JLRT Class 08?
djparkins said:
To people who say our kits are beyond their capability, I say that until you try, you will never know. Try a wagon kit first so you don't waste a lot of money - not particularly one of ours but maybe a Connoisseur kit [look at 28Ten's build of their BR Brake Van]. Once you can build an etched kit sccessfully then whole new areas of the hobby open up to - not just locos and stock.
This is sound advice. Yes, there is a lot of detail in an MMP kit, and therefore it will take time to put it all together, but it does go together, and go together well. The point is, the kits are designed to take time so that you get maximum sense of enjoyment and achievement from them.
Once you have learned to draw file edges when cleaning up, and that when soldering you need cleanliness and sufficient power, then soldering them together involves more a degree of dedication and confidence than anything else: the skill required comes from using the right equipment, the right technique and lots of deliberate practice (see
Lance Mindheim's blog) which is the only way anybody gets good, apart possibly from the Mozarts of this world. (Even Beethoven studied composition, for example). Starting with a PMK brake van is a really good way to start this process.
There is a great deal of fun to be had from owning and operating a decent model, but also a massive amount of longer-term satisfaction by looking at it and saying, "I made that, and I learned so much in doing it." (See Lance again on fun versus long-term satisfaction: they are not always mutual bed-fellows!)
Edit: PS. Although I do use 145 solder (overlays, etc, as it has less surface tension and also less mechanical strength), I have generally found that standard 60/40 tin/lead solder is ideal for railway modelling, combined with 70 degree low-melt for whitemetal. I use a single flux, 9% phosporic acid, and a single 50W iron, an Antex 660TC, generally set roughly at about 300 deg C. I have used this in assembling G1 loco chassis, and to add whitemetal details to an S scale wagon. The one really important thing I find is to scrub things clean with a bit of Scotch-brite before tinning or soldering, and to make regular use of those little tip-cleaner tubs one can get from Eileen's Emporium. Yes, you can use lots of different temperature solders if you like, but you don't need to: far better to spend your money on a really good soldering iron. I don't even change the bit for whitemetal - the standard solder serves as a good tinning for the 70 deg lowmelt, and I simply wipe it clean afterwards with a damp sponge, which came with the iron, when I turn the wick back up. Buying this iron improved my modelling more than anything else I have done, I would say. (Usual disclaimer - just a very happy customer.)
ca6x5m8]I saw it earlier, if it's about ?250 it will do well. Personally I think the MMP is a bargain at ?130
Simon has built a Catfish and I have a couple to do, so maybe if you got one we could help as you go along?
