Has Ayone Seen These Fuel Tanks In N Scale?

[CoalPorter]

Some hardware stores have plastic end plugs that look similar
to the ends on those tanks. easy build project. The hardest
part is making the tank supports so they look nice and
consistant and not bulky and too think.

[eja]

Just 'roll your own'. 


Plastruct has everything you need .   See their Tubing and fitting selection here

 http://www.plastruct.com/picat/TUBING_FITTINGS_9.pdf


eja

[BCR 570]

Thank you very much for the Plastruct link - I knew about the tubing but I was unaware of the ends being available.  This makes scratchbuilt tanks a much more realistic option.  Now I just need to determine the diameter . . . .

Tim

[eja]

You're welcome  .. have fun and be sure to post a picture of the results !

eja

[wazzou]

I think even the smallest ones look to be too large to match your prototype @3/8". 

[peteski]

It shouldn't really be that difficult to take piece of styrene or acrylic rod of whatever diameter is needed, cut it to length, shuck it in a electric drill (assuming that the chuck is big enough)  then using a file shape the end to be hemispherical (or whatever shape you want). Then reverse  the postion of the rod and round off the other end.  If you happen to have a mini-lathe, this becomes an even easier project.

[nkalanaga]

9/32 inch aluminum tubing and a pair of caps off MT coupler part capsules?  Cut the tubing to the right length and the only seam would be in the center, where the caps meet.

[peteski]

MT capsules are the same capsules used for medicines - they are made of gelatin. They get soft, squishy and sticky when exposed to moisture. I wouldn't trust them to become a part of a permanent model. Maybe fill them with 5-minute epoxy then dissolve them away in warm water leaving the epoxy core exposed.

[nkalanaga]

Interesting.  I'll admit that I've never tried soaking them, but they don't seem to get sticky here in humid Appalachia.  On the other hand, I've never built anything from them either!  The ones in the 1025 packages have always seemed too brittle to be gelatin, and don't seem to glue well.  A good coat of non-waterbased paint may solve the sticky problem.

[nkalanaga]

I tried soaking one in water, and Peteski is right - they dissolve.  It takes a while, but they do dissolve after a while.  A few minutes didn't seem to do any damage, but I didn't take it out to see what happened if it was left to dry.

On the other hand, some of mine are quite old, as I've saved spare parts from KD/MT couplers as long as I've used them.  Even the oldest ones are still good, so human-tolerable humidity doesn't seem to be a problem.

This also explains why my one attempt to glue them, using plastic cement, didn't work...  I would be leery of using white glue on them, but that wouldn't work well in aluminum tubing anyway.  ACC should work fine, and a coat of petroleum-based paint, such as Floquil, Scalecoat, or Krylon, would protect them from humidity.  Flatcar loads shouldn't get wet, and the parts are free or cheap, so it seems worth a try.  If it doesn't work you can always throw them away!