Best Of New Brass EP-2 assembly & Mod clinic

[spookshow]

Excellent work on the fine detailing, Ron. Can't wait to see it all painted up and ready to roll! 

Cheers,
-Mark

[u18b]

Thanks Spook.  These detailing steps are tedious.

This next step was a bit challenging.

Moving to the pilot.

The first detail is the water/steam pipe from the boiler.
Drill the hole.



There is not a whole lot of metal to work with.



The hole is .020 for some brass wire I bought from my local hobby shop.
Starts out about in the middle of the coupler.



Studied a lot of photos to get the bends.  Early steam was conveyed by a hose as-delivered.  Later it was changed over to a pipe.

Pipe comes out and bends down.



Then pipe goes out.



Then down again, but at about a 45 degree angle under the coupler.



Then levelled off.  Length is just past the far side of the coupler.




Sticks out a bit.  Need to take a little off the mounting pin.



The Micro-Trains uncoupling trip pin will be obstructed by this new detail....



So it needs to go.  Clipped off even with the bottom.



Looks pretty good.



Pin backs up to the frame.



I scratch the paint off the back around the hole.  Insert the part and solder the pin on the back side.




I then drilled another hole for the brake line.  This is a BLMA piece.




The BLMA piece LOOKS really nice, but it is very delicate.  If manipulated much, it has a tendency to break off right under the handle at the thin spot.  Probably would work well for many other locos, but for this one, I needed to curl the hose under the coupler a bit.  I succeeded to a degree, but the whole thing is just too delicate.

So this detailing looks nice, but I don't think I will repeat it.  The plow itself is very delicate and I was really scared of breaking a solder joint.



Walkway piece is for next time.
(wait until you see those jacking pads.)

[u18b]

Time to move to the walkway.

First up is the rails at the steps.  Kumata really should have added this detail.
They are very distinctive looking.

I had to decide if I wanted to drill holes in the walkway to run the wire through.

I decided that it was not worth the effort to try drilling multiple holes with #80 bits (that will probably break).

So I decided to go with surface mounting.
But that might not be very secure.
So I needed to cut a slight groove in the walkway side so that the solder would more surround the wire.


I have three thicknesses of motor tool wheels.
The left ceramic cut-off wheel measured at 40 mil.

The middle wheel measured at 21 mil.  Better.

The right wheel is a diamond dust impregnated steel wheel.
It measures 5.5 mil!!!!  Much better.
Buuuuuuutttttt.  ... unfortunately it is not perfectly flat.  So the wobble makes the cut a bit bigger.



I got this from a dentist that has retired.
Not even sure if you can still get these.



For the railing, I didn't want to rely brass wire since it is so soft.
I bought some fresh guitar stings.
These are 12 mil.



I used the thin wheel to cut very tiny grooves in the walkway.



Seeing how the 12 mil wire will look.




I use sand paper to rough up the hard smooth wire.
The reason is so both solder and paint stick to it as well as possible.




I bend the guitar string.
Trim to fit.
Flux and tin.
Solder in place.



Now the left side.  This rail extends up to the body shell.




I then made the turn in the rail toward the shell.
A marker helped note where the bend was to be.



Here is more of a side view.




I used a small file to clean things up.
Notice also I rounded the bottom corners.




More next time.

[u18b]

Next is the prominent grab iron under the cab.

Actually, it is not a grab iron.  It is some kind of brace that guides something on the truck.

But whatever it is, KMT should have modelled it.  It really stands out.

I bent some 20 mil brass wire.



I used an Xacto knife to mark the spots in the frame.



Motor tool with the 5.5 mil wheel.



I then flattened the wire to look like the prototype.
I squeezed it in pliers to give it a flattened look.




Since brass wire is so soft, I figured it was safe to solder first, and then cut the excess off.




Looking better.

[u18b]

Time for jacking pads.

Let's refresh what they look like.
Marked in red.




I pondered for the LONGEST time trying to figure out how to make this happen.  I even took some tiny C&S square brass tubing.  And cut a sliver with a motor tool.  After carefully working with it for a while.... it went flying as an offering to the carpet gods.
If I was having this much trouble with the FIRST one, then the whole deal is off.  I gave up.

But then I decided to rummage through various parts boxes I have just to see if I could find anything.  Sort of like visual brainstorming.

That's when I came to the etched parts box.  And I saw a loose etched freight car roof walkway.
Probably Gold Medal Models- but I have no idea what it went to.



And I said....... HHhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm.  I wonder.....














Wow, this is tiny.  Had to hold it so I could file the edge clean.




Hmmmm.  Not perfect, but it captures the look for sure.  AND it is about the correct size.




Tweezer hold.  Flux.  Tin. 




Sand the walkway side.  Study photos for proper placement.
Flux.  Tin.
Solder part in place ......... and try not to loose your mind with such tiny work!



Under the huge power of close macro photography, it looks a little rough, but it looks perfect when you back away.

Now I have to do the other side..... AND do an entire next cab.  Remember, the EP-2 really is like two locos draw-barred together.

[peteski]

This is all very creative thinking Ron!  It sure reminds me to check the most unexpected places for things I need to scratch-build. I love it!

[u18b]

Thanks Peteski.

Turning to the other side, I installed the jacking pad there on the right side.
I must confess, this is not easy.  But this is also a case where the final result justifies the effort.




Well, it looks like I'm finished with that cab--- but wait.  There is one last thing to take care of.
The headlight has no glass.
My stock unit had glass only on one end.  The piece had probably fallen out.
So even though the kit came with a pouch with all needed glass, I decided I needed the ability to make my own- at least for the stock painted unit of mine.

So I needed a tool.

Some brass tubing was about the same size as the light.



But the thickness was enough to "sharpen" so that I might use it as a kind of cookie cutter.




So I placed the tube in a drill, spun it, and used a file to sharpen it.







I decided to sharpen the remaining amount be removing material from the inside.












When I used the tool, the glass ended up being about the same size as the outer casing of the light.
So I made a second tool and only sharpened it on the outside (so the inside hole would be a bit smaller.).
So I labeled aech one-- L for Large and Sm for small.




Choice of acetate matters.
Some is pretty brittle.  When you cut it, the material goes from clear to white.  As here.




But searching my parts drawer turned up some more, and it cut much better.




Fits.
I will epoxy it in last.




Now, one cab is finished!  Time to move to the next.

Painting before too long (fingers crossed).

[peteski]

Ron, wouldn't the headlight look better if the inside was painted sliver or white (to look like a reflector)?

[mmagliaro]

Ron...
ROUND OF APPLAUSE.  The railings next to the ladders, the jacking pads... wonderfully creative thinking.
And it's not just that, you made and soldered the parts expertly.

The headlight lens... HE MADE A TOOL! HE MADE A TOOL!  (I really like that).
(to cut out the lens, I mean).

This is a great thread and a great project!   

[skytop35]

Ron...
ROUND OF APPLAUSE.  The railings next to the ladders, the jacking pads... wonderfully creative thinking.
And it's not just that, you made and soldered the parts expertly.

The headlight lens... HE MADE A TOOL! HE MADE A TOOL!  (I really like that).
(to cut out the lens, I mean).

This is a great thread and a great project!   

Agreed. Awesome work and I especially like watching the process as you move along.

[u18b]

Ron, wouldn't the headlight look better if the inside was painted sliver or white (to look like a reflector)?

Peteski. You are exactly correct. 

But since I am nearing air brushing, I figured there is no need now

Once loco is finished then I will go back and hand paint the inside of the headlight.

[peteski]

Peteski. You are exactly correct. 

But since I am nearing air brushing, I figured there is no need now

Once loco is finished then I will go back and hand paint the inside of the headlight.

Excellent!  I thought that the headlight lens might have been permanently installed.

I also used a brass tube as a cutting implement when I had to cut out circular logo decals for a model of A/C Cobra.  A sharpened end of a brass tube worked really well to cut through the clear decal film.  A logo was bout 3/16" so cutting it out with scissors wasn't really an option.

[u18b]

OK, yeah, I see.

In that photo, it was just a test fit.

In this thread some of you have seen some kind-of high tech stuff.

But that shot was low-tech.  I just licked it and stuck it on there.   

[u18b]

Time to move to detailing the B end.

First the shell.




Drill #80 holes for the grab at the seam.



Matching grab in this side.
This side also has the horn here at the nose.
Drilled a #72 hole for the horn.



And then a #69 hole for the electrical socket.



Install the grab (8 mil brass wire) and the horn.
Horn is loose (installed at end), grab is soldered.



Socket installed (30 mil brass wire).
Grab installed.
Finished work on this shell.



Next will be the walkway.

[u18b]

Been working on the B unit walkway.


Built the railing at the step ladder.



On this B unit, I soldered the jacking pads a little different.
I fluxed and tinned the walkway and the back and top of the little jacking pad.
I then used my hybrid soldering station to get the jacking pad really hot and melt the joint.
And since there is no actual solder on the carbon tip, no excess solder got on the front.



This hybrid soldering station has been a big plus for this project.



After I attach the jacking pad, I use some mini files to clean things up a bit.
For such a small detail, I estimated it takes about half an hour per pad = 2 hour total.
But this detail is so unique I think it was worth it.



Almost finished with the walkway.