Maybe a stupid question, but when using a shell on a mechanism that doesn't have the same attaching points and such... is there any trick to securing the new shell non-permanently so it can be removed again later?
Hi Jason Most shells are still a snug fit on a new chassis, but where they aren't, use very thin styrene shims to make a good friction fit that won't fall apart when picked up. But not too thick that it distorts the shape of the shell. Cheers Steve
I'd say Steve has the right idea - as long as the shell fits all the way down onto the mechanism, I can't really see a need to go further than that - although as he mentioned, if the opening in the shell is wider than the mech some shims will help keep it from shifting around while running. I've done a couple with JnJ shells and was satisfied with the outsome.
The same technique as the others. Styrene shims applied so the body rides level and enough at the sides so that the body fit snug with a nice friction fit without distorting the shell. You want to be able to pick-up the loco without the danger of the mechanism falling out to the floor.
John and steve have it right. I also add just a bit of moveable glue in select spots to add a bit of adhesion.
I use pieces of double sided cellophane tape at the friction points. Holds well enough but can easily be debonded with a small blade or screw driver. If it wears out it is easy to replace.
Jason, steam shells a bit trickier IMHO. I like to make sure the shell is "seated" properly, boiler in the cylinder saddle and cab/ firebox on the back of the frame. I tend to put a lot of additional weight (lead or tungsten putty) in the boiler cavity and the putty can be formed inside the shell to help seat it on the mech. I still prefer a screw or two to hold things together as the weighted locos are heavy and dropping anything would do a lot of damage. Often there is a screw though the underside of the cylinder saddle that can attach to the boiler, but it depends a lot on the project. Have fun, Otto
Hmmm... the shim method seems interesting, but I've got a situation where the only thing to really shim to would be the lead weight and it rides loose on top of the mech... and the bottom of the boiler is open so I can't screw into the underside of it at the cylinder saddle. The lower sides of the front of the boiler are a perfect flat-to-flat surface that could be glued, but there's not a lot of surface area though. There's a screw hole on top that is further back than the original attachment and the new location would be arcing the two frame halves there. Other than that, there's not much else to work with. I suppose I could cast some resin into the smoke box to give a surface to screw into from the saddle, but I'd have to trim off some of the weight for this. Thanks for the ideas so far.
