Introduction
This "Freelance Cane Car" 009 kit by Backwoods Miniatures was my first ever attempt at making an etched brass and nickel-silver model:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5764/20770734146_4d0997d586_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/xDrrBY)
Despite having soldered countless electronic components and wires over the past 15 years - as well as having made a good few soldered-wire trees - I had no experience and little understanding of the methods involved in soldering brass and nickel-silver.
There are a lot of Internet resources on soldering and kit-making, yet I still found myself embarking on this project with a lot of unanswered questions.
So I decided to photograph and document in detail my experience with this kit, in the hope that it will be of help to other beginners.
Soldering Fundamentals
It was not until I was close to finishing this model that I finally understood three of the most important aspects of soldering - namely:
(1) Flux removes oxidation (rust) and helps solder to flow.
(2) Solder flows towards the heat.
(3) Capillary action is your friend.
I made this video to demonstrate the first two points. Without flux the solder simply melts into a round blob, but does not spread. It is a different story when flux is added:
https://youtu.be/JUZOwAVOZhg
And I made this video to demonstrate how capillary action enables you to laminate parts:
https://youtu.be/e0cC6mO7OPU
Grasping these three aspects of soldering will help you tackle a kit like this.
(More to follow.)
Instructions and Frets
The instructions include an exploded diagram that indicates how to put the model together. The parts are numbered in the order in which you are recommended to join them:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/698/20610236659_f07f83a1ae_b.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xpfRiV)
The frets are beautifully crisp and detailed:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5674/20176022993_447554dd92_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wJToHp)
Cutting Parts Off The Fret
The best way to remove parts off their fret is by cutting the sprues with a sharp knife on a cutting mat or wood surface.
At first I tried using a scalpel knife, but this took some effort - often having to cut and score the sprue several times before it separated.
Eventually I found the easiest tool to use was a sharp chisel blade:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/702/20873379045_9b072d368e_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xNvwnB)
The trick is to dig one corner of the blade into the cutting mat or wood (MDF in my case) and then "roll" the blade across the sprue whilst pushing down gently:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/637/20686630669_7b8d0d2ab0_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xw1oA2)
The best type of blade is a square one (as shown) but you can also do this with an angled blade.
Note: Chisel blades are chamfered, so you must take care to have the flat side of the blade facing the part - the chamfered side of he blade should face the fret. With straight parts you can cut very close to the part, leaving you with less of a stub to clean up.
After cutting, you have to remove any sprue stubs and file the surfaces flat. A sharp blade can be used to cut off stubs - but take care of your fingers!
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5619/20176022593_eafaa065b9_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wJToAv)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5757/20610236149_a756d4a842_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xpfRa8)
Where there is enough space, a pair of side cutter pliers makes it easy to cut off sprue stubs:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/708/20896177916_44eaa92719_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xQwnFA)
(More to follow)
Embossing Half-Etch Rivets
The model has several half-etch rivets that need to be embossed. I used an Engineers Scriber with a small (light) hammer:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/596/20863728672_9378818e53_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xME4DS)
I was very cautious at first, but soon got into a rhythm - three taps with the hammer did the job:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5691/20686628449_c220e03755_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xw1nVK)
Folding
The instructions recommend scoring the half-etch fold-lines before attempting to fold the parts. I did this using my hobby knife:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/748/20685162220_666e343935_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvSS4W)
The half-etch fold-lines on this kit were all remarkably clean, and I dare say that I need not have bothered with the scoring - but I know for other people's experience that this is a good habit to get into because any imperfections in the fold-line half-etching can ruin the fold!
I used my bench vice to fold the larger parts:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/621/20873377005_ac9163504f_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xNvvLr)
Although not essential, my small hold-and-fold tool proved useful with the smaller parts:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5653/20734412850_8dc9fcd72c_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xAehyJ)[
Clamping
Both the chassis and the frame involved laminating parts. Clamping those parts whilst soldering is part of the challenge, and I found that hair-clips were really useful:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5624/20252363933_411cd2ab72_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wRCEdv)
And versatile:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5784/20863728982_a86fffa910_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xME4Kd)
Cocktail sticks are also invaluable for lining-up parts:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/642/20252364793_dc2bcd21fb_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wRCEtk)
Note: I laminated the chassis and frame parts after folding them. In retrospect, it would have been better to laminate the parts before folding.
Folding introduces subtle form imperfections that make it hard (if not impossible) to laminate without small (but noticeable) gaps appearing along the edges. As will be shown later, I had to resort to using a filler to cover those edge gaps.
(More to follow)
Soldering
My initial efforts at soldering involved using Powerflow flux and solid 145 degree solder.
I started by fitting the break shoe frames, which need to be soldered flat onto the under-frame:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/702/20873380255_38510de16a_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xNvwJt)
It was not easy to clamp the break shoe frames to the under-frame, so I used a blow torch which allowed me to do the soldering without clamping.
The solder slices were tiny, and even then I think I used too much:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5781/20873379745_f6af80f170_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xNvwzF)
My guess is that as a beginner, you are likely to need only about half of what you are initially tempted to use!
Having started with a blow torch, there was no going back. The under-frame needed two exterior relief parts to be laminated, and this is when I discovered that capillary action really does work its magic. First I added Powerflow flux to the clamped edges:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/725/20250783694_8063e89b33_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wRuyt1)
Then I added small slices of 145 solder, followed by a quick blast of the blow-torch:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5773/20250781014_b53fee7187_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wRuxEN)
As already mentioned, with the benefit of hindsight I realised that the above under-frame laminates should have been soldered before folding the under-frame base. This would have made for a cleaner, tighter laminate. In my case, there was a noticeable gap in the upper part of the laminated section. Fortunately, this is not visible, because the upper mesh-sided frame overlaps the undercarriage and covers the gap.
Half way through putting together the large parts - having proved to myself that it was possible to do the soldering with Powerflow flux and solid solder - I switched to using Carrs solder cream.
For the upper mesh-sided frames, I applied the solder cream to the outer-edges (as I would with solid solder) and let capillary action take care of things with the blow torch providing the heat:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5741/20685389948_d780d9d4bc_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvU2Lh)
Later I realised that, when laminating, the easy thing to do with solder cream is to spot one of the two parts with a distribution of small blobs of cream before clamping the parts together and applying heat.
As with the undercarriage, I realised that it would have been better to laminate the upper-frame mesh-sided parts before folding the base frame. This would have made for a cleaner, tighter laminate. By laminating after folding, noticeable gaps appeared along both ends of the wagon, which I tried to mask with filler.
Once the undercarriage and upper-frames are assembled, there are a number of small detail parts to add - most of which (like the hinges) are flat, surface parts. I decided to try soldering some of those parts using the often-mentioned tinning and sweating method. First the tinning:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5797/20685389528_5e6a6d684f_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvU2D3)
Then the sweating:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/593/20686628309_732ded3fec_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xw1nTk)
Unfortunately this method was not so easy to execute cleanly with the smaller hinge parts. Carrs solder cream came to the rescue. First, a blob of cream is applied to the larger part:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5635/20847100576_2aa2d353db_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xLbQGy)
Then the small part is clamped on (using self-clamping tweezers) and heat applied with a soldering iron tip:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5633/20685312320_b610b8fb1d_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvTCFS)
Carrs solder cream made it easy for me to achieve clean joins on those tiny hinge parts. This image shows how cleanly the top hinge was applied with solder cream compared to the one below which was joined using the tinning method:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5648/20250782574_acd2f9d4fd_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wRuy8G)
And here is another image of a cleaned-up hinge that had been soldered using Carrs solder cream:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5645/20863725542_0a218a0782_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xME3HU)
I should mention that I have no connection with Carrs!
(More to follow)
Soldering with a Gas Blow Torch
The following set of excellent videos produced by WHJeffB on YouTube inspired me to start using a blow torch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyh23RuyF2M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwxuXhu1O3g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DQ-yj_Wtgk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PrXDVo_wwQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-K7gWJHaEI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNyfE5cVx3g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTxsMHOkzKE
The above links are listed in the correct order. The last link shows the tools and materials used to solder white metal parts.
The most important thing to remember about the blow torch is that the hottest point is the tip of the pointed flame:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5831/20785297958_4836a71587_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xEJ5Wb)
Important: You must never let the flame's pointed-tip linger on any object (!)
The basic technique is to waft the flame across the job: backwards and forwards, up and down, as in Jeff's videos constantly moving the flame so that there is no chance of the pointed-tip lingering and doing serious damage (and potentially starting a fire).
Keep in mind that soldering requires you to heat the parts until they are hot enough for the solder to chemically bind (melt) with the parts. As far as possible, you should aim to avoid directly heating the solder and flux until the parts are hot enough to make the join.
As Jeff's videos demonstrate, it only takes seconds to do the soldering, though Jeff's video's feature white metal parts which are easily damaged (they melt!) by the heat. With the Cane Car model, I had the luxury of not worrying about the brass and nickel-silver parts melting. This allowed me to waft less carefully, applying more direct heat on the job over a shorter period of time.
Consequently, most of the time the soldering was complete within moments.
The vast majority of my time was spent preparing, clamping and cleaning the parts. With a blow torch, the soldering only takes a few seconds.
Finally, please make sure you to have a heat-resistant work-surface when using a blow torch - and take care: that pointed-tip flame can start a fire instantly (!)
(More to follow)
Axle Boxes
The four axle boxes are each made up of two folded etched parts, as indicated by the instructions:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/650/20174383624_7ee5947872_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wJJZoq)
It was a bit of a challenge soldering these to the undercarriage. Soldering the axle box parts together before adding them to the undercarriage only resulted in them falling apart when heat was applied to join them to the undercarriage!
The solution was to use the blow torch - because it does not disturb the job: the axle box parts were assembled unfastened onto the undercarriage surface and then torched to solder the whole lot together whilst gravity kept everything in place.
Carrs solder cream also helped with this method. It would have been harder doing it with solid solder.
Having successfully soldered the axle boxes, I decided to play safe and added epoxy-glue inside their underside cavities. The axle boxes are joined to the undercarriage along very narrow surfaces, and I did not want to take the risk of them being knocked off in future:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5633/20685388768_08c90057ed_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvU2pW)
Gap Filling
As mentioned several times, the upper mesh-sided frames were laminated after folding - I should have done the laminating before folding - and this resulted in unsightly gaps appearing along the edges at each end.
So I finally got a chance to try the Bondo Glazing & Spot Putty about which I had heard good things, but had not yet had a chance to use:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5657/20863726672_ef3aca0d8f_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xME44o)
The putty filed down nicely after drying:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5792/20685388928_52fece38bd_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvU2sG)
And it held up to quite a few cleaning sessions, including an hours-long dunk in white-spirit:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/740/20685310180_6c8494cfb5_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvTC3Y)
The Bondo filling is still there:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5747/20685311860_63fb880f41_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvTCxW)
Ready to Paint
Here is the model cleaned up and ready to paint, including the wheels that I set using a 9mm N-Gauge Back-to-Back gauge:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5663/21017347231_1ac9e90339_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/y2ep6H)
Now with the undercarriage and mesh-sided upper-frame joined up:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5625/20786445539_a26d969585_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xEPY54)
The interior - are those wooden planks, I wonder?
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5685/20785179380_75e1de2d6c_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xEHtFJ)
And a close-up of the undercarriage fittings:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/646/20352163963_523f35a8af_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/x1sahF)
(More to follow)
Tools and Materials
These are the tools and materials I used, starting with Fry's Powerflow flux, which I have been using for years to help solder wires and electronic components. The flux is liquid enough to be sucked into a syringe that helps apply the flux more precisely. The solid 145 solder was bought from Gaugemaster, and I used the side cutter pliers to snip of those tiny slices:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/697/20963409622_5dc79d8d8a_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xWsXjW)
Note: You need to clean up after soldering with Powerflow flux (I use IPA) because any residue that is not brunt-off will turn green overnight - although it is harmless and scrubs off easily if you forget.
Next, the wonderful Proxxon blow-torch - worth every penny:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/651/20685388498_03daaf3f95_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvU2kh)
My Weller soldering station, a small USB fan that gets turned on when I am soldering to blow the fumes away from my face, and the brass-wool tip cleaner that I also find useful in addition to wiping the tip on the wet sponge:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/679/20685311370_cbff0ee28b_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xvTCpu)
Carrs solder creams and liquid flux. I think the creams are impregnated with flux, but - for good measure - I used the liquid flux (applied with a cheap brush) to prepare surfaces (after cleaning them with IPA) before applying the solder cream:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/761/20863726992_d0b4abf238_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xME49U)
IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) which I use to clean-up before and after soldering - really useful, a small pot of the stuff is always on my table:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5685/20880587841_48a8fcc4bc_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xP9tic)
Self-closing tweezers are essential, and the helping-hand stand that can hold one of those tweezers is also very useful. Hair clips are versatile and can be cut and bent into all sorts of shapes:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5835/20786445679_af1a2a63fb_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xEPY7t)
The usual - and not so usual - suspects: files, knives, tweezers, cotton buds, and cocktail sticks. The Glass Nail File - from Boots - is tough, durable and smooth, though often too large. It is my favourite file:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5629/20250782004_cd84223847_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/wRuxXS)
Important: I consider the Soldering Fire/Heat Proof Board and the Heat Proof Soldering Block (above) to be vital work-surfaces when using a blow torch (!) I got mine from eBay.
I used the solid steel bench block (above) as an additional (third/top) surface when soldering with the blow torch, and found myself doing most of my work on its firm, smooth surface. I discovered it can absorbe a lot of heat: it never got hot. (I am now tempted to get a bigger one.)
Last but not least, I could not be without Blu-Tack:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/577/20980701931_9fb339cf70_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xXZzJc)
(More to follow)
What an excellent thread/tutorial!
Many thanks Harry - and can you continue with more please. Very educational.
Shaun.
Painting
The model was primed using U-Pol Acid #8 Etch Primer (from Halfords) - another item that is often mentioned with reference to priming etched brass kits:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5642/20999907592_8e50d72456_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xZG1Uh)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/674/20821718740_ae42333098_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xHWKyG)
This is my portable, makeshift, temporary spray-booth. Made from cardboard and plastic sheeting, it folds away nicely under my desk. After a final clean, I used gloves to handle the model (something else that is often repeated) so as not to contaminate it with grease from my fingers:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/706/20387162404_3dff126f2a_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/x4xx75)
I had no specific reference (despite hunting around for one) but in the end I wanted it to look well used, but still in good working order:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/634/21197086165_a2955494c6_o.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/yi7BdR)
I only used four colours, mostly mixed, with a lot of dry brushing. Some of the surfaces were polished with lead shavings:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5737/21170846446_8bc6fc8486_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/yfN84U)
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5705/21197085915_27a5872ce7_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/yi7B9x)
And here it is on the layout - the colours are more accurate in this photo:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/759/20574411734_3489f5a3e2_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xm6eNN)
And finally, some sheep!
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/758/20575955113_4e000ee197_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xme9AM)
Wheels
The only imperfection in what is otherwise a really good kit was the wheels: they wobbled noticeably, despite efforts to 'phase' the wheel fittings.
So I ordered these spoked wheels made by Tillig, promptly delivered by Schmalspurbedarf (http://schmalspurbedarf.de/content/6-willkommen) - a helpful German supplier I have used before:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5809/21524309265_2569e04846_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/yN2Hfr)
The Tillig wheels have an 8.6mm outer tread diameter, which is about 20% wider than the Backwoods Miniatures wheels. The Tillig wheels have larger flanges, which makes them appear considerably bigger:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5645/21532989331_6bf62a1b45_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/yNNcwK)
Nevertheless, they look well proportioned once fitted to the wagon. And they are perfectly circular - absolutely no wobble:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/680/20903161993_e408b1eecf_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xR9aNH)
And that wraps up the making of this kit - now fitted with Micro-Train 1015 couplers:
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5676/20903161913_0059a72642_c.jpg%5D) (https://flic.kr/p/xR9aMk)
The brown wagon is also a Tillig model, with similar wheels.
The set of 10 x Tillig wheels cost
Conclusion
I think the Backwoods Miniatures Freelance Cane Car (which can also carry sheep!) is an excellent kit for an etched brass and nickel-silver novice such as myself.
The kit is well designed, fits together well, and has allowed me to gain some very useful practice at folding, clamping and soldering etched brass and nickel-silver parts.
I think the kit is good value at
Harry
Well done, on of the best tutorials we've had on the forum.
Roger
Powerflow flux is about the best I have come across. Would not use anything else now. Plus it is water based so washes off easily. Do NOT like Carr's products. Maybe I've been unlucky but all their solders I have used have absolutely eaten the bits on various irons. As for wheels, it looks to me like the ones in the kit are Nine Lines. I have always found them to be suspect for roundness. Farish do very good wheels although they may not do any big enough for this kit. Last lot of 7mm disc Romfords I had (from Parkside) were excellent both for wagons and as loco drivers.
Harry: I can only agree that this is a most elegant and instructive tutorial - just the sort of thing forums like this are for. I confess I've never attempted anything like this but you have made it look so do-able that I'm almost tempted! I just hope I can find this thread again should I ever decide to tackle anything like this.
Oh, and a fine model, as well.
Many thanks,
David.
I can only repeat what everyone else said Harry.
It makes fascinating and informative reading, even if you never get around to doing it yourself!
Passed a very pleasant half-hour reading through it.
Please do more...
Shaun.
Shaun, Roger and David - thank you for your kind comments.
Rod, I agree that Powerflow is a good flux to work with - and the newer type (which is white and has a creamy consistency) can be applied with a syringe, which is useful.
The Carrs solder creams are a bit of a god-send when it comes to small pieces that need to be laminated. With the right amount applied (less than I was usually tempted to apply) there is hardly anything to clean up afterwards.
Harry, just found that thread - as I am on that forum since a few days only - and I have to say I like your thread. Really helpful, well documented with many pictures, makes appetite to build one of those cars for many of the readers including myself...
Gerhard
Thank you Gerhard!
Excellent tutorial.
Jeff S.
Thank you Jeff!