I am curious as to how other modelers approach their projects. Do you work one project from start to finish or do you normally have several going on at one time. In my own case, I believe I make the most progress when I am single threaded and can concentrate on just one thing. That is difficult to do however, especially with structure building. Typically they require several coats of paint that each require drying time. Usually there are several stages when one has to allow glue to cure before moving on to the next step. That usually means moving on to another project while waiting to do the next phase of structure building. Since I am very disorganized anyway, juggling 2 or 3 projects makes things even messier and I end up spending a lot of time looking for tools I have set down where they didn’t belong.
I usually build one structure at a time,over the course of a couple of weeks.Right now I am building benchwork so I can also build something else if I am watching TV like a football game or something.
I usually do 2 or 3 things at one time
While the paint dries on one i can assemble another when i tire of assembling i will make a tree
etc
Oh, I’m a big time multi-tasker, I have about 20 unfinished projects right now, with many more on the back burner.
Brad
PS, I’m also busy supplying Santa with his annual coal…
I have never felt comfortable with true multi-tasking as it is risky. However, I do have two or three projects on the go most often, and rotate between them as the need, whim, or other compulsions dictate.
I spend more time than anything else just looking at the layout. Not working on scenery, not running trains, not building anything on the workbench, just looking at it and seeing how the future has to unfold to get from where we are to where we want to be. What has to happen first, then next, and so on, and more importantly, why it has to happen in that sequence.
If the process was linear, I’d probably spend at least three days adding up the pros and cons and getting the same answer before I decided that was the right way to proceed. But it’s not linear, there are several different projects under consideration all the time, so while a solution path has to hold water for three days, there is a steady stream of answers rolling off the assembly line.
Once the process is set in my mind, and I know we’re not painting ourselves into any corners, I plan actual jobs, discrete projects, start to finish, along with both a metarials list and a tool list. Over the course of a couple more days, I assemble the tools and materials all in one spot, and finally, when I get a little bit of spare time, a project begins and ends in as little as 15 minutes, up to maybe an hour. It’s very easy to make rapid progress when the tools and materials are all lined up, and the exact procedure has already been thought through at least three times.
So, the short answer to the original question, we multi-task the planning process, multi-task the preparation process, and though we may run several project executions in a single day, the actual projects themselves are single tasked, I only have the two hands. Since most projects are not entire buildings or mountains, just logical parts of a complete project, and since there are many seperate projects in various stages of planning and completion, I’d have to say, “Yes, we multi-task”.
To keep things organized, we use project boxes, with all the parts and tools in one place that can be shelved off the worktable without
Im all over the place. I get into “moods” and I have learbned to ride them to get done what I want. I will do scenery for awhile… Then maybe doing some custom paintwork will hit me… then I am all about weathering one week. If I stay too much to a schedule… it reminds me of work. [:(!]. heck, sometimes, I just go out in the garage with a beer and stare at it for awhile while I decompress…
I usually have three or four projects going at once. Right now, I have some hopper kits under construction, two newly installed signals to wire, some track to paint and ballast, and two buildings underway.
Nick
- Wow!!! Even your response is well organized. I wish I could say I was like that, but as I look around I can see any number of midway to completion projects. Yes, some are waiting to dry, some are waiting for parts, some are waiting for for inspiration, some for motivation, but mostly I do something that I feel like at the time. So I guess I multi-task or perhaps more correctly multi-non-task.[sigh]
I’m often forced to multi-task. My layout is in the “family room,” so I’ve got to share the room with the family. Most often, that means my daughter wants to watch a particular TV show, and she doesn’t even want me in the room. That lets out running trains, and also most scenery. So, I’ve got a number of projects in the basement, like structure kits and old cars that need horn-hook-to-Kadee conversions. For the structures, I like to spread out a bit, so if my wife is using the big table downstairs for one of her own projects, I’m out of luck there, too. Last, I’m kind of weather-dependent when it comes to spray painting, which I try to do outside to keep the smell out of the house.
sometime’s i can finish a project straight thru,but generally i have several project’s going on at a time.not having a local hobby shop hurt’s as i have to mail order everything(in order to finish the project).i’m pretty well organized…but thing’s do get misplaced now and then.i think that happen’s to all of us.unfortunately i don’t have a workbench,as a small part of the layout has to suffice for the workbench.terry…
I tried that multi projects approach and found the following:
1.It was messy and my work desk look like a aftermath of a F5 tornado.
2.Projects WAS NOT getting finish on a timely schedule.
3.Parts,tools,glue etc would go missing because of the mess on my work desk.
Conclusion…I returned to my old one project at a time approach that worked well for me over the years…
Why I bothered to change from single to multiple projects remains a mystery.[banghead][V]
I think I’m pretty lucky because I have a dedicated room for my layout and a separate workbench area so I’ve got plenty of space to be disorganized if I choose. I usually have two or three things going at one time. The slot of time available will often dictate what I do next. Things like spray painting take more time while assembling an Athearn kit is just a few minutes. Because I’m new to the hobby, I have had some “do overs” which also cause multiple projects in various stages of completion.
Fellers,
I’m with jeffers on this one. I spend a LOT of time either sitting in front of the layouy area, or at the desk over the plans visualizing what it’s going to look like and what has to happen when and where to get to that point. I find that the more time I spend doing that, the faster and easier the actual projects become when I get underway with them.
It’s the old “measure twice & cut once” rule. Time spent in planning and visualizing will more than be repaid in construction and presentation.
Now, I’m also working on several projects at once. Like was said above, I’ve got several items being painted at any one time, and I do them in an assembly-line fashion. That way, when I reach the end of one task, the first one is dry and ready to start the next step. While ballast dries, turf can be spread. While the turf is drying, roads may be laid out, etc.
If I didn’t multi-task and think through the production as with a flow-chart, I’d NEVER get anything done.
But that’s just me. Other’s mileage will certainly vary, and that’s the neat thing about the hobby. many visions, all correct, no “wrong” way to have fun 
Respects,
I’m all over the place too.
My projects are dictated by money and what materials are available to me at the time.
MUST-------------STAY----- FOCUSED
MUST—STAY—FOCUSED
MUST—STAY___FOCUSED
I’m sorry what was the question?[:D]
I have many tasks going all at once! This can be good and bad, as I can move from one project to another thus keeping everything interesting and keeping myself busy…On the other hand, I can spend a lot of time hunting for tools, parts…and so on.
In short; I have benchwork to build, track to lay, senery and towns and on and on…I also have one diorama mostly finished and can run a train completly around the upper level. That is multi-tasking.
I find all of the responses to my inquiry to be fascinating. Like just about everything else in this hobby, there seems to be many different approaches. I hope I can pick out a few useful tips from these responses. I particularly liked jeffers_mz idea of having a project tool box where he collects all the tools needed for a particular project. Maybe if I can adopt that approach, I’ll cut down on the clutter. I actually have two workbenches going. I have the regular work bench which is a disaster area, and a second one I put together with a discarded counter top and two sawhorses. Unfortunately, my tools are like a gas. They expand to fill up the available space. So now I am close to having two disaster areas. I’ve made many vows over the years to become more organized in all facets of my life but it just doesn’t seem to be in my makeup. I probably spend as much time looking for my tools as I do working with my tools.
I do share one trait with jeffers_mz in that I will spend a lot of time looking at my layout and getting ideas for trackwork or scenery. I find I get much better ideas at the layout than I do at the drawing board. I’ve heard of this being described as imagineering which is a word I love. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to be as adept on the follow through. Rarely does anything I do go quickly. I just have to keep at things until I finally get them completed.
working on 7 or 8 projects from building bridges and locos to doing stuff like this…
for my 7/8n18, which runs on O gauge track, I built a flatcar based on prototypical photos.
The entire car is made from a single Lionel truck. The axleboxes are actually the trucks cut into 4 pieces and nailed to the wood frame. Using link and pin couplers, with the link coming from Lowe’s (AGR Test #41 offset link, replacement part). The reason I kept the trucks instead of making axle box castings is b/c the axle is conical (needle nose) and the delrin truck helps keep it turning nicely.
Building a 25” long boxcar loosly based on Monson prototype for my 7/8n2, representing a 22’ long shorty boxcar
I asked a friend of mine about this statement:
"It’s the old “measure twice & cut once” rule.
He chuckled and said only a apprentice Carpenter would need to do such. A experience Carpenter or a Carpenter’s helper would not bother because they would know how to read a tape correctly the first time.Besides that all construction jobs are done on a schedule and must be finish on time or the contractor starts losing money.
Dave is a journeyman carpenter in the construction field with 44 years experience…