Shim brass

 

Shim brass is basically just very, very thin brass sheet. Modellers in the old days seemed to make pretty much anything from it, and I was always impressed by the versatility of this wonderful material. 

Of course, I aquired some, and have hardly ever found a use for it. 

Until I came to fit the backhead to Ghillie. 

The whitemetal backhead is fitted to a U-shaped lump of the same material. Said U-shape is to be cut back so the backhead just clears the rear fixing screw. Trouble is, when you do tha, you are still left with a gap between the back of the backhead casting, and the cab back. 

No problem, a strip of shim brass, soldered to the backhead with some 100 degree solder (a process that sounds simpler than it turned out to be) covers this, and makes the whole assembly look much better. 

And I've still got loads of the stuff left - probably a lifetimes supply!

Tack soldering win

 

I mentioned that I was soldering the kit together last week (and yes, I must put a guide on whitemetal soldering together one day) and starting on the body demonstraites why I am right to do so. 

The cab front consists of three parts - two sides and the front. Easy enough to assemble, except do the sides attach either side of the front, or on the back? 

I guess on the sides, so tacked them in place. Then I put the assembly on the footplate, and realised its too wide. They should go on the back. 

No problem, heat the solder, and the parts are seperate again. A little cleaning up, and we are good to go again. This time with them as the designer intended. If I'd glued them, I'd have had to wait for the stuff to dry, and then broken the joints. A much slower process.

Trainspotting at Quorn

 

Phew. Good job I didn't do any of that train spotting then...

Nope. Didn't see those Airfix tank wagons going through. 

Ummm. Look at those bad boys spotting trains. I'm going to tell on them!

Saturday Film Club: Model Railways Make Me Happy

Beer and S gauge

 

Supping a pint at The Model Railway Club a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to enjoy this vintage S gauge model. 

Built to 5mm:1ft scale, the model has an interesting history. In 1947, there was disagrement within the S Scale Society as to which scale they should work to - 5mm or 3/16" to the foot. The decision was that the next person to join should decide. 

That person chose 3/16", and the model found itself too large. So, the builder took it apart, reduced every part, then put it back together again! I'm assuming that this expediency was forced because of the difficulty in obtaining materials for modelmaking. 

Now in safe hands, along with a large number of other historic models owned by the club, this loco is being rebuilt so it can run again in the future. 

A fascinating glimpse into the history of our hobby, over some nice beer.