• Welcome to The Forum for Gauge 3 Model Trains.
 
The Gauge 3 Society       2.1/2 inch Gauge Association       Cookies and privacy HOW TO JOIN: to request forum membership please click here

Gauge 3 Society members must be logged in to view the Society section
  G3 Clubroom

Welcome to the G3 Clubroom. This is the friendly online forum where members share ideas and inspiration, suggestions and advice, modelling tips, pictures and drawings, and general chat about our fine hobby of Gauge 3 railway modelling. A warm welcome, and enjoy your visit here today.

Bekonscot Model Building Materials

Started by IanT, Sep 12 2010 09:35

« previous - next »

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

MikeWilliams

Ian,

They had sheets of polystyrene which damage too easily and are soft.  They also have large sheets of a harder material which was more dense.  I went however for sheets c500m x 1200mm x c50mm in packs of four which seems to be even more dense and hard to bend or break.  It comes in a pretty pink colour!  Two inches is a lot for a baseboard, but as Derek says, with a suitable polished wooden edging it should look quite attractive.

I'm not sure how you join the stuff.  For instance, I need 1500mm length and the frame/edging could probably hold the two parts in line without gluing, but how do you fix the edging in place, especially if I shape it into a concave curve with the band saw?

Mike

MikeWilliams

Just noticed this not-very-helpful piece of advice from a manufacturer's website:

"When using adhesives, the installer should take care not to use products that contain chemicals likely to attack the insulating foam such as ketonic solvents. Celotex EL3000 contains no chemicals or solvents likely to damage the PVC membrane. When using adhesives, the installer should check the compatibility of the adhesive with the adhesive manufacturer."

Right, so no Ketonic solvents, whatever they are.  I just want to know what common adhesives I CAN use. - Ralph????

Mike

cabbage

As requested....

Ketones are a group of chemicals that are famous for their "fruit" smells. Acetone is by far the most famous. MEK is of course short for Methyl Ethyl Ketone. I would suggest a silicone glue the most common brands being "PINK GRIP" or "GORILLA GLUE" -use the water based type and make sure that you use hand cream or vaseline on your hands prior to using. Not because the glue will attack your flesh -but that you will be able to get it off your flesh...

Alternatively you could use a water based phenol resorcinol glue such as "No More Nails" etc

regards

ralph

MikeWilliams

Wow, that was quick.  Thanks Ralph!

Derek King

From the article in MRJ 156 they seem to have had problems with "No Nails" getting a thin coat spread over a large area and needed some large woodwork clamps to get a good bond with no gaps. Unibond sandable wood glue work well as long as the ambient temperature was not too high (may be a problem this weekend!!) and Copydex gave a very strong bond between foam and wood, but not foam to foam.

Hope this helps and look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Derek.

MikeWilliams

Apparently there are two types of "no more nails" - one spirit based and one low-odour water-based.

I had the former to hand and the reported problems spreading it thinly didn't materialise as it doesn't soak into the foam - it just disolves it away leaving a gently undulating surface which is fine for a model field, but not good for baseboard joints.   I need to go back and buy the water-based type!

Mike

Christopher

#21
Hello Mike

Sorry to be off the ball.

Styrofoam is a building material, made by Dow Corning, and sold by Sheffield Insulations which are a nationwide company as far as I know.

It comes in various thicknesses, 25, 45, 65 etc. It is closed cell so doesnt absorb water and is blue. It should not be confused with any other colour which is not the same stuff.

It is not particularly expensive - I am just about to order 15metres sq. to insulate a floor -  but the off cuts get used for all sorts of things - including wire cut coaches. (refer to FL)

I would suggest that you use 65mm and cut a board into three strips and face front, back and the two inner faces with thin (4-6mm) ply.
Use resin as a glue.

Also have a look at http://jpduval.free.fr/Galeries_photos/Resmod/Reseau_modulaire_Barnac_2008/index.html
who has produced a modular layout system that would lend itself to this sort of panel construction.

Best wishes

Cut lightening holes in it if weight is an issue. SF weighs virtually nothing. Structurally it is 'stiff' and can be cut with a sharp knife, sanded and filed

Module construction download (in French) http://jpduval.free.fr/Plans/SPEC_Reseau_Modulaire.pdf