Large Scale Central

Miks 2018 -- Pu'uomao Yard Office and (Maybe) Observation Tower

The MIK - Annual Build Challenge
#41

Aloha!

As Mik’s 2018 falls astern - and before Mik’s 2019 breaks above the horizon - our building efforts did, in fact, continue this weekend.

Saturday found the lanai awash in projects, which beat being awash in water like the last weekend. Younger Daughter took ruler and hot knife to hand to cut windows and doors in her “Fairy House.” Although it slowed progress on the primary project, our delayed yard office, it got her away from the TV and out using her creativity, so it is a win. I shall celebrate with a gratuitous “Proud Dad shot:”

I am not sure if this is destined for the railroad or not, to be honest, but she designed it around PLAYMOBIL, so I guess it will fit.

Meanwhile, Oldest Daughter took the measurements for us to drill holes in the columns supporting the observation tower. I opted for safety over photography, and kept my hands on the drill as she made holes for the wooden shishkabob skewers that will serve as the frame for the thatch roof and as safety rails for the Triple O employees. The goal this weekend is to lash skewers lengthwise across the frame so she can weave palm fronds across it. Our PLAYMOBIL man serves as a reference guide below:

Kid-zilla was heard rumbling in his lair, so I dispatched my helpers to deal with him while I stowed the power tools.

Sunday, I trimmed up the light switch covers to get them to fit side by side (They didn’t once the switches were installed…More learning happened…). I am glad I Dremel-ed the plastic outside, is it kicked up some serious fumes! I mounted the covers and switches with silicon, and it seems to be OK.

This leaves us with ladders and, of course, the “rocks” between the lower timbers. The plan is to use expanding foam, make it flush to the beams with a hot knife, and let it weather in place. We used it to edge our guppy pit, and it looks pretty rock-ish after a year in the tropical sun. If (when?) that fails, we will break up the foam and glue the chunks in place. Finally, we will glue on the door and the windows. The girls are still looking for fabric for the curtains.

And where was Kid-zilla? CINCHOUSE had my building partners engaged in preparing a ritual sacrifice!

Kid-zilla was pleased by the offering of a train he was supposed to destroy!

Updates to follow as we inch towards completion. It will be done in time for the next challenge!

Eric

#42

And sometimes you are glad that life gets in the way of trains. Great report of progress Eric. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#43

Good to see the progress!

I got mine done this year but I often don"t!

Keep us updated on the good progress that all of you are making!!

#44

Aloha again!

As promised, I do plan to complete this project before next year’s challenge. This weekend, lack of anything I could use for a ladder put that project on hold until the next craft store run. Luckily, stuff and hands were around to make progress in other areas.

After mucking out our guppy pond, we reapplied our expanding foam around an edge that serves as entry point for cattle dog and kids. It made it a year…The remainder got shot into the place that will represent the stone foundation. Hallelujah. It stuck:

It also stuck to my leg hairs, but that is a separate issue. This will get the hot knife treatment this week. The trimmings will go into various parts of the railroad that need some support. We have found the foam weather nicely in the sun and is indistinguishable at a distance from stone. Waste not, want not.

Oldest Daughter and I then turned-to on the observation platform. By happy coincidence, we could put skewers under light compression, which held them in place as we used twine to lash it all in place:

This quickly became an all hands effort. The girls did the lashings, Oldest Son prepared the twin, and Kid-zilla poked things with shishkabob skewers. I retreated to do some landscaping around the pond and some other roadbed m

Youngest Daughter appeared pleased with the work, and PLAYMOBIL dude is ready for the palm frond thatching. He will have to wait until I Dremel away the excess skewer material.

Youngest Daughter and I put a dollop of TiteBond III on each lash to hold things fast. Both girls are eager to start thatching.

We have visitors starting next week (Visitors to Hawai’i? Say it ain’t so!), so it may be a while until I post updates…or until we make our next burst of progress…We are on track to clear the picnic table in time for Mik’s 2019!

Have a wonderful week!

Eric

#45

Eric good luck with the visitors and the tower is looking great, very Hawaiian looking love the color, Bill

#46

I really like the way you get your kids involved with your projects!

#47

You are doing the hobby the largest service you could do. Getting kids involved. I wish I had been into it at an age when my kids were young. Now they have more important things to do than play trains with dad.

#48

Perhaps you should refrain from using the “hot knife” on your legs and using the trimmings for support on various parts of the RR.

Love the twine lashed skewers!

Nice progress!!!

This post has been edited by ROOSTER: as I only read it once not twice as recommended

#49

Rooster,

Your admonishment to “refrain from using the “hot knife” on your legs and using the trimmings for support on various parts of the RR” is sound advice!

Eric

#50

Eric, the tower is coming along nicely. It is a true joy to see your kids happily involved in the project. Thanks for sharing.

#51

I am happy to report we have survived all visitors. The crew was happy to show off their ribbon to “Oma” and “Opa,” so they are motivated to get this done.

We mounted our windows made of plastic from the bottom of a reusable shopping bag. Kid-zilla tried to apply them using his preferred tool…

In all seriousness, getting wood to adhere to this stuff defied all efforts: E6000; construction cement; silicon. I ended up using silicon to stick the plastic to the wall, which stopped the plastic from flexing. This seemed to work. For now. Were I to do it over, I would glue the plastic to the inside of the building, as a bit of plastic extends beyond my crude frames. Live and learn…

This weekend, Oldest Daughter and I used a pause between services and other activities to roof the office. We had some 1:1 roofing material we trimmed to fit and glued to the top. We will need to trim off some excess, then we can mount our craft store “lumber” for stringers and more craft sticks for rungs. I have a solar light on stand by, an we’ll also cut a small hole to allow the light to hit the panel, then silicon glue the light to the underside.

There has been a downside to this project. My carefully cultivated image of being useless with any tools has been - in the mind of CINCHOUSE - sufficiently shattered to apply nominal skills to household repairs, to include refinishing Oldest Daughter’s recently acquired second hand desk. On the upside, though, Oldest Daughter has said, “Wonder what they will want us to do for the 2019 Challenge?” To this end CINCHOUSE authorized the purchase of a cheap hobby-size table saw. This guarantees next year’s challenge will require metal work…

Barring more fun with toddlers and tack hammers, this should be the last update until the yard office is done and wired in place. I am looking forward to sitting at my grill station, hitting a switch to isolate the full beverage train, and then hitting the other switch to release a train carrying the empties.

Happy Easter to those who celebrate and have a great week!

Eric

#52

All,

This is a long overdue post to close this thread. Our tower went out in the yard early this spring, but we failed to wire it in until quite recently. I had also wanted to show it in all of its glory when we go all in “Wild West” theme and populate the Triple O with about 200 PLAYMOBIL figures, themselves mostly refugees from the 1970-s through 1980-s (The kids are hooked; this gives me an excuse to buy more “for the family,” of course.). Anyway, please behold the Pu’uomao Yard Office and Observation Tower in all of its…ahem…glory!

Oh, and lest you wonder, Kid-zilla was engaged elsewhere depriving newly repowered “North Star” of her forward uncoupling lever…

I guess I have a new skill to learn.

I should mention that the building did hold two light switches, which allow us to power on and off our engine service track on our inner loop and a passing siding on the outer loop. This let us run five trains, which was a blast! More practically, in the future, it will allow the Grillmeister to park the Festzug, enjoy the contents there aboard, return the empty content containers, flip a switch, and send the Festzug on its way, all without interfering with other operations, such as they are.

We had a real gas with this competition, so much, in fact, that after much hemming and hawing, I just bought a little table saw to allow us to cut our own timbers going forward. The last of the dry season will go to landscaping, though, to put salvaged cinder blocks and lava rocks to good use. Besides, I wouldn’t want to actually practice before the 2019 challenge!

Thanks again to all the encouragement and inspiration we got along the way!

Aloha,

Eric

#53

Eric, congrats on finishing your challenge! I really like your layout but I love reading your posts! It is so cool that you have the family involved!

Steve

#54

Well done Eric and family. Looks great in place(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

#55

you finished your project in less than a year? - Oh…

#56

Nice and I echo the attaboy about getting your kids involved.

#57

Excellent !

#58

My pleasure. The railroad is my primary weapon in my War Against Tablets/Phones/Computer Games. We are holding the line, I think, though it takes some balancing to progress fast enough to keep it interesting, not so fast to outpace the younger ones, not so often they get turned off by the project, and not to the point I lose the ability to escape for a few minutes each day.

The goal is to come home one day and see someone crafting something - ANYTHING - for the railroad. I will take that as proof positive they have learned the joy of creating something tangible for the simple sake of doing.

#59

nicely done, love the thatched roof it is in the real spirit of Hawaii, Bill

#60

nicely done, love the thatched roof it is in the real spirit of Hawaii, Bill