...the same bridge with encroaching scenery:

 

 

...and with the trees surrounding it:

 

 

I have a couple of other bridges using the same components, but in different settings.  

Unless the bridge is to be the centrepiece of a scene and subject to close scrutiny, you can pretty-much fake the internal bracing using plain styrene strip material.  All of the modified Atlas through girders were built in that manner, and even for ones over water, the reflected faux bracing isn't discernible as such, even though those scenes are very close to viewers. 

 

Wayne

[j. c.]

its a newer product Wayne, item # for ho is 7020 at 18$ for two 40 ft sections

[doctorwayne]

Thanks, j.c., it looks very similar to the ME product as far as detail is concerned, and the 40' length puts it right between ME's 30' and 50' versions.

Wayne