No Train Time

I've not been able to do anything in the train room for several days, and the contest is coming up soon. Tomorrow night I've got to get ready for the Friday night session.

Maybe I can work on the Slaughterhouse this weekend. Busy, busy, busy.

Slaughterhouse #5 Now Serving Cargo Vessels

There were slaughterhouses on the Calumet's Cal-Sag Channel! In fact, this is part of the reason it has gotten so polluted. So we'll be filling up vessels with ice and beef for export.

Lumber for the Slaughterhouse

I just re-ordered the lumber for Slaughterhouse #5. The hobby shop trashed my order, so I just sent it back in. Also, I just found out that the NMRA Southeastern Region Convention is having a Rails to Sails special contest, so I thought I might add a pier to my Slaughterhouse.

Here is what I ordered today...

PRODUCT INFORMATION--

Quantity: 2
Product: 2x8 scale lumber
Scale/Price/Options: HO-scale-24 ($ 2.95ea.)

Quantity: 6
Product: 4x8 scale lumber
Scale/Price/Options: HO-scale-24 ($ 2.95ea.)

Quantity: 3
Product: 8x8 scale lumber
Scale/Price/Options: HO-scale-24 ($ 2.95ea.)

More Sprues - 1 hour work

Tonight I placed the windows on paint boards as well as other parts that I had washed and prepped. I also cleaned up the train room and shop since the guys are coming over tomorrow.

I was looking at the water tower directions and realized that I didn't have the ladders on the paint boards. They were of another color. I found them, trimmed them and put them on the dark gray paint board.

I Don't Do Windows - 1.5 Hours Work

The next step is to work on all the windows and doors. I cut these from the sprues very carefully as not to break them. The concrete steps in the kit will be isolated and trimmed later when I have other concrete color items to paint.

In this kit there are
64 total windows
4 regular doors
6 double doors

For the price you can almost afford to throw the kit parts away and just keep the windows!

I break the sprue trees down to smaller sections with a Xuron tool. This makes it easier to use the sprue cutter on small or delicate parts.

I also cut out all the dark gray parts which included the water tank and railings.

Now that I have the windows in a pile, I can clean them up. Using a SHARP NEW BLADE in my hobby knife I trimmed each window being careful to remove any flash in the window panes. Areas with a lot of flash were sanded with a 3M fine grade sanding block.

Tip: Each evening when you finish working at your work bench take five minutes and clean up. Put things in their proper place, replace worn blades, clean brushes and move things off your main work space. You'll find that you are going to build cleaner and better models and that you'll like sitting down to work in a place where you can find everything you need in its proper place.

Tip: Never keep your trash can under your workbench. Always keep it to the side where small parts can't find their way in.

Tip: As a safety procedure always put used or broken blades in a special container and throw them out carefully. Don't put used blades in your shop wastebasket where your fingers mind find them when you've accidentally thrown a small part away.

Tip: Use a combination of black and white floor tiles for your work shop area. This way, when you lose a white part, you can sweep the floor to a black square and find it easily. Use the reverse process for a black part.

I dropped a small part and looked everywhere for it, sweeping my squares and looking in places that I shouldn't have to look. I found the part in my trash can which is very close to my work space. My finger found a use hobby blade while I was looking. The first aid kit is over the door.

Experience is a good teacher.