It is rather isn't itHas the definition of dabbling changed? This is getting serious. They will look good in P48 though.
It would be prudent to hold off a while on any new brass at the momentI guess I don't need to ask you if you want anything from the vendors at the Chicago Meet next month, as you don't have any money left anyway.
I see these OMI diesels fairly often at the shows I go to over here. Luckily for me, I just don't need any of them badly enough to pull the trigger and take one home with me. But then again, cheap is my kryptonite, so under the right circumstances it could happen. I'm only human!
Not sure if you are aware, but OMI did a run of sd70Ace's at the end before they packed it in. They were pretty nice, from the pictures I've seen. I know, EMD's........
Well it looks like the great 2020 vacation is finally scuppered, we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out, hopefully later in the year the moons will align and I'll get out west.
To be fair the blaster works okay, but after only two items I'd used up all of one 12 Oz bottle of grit, I'd seen and used it enough to know there wasn't much point going for the other bogie.
I am blasting all my brass models before painting and I am using the even cheaper Chinese "air eraser" type of blasting gun.
Aluminium oxide grit is cheap, you can get 25kg for 25GBP, but you will definitely need more air for the gun. I am using our company compressor that is a quite bulky 3000+€ type and it runs almost 50% of the time while I am using the blaster. It can maintain 6-7 bar (~100psi) at the blaster, but my hose is about 2metre of 4mmID tubing.
These things work, but they need a LOT of air.
My US-trip to the east coast with some trainspotting in the Appalachian mountains will probably also be postponed.
Michael
Well it looks like the great 2020 vacation is finally scuppered, we'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out, hopefully later in the year the moons will align and I'll get out west.
So as a bit of a 'fix' I'm resurrecting the Overland GTEL model.
One of the primary issues was the tarnished brass and haphazard primer paint job, ideally it all needs to come off back to bare metal, then damage/missing parts can be assessed and repaired or replacement parts sought.
I've no idea of the metal condition under the primer but those which had already been stripped were suffering badly from....well what ever it is.
A new toy joined the workshop this week, two actually and a third should be here in a few weeks time.
View attachment 119435
The compressor is nothing special, typical Chinese run of the mill I suspect, but it runs and is quiet enough to co exist in the same room as the one you're working in, max pressure is 60 psi which should be more than enough.
The first new toy.
View attachment 119436
A Badger shot blasting kit, cheap enough to dabble with and see how it goes. Note the very small bore feed pipe, i do wonder if that might be the cause of the issue noted below, plenty of pressure but no volume. I do have a 1/8" BSP pipe and have ordered an adaptor to fit the Badger M5 fitting on the gun.
The victims.
View attachment 119437
Pretty grubby pair of bogies and cab unit fuel tank and battery boxes.
The survivors.
View attachment 119438
View attachment 119439
To be fair the blaster works okay, but after only two items I'd used up all of one 12 Oz bottle of grit, I'd seen and used it enough to know there wasn't much point going for the other bogie.
It works but just isn't man enough, even at 60 psi it takes an age to blast an area and just eats grit, no matter how you set the nozzle or feed pipe the results are not consistent. To be fair I wasn't using an enclosure which would retain some if not most of the grit, I used it outside with a large biscuit tin to catch whatever and to be honest, it was a quick and dirty trial, so grit recovery was not the main objective, mind the lawn might not agree
What did get blasted though is very smooth and clearly it is the way forward to rejuvenate the model.
The next step is to find a larger more powerful blaster, not sure if the existing compressor will be man enough, though it's primary use will be the new airbrush arriving in a few weeks.
I suspect a larger blaster will have to be a cabinet and thus the garage beckons though that might be an issue keeping the grit moisture free, we'll see.
Michael, thanks for the feed back and advice, as I've just said to Tim, I'll look at upgrading in due course.I am blasting all my brass models before painting and I am using the even cheaper Chinese "air eraser" type of blasting gun.
Aluminium oxide grit is cheap, you can get 25kg for 25GBP, but you will definitely need more air for the gun. I am using our company compressor that is a quite bulky 3000+€ type and it runs almost 50% of the time while I am using the blaster. It can maintain 6-7 bar (~100psi) at the blaster, but my hose is about 2metre of 4mmID tubing.
These things work, but they need a LOT of air.
My US-trip to the east coast with some trainspotting in the Appalachian mountains will probably also be postponed.
Michael
I would totally agree, as I found out to my cost. It was a Badger mini sandblaster. Now whether the pressure was too high or we used the wrong material but never again. I tried it on my Ivatt 2 tender and it wrecked the side panels. It was a scratch-built tender using 15thou nickel-silver but the sandblaster effectively shot peened the tender side. It basically swaged that side of the sheet and made it bow out like some over pressurised balloon. So my advice is that what ever you decide make damn sure you test it on several representative scrap items before you try it on your pride and joy.However you have to remember these are erasers and not grit blasters so will take time and a lot of abrasive to work well. I would be concerned that a grit blaster would be too aggressive for our models.
. . . . and it wrecked the side panels. It was a scratch-built tender using 15thou nickel-silver but the sandblaster effectively shot peened the tender side. It basically swaged that side of the sheet and made it bow out like some over pressurised balloon.