Here’s a closeup of using JB quickweld as a filler. I had to fill two generators on a GS4 to make it a GS3. Should be nearly seamless once I airbrush it.
Not much movement these last few days with house projects and this pesky thing called a job. Hopefully will make progress this weekend to finish it up, or at least get close.
The GS3 started life as a Kato GS4. The smoke box hatch/light is Concor. I chopped the all-weather cab and modified the tender.
Machined this little nubbin’ which goes in front of the stack. Filled a few excess holes in the boiler for cleanup later.
Throttle linkage. The bar is a little thicker than I would have liked , but will work. Also installed the sand pipes off the dome.
What are you using for the hangers / mounts for the brass wire ? - looks like brass sheet to me. How did you get to the decision on how wide and long to make them. The reason I'm asking is I have quite a few steam locos to detail
I used 1/64 brass flat bar for the hangers after I lay the phosphor bronze wire down on masking tape (sticky side up). I just cut small lengths for soldering and I’ll bend them over and trim when I mount them. As far as bending the wire, I just eyeball it from pics on the web.
It's gorgeous! How do you bend your wire so precisely? I'd kill to have bends as clean and regular as those pipes.
I use jewelry pliers of various types for the bends. I think the key is Tichy phospor bronze wire instead of brass. It holds its shape better and has a bit of spring to it. Plus, if you mess up a bend, it is easy to straighten and re bend with little evidence of the prior bend. I laid out all three pipes and placed three hangers. I then bent the wires into shape and soldered the remaining hangers in place.
Here is a set of wires that went from horizontal to vertical. I soldered the wires in the hangers in the horizontal position and then weaved them into the vertical position. SP made it difficult thanks to the prototype.