Scalefour Forum

I am a cheapskate like David! I made a little chisel from the broken end of a square needle file and it has been one of my most useful tools. I have made scrapers and the like from old files which I use for clearing away excess solder etc. I am intrigued by the shape of your chisel, Paul, any idea w...

I think that ‘Tricky Stick’ is really sold for use with cyano - it’s just that I use it with epoxy as it seems to help.

Philip

I couldn’t keep my cyano in the ‘fridge as it’s in the kitchen and my workshop is at the bottom of the garden! I use Hafixs almost daily and probably about one bottle every six months or so. Only the most recent bottle has got unusably thick, the first time. It’s particularly good for gluing Unimat ...

Not sure about shelf lives because I get through quite a bit of the stuff described. I settled on these many years ago and have seen no need to shop around further. Ivan Smith told me about Hafixs a long time ago and it’s good for even slightly bendy plastics; I use it to attach detail parts to RTR ...

I would endorse Steve’s recommendation of ‘Tricky Stick’ which I also use on plastic when using epoxy. My usual choice of cyano is Hafixs, obtainable online, but I have also had good results with Elmers Krazy Glue, which I bought in the US last year when needing to repair something. I have just orde...

I have two to do but will use a Brassmasters Cleminson underframe, along with axleboxes, J hangers and springs from Wizard/51L. A representation of the brakes are on the underframe etching, but could be beefed up a bit if the need was felt. The mouldings on the underframe are quite nice, but in a sl...

If the wheelbase of the bogie is 6ft only then I reckon you really don't need any suspension at all. I would just build them all rigid, try them out on the layout and see if anything falls off. If it does, try the three point mounting idea. I have converted many Hornby 8ft wheelbase bogies (true, th...

Paul, I don’t think I got the wrapper exactly right on my one either. I think I might have spotted this after most of the assembly had been done, and I just had a bit of a go with a file to create the contour. A lathe might have produced a better job But I didn’t have one then and actually, I’m not ...

Paul, When I did one of these many years ago I thought that the replacement smokebox door didn't look quite right; the 'ring' between the door and the edge of the smokebox looked a touch too great. After a lot of looking at pictures I noticed that the front edge of the smokebox was indeed rounded a ...

Yes, thanks JIm.

Philip

I did pay £10 - odd for Army Painter (But still a large can) and almost half as much again for shipping, so maybe I just didn’t find the right site! Where do you get yours Jim?

Philip

I like Dullcote, but have found it difficult to obtain by post at times. It also has a pungent odour which I am none too keen on.

Philip

Thanks Jim,

There were some dodgy reviews on some sites so thought it best to check with someone who has experience of our sort of stuff. Now ordered and recovering from the price and shipping costs!

Philip

Jim, lovely vehicles as always.

I see you mentioned Army Painter spray varnish. I can’t get my previous preference, Citadel Purity Seal, any more, and web searches for it keep coming back to Army Painter. How do you get on with it? And does it give a dead matt finish or is there a sheen?

Dave, I may be being a bit dense, and I know very little about LMS engines, but I am mystified as to why there is an overlay for the tender side. The overlay looks as flush and smooth as the base, apart from the beading. Is it just a method of attaching the beading or to strengthen the construction?...

I have a GW wheel puller, but more often than not I use a small hammer and a pin punch. When I have used the puller, the grip of the wheel on the axle is such that when it moves under the action of the puller, it ‘springs’ backwards, often a bit too much. Carefully supporting the wheel on vice jaws ...

Dave, Much sympathy! I would use epoxy, a fairly runny one like Devcon. I use the 5 minute variety for gluing tyres back on wheels, and it’s thin enough to give a good layer between fairly close fitting components. It should stay workable enough to spread over the tender side sub structure, and prob...

I would think that 4ft is fine, Julian. A Princess doesn't have a Cartazzi truck to complicate the rear end. I might find out one day as my first Triang engine was a green Princess Elizabeth. I quite fancy one now Hornby make a decent model. But in Devon in 1954...?!!

Philip

What radius is a suitable minimum for a Pacific I wonder A bit debatable this one. So long as you don’t want the engine to go around the edge of a dinner plate there’s probably no reasonable minimum. With huge amounts of gauge widening we had Alan Ketley’s rebuilt Merchant Navy around a 2ft 3in rad...

For as long as I can remember I have weathered models with Humbrol acrylics, thinned with water but all this has been done with brushes. The only spraying I do is with various spray cans for underframes or roofs and this is done outside. All this because of an accident I had about 20 years ago with ...

To be fair the OP did not say whether he meant the round ones or the hex ones and about half the replies have been aimed at hex ones. For round ones I usually try with a pin vice. True, but since Alan Gibson doesn't - as far as I recall - make hexagonal crankpin nuts I thought I was on safe ground....

I too have a set of nut runners, but that doesn’t don’t help our OP, whose problem related to Alan Gibson (round) crankpin nuts!

I do as David does, small flat nose pliers to fivallg tighten or to remove, and a touch of thread locker to help secure them once all adjustments are made.

Philip

Lovely car, Paul. I hope you have accommodating neighbours. Thirty years ago, in another house, we had installed a security alarm, linked to the police via a monitoring service. We had (unwisely) agreed to vibration sensors on the windows nearest the street. There was a bloke just up the street who ...

Thanks John, I hadn't thought it would be as simple as that. My engine will generally stay put so it's a useful way to go.

Philip

As far as I can remember the mounting screws on a H1024 are the same as on many can motors, so Chris at High Level should be able to help with a suitable gearbox. I would go for a fairly high ratio - 80:1 at least - as the motor is very high revving and is designed to run faster than many modern mot...