I'm an building a HO bridge from scratch and I am at the point to consider the nuts and bolts. I used black 1" panel nails on the last bridge that I built from scratch. I reduced their length as needed. I was just wondering what all you master modelers use for nuts and bolts and rivets. I guess I should have checked tips and tricks first or did a search, but lazy me, I am in a hurry.
Nuts & Bolts & rivets I guess---
- Thread starter XavierJ123
- Start date
Grandt Line and Tichy both sell castings of bolts and washers in various sizes for HO and Tichy also sells rivets. I think they come mounted on a short shank, so you have to drill holes. You can order from both direct -- just do a google on Grandt Line or Train Group.
I've also wondered off and on about the possibility of making a mold for bolts by pushing the end of a suitably sized hex wrench about 1/32" into a block of sculpy or other polymer clay (this then gets baked in the oven). When the mold is finished, bolt heads could be cast with plaster, and glued to small circles punched out of cardstock (with a punch from the scrapbooking section of the local craft store) when they're dry. Might be worth experimenting...
I've also wondered off and on about the possibility of making a mold for bolts by pushing the end of a suitably sized hex wrench about 1/32" into a block of sculpy or other polymer clay (this then gets baked in the oven). When the mold is finished, bolt heads could be cast with plaster, and glued to small circles punched out of cardstock (with a punch from the scrapbooking section of the local craft store) when they're dry. Might be worth experimenting...
<Caveat!> This idea might and might not work depending on your scale, so keep that in mind.
I'm in On30, and I've heard of cheap NBWs being made with a shortened Atlas track nail poked through a small, thin square of styrene. If you look at the Grandt Line NBW castings, they have the little spike to put the casting into a small pinhole on your (eg.) trestle bent. The Atlas nail and styrene should give you the same sort of idea, perhaps with less detail on the "nail-head", but in my opinion, would be ideal for a background structure...espacially if you've superdetailed a close-up structure with the more detailed NBWs.
This is an idea I plan to use on an upcoming wooden trestle project. Stay tuned.
I'm in On30, and I've heard of cheap NBWs being made with a shortened Atlas track nail poked through a small, thin square of styrene. If you look at the Grandt Line NBW castings, they have the little spike to put the casting into a small pinhole on your (eg.) trestle bent. The Atlas nail and styrene should give you the same sort of idea, perhaps with less detail on the "nail-head", but in my opinion, would be ideal for a background structure...espacially if you've superdetailed a close-up structure with the more detailed NBWs.
This is an idea I plan to use on an upcoming wooden trestle project. Stay tuned.