Photo-Chemical Etching The last posting on page 3 shows 3 photos. The first photo shows the artwork I created for the brass for the Mi-Jack! The artwork shows an upper diagram and a lower diagram. The lower diagram is a "Mirror" image of the upper diagram. The artwork is printed onto transparency film, for the specific printer you are using. Use Inkjet Transparency film for a Inkjet printer and Laser Transparency film for a Laser printer. Once printed, the transparency is cut using scissors. One of the diagrams will need to be cut larger than the other. Trim the film about 1/2" around the entire lower diagram, and 1/2" around the upper diagram except on the upper longest length. Make that trim about 3/4" - 1" from the diagram. WHY? Well, I'll get to that next! Take the upper diagram. With the printed side closer to you and the 3/4" - 1" side on top, use a piece of clear tape to hold the film onto a clear window that has bright outdoor sunlight shining in. Next, place the lower diagram, with the printed side toward the upper diagram and alignthe lower film to the upper film. When both films are aligned perfectly, use more tape to attach the lower diagram to the upper diagram. Press the tape securely to insure the films stay perfectly aligned. This is the pocket that you will use to expose the brass sheet to UV light. Now, The brass you use must have been scrubbed clean using a Brillo pad type material to scrub the lacquer finish off of the brass while running water over it. Once the brass is thoroughly cleaned and rinsed, the brass should be placed in a bath of distilled water till it can be coated with resistant film. No more than 30 minutes should go by before the resistant film is applied to the brass. Use precut sizes of resistant film, peel on side of protectant plastic off of the resist film and place that side onto the brass sheet. Note, the brass sheet MUST have a slight film of distilled water covering the entire sheet. The water helps in aligning the resist film perfectly onto the brass. Use your hands to remove the water between the brass and the film. Flip the brass over, spray distilled water on this side of the brass to cover the entire area. Peel one side of the protectant plastic from the second sheet of precut resist film and place that film on the brass. Align and remove as much water as possible. Now, place the brass sheet into a paper carrier and run it thru a laminator. The heat and pressure seals the resist film onto the cleaned brass. Their are times when bo-bo's take place. No problem. A fine tip Sharpie pen can make correction when needed. Note, the resist film is very UV light sensative. All of this has to be completed in a dark room. Limited lighting. What I do is coat 4 or more sheets of brass at a time so I have coated brass when I need it. Comes in handy. Both .005" and .010" brass sheets 4" x 10". I keep them in a manila folder in the back of my filling cabinet. Very dark in there! Ok, When I need to use the resist coated brass, I will cut what I need using a good strong sharp pair of scissors to cut the brass. I usually make my artwork exactly 4" in length with the width being accordingly. Take for instance, the Mi-Jack Brass. It is 4" x 2 1/2" x .005". That is what I am using! I can make 4 sets of brass from one sheet of brass. Etching! Time to etch depends on how diluted the etchant is. Typical etching time for fresh etchant is 4-8 minutes depending on area that needs to be etched. I have had brass etch in 4 minutes before, but only once! Average is 7-8 minutes. For weaker etchant solution, it is possible the process will take 12+ minutes. I will be able to etch 8 Mi-Jack brass's in the same solution. 7-8 minutes for one, last will probably take 12 minutes! OK, what else can I say about etching? Randy Gordon-Gilmore! He is the one instrumental in my etching education! He has a very instructional explanation of home etching. http://www.prototrains.com Check it out. Lots of info! Have fun! Hobo Tim
Also, when exposing.............. The brass is places between the transparency film so the desired area of the brass is showing in the film. Now, sandwich the film with brass inside between two small, thick, pieces of clear plexiglass. Hold tightly together using clamps on all 4 sides. The plexiglass holds the film tightly against the resist coated brass sheet. UV rays are used to expose the film onto the brass. In direct sunlight, around 11am to 3 pm about 1-2 minutes should be enough time to expose the resist. If it is cloudy, 3-4 minutes of longer. Depends on the cloud coverage! Do not remove the brass from the sandwich in direct light. Only in the dark! DARK. The resist will now show the film artwork on the brass. Using another piece of clear plastic tape, remove the outer plastic protective sheet from the resist. Both sides need to be removed. Then place in a solution of .25oz of Sodium Hydroxide to 2.5oz of distilled water. Using a stiff bristle brush and in about 30 seconds to 1 minutes the weaker, light blue resist will be chemically removed. Now rinse the brass under running water, then a distilled bath rinse and allow to dry. Now this brass sheet is ready to etch! Hobo Tim
Thanks Tim for going into detail, I didn't know you could do this with a regular printer. At work (I print newspapers) each page is "burned" onto a thin aluminum plate. A negative (just like a camera) is placed on the plate. A glass lid closes and vacuum is turned on to hold it tight. Now flip the glass over and hit a button to turn on a strong light ($300 a bulb) that is measured in how hot it gets (lumen's) Usually a minute or less. Then take the plate out and run it through a processor that sprays water & chemicals and scrubs the non-burned image off. Sound similar. I think I buy that Micromark kit to get me started.
Etching Suggestions! I suggest, if you venture into home etching with the Micro-Mark kit, be prepared to purchase lots of etchant and photo resist film. Those are the two items you will use the most! Also, Sept 12 is the last day that Micro-Marks Summer sale lasts till. If you want to get the etching supplies cheaper than normal, now is the time to order. I even think the etching kit is on sale. Not sure though. If you are serious, it's a great skill to have! Hobo Tim
Just ordered it!!! This will force me to get better at my CAD programs and make some useful things. What will those useful things be? I have no idea...yet Thanks!
CAD vs CorelDRAW You can use your CAD or you can use CorelDRAW to make the artwork for the film. I started out using the TurboCAD so all of my brass etching programs are in TurboCAD. I have since learned to manipulate the CorelDRAW I got on ebay, cheap. It may not do as much, but it is easier to manipulate the artwork. Either will work fine. I'll do my etching artwork in TurboCAD and my decals in CorelDRAW. Keeps me active in both programs! Hobo Tim p.s. If you have questions, or need help during the etching process, feel free to email me!
Update Sept 9, 2006 I have just finished etching 7 more brass detail parts for the Mi-Jack. The pressure pot is being occupied on a constant basis. Mater of fact, fixing to change out the molds as soon as I send this. Will keep everyone updated! Note; I will be getting the kits ready to send first, then concentrate on the RTR's. I have 3 out of 5 kits complete with the exception of instructions and decals. Soon! Soon all 5 kits will be ready! Hobo Tim
Mi-Jack Kits are Ready! Hello! Hope everyone is doing well, if not, you need to play with more "Z"!!! Ok, I have some good news! The Kits are ready! Below is an updated list of who is on what list. If you are on the Kit list, please contact me offlist. sgt_tim1@yahoo.com is my email address. I am in the process of building the RTR's at this time. I am hoping to have all of them finished on Sunday. If you are on the list for a RTR Mi-Jack, please contact me and let me know what, if any, special railroad logos you will want on your Mi-Jack. I need to know this info so I can have decals designed and printed when the time comes to paint. sgt_tim1@yahoo.com -At this time, the list for RTR's is full. As far as kits, I made 5 of them. I will not be taking any more orders for Mi-Jacks at this time! Thanks Hobo Tim
New Photos, Almost Completed! Here are a few photos showing the first Mi-Jack I am working on. I airbrushed it today and applied the decals. It is for a Union Pacific Yard. I still need to paint the wheels and a few details before I apply a dull clear coat. Tomorrow it will be complete! Enjoy! I added some extras to build a busy intermodal scene. Hope you like it! Hobo Tim p.s. Has anyone looked closely at there MTL 48' FEC Husky's? They are pad printed for a 53' capacity Husky! What an Oxy-Moron, or is it the person who thought that one up is just a Moron! Hmmmmm!
Tim, I have the same question when they first came out. Some people tells me that the position for 53' container when they put it double stack, which it makes no sence. My theory is that all of FEC well cars are 53', and they copy the letters and number exactly like the prototype.
53' Husky! Before Smaller was more exceptable and un-wasteful, the railroads invested in 48' well cars. Gnderson, National Steel, and Thrall all made well cars to support up to 48' containers. Then, 53' containers were becoming the norm so the big three rail car manufacturers started making their well cars to support up to 53' containers. This means that the bottom well can hold up to a 53' container. What MTL has done is tried to pass off a 53' Gunderson Husky in a 48' size! I only have one FEC which I got on ebay last month, long after they were released. I wonder what other surprises MTL might throw at us un-prototypically??? Hmmmm OK, back to the regularly scheduled program - Those fabulous Mi-Jacks and the Intermodal Yard Gang! Hobo Tim
Tim, how about Soo GP35 with dynamic brakes. The next one might not be a MTL release, but still is made by them, a Railbox with walkways.
RailBox Well, to be fair to Andy, he signed the contract with MTL to do the RailBox run BEFORE the old ribside w/o roofwalk mold broke. Right before. He was stuck with the wrong car and couldn't do much about it. It still looks better than Marklin's RailBox. ;-) Randy
Misc! What Andy should have done was tell MTL he was going to wait for them to make another 50' Boxcar mold then have his Railbox made Prototypically correct! I believe he would be sold out of them by now! Negative publicity has probably put a dampening spirit on his Railbox selling! Who knows! OK ************ Message for Bryan Keyser! What kind of Mi-Jack do you want? Norfolk Southern? Union Pacific? BNSF (Yeah!)? or CSX? Let me know! ************ I am working on making one RTR with a set of 4 LED white spot lights that work for night operations! When i am finished I'll post some photos of it! Need to figure out this camera a bit more. Need closer-close ups!!!!! Have a good day! Hobo Tim
