Cambrian ballast wagon issues

[hogger]

Hello,

I am working on some Dogfish and Catfish ballast wagons from Cambrian.  I find the detail on the Cambrian kits is comparable to the North American freightcars I usually build.  Where there is an issue is the mating surfaces of the parts to be glued together, for example the headstocks and solebars.  I used Plastruct Plastic Weld with the first Catfish, having to hold the solebars and headstocks for quite awhile before the glue held the parts together.  I left the underframe overnight to set on a flat surface.  The next day I noticed that  one end of the wagon was on a slant resulting in one W iron being of the flat surface. I am not sure what happened here, so I chalked it up to personal error and disassembled the underframe.  Next, after thinking what to do, I did a Dogfish underframe, which is the same as the Catfish (although it should have 8 leaf springs).   This time I added pieces of ESM strip at the end of the two solebars and the two headstocks adding more surface area when gluing the underframe together.  This also gives a bigger area for the two end platforms to sit on.  I also cut very small pieces of ESM to go under the frame cross piece at the opposite end of the platform.  I also used Plastruct Bondene which is used to bond ABS to ABS, or Styrene to Styrene.  This cement works very quickly so I had to  make sure everything was aligned properly before gluing.  I placed the frame on my flat surface and paid extra attention to the four W irons being in contact with the flat surface.  Next day, tada, lovely job.  Until I noticed a 1mm bulge in the middle of the assembled frame.  Also one headstock was on an angle.  After pondering this bother, the only idea I had was one of the solebars was longer than the other.  Each measured 88mm or 88.5mm in length. 

Any suggestions before I do another attempt?

Ian

 

[SM42]

I have a vague recollection of reports that one of the solebar moulding is a tad longer.

 

One reason why I have several unbuilt.

 

As to solutions, I'm afraid I have not looked into this.  

 

 

Andy

[hogger]

Thanks for the reply.  In one of Kent's books he indicates this was an issue with the Dapol 35 ton tank wagon.  I wondered if it was the same for the Dogfish/Catfish solebars.

Time to press on!

Ian  

[Bernard Lamb]

Some of the older Cambrian kits do present difficulties in building good models.

The later kits are superb.

I do not know of any list that gives the degree of difficulty or the nature of problems that might be encountered.

The only way is to measure all the parts and correct as required and then to add strengthening material to keep all the parts together. Plus the odd jig needs to be made to align the parts.

They can be frustrating but I am glad that they are available as building from scratch takes longer.

Afraid you just have to persevere. Or throw it at the cat.

Bernard

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Here's my effort, fought me every inch of the way, hateful thing.

I could do with more, but unless the kit is drastically improved and updated there will be no more. Fingers crossed for a Heljan version!

 

Mike.

[TheSignalEngineer]

There are three part built on my bench at the moment. I bought them off club sales stands at shows on the past.  They are difficult to get together square and the glue didn't want to work on one kit. 

I've tried following the instructions and making it up as I go along but neither is easy.

I don't know what present production of this kit is like but have built a number of other Cambrian kits over the years and have been pleased with how they went together and the final finish I achieved.

[BoD]

I think, as suggested earlier the side frames are very slightly different lengths. I laid mine down together lining up the axle boxes (whose spacing isn't  thankfully  affected by this) and cut/filed to the shorter length.

 

The interesting bit comes when trying to get the hopper fixed in the correct position and square

[Enterprisingwestern]

42 minutes ago, BoD said:

I think, as suggested earlier the side frames are very slightly different lengths. I laid mine down together lining up the axle boxes (whose spacing isn't  thankfully  affected by this) and cut/filed to the shorter length.

 

The interesting bit comes when trying to get the hopper fixed in the correct position and square

 

As you've noted, it's a progressive thing, one step forward, two steps back and one to the side to try and sneak up on it when it isn't looking.

I even contemplated just using the hopper moulding and scratchbuilding the rest, but that got complicated when the angle trusses and supports were considered.

I think the Catfish, Mermaid and Starfish must be the original models from nineteenhundred and frozentodeath, and are all in need of an upgrade, although the one piece hopper on the Catfish is a good idea.

 

Mike.

[Kylestrome]

On 21/03/2023 at 22:36, hogger said:

I am working on some Dogfish and Catfish ballast wagons from Cambrian.

 

I've found them to be the most frustrating wagon kits I've ever encountered, and the only way I can make anything usable out of them is to replace much of the under frame with accurately cut pieces of Evergreen styrene strip.

 

HTH,

David

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/118922-kylestrome’s-4mm-workbench/?do=findComment&comment=4303865

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/118922-kylestrome’s-4mm-workbench/?do=findComment&comment=4980054

 

Edited March 24, 2023 by Kylestrome

[TheSignalEngineer]

2 hours ago, Enterprisingwestern said:

I think the Catfish, Mermaid and Starfish must be the original models from nineteenhundred and frozentodeath, and are all in need of an upgrade, although the one piece hopper on the Catfish is a good idea.

My Starfish is so old it originally had plastic wheels and Hornby Dublo couplings. It was refurbished/rewheeled nearly 20 years ago and is still in use.

I agree about the one piece hopper, having built 'flatpack' ones from other makers, but the bits under the hopper ends are a real pain. 

[Geep7]

If i'm honest, I think I found the SR 40 Ton Hopper more frustrating than the Dogfish, but agree about the chassis. I think, if I remember correctly, I glued it together on a sheet of glass, and then placed something on top (nothing too heavy) to try and keep it flat.....

 

My favourite Cambrian kit so far is the Shark brake van. It's a shame I only need the one, as i'd love to build another one.

[SM42]

Making a jig for hhx underframe is probably hhe best way forward.

 

What stopped me on the catfish was cutting down the one upright hopper support to the right length ( as it shares parts with the dogfish)

 

It defeated me at the time and was stored till I worked out how to do it accurately . 

 

The hopper support being part of the sidebar makes it harder to get square as they get in the way. 

 

Thd mermaid I found quite straightforward with a bit of care. 

 

What I can't understand about some Cambrian kits was the separate W iron moulding. It just made getting it all square more complicated

 

Andy