I would like to build my own large oil storage tanks similar to the Walthers 933-3167/68 tanks rather than pay $50 for the kits. My question is - are there any ladders/stairways on the market that will curve around these tanks? Anyone ever see an article on scratch building these tanks?
I believe there are no sprial staircases on the market unless you do purchase the tanks. You will probably have to scratch build them and they are a booger to build. I have a plastruct kit tank and it was one of the hardest items i’ve ever assembled. There is a lot of stress on the spiral and you have to hold it a long time to get the glue to dry. I ended up glueing three steps at a time with MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) until i got to the top of the tank. i also glued a small strip of evergeen styrene around the tank to keep the spiral in alignment and add step support.
It’s not so much hard is that it takes a long time to glue three steps at a time until you reach the top. Evergreen sells a stairs set but doesn’t provide the handrails. Plastruct has handrail sets. I’d glue each step to a small piece of evergreen strip and then glue it to the tank. Afterwards, add the handrails to the staircase. …chuck
the walthers tanks
the plastruct tank is the white tank in the middle
the refinery 8 months later
#3167 is currently on sale for $29.99 at MB Klein.
#3168 seems to be out of stock everywhere.
They are $27.74 for the tall tank and $33.59 for the wide tank at Caboose Hobbies for the tank kit you are talking about. you can order from them online. www.caboosehobbies.com. search for Walthers as the manufacturer and oil as the keyword. and they are on the first page.
As far as stairways and such are concerned, you would probably have to scratch build them.
They are $27.74 for the tall tank and $33.59 for the wide tank at Caboose Hobbies for the tank kit you are talking about. you can order from them online. www.caboosehobbies.com. search for Walthers as the manufacturer and oil as the keyword. and they are on the first page.
As far as stairways and such are concerned, you would probably have to scratch build them.
Thanks to all for your responses. I found the tall tanks at Caboose Hobbies and the wide tanks at Model Train Stuff, both on sale.
This may be too late since you’ve already ordered the kits, but I constructed oil tanks for my refinery out of different sized cans like those for Cashews, soup, etc. I wrapped them in .010" white Plastruct styrene, cut out a circular piece to cover the top, filled and sanded the seams, then airbrushed and weathered the tanks. I added a few decals left over from refinery kits and voila! The ladders are an issue however. I can’t find any curved, so I fudged a bit and used straight ones with safety cages (it would be a tough climb, but the guys at my refinery are young[:D]). Gerry S.
Good for you. That sure didn’t seem like fun, having to scratchbuild a circular staircase.