How often do we find ourselves working on a model with miniature (nay! minute) parts, such as tiny screws, nuts, springs, etc.? And how often does that small screw you just loosened up or are trying to start into a thread suddenly fall out of the engine or car onto the workbench, and then bounce somewhere such that you will never see it again (or at least until after you give up looking for it and drive to the hobby shop and buy a pack of screws even though you only needed one)?  One way to reduce the probability of this happening is to work over a piece of packaging foam rubber (see figure). Many products, especially those that are fragile, come packaged with foam rubber packing. I’m talking about the packing that has hills and valleys in it, spaced about an inch or so apart (see figure 1).  Working over a  piece of foam like this has two advantages: one is that if you are working on a fragile or delicate model, the foam provides a soft cushion to set the model on, and 2.) when you do drop that small part, there is a high likelihood it will fall into one of the depressions in the foam and stay there.

Despite your valiant attempts to hang on to that small screw, they sometimes drop and hit the floor. Have you ever knocked that box of wood screws you were using to build benchwork on the floor? Or, if you are like me, knocked over that container of small track spikes and sent them all over the floor?  A small magnet on a telescoping handle (see figure) is a real timesaver when trying to pick up these small parts.  I found mine at a tool sale at an auto show. However, they are sold in most auto supply stores, and I imagine some hobby shops would carry them too. They can also reach under those hard-to-get-at places that Murphy’s law says is where all dropped parts will end up.

Gluing plastic model kits together usually involves using a liquid plastic solvent glue, such as Plastruct or Testors. This requires brushing the glue on with the applicator brush that  is attached to the jar lid. For some applications, this method of application works fine. However, when you want to either cover a large area quickly or run a bead of glue down a seam or wall joint, I found that a syringe bottle sold in hobby stores works wonderfully. Running a thin bead of glue down a seam, where two walls join, a wall and a base, etc., puts the glue exactly where you want it. Capillary action draws the glue into the joint and results in a tight bond without excess glue. At the left is a picture of a typical syringe bottle.

During an operating session,  many of the “crew” will have a beverage with them. The last thing you want is for them to put it on the layout while they are busy switching a yard, or flipping turnouts to route their through freight. One bump and you may kiss goodbye to some scenery, a structure, or even short out the railroad. This holds true for me too, when I am working on the layout. While there are many commercial drink holders, those that are mounted to and stick out from the front of the layout can be a problem. People will walk into them or snag them when trying to pass a fellow operator in an aisle.  To eliminate this problem, there are drink holders made for boaters that fold up out of the way when not in use. I purchased mine at a local West Marine dealer. They cost about $10 each, so they aren’t all that cheap. However, I find them well worth the investment. When an operator finishes up his chores in one area of the layout, and moves with his train to another area, he simply grabs his can or bottle and flips the drink holder closed . When it is closed it sticks out no more that about 1/2” from the front of the layout  and poses no hazard to traffic in the aisles.