2-8-2 - THE BUILD

[P5se Camelback]

... For mounting brass detail parts to an existing boiler shell, regardless of whether it's brass, Zamac, or plastic, make use of the mounting pins which are part of most brass detailing parts. If the part doesn't have a mounting pin, consider adding one by drilling the rear of the part to accept a short length of brass wire of a suitable diameter - use solder or ca to secure it in the part (solder is a must if you intend to solder the part to the boiler). A mounting pin will strengthen the joint considerably, and is especially important if you're using ca or epoxy to affix the parts.

If you're adding brass piping to connect cast brass detail parts, drill the detail parts to accept wire of suitable diameter (note that many Cal-Scale info sheets list required pipe sizes, but the sizes may be for inside diameters - adjust accordingly). Temporarily affix the parts to the boiler using masking tape or wet, wadded-up tissues, and, after bending the pipes to fit, clean their ends, apply a little flux and insert them into their respective holes. A quick touch with some resin-core solder and a hot iron with attach them to one another permanently. You can then remove them as a unit, or attach them permanently to the boiler, using ca or epoxy. ... Wayne

O.K., I now need some clarification! I know I've been away from the hobby for a couple decades, and I haven't played with Zamac castings (especially for locomotives) since the ice age before that, my readings of the paragraphs above raise questions in this onld memory-challenged head. I have soldered (or re-soldered) details onto a brass boiler and used ACC (CA) to afix brass details to a plastic models, but if memory serves (and often it doesn't) you must use acc (CA) or epoxy to attach such details to a Zamac casting, such as a locomotive boiler. I don't think you can solder to Zamac.

Do I remember correctly? Soldering irons and Zamac castings don't play well together, correct?