heavymetalwagons

who's mesh are you using ? as I'm attempting to build a procor 80 from one of those lima/Hornby railroad things and the top deck needs to be mesh ? thanks

sorry been away from rmweb for ages = plus the image is on my laptop will update today

I should explain he does wagon data panels/boxes. He asks what tops code, tonnage, tare and wagon numbers you want. It is on railtec website in the wagons section

ordered some custom wagon data panels from him =he took the time with me to make sure he was doing what I wanted (don't know how he finds the time) could not be happier with his service WILL be using him again many many thanks

What about plastic strip if anyone makes it to that size. Say if it's 20 thou thick curl it to start with, i just use a pair of tweezers then build up in layers

Domed ends, what about using a roll-on ball or cap etc. Got one saved on my work bench or may have to home cast some

Maybe there making this situation so that they can persuade us to have nuclear power =promish it cheaper and safe. Let's face it the power companies put pressure on the government to kill the solar panels as there's no profit in it for them

I know in 4mm stenson models do them. Plus there on the Bachmann tta tanker and hba/hea

Done the same myself, your not the only one!!!!!!

Ordered a few bits on Thursday, arrived Friday. Excellent service, many thanks

Just look at clothes of the chap walking along the track

Trying to stop smoking myself. Not doing very well, but have cut down a fair bit. Thing is i like having a fag

I did a two year yts course £27.50 per wk first year £35 second year. Did the interview wanted to be a joiner at the time. Later when I started the course was told no joinery places left you'll have to do bricklayer instead!!. Stuck with it then went out work placement moving bags of plaster, plasterboard and sweeping up=cheap labour. Never got the chance to do what i wanted but kept with it even though the dole wound and did pay others more?. Today I'm a ground worker and on good money, but the rubbish lads we get now know nothing and don't care even when you tell them how to do it right =Dont buy a new house. And they want more money than what I'm on!!

Very nice seen. The layout looks really nice too. Good work

been reading the 2mm association book about track making (i model 4mm) but they seem to build several jigs for all there angle's ,plus they warn about not damaging the jigs with the file . So I've come up with these two ideas MK 1 was mainly for switch rails .the idea been the top half wound slide on the bottom jig and hardly come into contact with the file thus not wearing out . still needs a bit of work but you get the basic idea did think about using a belt sander turned upside down and cutting the belt down to say 1" to 2" wide and run that in the middle of the sander and have a frame around the sander then the top part of jig 1 would straddle the belt but still sit on the plate of the belt sander (mainly because I've got two belt sanders !!!) MK 2 would be mainly for crossing vee's (although could be for everything) IF it was made of steel I'd have to have it made by someone else .the idea is the 1mm thick alumin shims can be easy to make yourself for any angle and slot over pins 1 and 3 to hold it in then the rail sits against the shim at the angle then part B slots onto the pins and gets held in a vice .one down side is only one rail at a time could be done ! Would appreciate your feedback (both good and bad lol) as many on here are much more skilled then me and see where I've gone wrong (f***ed up) many thanks

as no one else has replied he's my two pennies worth ! seems a bit expensive for what it is (try googling for the data sheet) not used it myself but the military model lot must use it = we'd have heard if it was rubbish,= bad news always travels !!! I've got a couple of "the weathering magazine" books and all the "top modelers" seem to use it try the small jar 35ml at least not a lot of money wasted .If there was a local supplier I'd try some of there stuff they make two types of washes you know =normal washes (paint thinned down i think) and panel line washes (paint thinned down even more!) not much help but I tried !!!!!

I've the same problem with humbrol enamels so I made this= tools ,jigs and others useful ideas - Modelling Questions, Help and Tips - RMweb the good thing is any jar/tin will fit and i can leave it running (go make a cup of tea) it keeps the paint mixed ,it doesn't make any noise and most importantly i seem to get better results another tip i found on here if your matt paint is drying satin/gloss add a little bit of talc

just been reading the 2mm association book about track making and they use "solder balls"(insert own joke) they range from 0.2mm to 0.65mm and seem useful (just ordered some) can see a problem with them pinging off into the carpet !! may have squeese them with pliers so they don't roll around and are better for picking up with tweezers . as mentioned above if you can flux the parts first, place the solder then use the iron Or even if you have one or two balls on the work bench and then pick them up with the iron and apply to the job at least there's not massive amount to clean off I have made wagon door bangers (1mm wide x 4mm long) with 0.3 wire as bolts !! there real fun to make ! the best bit is trying to hold everything and still have a hand free for the iron !! the amount of posts about soldering issues ,I would have thought some one would have done a "dummies" guide to soldering on here, instead of issues/fixes all in separate posts (would be reading it my self as still learning)

hi all thanks for the likes etc. found this useful thread on here Quality tools for beginner - Modelling musings & miscellany - RMweb also while on here someone posted a link to this tool supplier (bit expansive but gives us idea's then look on ebay etc for cheaper versions) While looking on there what about this for your soldering !! PUK 5.1 Welder with 10 x Microscope, Argon regulator and Tack Welding kit (bettsmetalsales.com) I like to watch the repair shop and there was a jewellery making show on channel 4 (i think) for tips and tool idea's .the chap with 20 plus pairs of pliers !! and I thought I was bad?? I did see him using a lazor engraver and thought that could be a useful tool for brass wagon sides etc (more research to be done) ,but one tip that I haven't tried yet (but wishes I had after spending half an hour looking for a wagon door banger that pinged away) was a apron that goes round the neck then attaches to the work bench to collect the gold fillings etc (don't forget your wearing it and get up for a cup of tea !!). I tend to go round car boot sales and pick up good tools cheap like files any with a makers name or country on seem to be good quality. The sellers look at me with surprise when I quickly give them £1 for a "old file". The track making group say use the biggest file you can as its supposed to be a better job. For soldering jigs I've got some good ply (think its used for lorry trailer floors or for concrete shuttering and is dark brown in colour) its lasts a lot longer than soft wood as its got resin glue in it .Use jigsaw blades to cut it as it "kills" tools though ! but seams to survive a 450 degree soldering .

also having read about humbrol paints not been as good as they used to be I made this little rig. it keeps the paint mixed and seems to work better for me . I suppose a drill in a drill stand will do the same job as good

I started this thread/topic because there are loads of useful tips etc scattered about on rmweb which seem to get lost in the jungle of posts and I'm hoping you all post links and then at least things can be found a bit easier so I'll start the ball rolling I got one of the cheaper magnifier head bands a bit ago (one with glass lenses) I find it the best solution now I have to wear glasses(like a lot of us) having tried other options like cheap reading glasses ,jewellers loupes etc but the one thing I didn't like was the way it has to be strapped to the head and can be uncomfortable after a bit of use so I got a hard hat harness made by MSA from arco as I live in hull and fitted it to the magnifier .The back of the harness just slotted into the magnifier and then a little fixing at the front and it all holds together . I find it a lot better b the harness is easier to adjust and the lower part grabs the back of the head better .now means I can wear it for a couple of hours with no problems

Brilliant photo. Just look at the amount of chimneys in the background too

Like yours. One of the reasons i built mine was quite a simple build. But the weathering versions was the thing that stood out for me

Was also thinking if it was that wagon but the drawing says sjo and the experimental one is vacuum fitted. But if it was that wagon could still be of use as i liked the idea of building that one. Was hoping you'd reply paul as you're the wagon master and if anyone could figure it out it would be you Thanks

a couple of years ago i built a load of coil j's in 4mm and from at least two articles was informed the sides should be 6 to 6.5 mm high then i picked up this of ebay aaaaaaaaaaaa and as we see the drawing says the body should be 700mm high 27.5inches which would work out at 4mm scale at 9mm high !! . at first i panicked thinking i'd built them all wrong but after thinking a bit the coil j's and coil c's ran together and in the photo's look to be almost the same height (well not 200mm /8inch difference) plus again looking at paul's wagon photos the data panels seam to fit better on a 6mm high side and look wrong on a 9mm high side so i think the drawing wrong .have they measured the total height including the solebar which would still make the overall height still wrong !! anyone got any better ideas !! please help many thanks all