As noted by others here, cutting larger size stock can be a pain. I picked up a tool called Midwest Products Easy Cutter Ultimate. I looks like a small garden pruner with an adjustable part for cutting angles. Even this tool does not cut large size pieces perfectly square but is better than my chopper. I only use yellow glue on wood kits. Prestain before assembly and go to it. Other glues seem to dry with a gloss finish which shows when some extra squeezes out of a joint. The hint about using wax paper over the templates works great, I tape the template to my cutting mat then tape the wax paper over it. I use masking tape.
Take your time Model Railroading is not a race and if there is a speed prize I havent heard of it.
You’re doing nothing wrong. I’ve had the same problem with the two that I have owned. I am now going to make my own base and use the aluminum sanding block from my old sanders.
Two pieces of luan plywood, 1" x 6", and one six inch 1"x1", make a U, flat on one side. Pin nailer and glue worked fine for me.
Two foot 1"x4", a two foot 1’“x1”, nail-n-glue the one by one to the top of the 1"x4" flush with one edge, put the guide away from you and nail a two by block to the right end for a stop.
Clamp part A to part B against the guide, draw a purty square line and 45 degree line, then cut both with a Jap saw (Vaughn makes the best, “double teeth” side works the best, 20 bucks).
Voila, instant miter box, cost $20, and the enterprising can figure out how to use this jig for sanding them square too. (Hint, begin with a rectangular block and adhesive sandpaper.)
Got good results on a water tank with half walmart white acrylic craft paint and half alcohol, 70%, then a wash of 1-2 drops black India ink to 35 ml alcohol, for a base coat before cutting stock to lengths, then using yellowish mud brown artists chalk shavings (throughout), with highlights of rust, dark brown, and black, for detail, after assembly.
Regarding glue and stain, I use carpenters glue (yellow glue), but I wait until after completion to stain the wood. To make sure the glue isn’t a problem, I keep a small brush and water handy; I use the brush to clean up wayward glue before it dries.
I also find at airbrushing the stain onto a structure gives a nice effect - I just spray it on and let it dry. Some of my most useful tools (besides those already mentioned) are miniature metal machinist’s squares and my Rockwell 6" belt/12"disc sander. I know that sander may seem a little large for model kits, but it really is great for truing up big surfaces and long edges - at 1.5 hp it will eat a lot of HO scale wood in a hurry, so it is importaint to exercise a little restraint.
Really? Man, that’s one nasty design flaw. I was trying to find a metal strip to apply to the sanding edge of a new one I purchased a few years back, but everything I had was curved or bend or whatever, and then the Tru-Sander was infected with Kadee-Coupler-Spring disease and I haven’t seen it since…
what do you all recommend for stains or paints? I have NO idea what color my mine should be. The picture on the box is a black and white picture of the completed model, unpainted.
i dipped a scrap piece into a Pollyscale Tarnished Black wash that i’d made and that color was okay… not exactly what I’m going for though. some help here would be really useful
Make sure the blade in your Xacto knife is razor sharp. They dull especially when used to scrape or cut things harder than basswood. In addition to the standard #11blade, try the 1/4" chisel blade. To get a number ot pieces to the same length a template of some sort is helpful.
For cutting strip wood to length, the “Chopper” a model tool that looks like a minature guillotine works well and is work the $20 price. Good drafting/artist’s supply stores like Charrettes will have it, if your friendly local hobby shop does not.
I wouldn’t mess with Goo for a wood model. It takes too long to dry and it’s messy. I used to use it to stick metal to wood, but now a days Krazy glue works better and dries faster. Ambroid cement (mitrocellulose cement) dries in a minute or two, so you can clamp the joint with your fingers. It’s strong enough for modeling in 99% of the places. In the odd joint requiring greater strength, Elmers or the yellow carpenter’s glues will give a stronger joint but they require clamping until dry, and they take hours to dry hard.
I’d stain before assembly. This bypasses the “glue-spor-won’t-take-stain” problem. Hardware stores carry Minwax stains in a rainbow of colors, and in small sized cans. Or, if you have a paint color you like, just thin the paint down and presto, its a stain. Cut the paint at least 1:1, or maybe 2:1 with thinner.
Plain wood left out in the weather, turns driftwood gray where the rain water gets on it. The places protected from the rain will stay the original wood color for years. I’d stain most of the exterior wood driftwood gray and use a light yellow-brown wood color in protected spots like right up under the eaves.
Creosoted wood, like telephone poles and ties, start out very dark, almost black, and weat
Ditto on the Goo. Not so on the yellow carpenter’s glue. I was recently scratchbuilding an old-style wooden fence out of Northeastern HO scale wood. This is the type of fence with vertical supports, long horizontal stringers, and vertical boards spaced very close together. My usual acc adhesive wasn’t working worth a darn. I then tried the yellow carpenter’s glue I had and within 2 hours I had the fence sections, 2 at 8 inches long and one at 12 inches long finished (and movable from off the template I used). No clamping needed, no long wait either. Secret is to not use a whole lot of glue, just a very thin brushed on layer.
I use Goo for its heat activation capability. The metal ribs on the wood roof of the boxcar below were glued on using this method: I coat the bottom of the ribs with goo and let it dry completely, then position the piece in place and warm it with a soldering iron (you don’t have to get it too hot). This activates the Goo and instantly bonds the part in place. I’ve also used this approach to bond the rails onto a turntable bridge.
My own favorite glue for craftsman kits is yellow wood glue of the non-waterproof variety. I usually apply it with a brush. I’m also known to use epoxies, and Goo in certain cases. I don’t use CA; I get a respiratory reaction to it.
