Divers Tasks.

I got quite a few odds and ends done today.

Something that was mildly irritating while trying to figure out the correct height for the fiddle yard deck was that the electrical cable from the controller to the layout kept flopping about and getting in the way, also the holes cut in the hardboard end panel of the APA box were sort of fraying, if that makes sense.

An easy way to sort the latter out was to apply "runny" superglue around the holes; this soaks in and cures, stopping it from all falling apart. I also cut and sanded the frayed bits for a neater appearance.

The cable was cut shorter and screwed to a disconnectable terminal block, which was then screwed to the end panel. While I was at it, I connected the other half of the terminal block to the controller, using the remainder of the cut cable, and checked to see if it (a) worked and (b) ran in the right direction. Ah well, one out of two isn't bad, just as well I hadn't put the screwdriver away.

Note the odd hole that I forgot to glue and tidy, perfection is overrated.

Another outstanding job was to add a basic interior to the Portakabin before gluing it in place. I stumbled across some free card interiors from Model Rail magazine; some tiles were added to the floors, doors to the interior walls, and a bookshelf and filing cabinet (see above) were folded up and added to the larger of the two rooms. That'll pretty much have to do, as the 'kabin is now glued in place on the layout.

A rather manky view below shows that you can only just see the interior in the gloom...better than nothing, though.

And now for the biggest job...as the cable was out of the way, I could finally measure the rail height above bench level at the end of the layout, then work out the heights needed for the end pieces under the fiddle yard deck.

I cut one of these for each end, then cut pieces of 90⁰ moulding to act as corner braces. I decided to fit the brace first, using aliphatic wood glue and tacked in place with a small amount of hot glue to avoid movement while the aliphatic sets, then added the end piece using the same technique. Finally, I used squares to (hopefully) ensure, well, squareness. All a bit Heath Robinson, but that's the way I roll.

Note the artfully* messy bench.

*yeah, right.