Model Railroad Kit Building MADE EASY! YOU CAN DO THIS! Tips & Tricks
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- www.djstrains.com
ABOUT THIS VIDEO: This video shows how to build a big kit without getting overwhelmed.
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🕺🏻ABOUT DJ: DJ is a locomotive engineer for CSX Railroad since 1999. He has built dozens of layouts, gave presentations for model railroaders, is a UA-camr, licensed drone pilot, and a great father.
I save sprues, they come in handy to scratch build lots of things. piping on roofs for example, even use them to fill old push-in bolsters on older rolling stock and drill and tap for 2-56 screws.
Second that
A video to calm our anxieties, what a concept. Thanks DJ!
A little trick I learned building model cars is painting pieces (especially small pieces) while there still attached to the sprue, you will have to touch up where the pieces were attached, but it's often easier than painting while holding with a tweezers
Wow! 40 years of model railroading and finally a real engineer giving real information about real trains and models. This has to be some of the best content I have ever seen. I have traveled the country but PA has some of the best train action anywhere. Keep up the good work.
Thank you! I have been on UA-cam for 10 years now. Over 300 videos, organized into PLAYLISTS to help you find exactly what you like. Thanks for watching!! Enjoy
Hey DJ, great little video as always. When I was a kid making model cars, I too would strip all the pieces of of the plastic sprues. I would not recycle them until you were completely done with the item - but definitely toss them to the side, or back in the box with the instructions that we look at when we think we are done ! I nearly tossed out a couple of very small detailed items that them looked like overflow in a corner of the big picture.
To me, a really good layout is in the details. A highly detailed layout with engines that don't make a sound just isn't right. You gave us some really good tips. Thank you!
I took advantage of the nice weather to prime a few kits. Your videos are inspiring!
Awesome! Thank you!
Yes, accidentally tipping over opened paint,paint thinner and any other forms of liquid that isn't supposed to be spilled really gets me mad, lol! After those numerous spills I made sure my paint wasn't right next to where I was constantly moving my arms, and they were CLOSED. Thanks for the tips, and enjoy the rest of your day!
Sound, very good advice, DJ. When building kits I try to create reasonably sized subassemblies before painting. This is to get good bonds with the plastic solvent cement without having to scrape too much paint off the joints. But I limit the subassembly sizes so they can be primed and painted easily, either by hand or an airbrush. Also, sometimes it is useful to prime and paint parts before removal from the sprues. This is especially true for small items like windows. You can then touch up the spots where the sprues were attached after they are removed. When using craft acrylic paints I like to use windshield washer fluid to help clean the brushes. And I also weather with washes that use the washer fluid as a thinner. Cheers from Wisconsin!
Yes, I also get rid of empty sprue . It really puts your minds eye in good place. Thanks
DJ - excellent tips/techniques for any gauge! Great video as always, thanks for sharing!
Thank you. Painting is the biggest stresser for me in the hobby and this video really helps!
You could save some of the scrap frame work you cut away as pipe for kit bashing. You could also cut it up and place it as scrap in a gondola.
Keeping some of the sprues in a box can be handy for detail on projects. Then you potentially save on material purchases and less in the landfill.
Busy building my first layout and these videos are great as I get into it.
Excellent Content!
When dealing with large kits and multi-page instructions I mark / highlight paint colors right on the assembly steps.
Then, as I remove parts from the sprue(s) I usually place them in plastic boxes labeled on masking tape with the base color(s) especially for those parts that have to be painted - prior - to assemply.
DJ, this is some excellent advice and guidance for all of us! Thanks, again, for your sage advice. Stay safe out there!
Thanks, you too!
great tips DJ. Enjoy the building
Thanks, will do!
Did this one in HO. I know what you mean with being overwhelmed for sure. It’s an awesome kit for sure. Great paint job!
Yes! Thank you!
Hi DJ, always enjoy your videos. I have a couple of comments on the kit building. Sometimes the sprues have numbers, if so don't take the parts off till you need to. The numbers help I.D. the parts. On painting, for me, I have best results when I paint after partial assembly when I can avoid gluing painted joints ( of the same color ). Just something to think about when deciding what to paint when.
Primer. I wish I watched your video before I painted my rails. I had the same problem you avoided. Next time I will prime!
Tony
Absolutely take your time, as you said.your not competing or on a deadline. Make sure you have enough good light!
You're a natural teacher. Excellent camera work, clear explanations, good voiceover, and a nice progression. Have you considered washing the pieces before painting and assembly to get a better paint finish?
Thank you. Does it really help? I'm very impatient, lol, so I never really experimented.
@@djstrains yes, wash with dish soap first. removes the release agent used when parts are manufactured.
Glad I'm not the only one that cuts the sprus away as I go, thought it was just on of my crazy OCD things. Thanks for the highlighter tip!
I have OCD about a few things, this eases my anxiety, lol.
Suggestions, I bought the largest sheet pan with a 1/2" to 1" lip around it and cut my mat to fit the pan. My N Scale has gotten smaller with age and having the small parts fall off the work bench sucks anymore. Oh, I had to get the Magnifying Lamp, so age has it's bumps.
Another great video. Your hint about the glue is perfect. I can’t tell you how many kits I have ruined by simply overturning the bottle. I love you’re suggestion and will make a well for my glue. Besides being an expensive mistake, it is a heartbreaking one when you realize that you cannot salvage the product. I destroyed two Domino Pizza kits that way. You have a great eye for detail and are very encouraging. Your videos are inspirational to me. thanks for sharing.
Those cut off spare bits of plastic are perfect for imitation scrap loads.
Great video DJ and yes from the beginning it looks stressful. I have 2 Walthers kits to assemble and I'll be prepared regardless. That piece of foam for the glue reminds me of something I made to hold mine. A piece of 2x4 w a hole cut for the bottle and like yours it works perfect. Thanks for sharing this video DJ.
Loved the tip about black and yellow.
Sprues are excellent parts for pipes when scratchbuilding
Good advice, looking forward to seeing it finished & on the layout 😀
You and me both!
hey dj, it's the grumpy old fart from n.h. good video, i happen to be a bit ofa junky, when it comes to sprues, however. i noticed i kempinski's book, and some videos, that these mills are a maze if piping, so i tend to keep some sprues, and spare parts. john
This was such a great video. Thank you. I still have this kit unopened too. :D
You are so welcome!
Great, as always. Thanks.
One issue with large kits is keeping track of the part numbers as you remove them from the sprue. As you pointed out, sometimes the number is only on the sprue. For large parts, I use "yellow stickies" to record the numbers. For small parts, I write the number on an envelope and put the part(s) in the envelope. Thanks for doing this video. Your ideas are solid.
Great tips dj,you can also build something this big in sub assemblies (sections) over a period of time too,also if you're going to cut away some of the parts from the sprues you can mark them with the part number on the inside with a piece of tape and sharpie for later referencing with the instructions, sometimes I will paint the sections prior to assembly just tape the areas that are to be joined together or sand the areas before assembly,most of all I would spread out the work over a few days or week and take my time,if you feel overwhelmed cap your glue and walk away for awhile or day and come back to it..
Absolutely! This is a 30 hour kit easily. Spread out over a couple weeks.
And don't toss all that sprue! You can heat the old sprue with an alcohol lamp, stretch it fine and use it for anything from wire, pipe, conduit hand railing or anything else you would use fine plastic rod for. I learned this trick building model cars using sprue to make sparkplug wires. Toss it in a box.
“I’m not an artist, I’m a duplicator.” I’m making t-shirts!! Great tips DJ
“At our age” don’t forget the light!
Throw as much light at the workbench as you can!
YES! I forgot to show my light! Crap.
very cool video thanks
Great advice and beautiful work!
Thank you!
I use a sprue cutter similar to the track cutter. Much quicker to use and gets in close to the wasted sprue.
Thanks for the video DJ !!! ... You have given me courage to start my HO scale Walthers Blast Furnace this Winter. Do have a question about your workbench. Where did you get the really nice magnifier light with arms? Is it LED based?
Brightech. I got it years ago. It stays in place no matter how often you move it and is adjustable in color and brightness.
@@djstrains Thanks!!!
I just this past week bought a 6 piece tweezer variety set because my old chubby sausage-like fingers can no longer do small piece manipulation. It was kinda a "wow, I need this!" moment at Freight and Harbor. Also build some Q&D jigs with old packing foam and box cutter to hold sub-assemblies together while the glue sets, rather than sit there letting my hands cramp.
I hear ya!! I can’t text well due to fat thumbs
My only custom creation is taking a Bachmann GP unit and putting a high short hood on it and painting it black. It's somewhere in with my boxes of trains. I forget if I put any NS decals on it...that was in the late '90s.
I like to use red automotive primer
Any thin spots when topcoat applied naturally looks like an area where rust is beginning to form. The thin spots usually are in an area where you would anticipate oxidation to start.
It’s almost like pre-weathering whatever you are painting…..
Very nice, I especially like the weathering you were doing. What paints are you using? Brand?
cheap Walmart brand acrylics. apple barrel etc. $1.00
@@djstrains nice, thank you.
Another great video, DJ! Are you glueing painted parts together with that glue?
Yes, after scraping off the paint when needed
Nice video
At a train show years ago passed on the chance to purchase that kit already built and weathered (it looked great) for $125. One of my dumber moves that I regret to this day !!
what the heck is that 6 wheel truck at the end of the video. Looks like some sort of SiFi land craft for space marines in Aliens
Slab hauler! But can be used on planet pandora in avatar
That brand of cement eats right through pink foam lol
When you have familiarized yourself with a kit,hang it in a large box(one side of box removed) to spray prime on the sprue.Make sure to use universal paint that will not damage plastic. You can do a colour at a time if needed.For ready made kits you may need to mask off and use acrylics. Make sure everything is clean,wash in soap or wipe with IPA. Using fine gloves will keep fingerprints off. Remember to check instructions twice or measure twice,cut once. Be extra careful with clear parts like windows.Use the least glue possible.
Been follow for awhile. Nice stuff.
Not sure why, your vid’s don’t have close caption available. Is there a button you need to push to allow it….or sadly is that something that needs to be paid for?
crap. I have had this issue with UA-cam for a decade. Its supposed to be auto generated, but sometimes they just dont appear. I allow captions on my end. Nothing in my settings to prevent it from working. sigh
@@djstrains ok thanks. Was wondering
just double checked and this video and all my others are set for English (United States) as the subtitle format. Unsure why UA-cam won't play them. Sometimes they take time, maybe check back tomorrow and see if they appear? Thanks.
@@djstrains ok thanks
I always wash all parts first, gets rid of fine film from mold, mild soap and water, let dry, then go for the fun.
Does it help with painting or gluing?
Yes it does, paint covers better, it renoves the oil film
Sometimes a release agent is used in injection molds to keep the parts from sticking so there might be some leftover residue. I'm not sure if they do it for kits like these but this is a good tip!
"US Steel"...Yeah, you need to have Pigeon Droppings all over your piping...Lol
You got that right!
👍👍👍
Any tips, if someone wants to make an urban/downtown scenery? I'm not into trains that much, so I don't mind having a layout without one, which means more room for the city and also that, I don't need to worry about the realism of proximity to a trainline/station, when it comes to the city planning. My major problem is that since I'm inspired by 90s US cities it's really difficult to find buildings that would resemble major city centers, apart from KATO, tomytec and Outland buildings, which do not necessarily resemble that 90s US feel.
correct, but summit does good stuff also:www.summit-customcuts.com
Before assuming _all_ "halves" go together, check of the instructions FIRST...
...Sometimes the obvious thing is not always right. You might have a series of "halves that are simply halves, then that final one that's just a little different such that quickly gluing them together causes problems later. (The voice of experience! 😉)
One suggestion - don't throw the sprues away - keep them in your spare parts box, they can be used for kitbashing, they can make pipes or supports - you never know what might be useful. Of course, that's why I can never find anything in my hobby room, I have so much stuff that I am keeping, because I never know when I might find a use for it...
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I'm looking for steel mill kits for N scale. Any websites and help will be appreciated. Thanks.
eBay and Facebook n scale and also steel mill modeling groups
I really really wish that they would rerelease this kit and the rest of the series in ho so I could get one in the UK without having to sell my organs to afford it 😂
I AGREE 100%. I get frustrated with Walthers over this, so I try to teach how to scratch build mill scene and such to get around this void.
How do you eat an elephant? One piece at a time!
I was actually gonna use that quote in this video. It is the perfect analogy
@@djstrains Great minds think alike😊 If your route ever takes you through Thomasville, NC, give a toot as you pass the Big Chair and Mike's Trains. Keep the great videos coming!
Oh come on, you said it was big kit and it’s N Scale, click bait😏. I always like to start by putting the bigger things together first, like the tower, cylinder and pipes together first, that kind of reduces the part count too. And you got to put them together anyway. Nice look at this.
I just bust out laugh at that first comment! LOL!!
Overwhelming is the North Island refinery has to be 1 of their worst models they pack the instructions in so tight on 2 pages they ruined them.
100% agree. They should offer refunds to anyone who bought that kit and also post new instructions online.