In the July issue of Model Railroader, Tony Koester wrote what I’d consider to be one of his best Trains of Thought columns. In the piece he clearly communicates the notion that simply producing a model that is neatly constructed won’t bring you to the finish line if your goal is create a successful scene. […]
Category: Construction
Floating Shelf Fascia
For the fascia I needed something that was both stiff and hard but also relatively light. Styrene is too dimensionally unstable, traditional molding or MDF was too heavy. A trip through The Home Depots molding aisle turned up what I needed, 2 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch thick “lattice”. After carefully cutting it to […]
Floating Bench Work
Occam’s Law can be summed up with the adage K.I.S.S. In other words, the best solution is typically the simplest. Simple doesn’t mean easy to design. Often the opposite is the case. It takes a fair amount of thought to come up with the cleanest approach. Whenever I find myself using the proverbial duct […]
Powdered Glue
The initial test on a six inch piece of test track of powdered glue as ballast adhesive showed promise. I’ve since moved to using it full force on a large N scale project in my shop. Again, success. I find it is not only easier to use than traditional liquid adhesive but it’s also easier to get […]
Powdered Ballast Glue
Effectively applying ballast glue is a challenge at best. The more powdery soils and small gauge products even more so. The problem comes with application of the adhesive, specifically the surface tension of the liquid. Agents such as alcohol and dish soap help slightly but there is always an ongoing battle to minimize craters and […]