Simond Posted June 26, 2017 Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) John I do lots of brass. I use citric acid home brew flux following a discussion on the G0G forum, its basically a stirated (wt..? I typed "saturated") solution of citric acid in distilled/deionised water and then ~ 20% added iso-propyl alcohol as a wetting agent. I use a standard Antex iron, and normal cored electronics solder (leaded variety, bleifrei is a pita), occasionally, I'll use solder paste, or the RSU, or if it's a big brass kit, I'll wheel out the 65W iron with a 3/8-inch copper bar bit. If things are difficult, or I'm doing whitemetal, I use Powerflo which is a very aggressive plumbers flux. It needs to be scrubbed off pretty much immediately or you, your model and everything else goes geeen and nasty. The citric acid leaves a sticky residue that washes off in warm water, its non-corrosive. I guess you're using lead-free solder. My advice would be "don't", although when I work out how to, (I've got 6 rolls of the stuff), I'll let you know. Best Simon Edited June 26, 2017 by Simond Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium cctransuk Posted June 26, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) What opinions are there on roof colour? I'm leaning towards grey as other BR wagons would have. John, It's not a roof as such - just the tank top. Rectangular tank wagons had their tops painted body colour; I can't see any argument for doing otherwise. Flux? I use home-diluted phosphoric acid at 15%, (or 7.5% for whitemetal) - works for me. Regards, John Isherwood. Edited June 26, 2017 by cctransuk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the advice on roof colour John. Thanks also for the advice on soldering guys. The solder package doesn't say so but I do believe the solder is lead free. It works fine for smaller parts. I have a large roll of uncored electrical solder (and leaded), equivalent to 188C. I do have a fair amount of Carrs Green flux but I wanted to see if I can get away with acid free. This model is pretty much done now as far as soldering is concerned so I'll finish with the solder I've been using. I will experiment with some changes next time. John Edited June 26, 2017 by brossard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 26, 2017 Author Share Posted June 26, 2017 The brass is all done now: P1010001-005 by John Kendall, on Flickr Note the spigot bracket, ratchet and brake lever. Also safety loops. It is currently taking a bath in white vinegar. John 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Wagon primed, looks a whole lot better but does tend to accentuate the wonky roof: P1010001-006 by John Kendall, on Flickr Notice the spigot under the solebar. I made a pipe and soldered it to the tank bottom. Black paint tomorrow after the primer cures. John 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 I doubt your roof is wonkier than the real thing would be when it was some 40 years old! Looks good! Best Simon 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Glad to hear you say that Simon. At this point correcting it is not in the cards. I think the black will hide it somewhat. John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 (edited) More progress today but frustrating because I still haven't got any wheels. I think I've gone as far as I can: P1010001-007 by John Kendall, on Flickr I'm very pleased with how this turned out. I used Testors rattle can flat black. It gives a nice finish but already, because of handling I can see scuff marks.Couplings: These are Parkside, robbed from a GWR open wagon kit that I've also been working on. I finally twigged that the top link needs to be soldered closed so it doesn't fall out of the gap in the coupler.Buffers: The kit contains 6 castings which are essentially whitmetal tubes. These require careful drilling to ensure that there are two different internal diameters for proper buffer springing. I did scrap one of them when my drill went to far. I also noticed that the springs provided were not all the same and quite large too. I replaced them with finer springs (Slaters I think). I was also annoyed that the holes in the buffer beam are smaller than the nut so I had to do the nuts after installing the housings in the buffer beam. Fiddly but doable. I finished off by securing the nuts with thread locker LocTite. I don't recommend using CA because you can break the threaded part off if you ever want to remove the buffer.I painted the spigots brass and touched up the brake handle with white.I also worked on the transfers. A dreadful disappointment but I got some usable decals. P1010002-003 by John Kendall, on Flickr I used Microscale white backed sheets and the instructions do say that these are really for laser printers (although my old Samsung laser made a mess too). I sprayed some dullcote on the sheet before printing. The good news is that my all singing and all dancing printer does feed the sheet. I finished with some Testors decal coat.You will see that I can get one set of the lettering, but most of the Tare numbers are rubbish. I can use numbers from my (now) extensive collection of transfers.John Edited June 27, 2017 by brossard 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted July 5, 2017 Author Share Posted July 5, 2017 I finally got the water tank to a point where I can call it finished. The brake shoe fixing took a long time and the lettering was a sorry tale of equipment not up to the job, errors and experiments gone horribly wrong. P1010001-008 by John Kendall, on Flickr This is why weathering was invented.John 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted August 12, 2017 Author Share Posted August 12, 2017 Speaking of weathering, I just completed the process: P1010014 by John Kendall, on Flickr P1010013 by John Kendall, on Flickr I gave it a bit of a rusty patina. John 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hodgson Posted August 25, 2020 Share Posted August 25, 2020 Lovely job you have made of an unusual prototype. I bought one of these in 4mm through ebay, 3d printed in Australia, as yet unlettered so this thread is very helpful to me. I am wondering about the Empty/Full lettering. It would make sense against a gauge, but there doesn't seem to be one (would it work like a loco boiler gauge?) It would make sense if there was a manual flap you could slide over whichever word was inapplicable It would make sense if it had the home/refill stations painted against the wording. Or maybe you just chalked the next destination on it and deleted as inappropriate? The filler is obvious and looks big enough to use a loco dept water crane, but that would rather defeat the object of the wagon! But how did you empty it? There's something that looks like it may be a tap underneath the wagon to the right of the V hanger for the brake - but seems very inconvenient. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brossard Posted August 25, 2020 Author Share Posted August 25, 2020 I did wonder about the "Empty/Full" thing. I copied the grainy photo that came with the kit. My understanding is that these were used to supply water to remote places like level crossing cottages, where there was no mains supply. If it were me I think I would boil the water anyway. A unique and interesting wagon but not a lot of info I think. John Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now