HINTS AND TIPS - THE FOLLOW ON
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Aligning lettering on a Billboard Sign
By Greg Nixon
I bought a kit with a light up sign. I was flummoxed how to get the letter spacing right until a friend suggested that I use a computer font as close to size and shape as was provided in the kit. I printed it out and used it as a template which helped getting it straight and spaced correctly.
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Finding Screws and Stuff
By Dennis Austin
My wife attached a decorative fall pumpkin refrigerator magnet to the fridge. I took one look and did the hmmmm…. If fits well in the palm. It has a round magnet about a 1/4 inch thick. So, I snuck off into the train room to experiment with it. It is great for picking up screws! I even had a laptop torn all the way down the other night. I used it on the deep holes where the screws don't come up out of the hole. It has just enough strength to suck those screws right out of the deep holes. Right now it is back up on the fridge, right where I can find it if I need it. Don't tell my wife!
For you guys losing screws on the floor and can't find them, I found a 4 inch thick magnet on an adjustable handle during a sale at Harbor Freight. It is powerful! You would be surprised what it can find in the carpet or between the grout lines of tile. When one of those tiny screws gets away I can get that tool and sweep it above the floor and anything metal gets found real fast.
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Safety with cutting knives
By Shannon Crabtree
One of my many things that I do to keep my legs and feet safe is to put rubber bands around my Exacto knives. This keeps them from rolling off and seeking your feet or legs! I avoided a few of them before and finally said no more near misses.
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MSDS Sheets
By David Stewart
Material Safety Data Sheets are available online for all of the products we use. Even wood. Simply type MSDS followed by whatever solvent or material you are using and you'll find a concise rundownof its hazardous (or lack thereof) properties.
Download them, keep them, refer to them. You will have a very good idea of the possible hazards of the products you are using.
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Getting the right length screw…
By Peter Heron
I am sure many of you have needed shorter screws for one reason or another. Cutting tiny (00-90 in this case) can be hard as clamping them in a vice can distort the head. I take a piece of styrene and drill and tap it the needed size. Screw the screw in not quite all the way and cut the excess off. Now screw it in all the way and use a file to slightly taper the end.
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Starting a Self Tapping Screw to avoid damage
By Graeme Nitsche
When screwing a metal thread screw into plastic turn the screw anti clockwise (ie undo the screw) until you feel the screw drop into the thread and then tighten it up. This stops the metal thread cutting a new thread and ultimately destroying the plastic so there is no thread.
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Keeping Springs aligned with Kadees
By John Whitten
You can use a straight pin to help place the springs on couplers. Push the pin through the middle of the spring and then ease a bit of it out onto the nib of the coupler. Then ease it around to the other nib and gently pull the pin out. It makes placing the springs downright easy. And they almost never fly away. If they do spring, most of the time they spring back onto the pin.
By Henry Allen
That sounds like a neat trick to use with buffer springs. I'll give it a go when I do my next set.
A note from Trevor - When you have tried it Henry (or anyone else for that matter…), please let us know how you get on but I like your lateral thinking!
Last edit: by xdford
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Ersatz Detailing making Lift Rings for Diesels
By Sebastien Bolle
One of my favorite money-saving tricks when detailing locomotives is to make my own lift rings. Exactrail, Detail Associates and others all make lift rings, but they are often expensive, coming out to about a dollar apiece. Too much for a few inches of wire, if you ask me. I make my own with thin, solid-core wire from burned out 1.5 volt microbulbs. (The ones in Athearn locos won't work, as they use stranded wire). First loop the wire around a drill bit in a pin vise (I use a No. 77 bit), then twist the ends of the wire that hang down together until the wire is snug all around the bit. trim off the excess wire, leaving about 1/8" (I use a pair of cheap squizzers), slide the ring off the bit, then install like a normal lift ring. Once installed, I cannot tell the difference between homemade & storebought, and that little trick saves me about $10 per loco.
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Making Decals easier to see
By Rod Miller
Sometimes decals float off their backing paper while soaking, and can be very hard to see. If you like to leave decals in the water, here’s a tip: use a black frozen food container to soak
decals. My wife does Jenny Craig, whose containers are black. Those tiny white numbers etc. are easy to see against the black background when they float off the backing sheet. Use a light colored container for dark decals.
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Windows and Curtains
By Bob Farrell
I use the plastic from packaging, when it is in relatively large flat areas. I cut to fit to cover the window frame on the inside and run some MEK around (it wicks nicely without much effort). I print my own blinds in CorelDraw or use color paper/card stock for shades, and these I tape in place with regular Scotch or other brand of transparent tape. Works nicely and is not much of an effort. On the double hung windows (Tichy and Grandt), they come with laser cut windows and shades, which makes them easier to finish.
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Soldering Feeders to Rail Joiners
By Jeffrey Maxwell
I typically solder feeder wires to rail joiners on my bench, and then use those when putting down the track. If I feel I need a more solid connection, then I can just add a touch of solder to the outside of the rails where the joiner is. In general, though, I can avoid doing soldering in awkward places on my layout.
To make up the joiners with feeders, I take a piece of scrap track and put the joiners loosely on the ends. Then I lay them upside down and place the feeder tip crosswise to the joiner, generally holding it down with a tool or even a 9-volt battery, just something with weight to hold the wire in place. Then, it is just a touch with the iron and some solder and it's done. Remember, though, that the joint will hold heat for a while. Don't just grab it and try to pull it off.
A note from Trevor - several modelers including MaxSouthOz and Spurno have pointed out to me that there could be an issue with joints oxidising and creating problems and as such it is not a good practice. Certainly a rail joint with even a very tiny air gap and moisture through humidity etc will create an electrolysis or the effect of a mini arc welder where it may heat and burn causing problems with connectivity and trains will slow down or stop.
Jeffrey has pointed out a method which worked for him and it replicates one of Peco's offerings. I must admit that I have tried some of the suggestions that others have made in this column over the years and I could not make the ideas work but I have friends and acquaintances who swear by… not at … them. This is a case of what works for you …
Last edit: by xdford
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Making Rock Strata
By Several Modellers
I have a spot on my layout where the slope is too steep. More retaining walls were not what I wanted, as there are numerous retaining walls already present.
I decided that I wanted a rock wall there. I also decided that I did not want the rock wall to cost too much. So I decided to try some thing new to make a stratified rock outcrop.
At the point where the rock outcrop was to appear I added a coat of lightweight spackle. Once the spackle had dried , I used a wire brush to add 'strata' to the spackle. Next step was to colour the 'strata'. I used a thinned light gray wash using black acrylic paint which did not give much color, so I followed that wash with a water and India ink wash. After painting the area around the grey 'strata' with my standard 'ground' colour, I added ground foam (some of which filled in the gouged area nicely, I think) and static grass mat material.
The same kind of rock 'strata' can be done directly onto (into?) expanded foam insulating board. Just a few passes of my trusty strata carving tool gave me decent results, but it is a task that is best done outside or with the vacuum cleaner handy.
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Cheap and Easy Card holders
By Terry Ward
If you are using a card car forwarding system or operating sequencing, here is another recycled project. I used the tops of Tape Cassette boxes for my car card holders. Just drill 2 holes to mount , make a label and you are done. Most people throw them away so they are cheap.
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Toothpicks 1
By John Bowker
Toothpicks either new or used can be used for a variety of things. Square picks are the same size as the plastic ties on N scale track, you can get two standard sized ties from each pick. They can also be used for timbers, in a lumber yard for example. Round picks can be used for short poles and for guard posts along a highway depending on the type of posts used in your prototypes location.
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Toothpicks 2
By Dave Nelson
A few years ago in a park, I came across a treasure trove of wood sticks that had been part of an amateur fireworks display of some sort – surprisingly decent quality wood of a size perfect for timbers used to brace open loads.
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Keeping Paint Ratios
By Pat Lawless
To get my paint ratios mixed as closely as possible, I use disposable pipettes which you can buy on Ebay for a song. Just search for disposable pipettes on the site, and you'll see that there are different capacities (I use 1.5 ml and 3 ml ones), and you can get 100 of most types for about $3.00 including free shipping.
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Using recycled Blister Packaging
By John Graham
I model the mid 1950's. I use many of those plastics in blister packages used to mount items, such as nail clippers, small paint bottles, cars, trucks, and farm equipment in place to card or styrene sheet.
I paint them flat green and cut them to fit as flat car loads. It may not be the best idea, but as I'm going to buy the product, I see what I can make out of the packaging. I get two for one this way. I could use flat black as well, but for my time period canvas was the most popular. Those modeling modern eras could use many other colors because of the many colored tarps.
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“Cutting Grooves†into Foam Tops for Rivers and below rail scenery
By Robin Tadulkar and Dave Marshall
Rather than gouge out foam for rivers and creeks etc I have used the pleated/fanfold roughly 1/4" thick pink foam sheeting to build up both scenery and roadbed. The only thing to consider is I have found this form is not the flattest, so using a thinner adhesive such as white glue plus plenty of weight over the foam, is necessary to get a relatively flat joint and avoid waves in the top surface.
Last edit: by xdford
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Picking up Loose Spikes
By Bob Godin
I have had a problem with stray track pins and spikes lurking just waiting to destroy your favourite engine, I have found that running a magnet over and around the track picks up any stray pins, its surprising where they hide. Any magnet will do. I use one off a kitchen cabinet door most d-i-y stores sell them.
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Peco Track Pins
By Andy Vines
Peco track pins make good 4mm scale door knobs, or bend and file them to make 4mm scale door handles.
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