Hobbytime Mink F kit

[Lysander]

Has anyone on here made one of these? They are fairly scarce kits these days but I acquired one recently after years of searching. If you have made one, I'd be interested in your observation.



Thanks

Tony

[Bigmet]

Never even heard of it, but my assessment of your photograph is that this kit is giving off the distinct whiff of 'scratch-aid'.
I would weigh the entire kit before commencing assembly. As a teenager I commenced assembly of a 4mm 52' coach kit which came in that very style of box: the body and running gear of which was already over 500g before interior detail, glazing and roof had been added.
And are those Jackson wheelsets with bullnose end axles?

[Lysander]

I've built fantastically heavy white-metal kits before as well! No, this one is mostly aluminium and was produced by the people to also did BSL aluminium coach kits. It'll actually need a little weight added I think!

There are white metal fittings however and the problem with this kit, historically, has been finding an adhesive which bonds white-metal to sheet aluminium for more than 24 hours. RMWeb has a number of comments on this issue. I've settled for Devcon two-part epoxy as that seems to be the one that had the most success.

The method for constructing the body is actually quite clever, but I'll post the odd progress photo in due course - I have a 10 compartment Clerestory Third to complete first.

Those wheels? Yes, you are correct.

Tony

[Bigmet]

... I've settled for Devcon two-part epoxy as that seems to be the one that had the most success...

Yes, big choice of two; I always used Araldite, as my late Pa always had it in industrial pack quantity for potting electrical and electronic components for his various hi-fi projects; nothing like 'available free', even if the deal was fairly frequent calls to make a mix for him as the evening progressed. (I even used it to repair a friend's up and over all aluminium Westland garage door which was the source of much sceptical reaction as to longevity. Still good at 30+ years by last report.)

[Lysander]

Well, Araldite is normally my ‘go to’ but reports on another forum suggest that it didn’t work too well on this polished aluminium sheet. Whatever the case, I’ll polish the sides with very fine emery to remove oxidation and give a surface for the Devon to adhere to.

Tony