Author Topic: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit  (Read 5229 times)

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Offline GlennCauley

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White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« on: 23 Jul , 2009, 07:39 »
I received my SN Type IIA kit yesterday... yay!
Unfortunately, when I shook the box I could hear parts rolling around inside... oh no!

It turns out the plastic bag that contained the white metal parts broke on the bottom seam, so all the white metal parts were scattered throughout the box.   :(    I lost 2 of the metal stanchions for the side ropes... and one of the railings had a broken bar.  RATS.

I like that the straight stanchions have a hollow loop for the side rope.  But most of the stanchions are not straight... they have a slight curve at the ends.  As such, I think I will end up making my own stanchions using hollow syringe needles... that way I can insert an ultra-thin wire loop in the ends.   This will be much like Siara did for the tensioners of his Type VIIC bow-plane tension wires.

I'm looking forward to building this kit.
« Last Edit: 24 Jul , 2009, 12:03 by GlennCauley »
Glenn Cauley
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Offline Rokket

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #1 on: 24 Jul , 2009, 03:15 »
Sounds good (the fix plan, not the broken bits...). Start posting when you start building!
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Offline GlennCauley

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #2 on: 24 Jul , 2009, 10:48 »
A #25 hypodermic needle (OD = 0.514mm) is the closest size match for proper-scale deck railings (0.5mm nominal = 36mm full-size thickness).
Turns out the white metal railings included in the kit are oversized at 0.80~0.91mm diameter (65mm full-size thickness).
This was probably for the sake of strength?

Anyone looking to use hypodermic needles for anything (railings, barrels, etc.) can find the gauge size chart here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Needle_gauge_comparison_chart
A pack of them (probably 40 or so) only costs a few dollars.
« Last Edit: 24 Jul , 2009, 12:06 by GlennCauley »
Glenn Cauley
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Offline Rokket

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #3 on: 24 Jul , 2009, 19:44 »
I have one needle my LHS gave me, because I was thinking of weld bead experiemnts...I bet they are reeeeal hard to cut tho?
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Offline Rokket

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #4 on: 24 Jul , 2009, 19:45 »
Oh, I bet you are right on strength with Crap Metal, er, White metal. I figure some "cheats" are always needed in a concession to small scale physics and reality, but if it's off by that much, suggests the modeler use brass wire and solder, or your method!
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Offline wildspear

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #5 on: 26 Jul , 2009, 07:40 »
I bought a bag of assorted tubes (aluminum and brass) I haven't measured any of it but I would rather work in brass as I would assume would be easier to cut then the needle.

Offline GlennCauley

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #6 on: 26 Jul , 2009, 07:49 »
I seriously doubt that commonly-available brass or alu tubing would be small enough.
The needles *should* be easy to cut with a cutoff wheel (though I'll report back when I've tried it) considering how small diameter and thin-walled it is.
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kagero43

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #7 on: 26 Jul , 2009, 08:10 »
The metal "syringe" type medical needles can be cut by simply scoring them a few times with a sharpe XACTO and then using pliers to snap them off. They come off cleaning and then only require some light sanding. - Harvey

Offline wildspear

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #8 on: 26 Jul , 2009, 08:24 »
I never thought of scoreing and snaping it. That would be the way to go with hardened metal. Thanks for the reminder.

Offline Rokket

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #9 on: 27 Jul , 2009, 00:56 »
Yeah, very good idea. I use the score and snap for sheet plastic but wouldn't have thought of it on metal needles.
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Offline GlennCauley

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Re: White metal railing stanchions in SN kit
« Reply #10 on: 27 Jul , 2009, 08:41 »
Excellent idea!  Much easier and cleaner than a cutoff wheel.
Thank you very much.  :D
Glenn Cauley
President, IPMS Ottawa
gc-scalemodels.ca