09/07/2005
| BUILDING A CANNON & CO, THIN WALL CAB KIT |
The Cannon & Co. cab you see above is about the 5th kit I have built since they were
released. The first two were a disaster, the 3rd was a decent success and went on my Penn
Central SD38, the fourth was a great success and this fifth one also a great success. For
many years after trying to build the first two I just gave up because I could not build them
square. Something was always off on them and I could not put a finger on it. The cab I built
for my Penn Central SD38 OK, but still not "perfect". Recently, like in the past few months I
found out why I could not build them like I wanted to. Thanks to my great fellow modelers the
secret was revealed. One you find out what it is, you to can build perfect cabs every time just
like the one you see above.
The secret is.................REMOVING THE DRAFT ANGLE!
What is a draft angle you ask? It is built into the part to help remove it from the mold. The
best place to see it is to pick up any Atlas, Kato or Athearn locomotive frame and look at
where the fuel tank fit onto the frame. The frame at this point has a very nice "DRAFT
ANGLE". It is most evident on a Kato frame.
released. The first two were a disaster, the 3rd was a decent success and went on my Penn
Central SD38, the fourth was a great success and this fifth one also a great success. For
many years after trying to build the first two I just gave up because I could not build them
square. Something was always off on them and I could not put a finger on it. The cab I built
for my Penn Central SD38 OK, but still not "perfect". Recently, like in the past few months I
found out why I could not build them like I wanted to. Thanks to my great fellow modelers the
secret was revealed. One you find out what it is, you to can build perfect cabs every time just
like the one you see above.
The secret is.................REMOVING THE DRAFT ANGLE!
What is a draft angle you ask? It is built into the part to help remove it from the mold. The
best place to see it is to pick up any Atlas, Kato or Athearn locomotive frame and look at
where the fuel tank fit onto the frame. The frame at this point has a very nice "DRAFT
ANGLE". It is most evident on a Kato frame.
The draft angle is not a bad thing, you just need to know about it and remove it.
Take a look at the above photo. Do you see that ridge line running the length of the cab edge,
The knife blade is pointing to it. That needs to be removed and the whole edge from bottom to
top needs to be cleaned.
The photo to the right is the cab back wall. The front wall will have the same look.
This is a dash 2 cab. The 35 line cab will be the same as far as clean up and construction.
Also I want to get out of the way that this is MY methodology for building a cab kit. It is not
gospel or the only way to build one. I have read of many people reluctant to build these kits for
some reason or other. I was one of them for a long time.
NOT ANYMORE!
I hope this article will help others feel comfortable about it and start digging into building
models.
Take a look at the above photo. Do you see that ridge line running the length of the cab edge,
The knife blade is pointing to it. That needs to be removed and the whole edge from bottom to
top needs to be cleaned.
The photo to the right is the cab back wall. The front wall will have the same look.
This is a dash 2 cab. The 35 line cab will be the same as far as clean up and construction.
Also I want to get out of the way that this is MY methodology for building a cab kit. It is not
gospel or the only way to build one. I have read of many people reluctant to build these kits for
some reason or other. I was one of them for a long time.
NOT ANYMORE!
I hope this article will help others feel comfortable about it and start digging into building
models.
The above photo shows the cab side walls. Left wall is showing the bottom edge and right side
is showing the top edge. See that line running the length down the center of the wall. It needs
to be removed as well. Just like cleaning up the sides of the front and rear wall, the top and
bottom of the side walls need to be cleaned.
is showing the top edge. See that line running the length down the center of the wall. It needs
to be removed as well. Just like cleaning up the sides of the front and rear wall, the top and
bottom of the side walls need to be cleaned.
Before I start there is a tool I want to tell you about. If you do not already have one, I really
suggest you get it. Does not matter if it is from PBL, Micro Mark or who ever else puts their
name on it, it just needs to be good quality and have the blades close on the same plane.
Mine are from PBL and they are very nice.
suggest you get it. Does not matter if it is from PBL, Micro Mark or who ever else puts their
name on it, it just needs to be good quality and have the blades close on the same plane.
Mine are from PBL and they are very nice.
These flush cutting nippers will save you a lot of heart ache. They cut very cleanly.
| LETS START BUILDING A CAB |
My first task is to cut the sprue trees off. As you can see, I leave much of the tree tab on. This
will be cut off with my flush cutters I showed you above and they do the trick.
See the little round mold pimples on the back side of the front wall and rear wall. I marked
them with an "A". You will want to cut these down flush with the wall. They will get in the way of
using squaring blocks. You can see the squaring blocks in my building hood sides article.
So after cleaning the sprue pieces off and cutting the round pimples flush, it is time to clean
the sides up.
will be cut off with my flush cutters I showed you above and they do the trick.
See the little round mold pimples on the back side of the front wall and rear wall. I marked
them with an "A". You will want to cut these down flush with the wall. They will get in the way of
using squaring blocks. You can see the squaring blocks in my building hood sides article.
So after cleaning the sprue pieces off and cutting the round pimples flush, it is time to clean
the sides up.
Before you look start cleaning the edges, look at them and how shiny they are. Your goal is to
evenly remove this shine.
I use a sanding stick. A nice rigid one and again you can see what I use in my building hood
sides article. I take short even strokes to remove the ridge lines . Take care to remove as little
material as you can until you get the lines removed and all the shine off.
evenly remove this shine.
I use a sanding stick. A nice rigid one and again you can see what I use in my building hood
sides article. I take short even strokes to remove the ridge lines . Take care to remove as little
material as you can until you get the lines removed and all the shine off.
This photo is to show you that careful removal of material will result in your sides lining up very
nicely. These are the side walls sandwiched between two scale rulers.
nicely. These are the side walls sandwiched between two scale rulers.
Here is the front and rear wall showing the draft angle removed.
Once you have all the walls cleaned up it is time to glue them together. I use Ambroid Pro
Weld. Others use Tenax-7R and yet others use MEK. Whatever you feel best using is up to
you. Just use it sparingly. It does not take a lot to make a nice clean plastic weld with these kits.
Once you have all the walls cleaned up it is time to glue them together. I use Ambroid Pro
Weld. Others use Tenax-7R and yet others use MEK. Whatever you feel best using is up to
you. Just use it sparingly. It does not take a lot to make a nice clean plastic weld with these kits.
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