Guard rails

[Fracis TattleParticipant @fracistattle33706]

Good morning,
Looking for some help (lol). I've inherited an unfinished model of a paddle steamer and i'm looking for guard rails.
Ive searched the "tinternet" and found plenty for sale and lots of "how to make" threads in forums but I have 2 problems
I havent found answers for

1 scale, its 1:43 (it came with a box of O guage passengers and crew)

2 the actual rails are 3 bar with a top 4th wooden rail

many thanks

[Fracis TattleParticipant @fracistattle33706]

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Hello Francis,

If you are lookintg to buy pre made railings in that size then I'm afraid you are out of luck!

There are alternatives if you don't mind a bit of work.

Firstly, if you are happy with a soldering iron then you could solder up lengths from two thicknesses of brass wire on a jig and then glue some plastic channel strip over the top and paint it brown to simulate the wooden top rail.

A second opetion would be to purchase stanchions and solder or glue brass wire through them and add a capping rail as above. However you may find it difficult to source what would need to be 4 hole stanchions and settle for 3 hole ones instead. There is a range at Cornwall Model Boats where you might find something suitable like this one:

**LINK**

Have a browse using stanchion as the search term. This is not a cheap solution as they will cost over 60p each! At 1:43 scale you need 27mm stanchions but 25mm will do the job if there is a rail on top.

Sometimes there is no simple solution…

Colin

[S MParticipant @sm83187]

I make them from braising rods which are cheap and readily braised or soldered together, and it can be melted using a good blowtorch if you require for fittings such as the ball fittings by making a plaster mould and simply melting some of the brass pieces into it if you have ball fittings.

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

A good friend, many years ago, made his own by turning and machining. As he explained it, if you want good quality, you soon figure out why they cost what they do.

As Colin said, sometimes there is no simple solution.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi,

I used Caldercraft brass stancions on Silver Mist the rear ones are 30mm & the forward are 25mm I'm sure there a choice of how many rails you require, I wouldn't use copper wire again as it Bend's too easily fishing line would look better

Making them looks a bodge at this scale !

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Francis. Welcome to the forum. Thinking outside the box, as I do, I have used galvanised garden mesh (very cheap and available in several sizes) for several craft. Illustrated on the converted lander and big LCT is 1 inch (25mm) mesh, set 12mm up from the deck, perfect for 54mm figures. Possible too big for yours, but other sizes available.

Purists will no doubt scoff at the use of such things, but it is very tough and effective for the incredibly cheap price.

I simply marked a line around the edge of the deck, drilled a series of small holes at 1 inch intervals (in my case) and simply tapped the mesh into place.

Ashley

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