Another tool that I recently acquired was the magnetic gluing jig from Micro-Mark.  This is a very simple tool in that it is just a metal plate with edges bent up at 90 degrees, and some magnets for holding pieces.  Using magnets this way allows infinite variation in how they are placed to hold pieces next to each other.

I used this jig in the construction of a recent plastic model.  Since I was using a solvent type glue, this jig allowed me to assemble the parts and hold them in place before applying the glue.

For helping in creating square corners this tool was excellent.

• Overall: 9.5
• Instructions: 10
• Value for price: 10
• Overall quality: 9

At the San Leandro Historic Railway Society’s winter show I won a Kato NW2 switcher from the raffle.  I am happy to say that this model turned out pretty well, and runs nicely on DC.  Unfortunately is was very difficult to install the decoder for DCC in this model, as no room is available inside of the model.  I was forced to mill out a portion of the weight under the hood to allow enough room for a N scale decoder from NCE. On the plus side the Kadee couplers I used to replace the horn-hook style couplers included with the model slid right into the existing pockets once I assembled them.

Two different options for the exhaust stacks were included, indicating the phase one and phase two (as built).  The detail parts were crisply molded and easily installed, with only minor enlarging of a couple of holes.  The directions were very clear and used diagrams of both the model and the parts sprues indicating the location for each part.  For the smaller parts duplicates were included in case of damage.  The directions stated that these parts could be just snapped into place, however I used Zap-A-Gap to make sure they would not fall out.  The lights use yellow LED’s, which I admit look a little strange – and I will be changing them out eventually.

Other than the difficulty in installing a DCC decoder into this model I would have given it top marks.

• Overall: 7
• Provided parts: 10
• Instructions: 10
• Value for price: 7
• Overall quality: 8

This kit is the first one from InterMountain Railway Company I have built.  Having only built simple Athearn kits before I was pleasantly surprised to open the box and find a model of so many parts, all of which were crisply molded.  The sprues contained no flash  The multi-page assembly instructions and the included exploded diagrams made for easy identification and installation location of parts.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being worst, I would rate this kit as follows:

• Overall: 9
• Provided parts: 10
• Instructions: 10
• Value for price: 9
• Overall quality: 8

This was a fun kit, would not recommend for a first build due to the fragile parts, but an excellent kit for all the details included.

I recently purchased a very useful tool at my local hobby shop.  The Chopper II, made by Northwest Short Line, is a device for cutting scale lumber.  By using a rigid blade on a pivot it allows you to make straight cuts on scale lumber up to 1/4″.  This version has a self healing mat on the cutting surface, which should add considerable life to the tool.

By using the stops that come with it making duplicate cuts is very easy, allowing for large numbers of identical pieces to be cut quickly.

• Overall: 10
• Provided parts: 10
• Instructions: 10
• Value for price: 9
• Overall quality: 10

I recently purchased this excellent kit, Fryxell Feed & Seed kit #181 from JL Innovative Design, and decided that it would be my first venture into laser-cut wood models.

The kit contained all of the parts needed for construction, cast detail parts, and enough extra material for the minor changes I made to the model.  The parts were all relatively clear and free of flash, though some cleaning was needed.  The plaster cast for the stone foundation at the rear of the building was a nice touch and was packaged in bubble wrap for protection.

Included in the box was a detailed instruction sheet, having instructions on one side and the drawn to scale building plan on the other.  A cut list was in place for each step of the building process.  There were a couple of minor annoyances from the instructions:  the first was a lack of detailed pictures or diagrams explaining some of the steps (causing much flipping of instructions from the description and the plan on the back) and also that in the dock area of the plan the vertical spacing of the supports was not very accurate.

I kept my changes to the model to a minimum amount, the major change was in adding a ramp to both ends of the dock and also cutting the roofing material into individual pieces instead of one large piece.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being worst, I would rate this kit as follows:

• Overall: 9
• Provided parts: 10
• Instructions: 7
• Value for price: 9
• Overall quality: 9

This kit was good for a first kit, please stay posted for details and techniques I used in completing the model.