Phil Traxson Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Has anyone tried the Smallbrook resin bodies designed for the Hornby "Smokey Joe" type chassis on the "Branchlines" chassis kit for the Peco Hunslet? I'm thinking that as I have one of these chassis to build for a Peco body I have, maybe I should offer it up when built, but wondered if any one else had tried it and if so what comments they had. Phil Traxson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Some years ago I put a Smallbrook "Echo" body on a Smokey Joe chassis. It went together easily enough although I had to do a bit of experimenting to find a glue that liked it. I think I ended up using Araldite Rapid, although it was too long ago for me to be sure. A much, much bigger problem was finding a paint that liked it. It took primer well enough but despite having that as a barrier the top coat suffered all kinds of problems. I tried cellulose, acrylic and enamel and it didn't like any of them. The problems came in many different varieties, depending on what type of paint I used, but the most common one was that it simply wouldn't dry. In the end I put the body in a paper bag in the airing cupboard and left it there for a couple of months - and the paint was still ever so slightly soft when it came out. I mentioned the problem whenever I saw a Smallbrook loco operating at an exhibition and soon realised that, despite Smallbrooks claims to the contrary, I was far from alone in suffering from that problem. I also happened to mention it in an aircraft modelling shop that used to be near me and learned from the proprietor that it was a common problem when resin first started being used in aeromodelling and took quite a while to overcome. I built the loco a dozen or so years ago and it still performs sterling service on the club's 7mmNG roundy-roundy layout that is used to entertain the kids at exhibitions - although a recent trip to the floor hasn't done it any good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium decauville1126 Posted July 26, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 26, 2015 Some (but maybe not all?) of the Smallbrook loco bodies have lead shot mixed in with the resin in footplate areas, presumably to add weight or stabilise against warping in thick sections or bulk out the resin (or a combination of these). This is fine until you want to drill holes for 'alternative' attachments - drills wander off when they hit the lead. So I've had to excavate voids, fill with epoxy resin, and then finally drill and/or tap. A pain - yes, but easy. As to the comment about paint not drying, I've never had a problem. Wash the body in isopropanol, then spray with Halfords grey primer. If the primer didn't go hard then it can be washed off again with isopropanol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike morley Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Never once had a problem with the primer, and it baffled me that I could have a problem with the top coat despite it being on top of a stable layer of primer. A couple of times it was suggested that the problem might be caused by release agent, but the body must have gone through a bath of paint stripper at least half a dozen times with all my failed efforts and I cannot believe any release agent would have survived that. I am at least able to confirm that the resin can cope with regular, extreme doses of Nitromors without ill-effect. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Lee Posted July 26, 2015 Share Posted July 26, 2015 Not tried the loco kits, but I have had a go at the OO Stroudley 4-wheel coaches. Before painting, I treated them as if they were model soldiers in that I washed them with wash-up liquid and rinsed them with as the hottest water that my hands could stand. When dry, I used a can of grey car primer to prime it with. I used another can of mahogany-coloured paint for cars for the final colour. For the bits underneath in black, I used Humbrol enamel. For the roof, I used acrylic paint over the car primer. I didn't have any problems with paint drying. I did leave it at least an hour between coats. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Traxson Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 I think there might be a slight misunderstanding over my question here, I just wondered if the kits would fit the "Branchlines" chassis designed to replace the same Smokey Joe type chassis in the Peco body. Thanks for answering anyway. However some interesting points have been brought up re-painting resin. As proprietor and kit producer hiding behind the Port Wynnstay Models range of resin castings,(plus one or two other traders I cast for) I too use no release agent but there is a built in release agent in the silicone in the mould rubber I use, a little of which is leached out by each casting. To clean this I recommend using a toothbrush and a cream bath cleaner and warm water(CIF is very good) as washing up liquid often contains lanolin, so whilst removing the silicone it replaces it with lanolin and paint doesn't stick well to that either. I have also found that car primers other than Halfords will stick to the casting but often lift the silicone onto their own surface rather than masking it, and so defeat the object of putting them on, though in my case this resulted in the paint "puddling" on the surface of the model and giving a Hammerite type finish. Hope this is of some help. Phil T. Port Wynnstay Models Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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