Hi All, Does anyone have any techniques on building Fruilmodel tracks? Im fine with the larger ones, Tiger, KVs etc, but when it comes to the smaller ones, pz1 and 2 etc I find them really awkward and fiddley. Has anyone got any set-ups to make life easier? Regards Paul

Hi Paul

I don't know if this will be of any help but it's a tutorial about Fruilmodel track building.



Fruil Track assembly

all the best

Alan

Hi Alan, thanks for that its a big help. Ive never heard of Blacken-it before. Any ideas where to get it? Have you used it? Regards Paul

Micromark.com

Hi Paul

Blacken -It. No not used it and I'm not sure if it's available this side of the pond. Worth trying some of the UK model railway retail sites. It's worth checking them out anyway, they do great things transferable over to our interests.

Alan

Hi Alan, just been searching for it and i think youre right. I can only find it State-side. I havent given up yet though! Regards Paul

Hi Paul:
I've used Blacken It on Friul tracks before. I washed them in soap and water and then
just for good measure I scrub them down with auto paint degreaser before I soaked
them in Blacken. It didn't work very well,left a lot of silver showing. So I recleaned and
degreased the tracks again,got another bottle of Blacken It and it still left a lot of silver.

I read that one guy used vinegar to clean the tracks with and by leaving them in the
vinegar for like 12 hours,24 hours is better the Blacken It works very well.

I'm going to try Blacken one more time with the vinegar and if that doesn't work i'll
just paint them from now on.
BTW I get Blacken It from Sprue Bros.com. Great place to shop too.

Good Luck
Tony aka Mutt

Hi Tony, thanks for the advice and info Im gonna give the Blacken-it a try, as you say, if it doesnt work they can always be painted. Regards Paul aka Tankman08.

Yes, it's crucial to pre-clean the tracks before assembling them, THEN use Blacken-It. There is some kind of residue or mold-release on them. I have not tried vinegar, but use Bleche-White, an automotive whitewall tire cleaner.

Some places like Michaels/crafty type stores carry 'Antiquing Fluid', which is kind of like Blacken-It. Some liguid Gun Blues are also very similar. They all chemically oxidize the metal.

Jim

Hi Jim, Thanks for the info. Im going to be making further enquiries, I cant seem to find Blacken-it anywhere this side of the pond. Does anyone know where i can source it or anything similar in the UK? Regards Paul

Hi

I found this but I don't know anything about it as regards effective on the tracks. Quite a price as well.

http://www.black-it.co.uk

Maybe a trip to B&Q will unearth something to do the job.

Alan

Hi Alan. Wow, that is pricey. I think I'll pass on that. If a trip to B&Q doesnt yield anything then I'll stick to painting them. Thanks very much for your time and help. Regards Paul

Go to a gun shop and use the barrel blueing agent they have. Birchwood Casey makes Perma Blue/Liquid Gun Blue for steel touch up or complete re-blue.

It's pretty cheap over here, about $4.00 for 3 ounces and that should be more than enough for those size tracks.

Hi mate,
the only help I can give you on this one is, drink a cup of coffee, every half hour, your gonna need it.

take it slow, mind your fingers, with lots of patience, you`ll get there.

c u soon,

malc.

i agree with malcolm.

they are a pain and boring....

but they look amazing, and well worth the effort

mark

Hi

I think I may have found a UK equivalent of Blacken-It.

I haven't tried it myself but the blurb at the beginning of the section mentions model railways as a user of the product the same as Blacken It is used.

Blackening

The only downside is they have a minimum order of £10. Still chuck in a pair of those inexpensive optical visors they do and you can see how good it's working !!

Alan