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Kit build 2015 Challenge Entry - O16.5 Wickham Type 27 Trolley


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Well I've got a Wickham brass kit that has been in the man drawer for a few weeks and several photos, books and sketches of the Queens Pier in Ramsey Isle of Man. So this entry will be a O-16.5 trolley in the spirit of the pier. I've also started on the pier so it will have a home when it is finished. At least there are several months ahead as this will be the first brass/nickel attempt  

 

It's a http://www.nbrasslocos.co.uk/kit along with the trailer to be kitted out with suitcases suitable for loading onto the steamer at the pier end. 

 

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First thing on the list is to get some low melting solder and flux. I tried to tackle a 009 brass body loco before with some normal solder and it was a bit of a nightmare.

 

I'm normally quite modest in terms of skills, but with soldering having spent a year on a production line soldering mil avionics, rewiring  the queens radio in the back of one of her Daimlers (Japanese radio in an English case to retain the royal warrant ;) ) and then running a line making avionics for sea to air missiles and finishing my tenure by 'butchering' an entire set of Argentinian naval radios that they had sent back for rework in march 1982 (oops) and taking charge of one the UK's first wave soldering machines and accidentally selecting the onscreen menu option for "Japanese" to see what it looked like and then not being able to set it back to English thus taking down the line for a week , I am going to mark myself an 11

 

When it comes to holding this stuff in shape and flowing in some solder and flux, I'm back to a one :)  Tig welding is easier  ( I once knew a guy that was yanked out of a vegas casino to weld an inconel exhaust on a huey cobra at 3am in the morning and only had polystyrene cups to mask the weld and it sounded easier)

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I'm going to tackle the trailer first and the solder is 183 degree , it even has managed to cure the 009 debacle and using an antex XS25 iron @ 25w and tap water, not even distilled ;)

 

I'm still in awe at the hole in the sponge, when i were young we had solid sponges, whoever put that hole in so you could easy scrape the tip needs a prize. Just shows that taking something away can make somethings better. 

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These are great kits and go together really well. There are a few tricky folds (possibly made worse by being harder n/s) but otherwise the n/s is good and it takes solder well (my preference is 145'). IIRC I did a photo build of the trailer on OKWB on RMWeb a while back. It is incredibly lightweight and the motor unit ridiculously fast getting it to do anything other than launch itself off track was problematic. Good luck.

 

While searching for my own OKWB topic I found this more recent one which may be of use and show you what you can expect.

 

Finally found the trailer build way back when, in the depths of the archive (six years ago :O ) Hope it is of some use. I thought I put up the trolley as well some time just after but still no find it.

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Excellent link. Thanks I've been looking for wickham assembly links all over the place.

I think I'm going to have to get one of these folders of some sort. might even splurge on some lower temp solder, it certainly seems the trick compared to previous attempts. I'm even thinking of keeping a running cost of the entire thing as well, even though I know it is not in my best interests to do :)

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I can recommend a hold'n'fold tool as the ideal. But it is a one off fairly expensive outlay. But if you build many kits you will never regret the purchase. There are cheap alternative - even a big bulldog clip and a flat surface can be used through to other bending bar options. The important thing with folding is to score the fold lines with something like a scalpel or craft knife. Score it with many lightish strokes until you can just see a witness line of the scoring on the reverse side. Folding is then simple. (just do not unfold it or it will break - not the end of the world - just a whole new experience in edge soldering)

 

 

might even splurge on some lower temp solder, it certainly seems the trick compared to previous attempts.

IIRC this kit has no white metal components. (I have just opened a box of the 4mm version I have in the queue and it doesn't either) So don't waste your time with low temp solder. This kit is all nickel silver and you need a good soldering iron (probably 40W or netter) and 145'C solder.

 

Low temp solder is NOT a solder in the true sense. It behaves quite differently especially in its flow characteristics. It is used more like a hot glue than real solder. Remember you need very little solder to make a join in brass/ns aim to get the parts clean and a close fit together then the tiniest amount of solder to form a join - literally microns thick. Too much solder just gives you more to clean up afterwards and that is simply a pain and waste of solder and time.

 

Other than the folds this is a straightforward kit and a pleasure to build. Take it slowly and enjoy it.

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New solder arrived, and a driver from C&L and after putting together one of the wagon/trailer chassis rails I am going to look at getting a folding tool. It worked with pliers and ruler, but mini crimps along the rail doesnt look A1. I've seen a 2" tool that should do the job for this kit at least. 

Solder and folder should exceed the spend for the actual kit :)

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The hold'n'fold are great but as you will have read from my trailer build it has a drawback for this kit. The 'U' channels you are having to form are simply too small. If I were to build this one again I would purchase some preformed 'U' channel - it would also get around the catch 22 with the difference in beam length and platform length. 

Solder and folder should exceed the spend for the actual kit :)

But enough solder there to build several kits, and the hold'n'fold is an investment for the future.
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thanks for the link to the trailer build, got some good tips from that. Spent most of the evening opening out the brass bush holes for the axles. At least won't have to do that one again , until the actual trolley that is. I'm building this narrow gauge , so not had the problems with the axles as they can be installed all the way through. Much easier and more reliable too I would imagine. Hope to tackle more of the trailer next weekend , but I'm probably going to replace the nickel bed with a wooden one I think. I would imagine I would be able to find some veneer thin enough. Will see what happens when the bed size pans out and if anything has changed. So far the flux and solder have worked better than I hoped, although I did have to run a 2mm drill through one bush as some of it had wicked inside one. 

 

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I'm building this narrow gauge

Oooh! less than 16.5mm ? :D I didn't realise. Makes it even more interesting as balancing them is gong to be fun. Especially with the speed those motor units get up to.

 

 

but I'm probably going to replace the nickel bed with a wooden one I think. I would imagine I would be able to find some veneer thin enough.

That is a really great idea. I think making metal look like wood is a real challenge especially if you like it "weathered". For me, I just build the kit as is so do not have such inspiring outside the box imagination.
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Oooh! less than 16.5mm ? :D I didn't realise. Makes it even more interesting as balancing them is gong to be fun. Especially with the speed those motor units get up to.

 

It's O21 I think. 3ft gauge as per the IOM railway , fortunately as it is a pier railway the speed will be limited to avoid pedestrians and seagulls.

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