My buddy just bought a P2K GP-18 in Southern paint, and he wants to convert the plastic handrails to scale brass. What is the best way to do this? Custom bend? Or are there kit products out there? Thanks
Mike
Perhaps Smokey Valley?
I think Smokey Valley and Percision scale are the only makers of brass handrail stanchions at the moment.
I’ve equipped 2 P2K GP9 with Smokey Valley brass stancions and rail, but the stanchions are a little bit shorter than the P2K ones. So you’d have to drill a hole to attach the new brass handrails to the cab. Also the SV stanchions use a larger hole than the P2K stanchions and may have to have the backs filed a little to clear the walkways.
I also recommend Smokey Valley. I would use the stanchions but bend your own rails. SV kits have the long hood rails in sections and the bends are not always that accurate. I will tack the rails on a couple stanchions w/ CA, but then solder the remainder. CA alone can break @ joints if flexed.
Try to use as many prototype pics from differing angles to get the bends right. The railings turning and dropping down to the steps are the crucial part. That’s where the SV ones are off and rebending has to be done. Brass rail is easiest to bend (probably best for first attempt) but not as strong as phospher bronze.
Your friend could also use the existing stanchions and replace only the handrails, as I did for a friend on this Atlas RS-1:
Use the existing handrails as patterns to form new ones. I used .015" music wire, then cut the plastic railing from its stanchions. Use a #78 bit in your pin vise to drill a suitable hole in each stanchion, then thread them on to the wire railings.
Carefully re-install the railings, adjusting the stanchions until they’re vertical, then use the tip of a #11 X-Acto blade to apply a minute amount of ca to each point where the railing passes through a stanchion - touch the knife to one side to deposit the ca, then to the opposite side of the same stanchion to draw it through. While the ca will not bond to the engineering plastic, it will create a nice tight fit between the wire and the stanchion. This creates a railing of scale thickness which stands up well to moderately careful handling. The springiness of the wire allows it to retain its shape and position, and the wire readily accepts paint.
Wayne