Detailing Parts for N-scale locos (including handrails)

[ednadolski]

I've been working on this off and on for a while now, and I now at last have some progress and pictures that I can share.   This is a set of photo-etched detail parts (in 0.010" phosphor bronze) that I designed for a pilot project focusing on a Kato C44-9W.   The etchings include parts to build handrails, the end pilots, the alternating-height side grilles, and more.  This thread is meant to be a work-in-progress, and I am planning to update this as the project continues.

Starting with my favorite details: handrails.  I've long been of the opinion that there are few details that can improve the overall appearance of an N-scale diesel as dramatically as a set of scale handrails, but it has always been a labor-intensive approach to scratchbuild handrails using wire and individual stanchions.  My main goal here was to come up with an easier and faster way.  I did want to keep with the 0.008 wire for the actual handrails, since at that size it is (to my eye at least) too evident that an etched part would have a 'flat' look to it.   So the basic approach is to have the stanchions all etched together with the side sill as one integral part, and then provide a "frame" as part of the etching to hold the formed wire in the correct position for soldering.  After all stanchions are soldered, the completed subassembly is then removed from the fret, trimmed, cemented into place on the model, and then painted to match.  For the front & rear handrails, a similar "frame" is used, and where there are no sills on the end pilots, the etching includes some drilling templates to that the holes for the stanchions can be accurately drilled.  The end stanchions also include an etched safety chain as part of the subassembly.

Since pictures speak more clearly than words, here are some shots that illustrate the sequence.  First, here are the etchings for both side handrails. The handrails are formed from wire and them laid into position on the fret.  They are designed to lie in the half-etch grooves, which ensures that the parts remain straight and square:


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I then use a set of flat clips to hold the wire in precise position while each stanchion is soldered to the handrail.  For this work I used a paste solder, the main goal is to avoid using so much solder that it creates an unsightly 'blob'.   I solder a few stanchions at a time, then move the clips on to the next few, until all the stanchions on a side are completed:


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Here is one of the completed handrail subassemblies:


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And here is what it looks like, removed from the fret.  This has to be done carefully, since the etchings are delicate and easily bent.


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And here it is again, next to the model shell.  The etching is designed to precisely fit the Kato model.   The notches in the model's side sill are where the factory plastic stanchions used to fit, they will be filled in with styrene before the new part is installed.


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This shot shows a few of the other parts.  The front/rear handrail assemblies are still in their respective frets.  Because they are pretty delicate, I wanted to keep them in their frets until I am ready to install on the model.


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Some of the other parts that I included in my test etching are the BNSF-style cab window frames, and the alternating-height radiator grilles.  These grills will be installed in place of the incorrectly-sized grilles on the Kato model, and them painted to match.   I'm not 100% sure how well these will match up with the factory grills, but the only way to find out is to go ahead and try 'em, so that is what I am going to do. 


My parts fret also includes front and rear pilots.  One key feature is that these have holes for the coupler pocket to fit the LE Z-scale coupler.  They also have the holes pre-drilled for cut levers and other detail parts, so installing those parts should be easier.

To install these pilots, I file down the plastic pilots to make them very thin (being careful not to make them so thin as to damage them).  Then the pilots are positioned and cemented in place with CA.  A little bit of trimming is also needed.   As you can see in the pics, I still need to drill out the oval holes in the corners.


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So this is as far as I am with these parts and this model.    Hope y'all enjoy this project as much as I have, and please let me know your thoughts and comments!

Ed

[Philip H]

Ed,
Between these and the coupler pockets you have hit a home run!

[James Costello]

That's some seriously sexy work Ed - love it.

I'd certainly be interested in purchasing some etches if you move forward into production.

[Catt]

I'd be happy with just the handrails especially if you should decide to do a Canadian set with out the exteriour ac,or maybe I should just say with origonal Canadian safety cab.

[tom mann]

Looking forward to seeing more of this. 

[Sokramiketes]

That handrail method is slick!

[basementcalling]

+1

And not Conrail? Shocked. I am shocked.

[Scottl]

Excellent!  After using the Kaslo Shops front handrail etch in stainless, I wonder if the flat profile of the rail is as offensive as it might seem?  It is very easy to work with, and the SS is quite durable.  Either way, etched railings transform the look and your system for the soldering is very clever.  I would be keen to buy a few sets if you make them available.

[bnsf dash 8]

That looks great and nice to see some GEs get a little love in the detail part world. Add me as another that would be interesting in a few sets. Get up the awesome work!

[pnolan48]

An absolutely superb way to do museum-quality work.

[ednadolski]

Hey guys, thanks much for looking and for the great feedback,  I've got another (brief) update, this is for the radiator grilles.  Overcoming a bit of initial trepidation about cutting a fair-sized chunk out of the shell, I went ahead and made the cuts needed to open things up for the new parts.  I just took my time, carefully cutting and filing a little bit at a time, in order to get a nice snug fit.   The etched parts are themselves CA'd onto a .030" thickness of styrene, which I then trimmed to the exact size of the parts. This in turn is cemented to a piece of 0.010" styrene that is cut larger than the opening. The whole subassembly it then glued into place from the inside of the shell.

Here is the cut opening:


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And again with the grilles glued into place:


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When primed and painted, this (hopefully) will be a good match with the rest of the shell.  I'm not sure offhand which paint will be a good match for the Kato silver and red, so I will have to experiment.  I think I have some Badger BNSF Silver somewhere, but it is probably so old that it has started to congeal...   

I was fortunate with this particular transplant, in that the new parts could be installed along existing lines in the shell.  The shell still fits over the frame OK, even with the extra 0.010" of space taken up by the styrene.  There is a little bump on the frame that is supposed to help keep the shell in its proper position, but I think I will just file that off at some point.

Next step will probably be doing the wire grabirons.  I want to get all the body work done, and the shell all glued into one piece, before I try to install the handrails.

Thanks again for looking! 

Ed

[GaryHinshaw]

Nice!  Very clever design to lay the fret out like that with the groove for the rail.  Well done!  A few questions:

* Are you happy with the strength of the assembly after it's detached from the fret?
* Have you tried a test fit, and do you have a sense for how sturdy it will be when attached to the loco?
* How do you like PB as a material for this?  How does it compare to stainless for strength?  [You'll no doubt notice a theme in my line of questioning... ]

I totally agree that handrails are the key detail that make or break an N scale diesel, and (as you know) I think this is the most promising approach by far.  I personally am still inclined to go include the rail as part of the etch (because I'm lazy), but I understand your desire to go with a wire rail, and I'm very curious to see your finished result.

-gfh

Added - I just noticed the vents.  That part turned out very nicely and it should blend well when painted.  Didn't you at one point consider trying to cast this part from an AC4400 shell?  Did that not pan out? 

BTW, what is wrong with the Kato cab windows that prompted you to etch a new frame?  I think my attention to prototype detail must be really lapsing... 

[6axlepwr]

Ed,

Will you be insetting the side sill so the etched side sill will blend or gluing it to the outside of the original side sill?

You have put together a VERY good idea about how to make sure all the stanchions are in the correct place and keeping them there when you solder the hand rails in place.

[wazzou]

Ed -
I'd try Floquil Old Silver if you can find any and don't have an aversion to lacquer based paints.

[ednadolski]

* Are you happy with the strength of the assembly after it's detached from the fret?
* Have you tried a test fit, and do you have a sense for how sturdy it will be when attached to the loco?
* How do you like PB as a material for this?  How does it compare to stainless for strength?  [You'll no doubt notice a theme in my line of questioning... ]

The only real comparison I have are the locos I built from the wire and individual stanchions.   In general I have found them to be surprisingly sturdy, considering the inherently small sizes of the materials.   Of course, this is not something for the heavy-handed, and it cannot compare to the durability of the factory materials. That said, the ones that I have built have held up pretty well, and do survive the occasional errant bump without significant consequence.   Bent rails/stanchions can be gently straightened out, and I have not yet had any solder joints fail.

Since the new parts have the stanchions all etched as part of the sidesill,  that ought to be much sturdier than individual stanchions glued into the factory sidesill  (BTW, those 2-part Kato factory sills are a pain to drill & glue).  I should think that the solder joints ought to be reasonably strong as well.   With the old way, I would often get a solder blob, which I suppose would be stronger just for having more material (to a point anyway).  But blob aesthetics aside, I would think that when the strength of the solder joint becomes the difference,  you're probably in the process of bending something all out of recognition anyways...

One benefit with soldering to the new parts: since they aren't attached to the shell, you don't have to worry about melting anything.  So you can apply enough heat to get a really good flow to the solder, rather than having to hurry-up each joint to finish in a couple of seconds.  I used to have to make heat sinks from tiny little wet strips of paper towels.   Also, I now no longer need to trim overly-long stanchions with a flush cutter, so the overall result is significantly neater (YMMV).

I decided to try the PB over SS thinking that the PB ought to be easier to solder and paint.  Likewise I went with PB over brass since it would be less susceptible to curling over the half-etched areas.   There is still a bit of curling with the PB, but it is not hard to flatten out.

You'll notice on these parts that some of the stanchions (closest to the cab) have no sidesill at all.   They are meant to go directly into holes drilled into the shell, and that requires gluing the cab to the main shell before drilling.   So until installed, they look pretty delicate, but OTOH the old technique had pretty much the same issue.

The same goes for the front & rear parts.   Those were a real bear to solder together the old way, without support from the fret (a real three-hander!).  The compound wire bends are complex, and I did find it to be a challenge to form the wire so that it would properly fit in the grooves -- especially the front ones.   However the more I do it, the better I will get.   (BTW, I think the front handrails still would be a trick to bend properly, even if the handrails were made as part of the etching)

Added - I just noticed the vents.  That part turned out very nicely and it should blend well when painted.  Didn't you at one point consider trying to cast this part from an AC4400 shell?  Did that not pan out?

I never tried it.  I'm sure it's doable, however the whole process of making a mold, then casting one part at a time was not an especially appealing process to me.  Actually my real concern was over the durability of a cast part.  It would probably have to be a resin, but being only around 0.030" to 0.035" or so thick, I wonder if that would be too easy to break or snap, esp. when installing or removing the shell from the chassis.  I don't use many resin-cast parts,  but the ones I do recall were relatively brittle, esp. as they got smaller and smaller.    Then there is the whole thing of shrinkage, warping, flash, air bubbles, and so on.... I don't really know enough about casting to navigate the land mines.

BTW, what is wrong with the Kato cab windows that prompted you to etch a new frame?  I think my attention to prototype detail must be really lapsing... 

The Kato frames are OK, tho kind of crude when you get close.   The real reason, however, is that I have a couple of the old-style Dash-9's that have the BNSF H2 paint, but the earlier-style 3-window cabs, so I thought that a conversion part would be good to have. Obviously, with the newer models, it's less of a concern (unlike the grilles)   

Will you be insetting the side sill so the etched side sill will blend or gluing it to the outside of the original side sill?

It's sized to completely cover the original sill.  I will first fill in the gaps with styrene, then sand the entire sill flat to remove the raised details, and then glue the entire new sill on top.  As a half-etch, it's only about 0.005" thick,  so it will (I hope) go on without any noticeable gap.  My thought was, that the joint being on the edge of the walkway would be a relatively unobtrusive place for it.

I'd try Floquil Old Silver if you can find any and don't have an aversion to lacquer based paints.

My spray booth is in a relatively confined space, so I prefer to avoid the solvents.


Ed