What Details Do You Add To Your Loco's..#2

Detail Assocaites is my main manufacturer for the round and flat wire, which I believe they go down as .006". There wire is regular brass, which is easily shapable. You can also pick up phosper bronze wire, which is alot stronger then brass and then there is also ultrafine piano wire. I think you can get .004 piano wire, but its very hard to bend. To accompany those really small wire sizes I suggest you also pick up some ultra small drill bits, not a #80, as they are too big for .006 and even a bit for .008 wire. Use drill bits like #85 and #90 for drilling holes. You can pick up the drill bits (since your hobby shop probably would not carry them) would be a machinest supplier or any small parts guy (try smallparts.com?). I found my #80+ drill bits from a friend, but you'll be able to find them someplace. Hope this helps


Mike

 

In my honest opinion, .010" wire is just fine for me and I think for most people. Although .006 or a size around there may be prototypical, it just doesnt look right to me. And, after the wire gets to a small enough point, its harder to bend because it does what IT wants to.

All of the wire detail parts I make are now coming in .010" bronze wire, as it is fairly strong (comparatively speaking) and looks fine.


Watash, thank you very much for all the great compliments and the tips!! I try my best!

 

You see guys, I tried to answer the question, but like Craig says, as a professional, he has to go with what will be practical as well as what looks good in practice. I guess I didn't make the point very well that you can "Over scale" to the point of it being of no use, Like a 3/4" diameter pinch bar in "N" scale, is a human hair! We use .00025" dia gold wire to bond leads from a chip pad to the plug pad when making IC's. So just because it is available, doesn't mean it is practical. To form a 90 degree sharp bend in music wire, it requires hardened tool steel forming tools and when the form is made, the tool is "spanked" just before the tools open up to release the wireform. Spanking is like you put a wire across between two angle irons, "C" clamp the angles together bending the wire, then take a sledge hammer and smack 'em a hard blow! That "sets" the wire and actually deforms the inside radius to less than the wire diameter. This is done while red hot on grab irons. Its just not practical for Graig to do in N scale, who could see the difference? Even at work when we had tools in a vice, we gave the vice jaw a rap with a ball pien hammer to set the bend. The stresses in the raw wire will tend to spring back unless you relieve them, thus the spank blow. Whew! Clear as to why?

 

I use .008 wire for all my grabs. If you use gap filling CA, the holes from a #80 bit will not show with the thinner wire.

 

True Scott, but having such large holes can make the grabiron move around quite a bit in there, leading to frustration when trying to glue them in. But when I see good detailing on engines, I dont care if the wire is .006 or .01, anything pleases me if I see that the effort is there.

Mike

 

The grab will not move around if you hold it for a few seconds while the CA sets and then position it in it's final position.

 

Of course that is arguable ( ), but I find sutibly sized holes go well with a certain wire size. But thats just my practice, anyone can do what they want !

Mike

 

I use .008 wire for the grab irons and .010 for the hand rails. I also use Z scale couplers on my engines, they look alot better than the over size N scale coupler and they work great, even on long trains (50 cars).

Jim

 

BTW guys. I just got 50 #80 drill bits yesterday for $20. They are offered by a company called Nothin Specific. Very nice drill bits as the part that does the drilling is about 1/4" long, so they are harder to break. The rest of the bit is thicker. FYI

 

Wow, is all I have to say. Craig, I have been impressed with your parts ever since you started your business but I had no idea you were only 15. Detailing hasn't interested me. Right now I'm at the stage that I just like running the trains. I do enjoy seeing the photos of your engines and the others that have been detailed. Keep up the great work.

Paul

 

Craig,
How do you drill out the holes for your grabs? In my old days of HO I used to use a jig, but in N scale I have not made one. Do you simply drill out the old grab while still attached in order to line up your holes or do you remove them and then eye it up and drill? Justin May

 

Justin,
Buy a set of JnJ or Gold Medal grabs. Both come with templates.
Greg Davis

 

GMM templetes are good, but rarely can you fit them flat against where you want to drill, plus theres always the chance you apply the entire drill jig a tiny bit crooked and all your holes come out wrong. What I do, especially on the new Atlas locos, is drill the holes using the exsisting molded on ones as a starter. You see, the grabs are molded with a little curve at the end to simulate the drop. Take your #80 drill (or #85, what I use) and carefuly place it "in" the curve. 90% my holes come out straight, but my grabirons are a different story! Im willing to pay 5 bucks for 10 .006" grabs that have been cast that way by the wire, like what Westerfield does in HO.

Mike

 

I simply never have used a jig and my grabgs come out fine 95% of the time. I cut off the molded on grabs with an exacto knife and drill a hole on each end of where the old molded on grab was. Once the grabs are in you can tweak them with your pliars.

Mike, The Grab Irons with the drop are going to be one of my new detail parts (due in May). They will be some where around 10/$1.50.

 

Here is my latest project. It is a custom painted and detailed SP SD40M out of an Erie Lakwanna SD45. It has many detail parts like a BLMA snow plow, ditch lights, correct cut lever, and ALL the grab irons have the drop in them. It is not done in the photo. This locomotive is for sale on Bob Russels page.




This is a BNSF B unit I did for fun which is also for sale on Bob Russels Orange Belt Lines for sale and trade page.


What do you guys think?

 

Oh Craig, you make me feel so bad when you show your excellent modeling. Really good stuff, and I will soon be getting those EOT and antenna stands you want. BTW, how come you dont use Gold Medal Model's stanchions for better looking handrails? They are tough to work on though, but the results are well worth it. And why dont you add air hoses? They add alot more clutter to the front pilots with the whole MU hose, plow and cut levers bit. But you your paint jobs are excellent!

Mike

 

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the compliments! Actually, I am going to start re handrailing all of my locomotives, but only in due time (pretty busy at the moment). I usually do add air hoses on my loco's but this time I wanted to go for that big broad snow plow look. I am selling the SD45 in the picture to get another SD45 (and a few other things) and I am going to paint it and detail it exactly the same, but the next one will have more details added.