New examples of applications in railway modelling

The regular readers of our blog among you already know that I am a railway modelling enthusiast. I love fiddling around with my model railway scenery and I use different WEICON products to bond the delicate components. In a previous posts, we showed, for example, how to produce and attach a miniature corrugated iron roof. In this post, we focus on the locomotive and its tender.

To secure the gear wheels on the locomotive, our WEICONLOCK AN 302-90 Threadlocking is perfect. Why? This adhesive is extremely thin and even with small gaps – which you can often find in miniature building – the metal parts can still be securely fastened. Simply apply a small amount of the WEICONLOCK on the rivet of the gear wheel, then attach it and you’re done. Joints can also be secured, when the respective component is already attached. In the second picture, you can see how the adhesive is applied to the outside of the rivet.

In the past, so-called brushed motors were often used in railway modelling. The problem with these, however, is that the locomotive is a little bumpy while driving. For a smooth and steady motion, coreless motors are often used today. I will spare you the technical details of the motor at this point. Much more interesting for us is how to attach the coreless motor to the motor mount: For this, our Easy-Mix RK-7000 Structural Acrylic Adhesive is ideal. I made the conscious decision not to use the epoxy adhesive recommended in the construction manual, as our RK-7000 forms a high-strength joint in metal bondings and rules out the detachment of the motor while operating. Apply the two-component adhesive to the motor mount, then fixate the motor block. But note: It takes 12 hours for the adhesive to fully cure.

In order to also ensure smooth running of the tender, which is attached to the locomotive, you can weight the tender with additional weight. In this example, I used lead weight bead chain, which you can easily take from a curtain hem and then cut to size. To attach the lead weight beads to the bottom side of the tender, you can best use our Flex+bond Liquid. Its advantage: Unlike epoxy resins, Flex+bond Liquid does not cause an exothermic reaction, which means that the adhesive does not get warm and the plastic of the tender does not deform. In addition, the solvent-free casting and coating compound remains elastic after curing, so no rattling noises occur while driving. Put the lead weight beads into the hollow on the bottom of the tender and apply the adhesive generously until the hollow is filled up.

Every year, the INTERMODELLBAU, which is the largest trade fair for model making and modelsport, takes place in Dortmund. More than 500 exibitors with more than 20,000 models in 10 halls expect you there. From traditional model trains to model planes and model boats as well as live shows, the trade fair includes everything that makes the model making enthusiast happy!