07-13-2015, 07:52 AM
faraway Wrote:....I hesitate add the six grab irons forming a ladder at each side. They would look awfully if they are not perfect aligned.....
Use a small machinist's square to lay out the vertical lines indicating the location of the ladder grabs - I prefer a very lightly-scribed line made with a sharp blade, but a sharp pencil will do, too. Commonly available grabirons are 18" wide - if your prototype uses a different width, you may have to bend them yourself - use .012" brass wire from Detail Associates or .0125" phosphor bronze wire from Tichy.
Next, use a divider (one from a simple geometry instrument set will do or one from a draughting set) setting it to the proper dimension up from the sill for the bottom rung. Working on the scribed vertical lines, place one point just below and against the sill, and use the other point to make a small impression on the line. Repeat this on the other vertical line, then reset the dividers to the vertical spacing required for the remainder of the grabirons - this may be the same as the first measurement or different, but all remaining grabs will have the same vertical spacing.
For HO scale, use a #79 bit in a pin vise to drill a hole at each of the pinpricks. Insert all of the grabs, then, using a strip of .030"x.100" styrene as a spacer, press the grabs tightly against the spacer and use a small screwdriver or your X-Acto to bend-over the portion of the grabirons which protrude into the body shell. Remove the spacer, then place some ca on a non-porous surface and use the tip of a #11 blade to apply the ca to each grabiron inside the carbody.
Even with the holes accurately placed, the grabirons may not appear to be parallel - if so, this is caused by the holes being drilled through the plastic body at a slight angle, either up or down. Don't despair! Use a pair of smooth-jawed pliers, held parallel to the car's side, to grasp each misaligned grabiron and twist it slightly in the appropriate direction - repeat as necessary, until all grabs appear horizontally parallel.
Wayne