Back to Basics with Blink Bonny!

[earlswood nob]

Morning again
Thanks for the quick response.
As all my skills are self taught except for those I've learnt from this forum, I wondered if I was missing something obvious.
I can now carry on without wondering if I was doing something stupid.
Earlswood Nob

[earlswood nob]

G'Day all
So much for my good ideas. I used old fashioned slow cure araldite and put the brake shoes on a sheet of foil and roasted them in the oven.
The idea being that if a shoe isn't insulated properly, I still have some ready mixed epoxy to recoat the brake shoe.
However, roasting them caused the epoxy to run and I now have tin foil sticking to all the brake shoes.
I suppose I could say they were a new type of stainless steel brake shoes.
Earlswood Nob

[workev]

Amazing, somebody offers to write a thread, and before the varnish is dry he's shot down in flames! Maybe people should let the man write his stuff with a view to showing his way of doing it, and then provide constructive comment on alternative methods....

It's no wonder this country is the way it is these days......

It's the same at exhibitions too many people criticising a layout, but they aren't putting in the effort to exhibit........

Be constructive, not destructive!

Ian (sometimes known as Victor M)

[Iron Duke]

Agree, We should be "Forum" not against em.

[jwealleans]

Code: Select all

I used old fashioned slow cure araldite and put the brake shoes on a sheet of foil and roasted them in the oven. 

Don't do this with the plastic ones......

[workev]

Agree, We should be "Forum" not against em.

A smile broke out nearly there....!

[workev]

Too often in the Model Railway fraternity people criticise those who are willing to show what they do. Whether you think it s brilliant or rubbish, surely we should try and ensure that people learn to improve. The Railways used to run mutual improvement classes to bring people up a level that all could be proud of.

I don't see people shooting Tim Shackleton down for hand varnishing his models....

I saw on MREMAG today the point that most people don't own up to be a railway modeller, is it any wonder? Get behind the hobby, help people and be constructive.

I could swear it, but no doubt the moderators would quite rightly chastise me!

Ian

[S.A.C. Martin]

Criticism itself is not a bad thing. We should always be looking to improve and help others improve. It's the manner in which it is put across. Be constructive, not destructive. Far too much of the latter and not enough of the former going on in the model railway world in my view.

There's also far too much of the "you can't criticize at all" mob mentality going on everywhere at present (model railways aside). Criticism presented with fair evidence, explanation and not intended to humiliate, decry or otherwise be destructive towards an individual or groups, is good both for the critic and for the subject.

Regarding Blackout's earlier model: in my view, brush painting on Johnson's Klear will give a better result, but if you are happy with that as it stands, it matters 'owt. I do however think Mick B and Daddyman are absolutely right when they say airbrushing the varnish on will give the best result. Johnson's Klear gives the best finish from that I've seen, but equally there may be other varnishes and methods out there I haven't seen which are as good, if not better.

Since I started Johnson's Klear, I will never go back to any other varnish. It's good stuff, whether brushed or airbrushed. It has surprised me several times how brush painting it leaves a smooth finish (so long as the surface is clean and the brush is too).

[Tom F]

Criticism itself is not a bad thing. We should always be looking to improve and help others improve. It's the manner in which it is put across. Be constructive, not destructive. Far too much of the latter and not enough of the former going on in the model railway world in my view.

There's also far too much of the "you can't criticize at all" mob mentality going on everywhere at present (model railways aside). Criticism presented with fair evidence, explanation and not intended to humiliate, decry or otherwise be destructive towards an individual or groups, is good both for the critic and for the subject.

Regarding Blackout's earlier model: in my view, brush painting on Johnson's Klear will give a better result, but if you are happy with that as it stands, it matters 'owt. I do however think Mick B and Daddyman are absolutely right when they say airbrushing the varnish on will give the best result. Johnson's Klear gives the best finish from that I've seen, but equally there may be other varnishes and methods out there I haven't seen which are as good, if not better.

Since I started Johnson's Klear, I will never go back to any other varnish. It's good stuff, whether brushed or airbrushed. It has surprised me several times how brush painting it leaves a smooth finish (so long as the surface is clean and the brush is too).

Can't argue with that Simon.
Johnsons Klear has given me some results I'm very pleased with.

[mick b]

Everybody has a viewpoint on everything in life as modelling. There is no point in everyone saying something is wonderful if they do not believe so.
Advice and assistance on how to achieve the best possible models in the easiest way is always productive. Otherwise no one ever learns anything, which I hope is what this thread is about.
Most of the people who have posted on this thread are active modellers and show their models for praise or criticisms. I have no problem with either kind of viewpoint as long as they are polite and a justified response.

[S.A.C. Martin]

Can't argue with that Simon.
Johnsons Klear has given me some results I'm very pleased with.

As you should be: they are inherently good results. In particular, the most recent B1.

Everybody has a viewpoint on everything in life as modelling. There is no point in everyone saying something is wonderful if they do not believe so.

Advice and assistance on how to achieve the best possible models in the easiest way is always productive. Otherwise no one ever learns anything, which I hope is what this thread is about.

Most of the people who have posted on this thread are active modellers and show their models for praise or criticisms. I have no problem with either kind of viewpoint as long as they are polite and a justified response.

I think Mick's summed it up far better than I did. I've underlined the last bit because I think it's important for the hobby.

I've had to ask myself a good number of questions the last month or two. Getting "back to basics" rings true with me, because if you no longer enjoy the hobby you're practicing, it's not a hobby anymore. Part of that is doing more actual modelling, and doing more constructive debate with those who have their owns views and can express them in the most constructive manner.

Nobody's perfect, and every so often we all have to let off the safety valve. If the main aim is to enjoy the hobby, then you have to remember what it was that led you to it in the first place, and take the constructive criticism on the chin, and look to do better next time.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

The whole point of this B2B thread was to try and pass on our skills to beginners. As Simon has pointed out, constructive criticism is fine. But we've seen some pretty awful comments made.

If you see summat on here and think "My way is better" then post it! Let's compare and contrast.

Please?

[workev]

Criticism should be encouraged, but constructive criticism.

Now about the Tories.... Oh sorry, wrong forum

Ian

[Daddyman]

If you see summat on here and think "My way is better" then post it! Let's compare and contrast.

That's actually what most of us have done: St J posted a photo, as did I, and mick b and Tom F have displayed plenty of models elsewhere on the forum that back up their comments.

Blackout has posted on one technique, we've examined options, and all readers are in full possession of those options (seemingly, since there have been no questions). It's your thread BB but I'd say job done, let's move on to the next point. Otherwise this is in danger of turning into another 'meta-thread' - a thread about threads, and what they should and shouldn't do.

[Blink Bonny]

Ay up!

Now then, a topic about which there is more bullsh#t spread than a Texas beef farmer! Soldering is not a Black Art. It is not Difficult. It isn't even Hard. If it were any of these, believe me, I wouldn't be able to do it.

It is, however, the only really effective way of joining wires to track and each other plus other components too. And it is the basis of metal kit building but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

For a demonstration, I am soldering a wire onto a brass XO4 motor brush. Just for info, the iron has been pre-heated. It is an Antex 15W iron. You can get bigger ones but you don't need a nuclear iron. Big irons simply put too much heat into the workpiece and can, in fact, boil off the lower melting point metals in the solder without which it won't flow and, asw they boil, give off poisonous fumes. So put away your 150W plumbers iron and your gas torch. You won't need them. Just a small iron, some solder and flux

First off, strip about 4-5mm of insulation from the wire, twist the strands together and dip in the flux.

Next, dip the hot iron in the flux then immediately collect a small amount of solder. This is where most folk go wrong. Cheap, lead free solder from the market, "Electrical" Multicore and Tinmans's solder all melt at too high a temperature for our purposes. It's not cheap but I always use Carr's 145degree solder. Low melting point means less heat in the workpiece and less chance of heat distortion.

Next up, touch the iron against the fluxed wire. You will hear a fsssss sound. This is the signal that the solder has run. You wiull also see the wire turn bright silver. Remove the iron and it will go a dull silver. I cannot overemphasise that you should never linger with the iron once the solder has run.

Now clean the brass carbon brush with a fibreglass pencil and apply flux like this:

Now see the next installment.