Underframe

Quite the challenge get the brake rigging off the sprue's without damaging. Challenge finding the holes even with a magnafier.

Chris, a couple of tricks I

Chris, a couple of tricks I have found for building these kits. Drill all the holes first. Clean the shavings out of the hole. Get some of those tweezers nippers for the fine parts and take your time. Have new number 11 blade in your knife, no more than 3 kits per blade. One of the third hand devices to hold the body upside down while working on it. I loosen the tool up so it will hold the body with either side in the up position or the ends. I place a thin piece of card stock between the teeth of the third hand tool and the outside surface of the car body so it does not get marred. When installing parts I have the body positioned so that gravity will guide the small parts like grabs into the holes and keep them there till the glue sets. I also have lots of light and powerful magnification. It also is helpful to brace your forearms against the edge of the work surface and let that point act as a pivot for positioning the many small parts. It is also to have your work surface higher than a table top as the closer it is to chest height the easier it is to do very fine work with out strain.

Those are things I do when building kits like these, I do love the Blueprint cars. I also drill out the coupler mounting lids and install them with screws 2/56 flat heads or pan heads.

It looks like you are off to a great start with your kit and when you have it finished you will find lots of folks admiring your work, and maybe some envy from your fellow modelers.

Make sure you get

the correct amount of weight in the car before you glue the roof on.  Tonight I am attempting to "over weight" one of these cars and I'm real thankful that I happened to leave one door in the open position. On my shelf I can turn the car around after an op session and return it empty to staging.

Sprue nippers

One thing I added to my arsenal of tools a long time ago was a set of high quality Sprue Nippers. I know Micro Mark sells a version but I have also seen then at very well stocked hobbyshops.

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/product_info.php?cPath=21_28&products_id=3749

Also on your next kit it might be an opportunity to change the plastic piping into wire, which is more durable and usaully hangs in a more realistic fashion. There is a good video on TMTV about adding under body detail that is worth the price of the subscription.

Also I agree with rob and I am slowly converting all my coupler boxes over to the screw on kind.

Keep us posted on your progress!!

Sprue Nippers

I have the Micromark tweezer snippers, but they are too thick to get into the sprue with the brake rigging.  Ended up using the #11 blade method and a smaller set of snippers.

Thanks for the tips guys, you read my mind for the reason for starting the blog!

You need to invest in one of these

 2175ET professional sprue cutter.

Had no idea....

...that there are "Professional" sprue cutters!

I use...

The B&B Hobby Supply Sprue cutters from Intermountain. They have 2 sizes BBT1015 and BBT1025, with the latter being fine. I have both and use the former for "heavy" sprues and the latter for things like the brake rigging. I have never not been able to get them in to a sprue as the tips are tiny. They are stainless steel and super sharp. Well worth the $14.95 each for them.

One thing to watch for is

One thing to watch for is what happens when you cut the sprue. In some cases cutting it to gain access to a small or delicate part will cause long thin parts like brake lines to become multiple pieces. They can be glued back end to end but it is a bother. A chisel blade in some instances is sometimes useful as well.

Brake piping on some of those models is very challenging to remove intact. Sharp blades and taking your time does a good job. I have also found that drawing the blade along the area to be cut works better than trying to push it through, it puts less stress on brittle parts that way.

Huh

With all this talk of sprue cutters maybe I could note that I've built quite a few Branchline "Blueprint" cars, and have used nothing but a Stanley utility knife for removing parts from the sprues.

I like this kind that doesn't require a screwdriver to open it for blade replacement.

Seems to work...

"With all this talk of sprue

     Finger nail clippers work well too. I usually just use my handy exacto knife and slice the parts off, it's all about the direction and the support. ....DaveB 

Size of the sprue

The size of the sprue for the brake rigging parts on these Branchline kits is huge!  Had always used the sprue snippers in the past but they just wouldn't fit.  Did end up using the #11 X-Acto.

Thanks guys, loving the discussion!

Sprue - Spruce

Sprue or spruce...What's the difference?

Sometimes, just like pruning plants or trimming trees, it's best to make a rough cut -away from the finished area - and then make the finish cut, without any undue stress, strain or leverage on the subject.