any one can help me plz?

D

dodi4200

New Member
Jun 21, 2005
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hi all
iam mohamed from egypt and i wanna to tell all of you that there is no model railroading in egypt just one branch for roco in cairo the prices are expensive and itsnot egyptian models.
so i wanna to begin modeling locos and cars(tank / box/hopper/........).
so i wanna any link from any site or explaining from anyone for how to begin to make amodel in ho scale and how to make molds and the mateial of it and the material of the models and all things related to modeling trains.
if model railroading begin in egypt i think that most you all will be amember in this glory.
thanks alot
mohamed :D
 
Hi Mohamed and welcome! Sometimes I take for granted how easy it is for me to enjoy my hobby here in the US. I'm afraid that I don't have the answers for you about molding your own HO equipment but its possible that some of our very experienced hobbyists here do so I want to give your thread a bump to the top.

Best wishes!
Ralph
 
You can check out walthers.com. pretty reasonable in price. Another one would be trainworld. I hear they're pretty good also.
As far as molds and moldin, Someone else can help there. Or read some posts, alot of talented people here.
 
im very glad for this nice replays from my big family of railfans and model railroaders :)
but as u know its anice feeling when you can run alayout contains models for locos that runs in yur country so i wanna to run egyptian models in ahuge layout
i still 10 years search for any egyptian railfans and after 10 years i found anice guy called amr also i consider him my brother but we wanna to make this hobby popular here like usa and some countries so i wanna to know the technology of making trains models as i can model them also try to sell them to people then they like them so this hobby become popular here maybe i can open asmall company for egyptian model railroading i tried alot in searching for the technology of molding but there is nothing on the net for it so i think that by sharing with some nice ideas between us we will make anice work with agood progress and also we will make some people know more about the models that they buy from the hobby shops
waiting to hear soon from all of yurs :)
mohamed :D
 
yea i know but i wanna to know any website that offer tips and make me know step by step how to begin building locomotive model i think that most of the material are near to me but i wanna to know how to deal with it and how to make agood quality work also i heared that the models in is being built from polystyrene and the molds from the steel so i wanna to know how to make the steel mold and how to melt the polystyene and put it into the mold and after all that work i get the good quality model :)
waiting to hear soon from ya all
mohamed :D
 
Whoa, dodi,

That's a large order to fill. Unless you have a machine shop and plastic injection machinery to use, forget it. Not to say that you can't do it, but it takes alot of background in those fields before you even start cutting molds.

Just out of curiousity, are you planning on manufacturing these models to sell to locals or are they for your own personal layout? If you want to manufacture for fellow modelers in your country you could build up some models out of styrene and make silicone molds, which you could pour polyurethane casting material into. Not really hard to do once you screw up a few times.

I don't know your situation, or how many modelers there are where you live, but if you can, order a loco from Walthers www.walthers.com Figure out how you can kitbash (re-arrainge, add details, hack apart) to make it look like the equipment near you. If you can get a good representation of the local equipment, you may be able to find fellow modelers around you who will pay you to detail models for them.

Move up to the injection process later on, if it seems feasible.
 
i wanna to build trains model for myself and for selling as i wanna to make this hobby popular here in egypt.
about the types of locos that runs here you can see this small topic about the egyptian railways (pix and types) i hope that you enjoy it :)
mohamed :D
 
dodi4200 said:
i wanna to build trains model for myself and for selling as i wanna to make this hobby popular here in egypt.
about the types of locos that runs here you can see this small topic about the egyptian railways (pix and types) i hope that you enjoy it :)
mohamed :D
Click to expand...

Humm, didn't see it. Check your link.

REgardless, you are trying to fill a niche (small, specialized) market. Your best bet would be to purchase some basic locos and rolling stock and detail them to look like your local trains. Buy some track off of ebay and build a small layout. Then, once you have it running and looking good, try and see if a local TV station will come and do a special interest story.
 
dodi,
Here is what I feel is a more achievable way to start a business over there . Become an importer. Order a Walthers catalog, I would give you the web link, but this forum will not let me. Do a search for that web site. Some of the locos look like Fairbanks-Morse, some like GE "U" series, and some look EMD, one looks like an Acela, and I see Egypt has imported from these manufacturers. Therefore, you have a basis for changing American models to resemble Egyptian engines. Also, one of the passenger locomotives has a Chinese look. If this is true, Bachmann makes a Chinese locomotive, for this model. Also look at what is available in European models (but stay with 2 rail D.C. electrical setup, if you intend to import from the U.S.), that may resemble your passenger engines. The next item is to arrange locally for a source for Egyptian decals. By making available an easier way for unskilled modelers to get Egyptian looking equipment, you may then be able to develop a modeling market. If you can develop this market, ---------then, later, you can consider manufacturing.althers.com
 
If you want to build Egyptian locomotives and rolling stock, you need to learn how to scratchbuild with sheet styrene and strips. If you make styrene patterns, you can make polyurethane castings from them to make more than one model. There is a description here:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~andkeller/index.htm

Injection moulding is a very expensive and complicated process, and unless you can sell several thousand items quickly it is not economical. Casting in resin is more practical.

You will have to research to determine which US or European locomotives are most suitable to base Egyptian models on, then you can scratchbuild a model of the shell to fit on that chassis and cast it to make more than one.

You will need to find a supplier of RTV rubber (room temperature vulcanizing) and polyurethane resin. Ciba-Geigy and Dow-Corning are sources for rubber, and may have offices in Cairo. Polyurethane resin might be harder to find, but look for industrial plastics suppliers. (You might also find large sheets of styrene there for much less than they would cost at a hobby shop.) EUROCHEM KIMYA in Istanbul is listed as a distributor of Dow-Corning rubbers -- their Silastic-J is an excellent product to start with.

I'd like to be more help, but to find suppliers in Egypt one really has to search in Egyptian, and that is a language I don't know!

Good luck.

Scott Fraser
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
 
thanks for the replay as i thought that i have here alot of good and nice friends which hope to help me all the time.
i will visit this link but i wanna to know how can i make the wheels of the loco?
i will try to begin step by step in egyptian model railroading as i will go to plastic dealers and ask them for polystyrene and the rubber which i can melt it and pour it into the styrene molds to begin also i wanna yurs help with me step by step.
mohamed :D
 
i wanna make the models from the zero level like the other companies that make the models .
the very important part that i wanna to make is the wheels (trucks) so i wanna any link that i can learn by it how to make the wheels.
 
E-mail Waldbahner. He has a mill and experience with it, if you want to start sinking molds. Happy programming! Or, you can get a program that will post process the drawing files into g-code.

To start out, I'd personally would build up the patterns out of whatever was available, make molds and cast them out of polyurethane. Cheapest way to go. See if you can sell them.Your detail options are much better by building up patterns and casting, at this stage of your business endeavor. Learning to sink molds is not an over night project. Learning how to design fixtures is not an over night. There is a learning curve. Be forewarned.

What it ultimately comes down to is; How much money are you willing to spend to tool up and what your return on investment will be. Unless Egypt is wall to wall model railroaders you may find it hard to make your money back on your initial investment. Last time I looked, small (good) cnc mills were not cheap. Not as cheap as the hundred or so worth of molds and castings you could make out of polyurethane resin.



Sorry, I didn't mean to sound negative. I think it is great that you are interested in manufacturing your own line and learning the processes. Try your local library. I bet they have a book or two on plastic injection and other processes. Is there a university there? If you can use their library, you should be able to find something.
 
thanks alot for the replay
yea there is auniversity iam in the faculty of engineering(civil engineering)
i will try to know alot about plastic injection i know its hard but not too hard for making locos and cars models.
or i will go to the museum of egyptian railways and ask them for the engineer who makes the models for them and know alot from him about building the models.
really if u find any nice or good link that will help me in building models wahtever its small please send it to me through this topic .
thanks again for the replay
 
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