Thursday, May 20, 2021

Glazing over locks in BRM

 

June 2021 BRM sees me building a substantial model - a canal lock from JS Models. This is one of the bigger kits I've ever built and looks superb. I even nipped out to Hatton Locks for a bit of prototype research. Locks are one of those things we've all seen, but have we really seen them? 

On BRMTV, I take a look at glazing windows in models and some of the options, and materials for this common job. As someone who never managed to build an Airfix Spitfire with a clear canopy, even after other models were perfect, I'm obviously the person to do this.


3 comments:

Huw Griffiths said...

I always thought the key to clear glazing was to use tube cement - and remember the "tenprints" marks everywhere, due to getting the stuff all over the fingers ... .

OK - perhaps not.

Seriously though, apart from dry runs (almost certainly in the plural - with a certain amount of trimming, sanding and various other "fine tuning" - I'd be tempted to mask the windows (trimming the masking to the edge of the windows - especially if using thin PVC insulation tape for the masking). After this, I'd position the glazing - then run in some of my preferred solvent "cement" (which could easily mean cellulose thinner) - and leave everything to stand for a few minutes, before painting and removing the masking. If using tape, folding it back before pulling it away can also be helpful.

Obviously, different people have their own methods - and backgrounds.

In my case, installing strain gauges was a big part of a previous job, so I often viewed paint and glue in the wrong places as one problem - surface contamination. If the same basic methods of dealing with them worked (which they sometimes did), then so be it.

Colin said...

Your canal lock doesn't appear to have been designed for horse-haulage. There's usually a modest slope up to the lock side rather than just steps, though you might be able to argue there's a slope just off scene. Also I've seen many footbridges, like the one across your lock, that were two cantilevered half-bridges with a few inches gap between them to allow the towing rope to pass through.

Phil Parker said...

Yes, the gentle slope is just off the side of the scene (Cough cough) :-)