techniques to lessen the pain. I crafted jigs for the bents that made construc- tion a snap and did a bent or two a night until I had all 31 of them. Like- wise, the bridge ties were laid out in a fixture that gave me 30 inches of tie strip at a time. Two nights and they were done. After about 34 mini-pro- jects, and one-eighth that number of maxi projects, lo and behold, the trestle was done. Wife at one end, son at the other, and me in the middle, the Walker fam- ily wrestled bridge 45A into place. The miracle here was that the rest of the railroad was already in, and that tres- tle had to be plus or minus about ¹/₃₂ of an inch. With only minor fussing, sniping, and cussing, the darn thing actually fit.
I once wrote a column on things to do
before supper. This advice was only di- rected at those whose spouses like to cook. My girth is a testimony to Don- na’s cooking. She is far too good at it. Anyway, a lot of half hours before sup- per may be put to good use at the work bench. I would come home from work to hear, “about a half hour dear,” and head for the basement. I even sur- prised myself in what could be done in that short period of time. Don’t make the mistake of starting something you’d rather not stop in the middle of. The really complicated tasks are best left to larger blocks of time. It is a bet- ter bet to just tack together a pile of ties or rust up some nut-bolt-washers, you know, something you can easily drop when you hear those beautiful words “dinner’s ready.” Often, I just sit at the bench (a calm and friendly place for me) and think about my next (pick a word here) vexing, intimidating, chal-
lenging, or just plain big undertaking. I have solved many a formidable proj- ect’s obstacles just daydreaming at the workbench. There are very few issues that can’t be bested with a little fore- thought and some ingenuity. I am also not above consulting with friends and certain business associates about “Bob’s Current Debacle.” Even with your medium-sized, nor- mal scratchbuilding project, there are dozens of component operations that can be done in odd periods of time. Tex- turing window and door moldings comes to mind, as well as chopping up shingles from cigar wrappers, or just cutting out signage. A lot of what we do is a bit repetitive and can be done in odd
segments of time. Sometimes
breaking up these boring projects goes a long way to make some projects bear- able. Believe me, shoving that last pin in the last bent of that darn trestle was a big deal for me. For some projects, you are just glad that they are done. The way the model turned out, I regret not a second of the time spent on it. Making it into a series of mini-projects made it possible to complete without a lot of grief.
I mentioned jigs above because they are so much a part of scratchbuilding. A fixture will assure repetitive accura- cy as well as speed construction. Not that speed is of the essence, but I freely admit that I will always take the faster course if it does not compromise the re- sults. Jigs increase quality as well as shave needless hours off a project. Roof rafters are not only for roof support, but often add to the visual effect of the model. Moreover, a fixture for roof rafter construction can be used for more than one building. I can make a
rafter in about three minutes, so a half hour or so will get me ten of the little suckers. A couple of those sessions and you’ve got a building’s worth. I have come to the conclusion that most of my work can use some upgrad- ing and/or improvement. Some of the buildings I constructed during the building of the railroad might have gotten shortchanged a bit as far as ad- ditional detail or lighting goes. It is not a big deal to revisit some of your earli- er efforts with a critical eye to see what can be expanded upon or improved. I’ve been guilty of the “I’ll get to it lat- er” syndrome just to get on with the construction of the railroad itself. Some things were put off to get some benchwork up, while others were held off to get some track laid. Others suf- fered while scenery was on the front burner. You get the picture?
Interior and exterior lighting is easi- ly added in very little time. It is usual- ly a matter of drilling a hole in a wall and poking in a lamp, then connecting two wires to the structure’s wiring or the layout itself. Some of my buildings had interior lighting, which made the addition of an outside light a no-brain- er. Others required a bit more effort, but not a lot more time. They still qual- ified as a “mini” project. A bit of extra detail does no harm either. Not all structures had only one chimney. Many sported their chimneys, flues, vents, and stacks in multiples. The addition of a few more roof-top details takes lit- tle in the way of time but adds a lot to the visual impact of a model. Likewise, other details to both the layout and its incumbent buildings make the whole effort more believable. Electrical boxes, curtains and many other refinements can be added as small bits of time be- come available.
Modeling doesn’t always stop when a building, for instance, is placed on a layout. There is always time to improve appearances by adding more detail. Placing small details around, putting vents on the top of a roof or adding lighting are quick improvements.
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
Sometimes I head for the lower re- gions with no earthly clue about what I want to do. If I have not come up with an astounding idea by the time my glu- teus maximus hits the chair, I fall back on my old standby, pre-build for a fu- ture project. I have a stash of pre- painted doors, windows, and details. Many of the doors and windows are distressed, then sprayed with Floquil Foundation (not referring to the foun- dation of a building, but the founda- tion, a.k.a. the primer, if you will, of a paint job). Foundation is much the same color as raw new basswood and thus a great starting point for ink and alcohol washes, chalks, and dry brush- ing. I pre-paint chimneys and other structure details, make stairs in jigs, and generally pre-make a lot of general structure components for later use. Next month, we will dig deeper into that big trestle.
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