Jump to content

Anything But Injection Reference

Enzo the Magnificent
 Share

Recommended Posts

Mjwomack Very Obsessed Member

Mjwomack

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, TonyW said:

I've just downloaded one of the free try out files. I can see me being a paying customer before the weekend.

 

Thanks for the link.

 

Tony.

I hasten to point out that I have no connection to the site/ firm but glad it's helping.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
Marklo Completely Obsessed Member

Marklo

Posted
Posted (edited)

http://www.landships.info/landships/models.html 

 

Landships a wonderful resource for early tanks and armour if you click on any of the names on the left hand side of the web page you’ll get a list of downloadable paper tanks and guns. Can be printed and built in card or used as the basis for a plastic model by transferring the components to sheet stock. I built my Saint chamond Sturmpanzer and Schneider in this manner.

 

There are also a few plane kits and some zeppelins on the site.

 

resized_08e7cbc9-c907-4b4d-8354-9da3efd2
 

resized_87fe750b-fdd4-4bea-9109-aed51522

 

resized_d71f76db-9b8a-49c8-a904-9e930078
 

50058463482_898943b5a9_c.jpg

Edited by Marklo
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Mjwomack Very Obsessed Member

Mjwomack

Posted
Posted (edited)

If like me, you've ever wondered about soldering white metal but didn't want to get your fingers burnt (I tell you it's not easy being this cheesy with the puns), you don't even have to leave the comfort of this GB for all your questions to be answered...

@Heather Kay has put together this brilliant guide

 

Soldering whitemetal

 

Many still consider soldering a black art. It’s not. You just need the right tools and some knowledge. I would suggest soldering whitemetal is easier than soldering brass or nickel.

I cut my teeth soldering Langley Miniatures lorry kits together. My first Langley kit had been superglued together. I still have it, some quarter century later, but the glue has become brittle. Bits are beginning to drop off the model. I suppose I could have used epoxy, but I’m an impatient modeller, and dislike waiting for adhesives to set. Soldered models, only slightly younger than that first lorry, are rock solid.

 

So, what are the “secrets”, if any? First, let’s consider the tools.



A temperature-controlled iron. It’s important not to let the whitemetal casting suck the heat from the tip, so an iron that will maintain its tip temperature is vital. I used to have a cheap import digital 48W “sodering station” [sic] from Maplin. It probably cost about £20. Since then, I’ve upgraded to an 80W Ersa soldering station. Some experimentation on spare or waste castings is advisable to find the optimum temperature. The goal is to melt the solder but not the model!
 



Tools. Old needle files - not your best files - and a variety of scrapers and blades for cleaning up the components, before and after soldering. I have numerous offcuts of softwood to act as supports and protection against excess heat. You may also use pliers, tweezers, blutack, clamps, whatever, to hold components while you work.
 



Flux, which prevents a cleaned surface oxidising too quickly, and lets the solder “flow”. If you don’t use flux, the solder won’t “take” to the mating surface, and a poor joint will be the result. You can buy all kinds of special concoctions for specific types of soldering, but I have to say I have used Carrs Red Label for years on both brass, nickel and whitemetal with no problems - aside from the fumes. As our American cousins might say, your mileage may vary. I use a water-based safety flux for brass and nickel silver work, and found it also works for whitemetal. You can find it on sale at Building O Gauge Online - they may not ship outside the UK, though.
 

Solder of the right temperature range. My preference is for Langley’s home-brew type they sell on their exhibition stand and web site, which is short sticks, about 60mm long, and which melt at around 150°C. I’ve also used the Carrs brand 145° stuff. It’s all the same, really, just a kind of whitemetal alloy that melts at a lower temperature than the stuff they use for castings.
 

The technique is simple. It takes longer to describe than to do.



Clean the joint faces with a file, emery or scraper.
 

Apply the flux with a disreputable brush. Keep your best brushes for painting.
 



Pick up a blob of solder on the iron and “tin” each cleaned area. It only needs to be a thin coating, but it needs to cover the area to be joined. For hidden joints, I also tin down sides and edges to aid the heat flow into the mated surfaces.
 

Bring both parts together, and make sure they won’t move during the process.
 

Apply a splash more flux to the joint, pick up another blob of solder on the iron’s tip, and apply the heat to the joint.
 



Sometimes, all you need is a tack solder joint to hold a component in place. You soon learn from experience how much solder is needed for tacking and for more robust joints. You can see a couple of "tacks" holding the rear of the engine cover in this photo.
 



Let the solder flow, which sometimes takes a couple of seconds while the heat is transferred. You can see the melted solder draw along the joint, as I've done on the far section of dashboard-to-floor. Sometimes, you can draw it along by moving the iron along the joint, like a paintbrush. Some would see this as heresy, but it’s sometimes the only way to apply heat over a larger area. Equally, it’s heretical to bring the solder to the work on the tip of the iron, but it’s not possible to bring iron and solder together as you would when soldering electronics or brass.
 

Wait for the flux to boil off (avoiding the fumes if at all possible), withdraw the iron and hold everything until the solder turns from shiny silver to dull silver.
 

Test to ensure the joint is firm, and clean up as required. Unlike glue, you can reapply the iron to melt the solder and adjust if something isn’t quite true.
 

Don’t forget to wipe the iron tip on a damp sponge regularly.

Oh, I forgot the bit about the temperature of the iron! While the solder may melt at 150°C, the iron needs to be a fair deal hotter to get heat into the piece. The casting alloy can vary from kit maker to kit maker, so if this is the first time soldering a kit you may need to test on an inconspicuous part to ensure the iron won’t melt the component!

 

Looking after the iron’s tip is important. Using a resin-cored solder, for brass or electrical soldering, the advice is to leave the solder on the tip between use, cleaning it off before bringing it to the work. For whitemetal soldering, it is best to wipe the solder from the tip after making the joint. Never use abrasives or files on the tip of the iron to clean it.

 

Remember that whitemetal castings can act as excellent heat sinks. A large casting will suck the heat from the iron’s tip, and it might take a while for the solder to melt and begin to flow. It might also take a while for the heat to dissipate, so be careful picking things up after making the joint! Picking up a small blob of solder and adding it to the joint as you make it helps, because sometimes you need to form a fillet along the joint for strength. You can always clean up excess solder by scraping or filing, so it doesn’t hurt to use more than you think in order to make a good joint.

 

You’re supposed to wash away flux residues after you’ve finished. I freely admit I don’t do this. Perhaps I’ve been lucky, but I’ve never had problems painting over a cleaned up solder joint. It could be I ensure the flux has boiled away completely, leaving no real residue to worry about. Do whatever you prefer, I make no warranties or guarantees!

 

One final thing, whitemetal soldering can also be used to fill and repair castings. The same techniques apply: clean the mating surfaces, flux, solder and heat. As the solder cools it contracts slightly, so you may need to add more until the filled hole is proud of the surrounding surface. File and sand to finish.

 

I hope that's helpful. Please comment and ask further questions if you think I missed something obvious!

Soldering whitemetal

 

Many still consider soldering a black art. It’s not. You just need the right tools and some knowledge. I would suggest soldering whitemetal is easier than soldering brass or nickel.

I cut my teeth soldering Langley Miniatures lorry kits together. My first Langley kit had been superglued together. I still have it, some quarter century later, but the glue has become brittle. Bits are beginning to drop off the model. I suppose I could have used epoxy, but I’m an impatient modeller, and dislike waiting for adhesives to set. Soldered models, only slightly younger than that first lorry, are rock solid.

 

So, what are the “secrets”, if any? First, let’s consider the tools.



A temperature-controlled iron. It’s important not to let the whitemetal casting suck the heat from the tip, so an iron that will maintain its tip temperature is vital. I used to have a cheap import digital 48W “sodering station” [sic] from Maplin. It probably cost about £20. Since then, I’ve upgraded to an 80W Ersa soldering station. Some experimentation on spare or waste castings is advisable to find the optimum temperature. The goal is to melt the solder but not the model!
 



Tools. Old needle files - not your best files - and a variety of scrapers and blades for cleaning up the components, before and after soldering. I have numerous offcuts of softwood to act as supports and protection against excess heat. You may also use pliers, tweezers, blutack, clamps, whatever, to hold components while you work.
 



Flux, which prevents a cleaned surface oxidising too quickly, and lets the solder “flow”. If you don’t use flux, the solder won’t “take” to the mating surface, and a poor joint will be the result. You can buy all kinds of special concoctions for specific types of soldering, but I have to say I have used Carrs Red Label for years on both brass, nickel and whitemetal with no problems - aside from the fumes. As our American cousins might say, your mileage may vary. I use a water-based safety flux for brass and nickel silver work, and found it also works for whitemetal. You can find it on sale at Building O Gauge Online - they may not ship outside the UK, though.
 

Solder of the right temperature range. My preference is for Langley’s home-brew type they sell on their exhibition stand and web site, which is short sticks, about 60mm long, and which melt at around 150°C. I’ve also used the Carrs brand 145° stuff. It’s all the same, really, just a kind of whitemetal alloy that melts at a lower temperature than the stuff they use for castings.
 

The technique is simple. It takes longer to describe than to do.



Clean the joint faces with a file, emery or scraper.
 

Apply the flux with a disreputable brush. Keep your best brushes for painting.
 



Pick up a blob of solder on the iron and “tin” each cleaned area. It only needs to be a thin coating, but it needs to cover the area to be joined. For hidden joints, I also tin down sides and edges to aid the heat flow into the mated surfaces.
 

Bring both parts together, and make sure they won’t move during the process.
 

Apply a splash more flux to the joint, pick up another blob of solder on the iron’s tip, and apply the heat to the joint.
 



Sometimes, all you need is a tack solder joint to hold a component in place. You soon learn from experience how much solder is needed for tacking and for more robust joints. You can see a couple of "tacks" holding the rear of the engine cover in this photo.
 



Let the solder flow, which sometimes takes a couple of seconds while the heat is transferred. You can see the melted solder draw along the joint, as I've done on the far section of dashboard-to-floor. Sometimes, you can draw it along by moving the iron along the joint, like a paintbrush. Some would see this as heresy, but it’s sometimes the only way to apply heat over a larger area. Equally, it’s heretical to bring the solder to the work on the tip of the iron, but it’s not possible to bring iron and solder together as you would when soldering electronics or brass.
 

Wait for the flux to boil off (avoiding the fumes if at all possible), withdraw the iron and hold everything until the solder turns from shiny silver to dull silver.
 

Test to ensure the joint is firm, and clean up as required. Unlike glue, you can reapply the iron to melt the solder and adjust if something isn’t quite true.
 

Don’t forget to wipe the iron tip on a damp sponge regularly.

Oh, I forgot the bit about the temperature of the iron! While the solder may melt at 150°C, the iron needs to be a fair deal hotter to get heat into the piece. The casting alloy can vary from kit maker to kit maker, so if this is the first time soldering a kit you may need to test on an inconspicuous part to ensure the iron won’t melt the component!

 

Looking after the iron’s tip is important. Using a resin-cored solder, for brass or electrical soldering, the advice is to leave the solder on the tip between use, cleaning it off before bringing it to the work. For whitemetal soldering, it is best to wipe the solder from the tip after making the joint. Never use abrasives or files on the tip of the iron to clean it.

 

Remember that whitemetal castings can act as excellent heat sinks. A large casting will suck the heat from the iron’s tip, and it might take a while for the solder to melt and begin to flow. It might also take a while for the heat to dissipate, so be careful picking things up after making the joint! Picking up a small blob of solder and adding it to the joint as you make it helps, because sometimes you need to form a fillet along the joint for strength. You can always clean up excess solder by scraping or filing, so it doesn’t hurt to use more than you think in order to make a good joint.

 

You’re supposed to wash away flux residues after you’ve finished. I freely admit I don’t do this. Perhaps I’ve been lucky, but I’ve never had problems painting over a cleaned up solder joint. It could be I ensure the flux has boiled away completely, leaving no real residue to worry about. Do whatever you prefer, I make no warranties or guarantees!

 

One final thing, whitemetal soldering can also be used to fill and repair castings. The same techniques apply: clean the mating surfaces, flux, solder and heat. As the solder cools it contracts slightly, so you may need to add more until the filled hole is proud of the surrounding surface. File and sand to finish.

 

I hope that's helpful. Please comment and ask further questions if you think I missed something obvious!

 

It's on page 2 of this enthralling build 

 

 

 

Edited by Mjwomack
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Mjwomack Very Obsessed Member

Mjwomack

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, bootneck said:

Burning your fingers and cutting your teeth........   are you sure this hobby is for you Michael?  :hmmm:

 

 

There's an endless way to get injuries in this hobby; as I suspect you know 😉

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...