World kougei deki kit

[keitaro]

So i got bored with doing the main layout since it's just detail left now and jumped to this since the monorail is on the back burner for a while.

 

anyway regardles of this being such a small model kit it's still really hard.

 

The solder is hard to get sticking to the brass and the kit in general is just hard to assemble due to small size.

 

So far i have made the motor unit and soldered a few pieces of the body.

 

The motor now runs fine after some suggestions from Martijn!! however it's not very switch friendly.

 

heres some pics of my progress i will probably buy some flux soon as this is getting down to the hard parts.

 

BTW i suck at soldering.....

[Martijn Meerts]

It's probably more difficult than the bigger trains, just because it's so small =)

[cteno4]

keitaro,

 

ohh looks like fun! being the boy with the biggest fingers in the room usually i tend to like the tiniest stuff!

 

does the chassis run better thru switches when the shell is on it? thinking the added weight may help it some. many times these little guys are so light the hop very easily, but not a lot of room to add much in the way of weights!

 

did you wash the brass before soldering? sometimes they have an oily film on them that makes the flux not get to the metal well. soap and water and then dab dry and just splash some isopropanol over it and let it air dry. even finger grease could affect soldering tiny parts.

 

are you using some paint or flux or just resin core solder? might try a resin pen to paint on some little dabs of flux where you want your solder joint. or get the gel flux and use a tiny brush tip (like those cheapo fingernail brushes) to put it on carefully at your joints. a little flux really works wonders to direct the joint and get a more even solder flow in the joint. chop up some of the extra brass and experiment some. remember to wash it well afterwards to get rid of excess flux before painting.

 

making me want to work on some of my etched metal stuff! but i have to finish other half done projects before starting more, its the new new years resolution!

 

jeff

[keitaro]

Hey nah the weight doesnt work.

 

It gets stuck on the bits with plastic on one half the wheels are the likely culprit.

 

Its similar to the TGW deki i actually made that run great now. some filing of the axel and the hole it pins through makes it good. Now the issur on the tgw is the cog/gear that hits the motor shaft rubs on the ballast.

 

2 possible fixes reduce the ballast as only certain spots rub.

 

Or run on track with no ballast and minimum switches would be good for a mini diorama.

 

After my modification if you run the tgw on a track with no ballast and no switches it runs well now. It wont run on tram track.

[Guest JRF-1935]

Keitaro

 Good Luck!  Soldering Brass in any scale sucks, unless you have a very expensive resistance solderer.

Rich C

[Martijn Meerts]

Got my Deki kit in yesterday, bloody hell it's small =)

 

Of course, small means less brass to heat up, which should mean easier to solder (compared to the bigger models anyway).

 

 

Keitaro, another fix for the running problems is to use electrofrog turnouts. They don't have the huge bits of plastic that most other turnouts have :) I'll give it a go on some Peco track at some point.

[keitaro]

progress.

 

i'm getting a bit better at soldering really worth getting this kit learning alot along the way.

 

i "could" finish tommorow night...

[westfalen]

You've got more courage than I have. I did see some pre-assembled World Kougei locos in Japanese hobby shops, they were expensive, but when you look at the work that goes into them...

[Martijn Meerts]

It's starting to come together nicely :)

[Guest JRF-1935]

Very Nice Keitaro !

  Seems you've mastered some soldering techniques for N scale - please share

Rich c

[keitaro]

Was lucky enough to get 20 mins in today.

 

Attached some detail parts and finished the pantograph.

 

Just need to solder the pantograph on to the top piece.

 

After this just need to add the coupler bit and some details.

 

Then file the solder and paint...

[The_Ghan]

Keitaro,

 

It looks like you've built it backwards .... lol ... 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[Bernard]

I didn't realize how small it was until I saw it in your hand.....I would need a jeweler's loop to work on that train. Do you set it up in a jig with clamps when you solder? After this project soldering feeder wires to a track will be a breeze!

[keitaro]

Keitaro,

 

It looks like you've built it backwards .... lol ... 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

 

Actually the piece at the front that looks like a ladder with a bar through it is on the opposite side on the instructions .... i still cannot work out how it's on the opposite side as there is no otherway to bend the metal??

 

really weird i still can't work out where i went wrong with that.

 

notice the part A 1-5 is on the left in instructions but on mine on the right?

 

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10121866z/70/1

 

thing is the base for this is all one piece you have to bend and it only bends the one way so i sat there for ages trying to work out why it's on the opposite side.

[keitaro]

I didn't realize how small it was until I saw it in your hand.....I would need a jeweler's loop to work on that train. Do you set it up in a jig with clamps when you solder? After this project soldering feeder wires to a track will be a breeze!

 

it is tiny wait till you get to soldering in the tiny pieces of detail such as A1-3 on the link i posted above it was a killer soldering that to the inside as the slightest bump knocks it out.

 

I have not used any clamps or anything all by hand. The trick is to cut a tiny piece of solder sit it right where you need to solder and apply the tip to it, quick touch then done in under a few seconds.

 

At least thats how i've been doing it. the outer areas are much easier though

[cteno4]

another trick is to pre-tin both pieces with a tad of flux and then put them together and just touch them with a nicely tinned iron and they will join very quickly. this way you can hold little parts to pre-tin them with locking tweezers and use both hands for soldering. you can clean off excess on either part before joining them as well to keep excess solder to a minimum.

 

jeff

[keitaro]

now i just have to pray for a nice little loco kit to come out in N and not narrow N or narrow HO

[Martijn Meerts]

I think pre-tinning is definitely the way to go for the larger parts. The smaller detail parts can easily be glued on.

 

I still want to experiment just using epoxy for an entire kit though. The bonds should be plenty strong enough and it can be used as a filler where needed as well.

[Nick_Burman]

So i got bored with doing the main layout since it's just detail left now and jumped to this since the monorail is on the back burner for a while.

 

anyway regardles of this being such a small model kit it's still really hard.

 

The solder is hard to get sticking to the brass and the kit in general is just hard to assemble due to small size.

 

So far i have made the motor unit and soldered a few pieces of the body.

 

The motor now runs fine after some suggestions from Martijn!! however it's not very switch friendly.

 

heres some pics of my progress i will probably buy some flux soon as this is getting down to the hard parts.

 

BTW i suck at soldering.....

 

Don't forget to slap a ton of weight (auto tyre balancing weights will do) onto it as you assemble it. Going DCC will also help, a Lenz Gold Mini decoder will help the loco sail through those sticky spots.

 

Cheers NB

[Martijn Meerts]

There's no room for additional weight.. There might not even be room for a decoder ;)

 

Wheel balancing weight are probably bigger than the loco itself 

[keitaro]

There is room for 4.5mm x 3mm x 2mm height

[cteno4]

for tiny places like this lead shot works well. the tiny stuff will pack in pretty densely then trying to file down a chunk to fit your volume and then get it into the odd shaped space. you can just dot on good old white glue onto the pile to hold it all in place. its easy to pop out then later if needed. just make sure its spread evenly to balance on your centerline. every microgram will help on this little goober.

 

jeff

[keitaro]

i finished the model needs painting now.

 

alas the motor works out side of body but not inside i think the solder for the wires rubs on the shell and shorts???

 

so i need to pull it out again and maybe tape over the soldering for wires and retry.

[The_Ghan]

Check also that the pickups are properly isolated.  I've had that problem before. 

 

Cheers

 

The_Ghan

[keitaro]

Yeah they are isolated i think its the wires.

 

It is a real tight fit to get it in i guess ill remove it and put some tape or rubber over it. just makes for a harder reinsert.

 

Once i got it running i will post a vid