My fingers are too big for super-detailing

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I was working on my HO Atlas C30-7 last night, adding two small pieces on the Air Tanks (Details West Part 263, for 4 & 6 Axle GE Locos).

These are tiny parts that attach on the edge of the air tank- not even sure what the actual part is! [:)]

(In the image at http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/235-263, this is in the middle diagonal row, second from the left.)

From the instructions diagram, and from what I can make out in the shadows of prototype photos, it appears to be attached similar to what I’m attempting to show in the following image:

The instructions suggest drilling a hole (#77, IIRC), and there is a nice long sprue which, in theory, would fit into said hole and provide a nice mechanical fit. However, I was unable to get such a small hole drilled at that large angle on the curved surface of the air tank- finally gave up, having dug a small divot and afraid that I would do damage that would be hard to fill in.

What I ended up doing was CAREFULLY setting the loco at an angle, then trying to set the part in place, and apply a drop of CA. When all went right, surface tension pulled the CA into the gaps, and it looks like it’s cemented on nicely now. I was able to get it right, but I kept disturbing the part, so it took about three-four tries.

What was frustrating was that I couldn’t figure out how to keep the silly piece in place- my “third-hands” both have alligator clips that, if I could get a sufficient grip to hold the small piece, I was afraid they would end up part of the model! Trying to hold the piece with the tweezers, I couldn’t hold it still long-enough for the CA to set, much less long-enough to set down the CA bottle, pick up the accelerator, and apply.

So… in such circumstances:

  • difficult to get good mechanical joint
  • too small to get a good grip
  • not enough hands to apply CA accelerator before the
2

next time try whittling a point on the sprue that fits in the hole with a hobby knife…it takes a lot of practice and patience with a lot of those little parts…i always try to see if the part fits before applying glue…another way to hold them is by doubling up some tape with the sticky side out …stick the part to it and then try to put it in…windshild washers and anything real small and round are kind of tough to do but once they’re in place and where i want them, then i’ll apply the glue with a thin piece of spring wire dipped in the glue and then applied to the part…chuck

3

Try the thin CA, it is labeled “instant.” Do not apply from the bottle, you get way too much. As cwclark said, apply with something very thin and stiff.

If you use accelerator with CA you get a white crusty stuff that is very hard to get off. The instant is pretty much instant. The thicker CA is, the slower it sets and it is intended to fill gaps in two pieces that don’t fit together.

I’m thinking of G scale or bigger for that same reason. Every time I have a birthday, my HO stuff shrinks. I don’t get it.

Good luck
Jon - Las Vegas

4

[#ditto]
I would add forget about using accelerator when possible. That’s one less ball to juggle.
Also, do you have a pair of magnifiying goggles? I find they help a lot when doing small detail work.

5

I’ll keep that in mind. What little dexterity I have seems reserved for piano and guitar.

I have a pair, at least similar. (Thank Internet Hobbies for one of their freebies!) I have found that, whether referring to these, the magnifier mounted on one of the Third Hands, or the BIG magnifier mounted on my swing-arm lamp all that useful- what works best for me is simply removing my glasses. [:D]

Also, regarding Chuck’s initial comment- the problem wasn’t getting a portion of the sprue to stick into the hole- the problem was getting a hole in the first place. The drill just wouldn’t cut neatly at the obtuse angle it would need to (again, see my rough drawing… the pictures and instructions showed this part WAY on the edge of the rounded tank end.) I’m a FIRM believer in making a good mechanical connection before gluing anythinng. [:D]

Tonight, if I have the time, I’ll be trying to apply the filler caps and sight glass to the fuel tank. I’ll try out the double-sided tape- picked up some while out at lunchtime.

BTW, again, what ARE these darn little parts? Figure they’re a bleed valve or something, right? IIRC, they’re at the “low” end of the air tank.

Brian Pickering

6

Brian, i have the same problem, i find you need very good lighting, sharp tool’s and fine point tweezers, it drives me wild trying to glue tiny bits on, i have a friend who does N gauge and he makes his own loco and truck bodies and it amazes me to watch him at it, he built 3 container semi trailers from scratch last week perfect in every detail and he has fingers like giant hot dogs,
it must be practice,
i may be wrong but the valves may be automatic water drains as they are at the lower end of the air tank

7

“It’s not the size of the fingers, but how you use them!” [:D]

Whenever I’ve had to drill a hole in such a situation, I start the drill using a dimple made with a drafting compass, then drill at right angles to the item. When the drill starts to grab hold, I then keep drilling and slowly rotate the drill to the angle that I need. Of course all of this drilling is done with a pin vise. This seems to work OK for me, with pudgy fingers too!

Bob Boudreau

8

The primary reason I switched to a larger scale was the small pieces in HO. I know you don’t want to switch, but just try one S scale kit[swg] you’ll never go back. And it isn’t that much more space[:-^]

Enjoy
Paul

9

I have the exact same problem, my hands are far too large for the tiny details that come in better kits - say the grab irons of the Proto2000 car kits, particularly the tank cars. I have various types of tweezers that generally solve the problem of too large fingers. Plus whenever possible, I drill out holes so that the parts can be glued from the interior, where you won’t see any glue marks. Obviously that won’t for for every possible part in ever possible location, but it goes a long way towards making a better model.

–Randy

10

My belief is that they are indeed bleeder valves to rid the tank of condensate. Compressor tanks have them because the intake air is always moisture laden, and when the compressed air in the tank decompresses with use, the condensate forms and runs down to the bottom of the tank, eventually rusting it and also reducing the useful volume in the tank (can’t compress a liquid).

But leaving all that aside, Brain, wouldn’t drilling a hole in a compressor tank be dangerous? [(-D]

11

Naa, it’s only going to have 1/87th the prototype pressure [:D]