I’m adding to my rollingstock by building a new tank car. This has always been a tough one for me so I thought I’d share the experience. Sorry no pix right now.
The tank itself has always been difficult to handle while building. I had a couple of ideas. Originally, I thought I’d build it on a solid wood core. The HOn30 tank is 5/8” dia. Went to an art supply store to pick up a dowel but no luck. They did have a brass tube that was 9/16”, so I picked that up and wrapped it with scrap paper to bring it up to 5/8”. (about 6 wraps of 60lb card) What I ended up with is a nice firm mandrel, on which I am building the tank. So far, I’m very happy with the result and how easy it is to handle the tank. The finished tank is 4 layers with the extra steel plate sadle and the reinforcing end bands. I still have to fit the collar around the dome but having the tank on the mandrel makes it easy to handle.
More later.