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A new modelling chapter: Marsh Lane Workshops


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Glass fiber brushes can be horrid but I wouldn't be without mine.  Absolutely indispensable for cleaning brass after soldering and wheels after weathering.  And yes, it does a great job with copper clad strip.

 

I can recommend this:  https://www.hattons.co.uk/44187/expo_drills_tools_70510_4mm_glass_fibre_scratch_brush/stockdetail.aspx

 

Don't forget to order refills.

 

John

 

 

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2 hours ago, Andrew P said:

2mm F/S seen at DEMU back in 2015

 

Doesn't it look stunning Andy :) Peco really should be able to get closer to this than they do!

 

Rich

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On 21/01/2020 at 18:36, brossard said:

Glass fiber brushes can be horrid but I wouldn't be without mine.

 

 

I always use a track rubber for cleaning before soldering.

Easier to clean than these loose fibres.

I don't use it to clean my track though.....

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On 08/01/2020 at 17:56, 2mmMark said:

I've just noticed that Pendon are doing a couple of soldering tuition workshops on 21st & 22nd March, led by Mick Simpson.  I don't know if it's our 2mm Mick Simpson or not but there's no better way to learn soldering than with some hands-on tuition. 
https://pendonmuseum.com/events/event.php?s=basic-soldering-for-modellers

 

Well spotted, Mark. It is indeed the same Mick Simpson, and there's only one vacancy left, on Sunday 22nd.

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I learned how to solder from Iain Rice' book, Locomotive Kit Chassis Construction in 4mm.  There is an extensive section on the materials and equipment required and it all worked for me.  The book is dated and I wouldn't use phosphoric acid flux these days.  However, I recommend it:

 

https://britishrailwaybooks.co.uk/books/ISBN/1874103100.php

 

John

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4 hours ago, brossard said:

I learned how to solder from Iain Rice' book, Locomotive Kit Chassis Construction in 4mm.  There is an extensive section on the materials and equipment required and it all worked for me.  The book is dated and I wouldn't use phosphoric acid flux these days.  However, I recommend it:

 

https://britishrailwaybooks.co.uk/books/ISBN/1874103100.php

 

John

 

I'm curious, why are you not using phosphoric acid flux?  It's the most useful one I have, and I suspect, is so for many other modellers.

 

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Hi everyone,

 

Phosphoric Acid Flux is not always the easiest thing to find these days.  If you have to buy it online there may be difficulties in getting it shipped to you.  As one UK supplier has on their website:

 

Note: Currently not available for delivery to N.Scotland, N.Ireland, Scottish Isles, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Europe Zone 3, Europe Zone 4, Europe Zone 5, Europe Zone 6, Guernsey, Jersey and Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong, Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand & USA.

 

From experience of trying to order paint, that looks very much like a Royal Mail prohibition list.

 

Hope that's of interest.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

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1 hour ago, 2mmMark said:

 

I'm curious, why are you not using phosphoric acid flux?  It's the most useful one I have, and I suspect, is so for many other modellers.

 

 

The fumes get right up my nose.  I use non-acid flux.  I used it for quite a long time, and still have some left.

 

John

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4 hours ago, Alex TM said:

Hi everyone,

 

Phosphoric Acid Flux is not always the easiest thing to find these days.  If you have to buy it online there may be difficulties in getting it shipped to you.  As one UK supplier has on their website:

 

Note: Currently not available for delivery to N.Scotland, N.Ireland, Scottish Isles, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Europe Zone 3, Europe Zone 4, Europe Zone 5, Europe Zone 6, Guernsey, Jersey and Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong, Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand & USA.

 

From experience of trying to order paint, that looks very much like a Royal Mail prohibition list.

 

Hope that's of interest.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

 

I get 9% phosphoric acid from stands at railway modelling exhibitions. Around £3.00 for a 100 ml bottle.

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14 hours ago, brossard said:

 

The fumes get right up my nose.  I use non-acid flux.  I used it for quite a long time, and still have some left.

 

John

 

Ah ok, understood. I don't find it a problem but maybe I'm using it a lower concentration.  I did once have some non-acid flux made by Fry's. From the smell of it, it contained some form isopropyl alcohol. It worked well enough but left a green residue over the work.

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I most use Carrs 188 solder paint for kit assembly.  Not sure what the flux is in that?  Prior to getting that I always used Fluxite, and still do from time to time.  I also have some red label, which is mainly for white metal, but can be used for brass or n/s (but not steel or tinplate according to the label).  The label also says that if used for soft solder at higher temperatures it leaves a water soluble residue which can be removed with a damp cloth.

 

Jim

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I thought I'd better do a quick update, so nobody thought id given up!  Work has prevented the more enjoyable things in life, such as point building the past couple of weeks, but I am eager to get back to things, just need to find an afternoon to push on.

 

Other things have moved on with the rolling stock however, the two sets of Dapol Class 56 wheels have been sent off for turning, so in between forays into track building, the next stage is to build the confidence to cut the bodyside and roof grills out of the first Class 56 model.  The TPM replacements for the bodyside grills are here (and have been for a couple of months now!) and the 3D roof grills should arrive shortly.  I am also starting to give thoughts to how to put the baseboards together - these are going to be an open frame design, which is another first for me.  I decided if I am going to do this layout right in 2FS, lets get the baseboards right too!

 

Hopefully, something more positive and some progress pictures with the next update - but thanks to everyone that has contributed so far, its all really useful and much appreciated.

 

Rich

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Hi Rich lovely to see you are getting stuck in. A few coments from me;

 

I tend to use 150deg solder for trackwork the idea being the lower temperature is kinder to PCB sleepers and it needs less heat input.

 

For cleaning up before soldering I find a Garryflex block the brown fine one suits me. I find the blocks very useful.

 

I have some flux that is basically Phosphoric acid mixed to Ian Rice's recipe. I think there is a bit of IPA in there. A friend had it made up by a chemist he had to sign the poisons register. Oddly chatting to Brian Lewis when he ran C+L he commented the Phosphoric acid he used for their flux came in large container marked food grade! Make of that what you will. They put the stuff in Coca -Cola and the like to give them a bit of a bite. You could use colaI as a flux but the suger would burn and clog the bit. I was advised to store it out of the light probably degardes with sunlight. I find the Carrs green good I use that as the jar seals nicely so it fine in my portable workkit. If you find the fumes from any flux noxious a small fan (from a scrapped PC?) can blow them away as you work. Fry's Powerflux in the Yellow pots works well but is difficult to clean off fully and causes problems when painting so I keep that for plumbing not modelling. With the phosphoric acid mix or Carrs  I use a small cheap brush you can put a dab on sleepers or wipe it along a seam for an etched kit.

 

Even professionals don't produce ideal joints all the time. Working on a co-ax cable which was being up gradesd from Frequency division Multiplex to Time Division Multiplex we had to remake practically every joint  ( the cable went from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury so quite a few joints) . Theyhad been soldered well enough for the FDM but were not perfect and caused problems with the pulses in TDM.

 

The filing method for Vs and blades is easier with Bullhead rail as it will lay flat on the bench for Flatbottom rail I suggest you use a pice of ply with a strip of packing fixed so the rail sits level with the head on the packing. I assuming for the period you mention at least some of the track will have been relaid with FB. It is also harder to bend wingrails in FB without it twisting a little. I tend to hold it down on a flat surface as I bend it using fingers and thumb. 

 

There is a lot of useful stuff in the Track book Geoff is a great one for ideas. I have made turnouts in a number of gauges but was amazed at how much easier filing the blades is in 2mm using the Jig to his design sold by the association.

 

Don

 

 

 

 

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14 minutes ago, Donw said:

I tend to use 150deg solder for trackwork the idea being the lower temperature is kinder to PCB sleepers and it needs less heat input.

For cleaning up before soldering I find a Garryflex block the brown fine one suits me. I find the blocks very useful.

There is a lot of useful stuff in the Track book Geoff is a great one for ideas. I have made turnouts in a number of gauges but was amazed at how much easier filing the blades is in 2mm using the Jig to his design sold by the association.

Don

 

Hi Don.

 

Are you still doing any 2mm stuff? I haven't seen anything from you since 2015. I would love to see how you are getting on.

 

Julia.

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4 hours ago, -missy- said:

 

Hi Don.

 

Are you still doing any 2mm stuff? I haven't seen anything from you since 2015. I would love to see how you are getting on.

 

Julia.

 

Thank you for your interest Julia.

The simple answer is that perhaps rather rashly we moved early in 2016 to a large bungalow needing major work and with a large garden so I have done very little modelling. The room allocated to modelling was used to store all sorts of stuff and part of it has been nicked for an en suite. I haven't been able to clear the workbench as it seems I have more models and materials than space to store them. All the work apart from the drainage down the public highway has been done by Marion and I. We do seem to be taking longer to do things these days. Even  planting over 50 trees took quite a time. However I am looking forward to returning to modelling.

 

I did miss a couple of things I meant to say in my post. Firstly even if not using easitrac you will find fitting one of the short pieces onto the ends of the rails when building a turnout holds the rails upright and keeps the ends roughly in place making it easier soldering the rails to the sleepers. I also have a pair of forceps with a curved end these will hold the rail with the handles flat on the deck keeping it upright.

 

Don

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8 hours ago, Donw said:

Thank you for your interest Julia.

The simple answer is that perhaps rather rashly we moved early in 2016 to a large bungalow needing major work and with a large garden so I have done very little modelling. The room allocated to modelling was used to store all sorts of stuff and part of it has been nicked for an en suite. I haven't been able to clear the workbench as it seems I have more models and materials than space to store them. All the work apart from the drainage down the public highway has been done by Marion and I. We do seem to be taking longer to do things these days. Even  planting over 50 trees took quite a time. However I am looking forward to returning to modelling.

Don

 

All I can really see Don is a bit of track. You seem very knowledgeable. I would love to see more from you.

 

Julia.

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On 22/01/2020 at 23:24, Ian Smeeton said:

I did hear someone mentioning that dipping your glass fibre brush refill in PVA and allowing it to 'wick' stopped the stray fibres.

 

No idea if it works, though, I have run out of refills!

 

Regards

 

Ian

This is a top tip, I tried it and it’s made the brush much easier, and less painful to use.

 

thanks!

 

John

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On 15/02/2020 at 13:00, MarshLane said:

I thought I'd better do a quick update, so nobody thought id given up!  Work has prevented the more enjoyable things in life, such as point building the past couple of weeks, but I am eager to get back to things, just need to find an afternoon to push on.

 

Other things have moved on with the rolling stock however, the two sets of Dapol Class 56 wheels have been sent off for turning, so in between forays into track building, the next stage is to build the confidence to cut the bodyside and roof grills out of the first Class 56 model.  The TPM replacements for the bodyside grills are here (and have been for a couple of months now!) and the 3D roof grills should arrive shortly.  I am also starting to give thoughts to how to put the baseboards together - these are going to be an open frame design, which is another first for me.  I decided if I am going to do this layout right in 2FS, lets get the baseboards right too!

 

Hopefully, something more positive and some progress pictures with the next update - but thanks to everyone that has contributed so far, its all really useful and much appreciated.

 

Rich

 

Evening all,

A quick question to start with - can anyone tell me what the best colour match is for the flame red frames on HAA wagons?  Im going to start repainting the one's I've got from the early HOP AB style maroon.   I'll brush paint these I think as there is too much small area to start masking and spraying.

 

Work has taken the fore lately, but I've also been slightly hampered as my PC laptop decided to give us the ghost in late February.  Having shopped around for a while, I've now decided that building a PC tower is going to be the best way forward, the various parts have been arriving, and that is next weekends job. But does mean that the railway projects have not really progressed much :(  still patience is a virtue I'm told.  I have however managed to acquired several more wagons courtesy of a very nice chap on another forum, so im heading towards the end game!  Just not quite as quickly as I would like.  I am still on the look out for further HAAs btw!

 

Rich 

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Good god,

Two months have moved on since I last posted, and was able to get any modelling done!  There is some good news however, the wagon fleet has grown a bit, and I finally managed a few hours over a couple of days modelling last week (firs time since March!) and was able to progress with another point.  Some progress and I am quite happy with how its coming, so pictures to follow when I have finished it - later this week hopefully.

 

I have still not matched the colour on the HAA wagons, so that query remains outstanding.  I mentioned last time that my PC laptop died, well I am delighted to say that as the lockdown started various packages started arriving from Amazon and other computer retailers, with various boards and cables, and a few days later these boxes were all opened, the contents laid out across the kitchen and a new PC tower built over about four hours - I was pleased, but even more delighted when I turned it on and it worked first time!!  So track planning for the layout has been back underway in the odd half hour I have had here and there over the past month.

 

Easitrack

However, a friend posed a question to me yesterday that I am not sure of the answer.  Can normal straight 2FS Easitrack be used by standard N gauge wheels? Now I know the latter will have problems with the finer clearances on pointwork, but I cannot see any reason why N gauge stock could not use easitrack on straight sections, unless anyone can enlighten me? During a view chat I was showing him some of the track work and being an N (rather than 2FS) modeller, he was impressed with the Easitrack rather than Peco metre lengths and I think is now querying whether he should change and build some.  I said I would find out ... so any thoughts guys?

 

Above all, I hope everyone is keeping safe and staying well, and I promise we'll feature some proper modelling on here soon!  I am eager to push on with it...

 

Rich

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As far as I am ware (and I have no experience to go by) the answer is 'yes' for modern N-gauge profile.  Whether the same is true for 'pizza-cutter' wheels I don't know.

 

Presumably your friend is aware of FiNetrax https://www.britishfinescale.com/ if he doesn't want to convert to 2FS.

 

Jim

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6 hours ago, MarshLane said:

Easitrack

However, a friend posed a question to me yesterday that I am not sure of the answer.  Can normal straight 2FS Easitrack be used by standard N gauge wheels? Now I know the latter will have problems with the finer clearances on pointwork, but I cannot see any reason why N gauge stock could not use easitrack on straight sections, unless anyone can enlighten me? During a view chat I was showing him some of the track work and being an N (rather than 2FS) modeller, he was impressed with the Easitrack rather than Peco metre lengths and I think is now querying whether he should change and build some.  I said I would find out ... so any thoughts guys?

 

As  Paul & Izzy say, Yes! Ropley uses plain Easitrac and off the shelf N Gauge stock.

 

Finetrax is a standard N Gauge alternative that was not available at the time I started track laying!

 

Tom.  

 

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