It's a long while since I built a plastic wagon kit, and I need to remember how to do jobs that used to come naturally.
First up, fit the brass bearings. These are top-hat ones, named after the shape, This sparked a conversation about different types of bearings with someone newish to wagon building. He'd acquired some waisted bearings, and I think I managed to convince him that these would be fine. Even if they weren't, this wasn't (I think) the sort of show where you'd easily purchase replacements - a sign of how exhibitions have changed over the years.
Anway, I remember that there's no need to drill the chassis out. Just pop a drop of solvent into the hole, leave it a few seconds to soften the plastic, then shove the bearing in the hole. Give the axlebox and bearing a good squeeze (I used tweezers, but small pliers are OK), and the bearing isn't coming back out.
Toughest job - removing the moulding from the sprue. I had to repair the stretcher bar on one side, and it's a fiddle.
In my experience, if the stretcher bars break, they are forever weak and vulnerable. I've recently completed a Parkside Mink kit and broke both bars. I replaced them with brass wire superglued on.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. They’re brittle. Sometimes worth replacing with brass.
ReplyDeleteStay tuned...
ReplyDeleteThese kinds of post are reallyuseful for people.
ReplyDeleteMany of us only do vmodelling jobs every few years. I can go two years without building a wagon or a tree. And when we do, we want a simple technique that will work, but which we will almost certainly forget about before we do it again. That is why I found Parker's Guide so useful
I'm in the same position. It's ages since I built a wagon kit, and I've forgotten some of the tricks.
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