PAL Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I've just finished weathering a Bachmann 45XX and 57XX and of course the plastic bunker coal now looks even more maddeningly phony than ever. I've been putting off the replacement job because to be honest I'm a bit apprehensive about it, particularly the initial surgery; you can't see up inside the body of either of them. I'm sure there are many members who've done the job successfully on these exquisite little beauties, and I'd much appreciate your advice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 Just dab some PVA on top of the moulded coal.....and add some real! Good thing about using PVA is,that it is reversible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold gwrrob Posted April 15, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 15, 2014 It is possible to remove the coal moulding on these to model them with less coal.You need to take the body off the chassis and push the plastic from underneath carefully.I chickened out and put mine on top. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Its a tricky one! I tried to remove the coal section of the bunker from one of my 45xx's and ended up inflicting major damage to the body, so I wouldn't recommend that route - I don't blame gwrrob for chickening out on that. I have dealt with adding coal on my locos in one of two ways: 1) As Black Rat has said, you can simply stick it on top of the plastic coal. I don't use PVA however as this simply makes the coal dead matt. Real coal isn't matt - look at a lump of coal and each of its surfaces is different. Some are matt, but most are either satin or gloss. In order to retain the multi "varnished" surfaces of the real stuff, I use epoxy (Araldite or similar). 2) It is possible to remove most of the coal load from the bunker by drilling lots of holes and then carefully connecting them so it can be extracted. The bunker can largely be cleared of the residue with a scalpel and files - but not completely, but that doesn't matter. A new plasticard support needs to be fitted at a lower level and at a different angle than the original with DAS clay or filler of some kind on top to provide a "pile" for the coal. Let it dry, paint it black and then epoxy real coal on top. It does make bunkers look a little different from each other! Hope this helps. David C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAL Posted April 19, 2014 Author Share Posted April 19, 2014 BlackRat, gwrrob, David C Many thanks for your replies. It's clear the surgical route has significant grief and pain potential. I'm going to follow David C's suggestion and glue the coal with araldite. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I've always used neat PVA brushed over the false and graded real coal sprinkled over. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren01 Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 Hi I would just use PVA , bit over the top using Araldite ,and a lot of mess if you end up getting any of it on to the loco body. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.