Well I am trying to finish my model of the 3 dome tankcar GATX 19693 and 19694. The body of these cars was relatively easy, the handrails and footboards are another matter altogether. I've made 3 attempts at the platforms and it's about as frustrating as I've ever been. Gives me a new appreciation for the work that Russ and the others do on this board. Joe
Keep on working at it. It takes practice and a lot of patience to develop modeling skills. I learn something new it seem with every new project I tackle.
Roger that! It blows my mind to look at the close up shots of the fine n scale models the folks do here. I also get a new appreciation when I pick up one of my own n scale models and think "man, n scale is just too small". (but the master modlers here manage to do it)
It's not easy working at such a small scale. As I get older (I'm 57 now), I've found my hands getting unsteadier, and my eyesight getting worse. But there are ways around these aging issues. I find myself making impromptu jigs to compensate for unsteadiness, and using magnifiers to aid my vision. Part of the craft is learning your own ways to deal with problems in building, and when to use sharp tweezers or blunt bullnose pliers. I know I use many techniques, developed over the years, without a second thought, and thus don't write about them. Althought I will write out my latest stupid mistake in a few minutes.
My assortment of tools have become the extensions of my hands. Things like dental picks, small curved and straight hemostats, mini files, and rat tooth and straight tweezers or forceps. Chuck sizes on pin vises and the Dremel go from small to the ridiculously small to handle the finer than a sewing needle drill bits. Over the years you find even more uses for those tools than thier original purpose. A Micro Mark catologue is like being a kid in a candy shop to me. There are even small metal micro aplicators for glue. The small little sanding sticks that take the replacable belts of sand paper in various grits and a pack of single edge razor blades are my most used tools of scratch building. And acquiring a speed control for the dremel has saved melting a lot of plastic. After practising with IMs tank car kits you are ready to tackle putting handrail stanchions on a Kato Mike or add windshield wipers to that diesel.
