Hey guy's I could use some advice on choosing a soldering Iron for working with PE. Do I need one of the costly set ups like say a Hakko FX888D or can I use something less expensive? Just got my first set of PE upgrade for my Meng T90A and it looks like pretty delicate stuff! I've never worked with PE so I'm not sure what I need!

Thanks
Craig

There's no reason to spend too much on one unless you spend all day making circuit boards.

I would recommend a variable temperature soldering iron . Bigger pieces require more heat . Something like a 937D soldering station .

Ok guy's thank you for the direction!

Edmund looked up the 937d and found it on Amazon for $50.00 and I have prime/free shipping so that seems pretty reasonably priced for a variable heat Iron Station. Comes with 5 tips too so I think this will be a good starting point for my PE adventure, Thanks for the heads up!

Craig

Since you were already prepared to spend the coin on the Hakko, you may as well get a resistance soldering rig.

. Wait a minute were talking about pe here not a vehicle restoration effort .thats a tad bit overkill . Those pe pieces are too thin.

. Well those stations are cheaper on eBay , free shipping also . I would say 10 bucks less and they ship from within the continental USA , just have to make sure the shipper is from here .

There those that swear by a micro butane torch , I tried that it's a tad bit too finicky for me . You will also need some flux and solder . They make this solder paste , it's a mix of flux and little ball of solder suspended in the mix , it is also low temp solder so not too much heat is required to solder . And don't forget you need a surface that can take the heat , a ceramic tile 6x6 heck even a flat stone will do . I use a piece of glass , it's flat .the ticker the better . I get all the consumables from eBay since radio shack went belly up .

Edmund I did check E-bay before I purchased the 937d+ for $40.00 bucks + free shipping,I purchased it there instead. I must have misunderstood your post but I'm sure for the money and according to some of the reviews I found on that unit I'll be ok.

Got to be better than a (non)variable Iron. I checked out Paul Budzik site and he uses a variable Weller station for his small pe stuff.

I also build large scale wooden ships and I have to fabricate 99 percent of my brass fittings from scratch and the old 100w iron I have for that work is just to much and I've been meaning to upgrade anyways so I should be able to cover both ends of my soldering needs with this new unit!

If you think I've made an error please let me know! That pe I have is so thin I'm afraid to even try working with it.

I purchased Mr. Wilders pe dvd and he does some amazing work on that film with pe and what you can accomplish with Pe is just amazing so I gotta try it!

Thanks..

Alaska

I don't think you make any mistakes . I've had my soldering station two years now and no problems later on you could consider different shape tips , to get into different places I build armor and 100 watts is overkill , you tend to burn out the tips . On the variable ones if you are not using it instead of turning it off you just turn it down . Then when you need it dial it up . Keeps the tips from burning out . I've never built ships but I've seen the pe for the battleships and others so I figure you have an idea of what you're going to be doing . Do a search of solder paste while your at in and also flux . Maybe look for a Faber-Castell fiber glass eraser also , works wonder for cleaning the pe . Just have to be careful because it's fiberglass and it does break into little pieces .

I purchased some Nokorode paste and some 50/50 solder as Paul suggested as he said no rosin core solder for pe work if I understood him correctly.

Alaska..

The solder paste the Chinese sell on eBay is actually pretty good . It's low temp and hardly leaves any residue , I would say it's more tin than lead and is easy to clean off with fiber pen . Search for that and get one little container and experiment with it . The no corrode should clean off with hot water . Rosin flux needs something like acetone to clean it off . Then this thing called annealing , you familiar with that , are you ? Let's see T90 does it have external fuel barrels in photo etch ? If it does you will have to roll those thing into a cylindrical shape . Most WW2 Russian tanks had those . Bet you the solder you got is actually rosin core unless you got a solid core solder .

Go to plasticarmour.com , go builds search for " All the bits and pieces " you'll see what I did with a soldering iron . While your at it might as well join the gang , they are a nice lot out there . See ya there .

Alright Edmund I'll go on over to that site and check it out.

I purchased solid 50/50 solder stuff is expensive!
I was going to ask about the fiberglass brush and have it save on amazon,can you use a brass pen brush?

As far as having experience in ship building I do large scale wooden ships, man of war or also called the ships of the line in the period 1700 to late 1800's or so and they can take years to build and their large size like my last one was 4 + feet long so the scale or size/thinkness of the brass fittings I make might as well be 1/4" plate compared to this photo etch set I just received,hence my apprehension!

Alaska..

30 years ago I bought the USS Constitution by revell , it's still sitting on the shelf . All that rigging . I took one look tucked my tail between my legs and closed the lid and never opened it again . Go on join and meet all those guys . On the solder , it's okay to use the rosin core stuff , that's why I buy on eBay get the relatively thin solder your not needing much solder at any one time .

Yes the rigging on those ships are quite labor intensive and you definitely have to have a certain modicum of patience!!

Went to that site and waiting to get approved by the moderator. Looks really good! Thanks

Alaska..

You will not be disappointed . See ya there same call sign ?

Edmund checked out your "all the bits and pieces post at Plasticarmour.com and your work is stunning!! I can't post on that site yet but I thought I'd let you know I checked out your work and it is impressive!

I'm 52 and my hands shake too sometimes so I'm sure this micro scale PE will be a challenge but I like that kind of thing!

Anyways I was just taking a look at my PE kit and it doesn't have fuel barrels but it does have the straps and latches and gun barrel bands that need to be made. I have purchased the 4" Hold N Fold pe bender from TheSmallShop to make the necessary square bends and I would like to get their Bending and Rolling Brass Assistant tool but that is going to have to wait as I just blew another $400.00 bucks on modeling tools yesterday,Oh the burden of this hobby..LOL!

I'll have to substitute using drill bit shanks for round bending objects for the time being.

Just thought I'd add that the Meng T-90A I purchased is a modern Russian battle tank at least 2000 forward I believe but I'm no expert on Tanks,I'm just getting into this genre and have a ton to learn! So all the help I get from you and others hugely appreciated!!

Alaska..

Thank you sir , I tried to do the best I could . Did you check out the fuel barrels pe by Gary . He does fantastic work and he uses a butane micro torch . Go on and pick his brains for info . I believe after you introduce yourself then you can post . Great thing about plasticarmour is you post pictures directly on to the post . Here I find it very difficult until I just gave up . Okay I look for you over there . Plastic Armour is an offshoot of armor modeler which which ended up closing down . Then one day Gary started plastic Armour and the old members has started coming back . If you know anybody interested tell them about the place . The more the merrier . Seems like a lot of the modelling sites are slowly dying away .

Edmond I think you did fantastic work! I only hope I can even come close to that level of craftsmanship!

I can't post over at plastic armour until I get approved, still waiting. I'll go check out Gary's tank barrels though.

Just curious Edmund, my pe kit is from the Tetra co. do you have any experience with this company? I was also going to take a look at products from the Voyager co. any thoughts? How about Aber co. another big pe producer?

Aber pe is quite nice . I've never paid attention to the brands , sometimes you have no choice on brands because they might be the only ones who make the aftermarket parts for the kit you bought , and that's not just pe , there's also rain upgrades and metal barrels and did I mention aftermarket tracks ? I look for items that I need . Just wait until you get to the tool holders , that when the fun begins , you should considera a table light with a magnifier . It will be a great help and some pe scissors also a small diamond file but all of that in good time .

My Tetra upgrade kit came with a metal main barrel and thats was one of the reasons for purchasing that kit. I haven't found any metal tracks for my Meng kit yet but I'm looking!

Ok Edmund you mentioned: Just wait to you get to the tool holders. Well that got me interested immediately! I have to confess I am a bonafied tool hound!! I mean I haven't even started this T-90A yet and I've spent like a grand on tools so far! So steer me in the direction of the tool holders will ya? LOL..

Hey 18Bravo.. I've been meaning to comment on your reply to me about going with a resistance soldering set up. Actually I've been considering that kind of set up for my ship building where the brass fittings are a lot more substantial that PE for armor.

Could you give a couple of examples/companies you'd recommend? That would be great!

Thanks

Alaska..

By tool holder I ment the tool clasp that hold the tools on the vehicles .

Ok Edmund I got ya, sorry for my confusion!