maxman riogrande5761 My achilles heal has always been application of glues - I tend to struggle with getting a tiny amount on and end up getting it in places that marr the finish Opti-Visor and a 5/0 or smaller brush. Some Dullcoat will hide any minor oopses.
riogrande5761 My achilles heal has always been application of glues - I tend to struggle with getting a tiny amount on and end up getting it in places that marr the finish
Opti-Visor and a 5/0 or smaller brush. Some Dullcoat will hide any minor oopses.
Opti-visor may be in my future, although I do have a crookneck lighted magnifier as well.
How do you clean those tiny brushes of the adhesives after a session or do you sacrifice them each time?
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
riogrande5761How do you clean those tiny brushes of the adhesives after a session or do you sacrifice them each time?
I use thin liquid plastic cement like Ambroid Pro-Weld (still have some hidden), or MicroMark Same Stuff. So the brush doesn't get all that gummy. If it gets, stiff putting it back in the solvent cement loosens it up again.
I actually don't like the Time Saver cars, because you need to use CA. To apply CA, I use a length of 0.015 wire chucked in a pin vice. Nothing is perfect for me, but as mentioned an overcoat with Dull Coat and a little weathering seems to take care of any issues.
I've never found the need to clean the brushes used for plastic cement. I use Tenax 7R, ProWeld, plain MEK, Plastruct Weldene or Bondene, etc. None of them seem to damage brushes. I don't use tube glues, and avoid CA for plastic assembly. When I do use CA, I tend to apply it with a scrap of brass wire or similar.
Rob Spangler
Here are two tank cars I made from P2K kits on which I striped the original painting. This was one of the most interesting project I had. I prefer kits (P2K, Athearn BB, Accurail, Atlas, Bowser, etc.) over any RTR I could find. My skills are not what I would like but any kit assembling is rewarding.
Guy
Modeling CNR in the 50's
I'll raise my hand.
I tried two proto 2000 tank car kits and quit out of frustration. It wasn't fun at all, and conquering that challenge really wouldn't feel like an accomplishment to me when I know that I could just buy the same thing fully assembled. I'll never buy another.
I've been in the hobby for 40 years and I built MDC, Athearn, and Accurail kits back in the day because those kits yielded a better product than the RTR stuff, which was generally Tyco, AHM, etc.. I built the kit versions because they didn't offer RTR then. They were also fun to build.
And I still like the Accurail 3 bay covered hopper kit because its a shorter modern car and comparable RTR products are about twice as much. I also like the finished product better than the competition's RTR lineup.
- Douglas
Regarding Tenax 7R, I have used that with a brush and agree, no issues with it - after all it's a solvent basically. But the stuff seems to be mainly best to brush on from the inside like when building the flat kits like Eel River PC&F box cars, or building kits where you put to sides of a wall together and brush the joint from the inside where it doesn't show. I've also used it on box cars like Proto 2000 where you can brush it from the inside to secure ladders or parts the attach from the outside but the solvent pentrates to the pin from the inside.
Since it's so thin and evaporates so quickly, those are the only circumstances I've used Tenax 7R. Any use from the outside and I'd worry about it running down the side of the model accidentally crazing or marring the surface - difficult to control being so thin. Thats where I've found, for me, having something with a little body helps me control the glue a little, by putting it on a pin or thin wire to apply it where it is needed, so I've used gel AC in those cases, but also found the Testers plastic cement is just thick enough to apply and seems to work too. I don't use tube glues either.
That said, there are some adhesives I haven't tried yet.
Appreciate the feedback however.
riogrande5761ince it's so thin and evaporates so quickly, those are the only circumstances I've used Tenax 7R. Any use from the outside and I'd worry about it running down the side of the model accidentally crazing or marring the surface - difficult to control being so thin.
Use a small enough brush, and it will hold only enough solvent for the joint you're working on. I drop the stuff onto exterior joints on any pre-painted car with virtually no worries. Also, the fast-evaporating solvents won't do much damage to paint if you leave any spills alone until completely dry. I'll typically add the part to the car, then apply solvent with a brush, as the solvent will usually be completely evaporated if I apply it first and then try to drop the part on it. Just let the solvent wick out of the bristles and into the joint. Don't use brush strokes or you'll risk dissolving paint.
Control for me is MUCH easier than with something like CA. Once you get used to it you may never go back to thicker glues again. I don't even have any of the thick Testors cement as I don't find uses for it.
One of my 'tricks' is to pre-drill the grab iron holes. Sure they are molded in - and on an undecorated car they might even be the right size holes. But once it's painted - forget it. This applies to other kits with fine plastic bits, like Branchline Blueprint cars. If the location is ok and just goes to the inside of a closed space, or what will be a close space, I'll even drill all the way through, not just drill out the blind hole that's cast in - so I can apply cement from the back where you won't see anything and there's no danger of it marring the visible surfaces.
I use the little microbrushes, and can keep using the same one for a long time. Eventually it picks up some of the plastic, when it gets too gummed up I just toss it and pull another one from the pack. The solvents like Tenax evaporate fast and they contain no pigments or fillers like paint, so there's really nothing to clean when using a brush for this stuff. Originally it took me a while to realize that. I was thinking the same thing - how can you clean this stiff off a brush? It's not acrylic where I can use water, or an enaml I can clean with thinner or other solvent..thent he light bulb went on, within a minute of the last dip, the brush is totally dry, no need to clean it. Don;t mix the brushes up though, keep the ones for painting for painting, and the ones for solvent glues for the solvent glues.
One of the few things I use CA for is gluing pennies together to make extra weights when needed. And gluing the suface mount resistors to the axles to make resistor wheelsets. For plastic model work, I have Tenax and the Plastruct stuff (the kind that works on styrene - they have a couple different formulas). I suppose I should just buy bulk instead of pay throught he nose for those small bottles, but even with the cap tightly on, I've found Tenax to eventually evaporate. For CA, I found Locktite brand in the bog box stores which instead of one large tube is 10 little ones - I actually get to use ALL of this instead of half of it since I only open one little tube at a time, the rest stays fresh until needed. The larger container - I'm lucky if I get half of it used before the whole thing hardens.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
The P2K kits are fine, but RTR is more convenient. Maybe new trucks or wheelsets; new couplers; maybe a few added details like cut levers.
There are a lot of cars that can only be obtained in kit form: Westerfield PRR X23 or X25 boxcars; F&C L.V. "wrong way door" boxcars or B&O N-12 hoppers; Sunshine AC&Y 10'3" I.H. Mather boxcars. If I can't buy them RTR, I'll build them. If there's no kit, I may even scratchbuild or modify something to suit.
The goal is to have the railroad you want, with the equipment you want. You do what you must. Back around 1950, RTR was rare indeed. Everybody was a kitbuilder and/or sctratchbuilder because that was the only way. We've come a long way since then, but there's still room for the kitbuilder, the craftsman, the guy who wants something unlike everybody else's. RTR stuff relieves us of the need to build some of our desired models so we can spend more time on the "vanity" projects that will be our own unique projects.
Anyway, if you want P2K kits, just check the shows and ebay. They're out there, and probably will be for at least a while.
Tom
Edit: Refrigeration extends the life of CA.
Believe me, I am VERY patient with eBay - only very rarely have I paid more than $40 for a loco, and most of mine are Proto 2000. I watch dozens of auctions and may in the end let all of them go if the prices goes over what i want to pay. In the cases where I did buy locos over $40, I got some of those fancy $300+ sound equipped locos for half price or less - mostly because I was willing to let 4 others go and didn't bid when the price went higher than I wanted. Another always comes along - amazing how many of these "limited edition, must preorder" products show up, new and in sealed boxes. I have never preordered anything. Oh, manufacturer says sold out, sorry? Just wait and watch ebay.
ACYIf I can't buy them RTR, I'll build them. If there's no kit, I may even scratchbuild or modify something to suit. The goal is to have the railroad you want, with the equipment you want. You do what you must. Anyway, if you want P2K kits, just check the shows and ebay. They're out there, and probably will be for at least a while. Tom
The goal is to have the railroad you want, with the equipment you want. You do what you must.
Thats my way of thinking too Tom. Whenever that old RTR vs. Kits debate rears its head, I always wonder why it has to be one or the other. Like you said, I get what I need to have the railroad I want with the variety of freight cars which are hopefully fairly accurate and representative of what ran in that time frame and location. Basically you need both RTR and kits to achieve that goal.
Although my skill level isn't really at the craftsman kit level, I still buy a variety of regular kits - just a couple weeks ago I bought an Athearn blue box 86' auto box car kit. There isn't an RTR version of it on the market. Another example is the CF4600 covered hopper - right now Accurail is the only game in town in HO for that car.
The good thing about kits is that there are quite a few out on the secondary market for treasure hunters. Certainly at Timonium there are lots at vendors with them and I expect it will be some years going forward until the supply gets really thinned out. It likely there are still with shelves full of kits at home that will never get built, that will get recycled back to the secondary market and keep the supply going to one degree or another for some years.