If I'm fitting side tanks to the tram, the great big hole in the top of the boiler needs to be covered. I could have solved this by fitting the tube upside down, but that didn't occur to me at the time, so now it needs a wrapper.
I've recently curved some Plastikard very succesfully for a set of 16mm coaches, using my metal rollers. A few trips back and forth, and the roof pieces were a perfect fit. On this basis, I tried to roll something near to a cylinder. It sort of worked, and I hoped superglue would do the rest. It didn't. The plastic gapped at the bottom and couldn't be persauded to lie flat against the 3D printed boiler.
Attempt two involved finding some suitable tube to do the job. After a bit of rooting around, I rediscovered a plastic tube that once contained the paper for a fax machine (ask your grandad kids) from the late 1990s. I kept it, because I just knew it would come in handy one day.
Using a pipe cutter, I chopped off the correct length. The cutter ensured the ends would be square, and is far easier than a saw. I did need a saw to slit along the bottom though. The fax tube is too small, but can be prised open to clip over the 3D printed supports on the smokebox and firebox.
While digging through photos, I found a French steam tram with wood cladding on the boiler, so I've scribed the planks on the tube, it will get boiler bands later.
The whole lot was fixed in place with epoxy, and left overnight. The result is nice and solid. OK, there is a gap underneath, but no one will see that.
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After all this, perhaps it's time to upgrade my rollers to a set like this, seen at Statfold Barn last weekend...
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