Have you told the guys at Amer's that you are modeling in Z scale yet? They look at me crazy when I mention N.
Puppychow, that School Glue is not good. EASILY water soluable and not as strong. Use the White bottle (dries clear). .
Yeah...I didn't even realize I picked-up "school glue" and I also notice that the Elmer's Clear glue is also "school glue". I figured these specific glues are a bit weaker in terms of strength & bonding. I'm a little out of my element's here since this is my first time in working with wood/laser-kits and I'm so used to just using Testors Model Masters Liquid Cements. So, I did what I probably should of done in the first place. I just went to Elmer's website and used their glue-guide! For wood-to-wood projects, they recommend three different types of glue: Carpenter's Interior Wood Glue, Glue-All, and lastly, Carpenter's Wood Glue Max. Back to the store..... http://www.elmers.com/glueguide/results/wood/wood
Micro-Trains Livestock Pen #2 Kit - 799 90 905. Okay...so I finally found some good-quality time to actually build my first laser-kit from Micro-Trains! Sorry for the long delay again...I had mid-term exams, papers due, and then spring-break, and also came down with some sort of stomach illness (not related to spring-break i think..? hehe). All in all...I think it turned out pretty good for my first z-scale kit, I'm happy with her (sorry Rob, no smash-attack...ha). The only discrepancies I found was the the kits instructions/image are geared towards the Livestock Pen #1 Kit and Preiser Z Scale Cows don't fit on the cattle-ramp to simulate loading and unloading of cattle; they are a tad to big with the pens roof-caps on. However, I did have some Model Power N Scale baby calves that fit perfectly. The only other issue there is deals with the low-height of the kit itself. What I mean by this is that, if you use MTL sectional track, the kit sits to low and the cattle-ramp doesn't line up properly with the height of a 40' stock car door (the track with roadbed is a bit too high). However, it matches up perfect with MTL Flex...without roadbed underneath it (see picture). So, when I do put IBL z cork under my flex, I will just cut out a thin piece of foam to put underneath the pen kit base to compensate for this height discrepancy I suppose. Seen in the pictures, I painted the base of the kit using one of my Floquil markers - Rail Tie Brown, and the yellow turf I sprinkled on is Woodland Scenics Fine Yellow Turf Grass...which worked-out really well to simulate hay. You can't really see in the picture, but I did weather the cattle-ramp using one of my Tamiya Weathering Master Kits - Sand, Light Sand, and Mud, and used a small needle to make scratches on it to simulate cattle hoof markings. Also, I spotted areas of hay with mud to give the effect of "dirty-used" areas. At the end of the day though, the kit is great and nicely detailed. And, looks even better after weathering it up a bit. I ordered a few more because I really enjoyed working on it and I want to try and make a large horse breaking-corral/training area using Preiser horses and 2 of these kits put together. I really like the new MTL Z Logging Boiler Shop Kit - 799 90 943, and think it would work great as the training office and horse-shoe/saddle making shop? Okay, well...thank's for reading and I hope I did my first z scale laser kit some justice!
Arnie, nice job on building the kit. Dont worry about the height mismatch. Just elevate or lower the foundation of the pen to match the dispatch car. Theres always a little adjustment in building a layout.
Kit looks good. That is the nice thing about these lazer kits is you can bash them into anything you want. Just like the real thing buildings go through many different uses throughout their lifetime.
Nice work. The suggestion to use Crayola Markers is a keeper. Mark your calendar for back to school sales in July, when the "big box" stores beat each other to a pulp on certain items... including Elmer's Glue (as low as 25 cents a bottle one year) and Crayola markers (usually one dollar per box). And I do mean July... prices go up as school gets closer.
Nice job on the stock pen Arnie! I designed it to sit on 1 layer of N Scale cork roadbed. That puts it at the correct height for either the MTL roadbed track, or the MTL flex track laid on top of half a strip of N Scale cork roadbed. Here is one I made for Jeff's module with 2 dual pen, and 1 single pen kits on 1 base: I can't remember which company made these cows, but they were the ones I used to size the ramps, and as you can see, they fit under the ramp beams ok: I made my Dukey Piles out of dabs of Grumbacher watercolor paints left to dry full strength. Yellow Ochra, Raw Umber, and Burnt Sienna were the colors I used. I made the hay bales out of scrap chunks of balsa painted yellow and dipped into WS Yellow Grass ground foam. Look at the guy who slipped in the Dukey, and fell down in it!
Sorry to stray. John, the old bath tubs, washing machines, and stoves. and other stuff you are making for your Long Island Layout, will be great to mix with other stuff, to make a cool post tornado scene. Those from mid and southwest know what I am talking about. Great way to display the fire engines and police cars. Robert, any smashed houses laying around?
That would be a great stray scene! We just sent the masters to the caster. Should be ready to sell within 30 days. John
