# Advice needed



## fishcake (Jan 29, 2007)

I'm presently in the final stages of building the Billing Smit Rotterdam R/C kit.
All has gone well so far and it is looking good if I say so myself ,considering I'm no expert, but the time has come to fit the railings. The question is how is the best way to fit the supplied stanchions which are flat brass about 0.5mm thick. I have a fear that this is where I muck it up
Regards
Peter


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## John Gurton (Apr 10, 2006)

I built the Zwarte Zee some years ago, trusting the decks are the same thin plywood. With a scalpel knife make a small hole in the deck for the tail of the stanchion to slot into.
good luck


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## miniman (Oct 15, 2007)

Hi Peter,
Aah, the good old Billings railings!
Best way to do them is to slide all the stantions into place on the rails before bending the rails, and solder them in place. Make sure you place them into the right positions in relation to the corners though, or you'll end up with the stantions in the wrong places.
When you have them soldered in place, bend the railings to the plan view using long nosed pliers, and glue them into the pre-drilled/ slotted holes.
I know it sounds easy, and it sure aint, but careful planning and lots of time taken will be rewarding after!

Soft solder, like the normal electronic stuff is best for the brass of the rails etc.You could also make a temporary jig out of balsa to hold it all together while you solder it all up.

Good luck,
Barry


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## ddraigmor (Sep 13, 2006)

Miniman's idea is great - but I used plastic round bars in my handrails. They are easy to cut close to the glued in place stanchion, very easy to bend and cheap enough to make mistakes with - unlike brass which, if you cut it too short, is usually a major headache - and then, using the edge of a scalpel heated to a nice cherry orange, slice dowards and voila! Welded into place and complete!

Just to be on the safe side I also put a drop of glue on each joint of the railings too.

Tghe plastic bars are available in all model shops, usually in the railway models section. Various sizes mean you can have the top bar slightly larger although I have found that painting it black tends to show this effect off better.

Jonty


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## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

sorry o contradict you Jonty, but as an experienced modeller I would use, and do use barry's thin brass rod rather than plastic rod any time, stronger in the end.
also to make the job easier make a paper template of each area of deck that you want the stanchions and rails to fit to, with pre marked holes for the stanchions, and bend and fit away with impunity of knocking fittings off the boat that have already been added.
cheers,neil.


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## ddraigmor (Sep 13, 2006)

Ah, you see, I am all for ease!

PS - I also cannot solder to sabve my life......!

Jonty


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## fishcake (Jan 29, 2007)

Thanks to all who replied, I can see this won't be so easy. One final question on the same subject,- would you make a small slot with a craft knife on the deck for the stanchion to slot in to ,or drill a small hole and let the glue fill the gap? Would you use cynoacrylic or the dreaded epoxy?
Regards
Peter


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## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

(Thumb) drill and cyano every time. easier in the end. 

also if not too hot on soldering you could also use cyano to fix stanchion to rail. just as easy as soldering/(Thumb)


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## miniman (Oct 15, 2007)

I agree with Neil, drill and glue mate. Its far easier than slotting!!


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## AndyJohannessen (Nov 17, 2006)

Ever felt sorry you looked at a thread? I have just fiished a 1:72 AHTS of the new Siem Offshore design.Guess what railings were the only ones I could get? Billings all 325 of the damn things aaaaagggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!(Cloud)


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