RoLife's Kiki's Magic Emporium kit

A coworker of mine is also a professional magician (something which I wish I could be) and was aware that I am a model railroader. During one of our discussions he casually mentioned purchasing a kit for a magic shop and wondered if I had the contact information for any professional model builders who could assemble it for him. I asked to review the instructions and then I checked Amazon to confirm the kit was available there should I screw something up (it is). Feeling comfortable, I offered to build it for him. Below is the finished product.

I was unfamiliar with the company RoLife and I have never built any Dollhouse miniature kits before, but it looked like a fun project. Further, it was supposed to be easy with all of the parts pre-cut and/or painted. I even found Youtube videos showing how to assemble it.

While researching it I discovered that it is based on a famous Japanese anime movie Kiki's Delivery Service which I have seen with my wife, a huge anime fan. (As an aside, my favorite anime movie is Whispers of the Heart and I included a movie poster of it on my Japanese T-trak module as a reference to it).

A lot comes in the box, including a few tools like plastic tweezers, a paint pen, and a bottle of glue. 

Speaking of that glue, I tried using it and found it awkward. It is clear and gummy and leaves trails of residue behind it. However, it is very easy to clean up the excess. I think it is rubber cement, which is a good choice for a mixed medium kit containing painted and unpainted wood, wire, paper, and plastic parts. However, I quickly switched to superglue gel and Aleene's tacky glue for most of the assembly to speed up the process.  

The painted wood parts are in various bags, but unpainted ones are still left on the sprue. The logic behind the bag sorting escapes me. The instructions take a bit of reading to understand how things are organized. English is clearly not the first language of the writer and left me confused in places. I had to keep pulling out every bag and reviewing every piece to find the ones I needed. (Later on I discovered a nice color full-size schematic diagram identifying every piece of wood on every sprue, but by then the hard parts were over).

A note about the instructions. Some of the paper signs and such were nowhere to be found. So, I dug out the oversize instructions and looked to see which page there were on. And ironically, some were on the same page as the instructions itself! The instructions showed a life-size image of the paper part, and right next to it in a separate area with dotted lines was the same part ready to be cut out. Why the duplication? I dunno.

The kit involved skills that I normally don't use for model railroading, including paper folding and wire bending. The kit included a wooden "form" that was to be used to help bend some cabinet drawer handles from soft wire. I instead used a pair of pliers. The ends were later flattened and trimmed. My finished handles matched the instruction's dimensions but I think they look oversize, though that might be appropriate for the look of the original anime movie.

The kit also called for painting some silver trim on one of the cabinets with an included pen. I thought this wouldn't work at all but was too lazy to dig out my own silver paint so I gave their pen a try. It turned out working great and I will need to remember these metallic paint pens for the future.

After about 90 minutes I only had these four pieces of furniture to show for my efforts. But, I was still learning the process. The laser cut wood is pretty nice though some edges are still the raw burned wood. In such a busy magic store like this it probably won't matter, but were it for my layout I would definitely touch up the edges with more paint. Ironically, they even included a small piece of sandpaper to wear (age) the wooden shelf on the left.

It took me almost as much time to pull out of the various bags all the necessary parts and organize them as it did to clean up any flash and glue them together. Lots of little bits of paper were trimmed, rolled, and glued in place. Assembling some of the drawers from five pieces of wood (front, back, sides, and bottom) and gluing on the bead handle took a bit of effort. 

The chair, on the other hand, was a nuisance. The legs, leg braces, and back braces are all cut from toothpicks. Everything was glued up, and trying to keep all the legs at the correct angles so they touched the floor and didn't lean over annoying. I relied on superglue here to keep my sanity. I can't imagine trying to build it with rubber cement as the instructions called for.

Then, I got to move on to the fun parts like filling up the glass jars with various paper scrolls, beads, flowers, and the like. This part of crafting is enjoyable. Thank goodness everything is provided, as having to source all of this would be a nightmare.

The candles in particular are made from paper tubes, the same type that that are used as lollypop handles. You are supposed to unwind the edge until there is just a thin strand left in the center and then paint that black to look like a candle wick. I didn't understand the instructions so instead I just glued on a thin piece of solder which I later painted black. Either way took a bit of effort, but I think they came out alright.

The hanging branch "things" started off as plastic Christmas tree (?) material that I had to cut up, bind with thin wire (that had black insulation which first had to be stripped), and then superglue for extra strength.

At this point, all of the interior details were just waiting to get put onto the shelves.

But first, I had to cut up some twine and red thread and make a broomstick. That wasn't much fun, and I set it aside for later. It was the last thing I ended up doing on the kit.

A lantern, composed of six pieces plus the wire handle that I had to bend myself, were glued together. You can see the instructions on the left that I referenced.

For extra security, I superglued the handle to the bottom and then filled in the rest with white glue to really hold it.

At least a half-hour was spent folding and gluing up the boxes and lids. Then labels were attached. Thankfully the bend lines were pre-scored.

Here is where I was after six hours:

Now that all the fun internal decorations were finished, it was time to start on the actual structure itself. The core of the building consists of white painted wood pieces and non-painted masonite. Most of the smaller pieces on the left were for the battery box holder.

The entry steps were pieces of wood wrapped in stone paper. Then, everything was glued together. I did it in stages to allow proper glue time while keeping everything in the alignment that best allowed gravity to assist me. The "wood floor" is more paper, and for that I used the rubber cement they provided.

The roof involved gluing on braces (which were warped from the kit) so I used weights to hold them flat. I also added cut metal hooks which will later support the signs and stuff.

The LED light didn't come prewired so I soldered it up (the instructions just suggest making contact joints under heat shrink tubing). The lamp is more pieces to put together.

Then, the light was glued to the roof using clamps and glue.

The overhead window material was glued onto the underside of the roof and then I could call that finished. Almost...

Extra weights were required to hold it all flat while the glue dried.

The instructions call for routing the wiring sideways out the top of the building, rearward under the eave of the roof, then back inside and down through the back corner. To hide the wires inside the building they include a piece of white shrink tubing (a neat idea), but routing them outside in the first place is stupid. If I had a lot more time I would have reengineered this step, but as it is I just built it as called for. You can see the wires glued to the outer underside of the roof edge. 

I had to get creative with the clamps and weights to get everything square and neat. Underneath that pile shown in the picture is a piece of vertical heatshrink tubing in the corner joint.

This part of the build really slowed down, as I would apply glue to the windows or wires or whatnot and have to let it dry a couple of hours before coming back and gluing something else. 

Here is how it turned out:

And from the other side...

All told, it took me 10.5 hours to build spread out over eleven work sessions. I enjoyed most of the process. I think I may build something of my own (or perhaps a gift for my wife) as it really is a neat project. For those who enjoy crafting, it would be a lot of fun. As it was, I found it similar to scratchbuilding something with lots of castings. Little bits, insignificant on their own, come together to form something much greater than the sum of its parts. And in the end, you have a lovely structure.

My friend said he was pleased with it, and that made it all worth while.

Happy Fourth of July!

As our nation celebrates another Fourth of July, I thought I would maintain the tradition of posting an image from my collection of a bicentennial engine. 

Bangor & Aroostook GP7 #1776 (built as #573) is seen here on September 01, 1975. For those like myself who love Revolutionary War history, here is a fun nugget. The engine was named the "Jeremiah O'Brien," a Patriot born in Kittery, Maine in 1744 who later became a captain in the Massachusetts State Navy. He was in command of the sloop "Unity" when he captured the British armed schooner HMS "Margaretta" in the Battle of Machias, the first naval engagement of the Revolutionary War. 

If you want to see more interesting bicentennial engines, here are some I have previously featured on my blog: B&M GP38-2 #200 and D&H RS3m #1976 here; A&A ten-wheeler #14 here; Adirondack Scenic Railroad's 44-tonner (here); Conrail GG1 #4800 here; and Genesee & Wyoming's RS1 #30 and Alco S4 #36 here.

The Layout Comes Down

Last Monday I was doing some mental planning for the expansion of my O scale layout and couldn't get a good sense of how it would all come together in my basement because my HO layout was still in place. I don't plan to actually build the new benchwork until September but I decided to get a head start and try to remove the scratchbuilt structures and salvageable details from my "Menands" section, with the hopes that I could reuse them in the future. But, I had glued them down too well and the buildings just wanted to crack and split instead of come up nicely. 

Now, had I really cared I could have soaked everything in rubbing alcohol and tried to loosen the glue that way but I wanted some closure. In a moment's notice I just started taking everything apart.

It wasn't without some tears, and blood was definitely shed (stupid drywall screws with their pointy ends) but in about an hour all the benchwork for the Menands and Cut Corner sections were cut with a jigsaw into small parts and hauled out of the basement. From the underside of the layout I saved some long lengths of wire, the hex frog juicers, and the Tortoise switch machine. 

With only the North Albany section remaining, I spun it around and remounted the backdrop to the opposite side of where it had originally been. Now I could look at it from the "front side" which is how it really should have been viewed all along. Finally, I slide it all into the corner.

The process was very cathartic but also sad. But, I saved my favorite section of the layout and will keep it for awhile. It isn't currently wired up to a transformer but that's okay. Sometimes, I just like to stare at it. Aside from a delicate crane that will require a little repair, everything else survived. And someday it might be converted into a Freemo module.

Now I can walk around the open space in the basement and see where my O scale layout could go. That is exciting. 

Visiting the Conway Scenic Railroad

When I was elected President of the NMRA Hudson Berkshire Division in late 2022 I was given a bucket of old files. One of them was the original certificate of incorporation for our Division which was granted and dated June 06, 1970 in North Conway, NH. (More information about that event can be found on page 5 here). That got me thinking that it might be fun to visit there for our 55th Anniversary. So I put it on my idea list.

Several years later, I switched my modeling focus to something more generic in New England and I started watching a lot of videos on the Boston & Maine Historical Society's Youtube site. While doing that, I came to the realization that the Conway Scenic Railroad was a great place to experience B&M, and New England, railroading.

Also, my birthday usually falls on or around Memorial Day weekend and I like to celebrate by doing something railroad related. By riding the CSR, I could achieve all three goals at once. What I didn't realize was that I was going to have as much fun trainspotting on the way up and the way back as I did while actually there. 

We used my GPS (remember those?) to get there. Oddly, at one point I got off at an exit to put gas in my car and my GPS never had me get back on the expressway to continue the route. Instead, it took us through the back woods including through the New Hampshire National Forest. Though the skies were overcast the views were breathtaking. 

We stopped several times to pull over and take shots. In a matter of moments the colors seemed to change. We even passed snow at the very top peaks.

What I found neat was that we passed through many of the small towns I had learned about on the B&M's Youtube page. So, when we randomly passed steam engines, scenic tourist trains, or other landmarks I got to say to myself "Hey, I remember watching something about that!" None of it was planned, though I probably should have. I just haven't explored New Hampshire very much.

There were also some "tourist" moments where I said to Sarah that I needed to pull over and take a picture. These cars were at an antique auto museum we passed, and they were just sitting in the parking lot. They remind me of vehicles you would see in the Mr. Bean show.

We arrived at Conway and checked into our hotel, and then explored North Conway and the station. Though still overcast, I was able to take a lot of pictures without other people around. I was surprised how much of the town was built up around it. I assumed it would be in the middle of nowhere but there were dozens of restaurants, quaint shops, and the associated tourist industries. 

The next day we arrived early for our train, the "Valley Train Excursion", which is the shorter 1 hour trip to Conway and back. Having never ridden in a dome car before, I splurged for tickets in the best seat of the house. Many of the dome windows leaked water on the unsuspecting passengers below as the train rocked back and forth, but thankfully our window was sealed properly. Harrison loved the view.

I was extremely disappointed that our motive power was painted up for the NYC (in Conway Scenic lettering though). Being from New York, I have had my fill of NYC stuff. The CSRR have many engines in Maine Central yellow, Vermont Railway red, B&M maroon and gold and "Bluebird", and such, so do travel this far to sit behind a "local" (to me) engine was a bummer.

There is a golf course right next to the station, and you can even tee off OVER the tracks (though hopefully not when the train is going by!). Here, the motive power was stopped and the train crew were letting golf carts pass.

Also next to the station is a Fire Department, and they left their door open so we went in. They were gracious and let us walk around and look at all the fire trucks, which Harrison enjoyed. He said he liked this old one the best.

The next day we went back to the station again to take pictures of the trains in the yard. I took dozens of pictures as this was the only chance I got during the weekend when it wasn't raining. The F-units grabbed my attention but sadly weren't running that day. 

My favorite paint scheme, and what I hoped would have been pulling our train. 

We left and our GPS took us north, which seemed strange as we lived southwest of North Conway. But we followed the GPS. After about two hours we got to some really beautiful scenery where the tracks followed the road. I mad an offhand remark that we might actually see the "Mountaineer" train which left North Conway for Crawford Notch. Then, we turned a corner and there was the train hugging a cliff up ahead! It was as if God and our GPS had conspired to lead us to more trains. My wife took some shots on her phone as I drove. 

A mile later we arrived in Crawford Notch ourselves, just as the train was arriving. I couldn't have planned it better if I tried.

We said goodbye to the train and kept heading north as the GPS guided, and suddenly came to the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. We hadn't planned to visit because it was an hour from our hotel, and as it was later on a Sunday afternoon we could only drive by. 

Actually, my wife tried to talk me into buying tickets for it and I had to play bad cop and say "no". That was no fun, even if it was the right decision because we had at least four more hours to go. A couple of miles later and we passed another train advertising the cog railway.

As we drove home I needed to put gas in the car and Sarah suggested getting off at White River Junction because there was a McDonalds there. After eating, we went to a park nearby to let Harrison run around. It was located right near a pair of bridges crossing the water, and I realized how close we actually were to WRJ. When we left the park I drove to a gas station and deliberately headed towards the train station. And what did we find...

Viola. A restored B&M steamer and caboose. Harrison and I had fun looking it over and taking pictures. 

It was sad to leave, as we didn't see any more trains on the way home. But, in total we did pretty good and it was a great early birthday Memorial day weekend. (We went railfanning on Monday the next day and saw another nine trains in three hours).