I owe you a huge apology!! I read & re-read my instruction sheet several times, again just now. I completely "glazed" over the first paragraph, however! It is certainly there as clear as can be. I can't blame anyone but myself for not seeing it. It does, indeed, say styrene. Just wonder how the Chinese interpreted that? Oh well, I will have it completed soon. I intend to paint the steelwork in a light industrial green which is common around here. (Also deep rusty red, but the Faller bridge is already that color and is close in proximity to this one.) Hopefully, the paint will help to disguise some of the construction damage. I always had the intention of a heavy weathering job on this bridge, however, and that should help as well.
Again, I still am a little in shock that I did miss that paragraph! Thanks for pointing it out to me.
And I agree!
Mike.
My You Tube
zstripe Rich, Didn't mean to hijack Your thread buddy! Take Care! Frankie
Rich,
Didn't mean to hijack Your thread buddy!
Take Care!
Frankie
Rich
Alton Junction
TOMTANGUAY My instruction sheet, copyrighted 2016, seems to indicate that there have been several releases since first introduced. I have read, and re-read instructions carefully. Unless I managed to miss it somehow, there is NO mention of "styrene" or other materials used except "plastic" in these instructions, on the box label, or the Walthers website description {copied above}. This material is crazy as it does "act" like Delrin, but I can't believe that the entire production run of the gray plastic parts was done in this material. The sprue runs are huge, and there are a lot of them. If, by some weird circumstances, this kit WAS molded in Delrin, then this has to be one of the largest cases of total lack of employee oversight and quality control that I have run across in my 60+/- years of model building!! I even have kits inherited from my late brother that date back to the WWII war years. Not much plastic in them, but what there is assembled with ease, (except a few parts that appear to be "Bakelite").
Thanks for purchasing this Cornerstone® kit. Please read these instructions and study the drawings before starting construction. All parts are styrene, so use compatible glue and paint to finish your model. As part of the Cornerstone Engineered Bridge System, walthers.com/bridgesystem, your new model can easily be used with other Cornerstone bridges and accessories to create a custom structure for your railroad. PLEASE NOTE: your new bridge is designed as a working model. The gears in the drive mechanism are made of Delrin® plastic and should be lubricated with a light, plastic-compatible grease before operation.
TOMTANGUAYTOMTANGUAY wrote the following post 11 minutes ago: I fully respect the point that you made with reference to sanding all potential joints. However, seriously on a kit this large with all the intricate parts??? You have far more patience than I could ever summon!!!
LOL.....Yes I do....But it is not a gift.....It was earned...LOL
Did I hear Trucks??? My biggest other vice! Mostly Fallen flag Truck Lines that I have seen or even worked for over the yrs. Scratched/bashed, white metal castings/Pewter, Polyurethane resin and styrene all 1/87 scale. My collection is in the hundreds. I am a retired Teamster, owner operator, small business operator for over 45yrs in Transportation even a Vietnam disabled Vet, I'll throw that in for giggles...not laughing at the time though 67'.
Nice Photo!
Don't worry about the venting....been there.......there have been a lot of times in My life, that I had learned a new vocabulary, that I didn't know existed..
Take Care, My Friend...life is too short...one day at a time!
Frank
Life Member...ATHS (American Truck Historical Society)
PS. Couple of pic's from My collection:
zstripe Rich, I have been biting My tongue.
I have been biting My tongue.
Regarding the operation of the bascule bridges, there are plenty of problems. When I built the first bascule bridge, I followed Digital Griffin's recommendations and used different switches than the one provided with the kit. At first, it worked fine, but it eventually developed problems, not with the switches and electronics, but with the mechanics.
The gear arms are plastic and they are warped so the gears bind. Initially, I even made a YouTube video to show off the operational bridge. And, the gear arms easily fall off the connecting pins. These are known problems.
Kudos to you if yours still works. It may be the luck of the draw or maybe your mechanical skills are better than mine. I am no expert, but I believe that I am reasonably competent. Pity the poor newcomer to the hobby who attempts to build and operate this bridge. It is a sight to behold if you leave it in the fixed down position.
I fully respect the point that you made with reference to sanding all potential joints. However, seriously on a kit this large with all the intricate parts??? You have far more patience than I could ever summon!!!
With regards to Danish, German, Italian, etc. kits, the ones that I have built all went together with minimal issues (other than many confusing instruction sheets!), especially the issues with joint bonding. The last bridge project was Faller's Biestchtal Bridge. Other than the immense size of this, and the naturally delicate nature of the handrails, I experienced few problems due to kit design or materials used. Most European kits are high quality. Several Japanese and Korean made kits haver been high quality as well. I recently obtained some WWII military kits that I envision kit bashing to 1940s era trucks, etc. These were made in Russia, Ukraine, and Romania. I have yet to build any of these, but I am curious as to materials used and how they will assemble. They remind me of some very early British "OO" scale kits that I acquired from my late brother. Rather crude by today's standards, but the plastic appears to be "normal" styrene.
Thanks for all the attention paid to my issues. I just had to vent some of my frustrations!!!
Tomtanguay,
All I can say is.....I feel for You...they must have really changed a lot of things in that kit. Mine is most definitely dark grey styrene plastic. Copyrighted 1997 made in Denmark and it surely did not cost no $100.00 more like 79 and it's still works to this day. I also used Walthers code 83 bridge track on the deck, which didn't cost so much either back then. I even have the double track swing bridge which came out shortly after the Bascule...that one did come with micro switches and diodes for the circuit...You did have to buy the motor separately for it though. That also works to this day. Redoing that scene at the moment.
I am Your age bracket...will be 75 this yr.......started HO 1950 after being a American flyer guy for about 3 yrs. and still build wood ships.
Sorry to hear about Your experience though...sounds frustrating
I have been biting My tongue. As You know or maybe remember...I too built that bridge, back when they first came out and I must say, I did not have all the problem's that I am reading about. Just the one known fact that the electrical part of it was junk and I used a DPDT switch for that from the get-go. The adhesive I used at the time was Ambroid Pro-Weld, which is no longer made....the key to getting a strong bond in just about every styrene, ABS, type plastic is to lightly sand the area's that need to be bonded, with about a 300 grit sandpaper, is what I use, to roughen up the area where You want the bond, that way the adhesive does not have to meld/weld the slippery surface and almost dry before doing so, which will give a weak bond that will come apart. You can even tack two pieces together, by putting a dab on each piece, put together and then brush on a bead in the seam and capillary action does the rest and flow immediately to the sanded parts. As far as the lifts beams go..they are Not supposed to bear all the weight of the bridge...that is what the counter-weight does, helps to lift the bridge, that is one of the main reasons why it is even there. Sort of like a kids play ground teeter totter. That's why the instructions recommend using sand in the counter weight, to adjust amount. The axles I got with mine were hard metal rod.....I chamfered the end of the rod with a file before attempting to hit it in the gear holes...makes going in easier, instead of the rod dragging to the sides of the hole going in. Like putting drive gears on half axles, the half axles are chamfered where they go into the gear. My kit was made in Denmark, like most of the cornerstone structures were when they came out, states that right on the box. I have bought more than a couple of cornerstone kits over the yrs. and a lot of them being the same kit, but at different times/yrs. One in particular being the Transload structure, made in Denmark, Germany and Taiwan, in each case the kits were the same, but the plastic colors were a different shade of basically the same color. Different plastic pellets obviously.
SouthPenn Sounds like you are trying to glue Delrin.
Sounds like you are trying to glue Delrin.
TOMTANGUAY Yes, that Testors was among the many that I tried. {I have used Plastruct, Testors, Ambroid, and GC Electronics cements for styrene as well as multi-medium (styrene, abs, butyrate, acrylic) cements all with poor results.} I have never encountered a similar issue in the hundreds of kits that I have built since the early 1950s. I never saw a plastic quite like the black kind used in my version of this kit. Very "greasy" feeling (I even tried washing and rinsing all sprues!) and slippery. Some new Chinese invention??? The Ambroid multi-medium worked the best, but still not good. The photo of your double bridge is most impressive!
Yes, that Testors was among the many that I tried. {I have used Plastruct, Testors, Ambroid, and GC Electronics cements for styrene as well as multi-medium (styrene, abs, butyrate, acrylic) cements all with poor results.} I have never encountered a similar issue in the hundreds of kits that I have built since the early 1950s. I never saw a plastic quite like the black kind used in my version of this kit. Very "greasy" feeling (I even tried washing and rinsing all sprues!) and slippery. Some new Chinese invention??? The Ambroid multi-medium worked the best, but still not good. The photo of your double bridge is most impressive!
Sounds like you are trying to glue Delrin. You might want to try Loctite G02 or Loctite Epoxy.
Nice bridge!
Thanks for your kind words, tomtanguay.
One thing that I did as i built the bridges was to use small clamps to hold the glued pieces until the glue dried.
Here is a photo of my double bascule bridge.
I used Testors Model Master Liquid Cement For Plastics. This is the black plastic bottle with a needle nose applicator. I use that for all of my plastic structures. It is excellent.
https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Cement-Plastics-1-oz/dp/B0006N6ODS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489263132&sr=8-1&keywords=testors+model+master+liquid+cement
Thanks for the reply. I agree that the gear arm assemblies should have been metal construction, even though that may raise the cost of the kit considerably. I have already resigned myself to the fact that this may, indeed, have to remain a static bridge. I am curious as to why I have had so much trouble with cementing the black plastic parts. The cream colored parts did not present such issues.
Sorry to hear that you are having problems with the bridge. I should probably re-post some photos since my originals disappeared from this thread. After I started this thread back in 2011, I later added a second bascule bridge to replicate the B&OCT on the St. Charles Air Line in downtown Chicago.
I had no trouble building the bridges. My problem was getting the bridges to consistently operate. There are many problems in this regard, but the biggest problem is that the gear arm assembly is plastic. It should be metal. The failure rate proved to be nearly astronomical so I finally resorted to keeping the bridges in a fixed down position.
Great bridges to behold if you keep them in a fixed position. But the construction is not suited for operating the bridge over an extended period.
I am 72 and have been a model builder and model railroader since the early 1950s. Over the years I have built many hundreds of plastic and high-end craftsman kits. I recently obtained a Cornerstone Bascule Bridge. It appears to be a revised version as it has the two micro switches. I must say that this is the most difficult and frustrating kit that I have ever attempted to build. The instructions are abysmal, and seriously in need of a thorough proof-reading and re-edit. The plastic used is supposed to be styrene but is very difficult to cement. I have used Plastruct, Testors, Ambroid, and GC Electronics cements for styrene as well as multi-medium (styrene, abs, butyrate, acrylic) cements all with poor results. Most create weak joints that separate easily or they vigorously attack the plastic causing distortion and "melting". The overall design results in an impressive looking bridge, but the tooling is sloppy. Parts do not always align correctly, locating pins often do not line up with respective holes, and flash and mold marks are everywhere. The motor/gear drive assembly is difficult to assemble due to almost no decent assembly instructions. Once completed, it actually works as it should, however! I have serious doubts about how many operations can be performed before gear failure.The two gear boxes and traveling arms are especially poorly designed and difficult to cement. I have serious doubts that they will hold up long. I will say that the problems with the soft metal rod have been corrected as the rod in this kit was substantial and not easily bent. I am approximately 2/3 finished with this project and should have a decent looking bridge when completed. The tremendous amount of work, aggravation, and frustration are beyond belief. Generally, Cornerstone kits are great and relatively easy to build. This kit definitely falls far short of the Cornerstone reputation. China appears to have been a poor choice for the manufacture of this kit. Quality control was obviously very poor.
The water is absolutely gorgeous. Did you paint all the structures as well?
rjstruble Hey rich, which color paints did you use for what? I love the color scheme. We were not thinking we would paint ours, but your pics have caused me to reevaluate.
Hey rich, which color paints did you use for what? I love the color scheme. We were not thinking we would paint ours, but your pics have caused me to reevaluate.
The bridge is painted with Polly Scale SP Lark Dark Gray.
The lift out section is painted with an Ace Hardware Royal Interior Flat Latex color called Green Forest.
I had looked at satellite photos of the Chicago River at 16th Street where the prototype of the Walthers Cornerstone Bascule Bridge is located and tried to match the color of the water as closely as possible. I was pretty pleased with the results.
Incidentally, the water is Woodland Scenics Realistic Water poured over the painted base of Woodland Scenics Plaster Cloth laid on top of the plywood surface.
Thanks, everone, for your comments and compliments.
Obviously, I am pretty pleased with the results.
My biggest concern now is to permanently secure the bridge to the lift out in such a way that it will remain in place if the lift out is bumped or jarred. Of course, the other issue is the process of removing the lift out with the bridge in place. I have designed the lift out in such a way that I can remove and replace it without having to connect or disconnect any wires. Still, picking up the lift out and/or putting it back in place with the bascule bridge on it requires extreme care. I have already had two near death experiences with it. I have also treated the lift out as a duckunder from time to time but, as you can imagine, any false move or premature standing up could spell its doom. Don't ask me how I know.
Nice job, Rich. It looks great! So, are you ready to tackle a double-track kit-bash one?
Don
HobbyDr's Workbench
Real Nice!! Could I ask to see more pics of your layout? Thanks Chris