Scratch building

[CSXect]

Has anyone had experience with using sheet brass, copper or tinplate to make rolling stock from scratch?

[FJ and G]

No. I used scrap wood to make a simple flat car.

Oh, welcome to CTT!

You might want to experiment with resin castings. It would seem easy to copy already made rolling stock. However, I don't know if doing this is legal or not, even for your own purposes. Maybe someone can chime in.

[cnw1995]

Welcome! In some of my ancient Model Railroader issues, there are articles about scratchbuilding rolling stock using all sorts of items but the articles seemed to presume the reader enjoyed access to a full machine shop. I know there are all sorts of plans in the article index on this website - can't find the link...

[CSXect]

QUOTE: Originally posted by FJ and G

No. I used scrap wood to make a simple flat car.

Oh, welcome to CTT!

You might want to experiment with resin castings. It would seem easy to copy already made rolling stock. However, I don't know if doing this is legal or not, even for your own purposes. Maybe someone can chime in.

I have made resin copys of a gondola that turned out ok selling them would be a leagle issue and an ethical one as well but making them for yourself is fine. My problem is there is nothing in existance in S or O to copy/modify from.

[FJ and G]

CSX,

1. You could make certain items like, for instance, a reefer, by building a plaster mold and then injecting resin. I used to have a linked bookmark to a site that shows how to do it but can't find it right now.

2. I've tried building an F-3 using brass. I used an anvil and hammer to bang out the nose and filled with body filler to smooth. It's all possible to do but the hard part would be the detailing. Maybe someone else has tried. Guess depends on how many rivets you like.

[andregg1]

Yes!
I do
I like to make models with brass sheet.
I will try to post pictures soon.
Andre.

[Dave Farquhar]

Ive done it. I was disappointed with my results, but the cure for lack of natural talent is persistence. I'll do it again.

Most scratchbuilding articles assume certain tools beyond a hand drill and common hand tools but older articles from the 1940s-50s don't necessarily (because not everyone had them, and disposable income was lower then so you couldn't assume a dedicated hobbyist would go buy them).

I've had better luck with paper and wood (yes, paper) and sheet styrene, because you can work those with little more than a knife. Plus they cost a lot less. Once I'm happy with what I can accomplish with those materials, I'll go back to metal.

Scratchbuilding is quickly becoming a lost art, so if you're interested in it, by all means persue it and don't let the lack of interest in it today dissuade you. Find some old magazines, adapt what they say to the tools and materials you have available (and your skills), and enjoy it.

As far as casting copies of cars you own, it's highly illegal, even for personal use (if you're making them yourself it means you're not buying them). Casting copies of stuff of your own design, of course, is free and clear, and something you might want to do because then you could build one car, then get dozens more for much less effort.

[Anonymous]

I have a little experience with tin plate having rebuilt an early Bing locomotive, I must admit that the most difficult part was embossing parts; the "press" making is very time consuming. Cutting out flat panels is relatively straightforward, I use a combination of a mini tool cutting disc mounted in a vertical drill (safety glasses essential) – the tinplate held vertically on a surface plate, for straight lines and a piercing saw for the curves all finished off with some fine file work.

The press tools I use are only needed for one off’s so I use acrylic which is cut using either a CNC mill or laser cutter – access to these is at my school.

Here are some pics.

Two stages during restoration



The press made from Acrylic - dowels used for alignment, note test panel in front.


I'm hoping to start work on a model of Kings Cross station shortly but I can't decide on wether to use wood or tinplate - whatever I choose it will be a "Toy Train" version as I'm not into too much scale perfection.

[FJ and G]

Dave,

Yes, I believe I heard that making castings of commercial cars for your own use is illegal and now I know.

Wizard,

That pretty cool. For me, anyway, the process of creating things for layouts is as enjoyable as running the trains.

[andregg1]

The picutres of many things made with brass sheet. The yellow forklift, red tractor and the black tender in the background.
soon I will post the flat car.
Andre

[SPFan]

As has been pointed out, model magazines from the '50s-'70s have numerous articles on scratchbuilding with brass. I have made detail parts in brass for some of my HO engines but never a complete piece. A metal shear and modelers lathe would be nice to have but you can use drill motor and tin shears. In the '50s rivet detail was typically embossed on thin sheets which where then laid over thicker stock. Now most fine detail is chemically etched using the same techniques used in producing printed circuit boards. Get yourself a Precision Scale Catalog. They can provide many of the difficult to produce parts like box car ends, headlights, etc.

Pete