so last xmas I bought a slot car kit for the kids. just got around to putting it together today.
the box said I needed at least a 10x7 area for the layout. At the store that sounded just fine as I did the figuring in my head. And naturally I had to buy the larger of the three sets available.
so now we have this monster layout in the living room with the furniture shoved over to the side and warning everyone to watch their step.
This spring I will see just how the original plan of setting it up in the garage will go, along with the countless boxes, bikes, and clutter that inhabits my garage.....
I could have measured first, I could have bought the smaller set, blah blah blah....
I guess its why I buy all the large scale Trumpeter kits too.
damn hobbies are gonna drive me nuts.....
anyone else have a story of buying something that is too big so I won't feel too bad?
Not personally, but a neighbor a couple years back bought a fully loaded Ford Excursion, then found it wouldn't fit in garage, or under the carport roof. Or through the gate into his backyard from the alley.
Closest 'too big' story would be my buying a Monogram B-36 kit. Just where I thought I'd find room for that if I got it built I can't say. I even passed on the 1/144th kit when I figured out the wingspan on that.
While returning the bathroom back to original style Victorian from '60s yech, I decided to build a towel cubbard for over the throne. The one that was there looked about '30s or '40s vintage. Of course this was the last part of the project. With only one bathroom, all the neccecities and painting were finished well before. Measured across the back wall (actually a second door to the bath that had been closed off to make indoor facilities and upper floor heat ducting possible), measured across the area above the throne. I have to do things like this at least 4-5 times, I'm never sure if I got it right or not :-)
Last list of measurements in hand, I draw up a set of prints in Autocad and head to the cellar to get things cut. Things looked pretty good; cherry stained hard wood framing, white bead board inserts for the other 5 panels with two doors to match with rose print ceramic pulls. Thing must have weighed 50-60 lbs. Ok, so there I am, carrying this thing into the bathroom, thinking I'll be able to hang it by myself (I'm the only one home). I have to swing it over the tub, because the new pedestal sink can't get gouged then just heft it up and (holding it up onehanded) run the hanging screws into mounting framework.
The throne sits in an alcove of sorts, you can touch both sides with your elbows. The stairs going up make up one wall of the 'alcove'. I lifted the thing up and ran into the wall. 'That's going to be hard to fix,' I thought. (I did the walls in a sand and white ragging). I moved it over a bit and hit the other side :-( I still have the whole thing in the air, try to line it up (yeah, right) and have another go at it. No good, I hit both sides.
No way, I thought. This was measured more than anything. I brought it back out to the living room, got my lists and tape and measure it again. Everything was spot on, my lists, the cabinet AND the distances where it was supposed to go. As I stood there scrutinizing the 'alcove', I saw the problem. During the past 106 yrs the settleing of the house had caused the middle section of the 'stair wall' to bulge out a bit. A quick measurement of this wall-to-wall distance gave me the answer... a 3/8" difference.
Measuring up the walls, to find a wide enough space, let me know I would have to lift the $%#&%$# thing above my head at arms length, rotated 90deg forward to clear the walls. It is taller than it is deep. It is in, of course, the paint repaired (hardly noticable) and we have another leason about 'this old house' to keep in mind the next time I want to do something like this. So far, two rooms in this barn have been re-vickied, sort of, and two others about 1/2 done. The wife wants the kitchen done this year.
PEASE SOMEBODY SHOOT ME :-) only kidding of course
"Chuck Ryan" wrote in news:GbQQf.547595$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:
I converted a coat closet to a pantry by installing shelves. Being the suspicious sort I measured the opening as well as the back wall. Uh-huh. Opening is a bit narrower than the back. I cut the shelves my self, but still I could see myself going in there trying to figure why the damn shelf wouldn't go though the opening flat or lay down all the way.
A few years ago I buil a cage for a buddy of mine's son's pet snake. I had enough scrap to do it. When I finally got it all rounded up & had time, I called him & had him measure the stairway going upstairs. Three feet, so I'll make it about 33 inches. I get it finished, being right proud of my ingenuity & handiwork & we get it to the top of the stairway. Well, while there isn't a door up there, there is a doorway/frame. For a 30" or 32" door! I ended up taking it back to my place, partially disassembling it & cutting it down to 24" in width.
Oh yeah, been there. Back in the '70s the ex- and I bought this huge old Victorian row home in town figuring we could fix it up. Nothing was square or level, anything needing replaced had to be almost custom built and it cost us nearly $2000 just to get the toilet to flush. Cripes, I hated that money pit! Don't even ask how much it cost to heat all winter........
Aw, com'on Bill :-) Don't you miss the horse hair lath and plaster? Major damages and dings in the walls that everyone before you, just taped over? Pulling 4, 5 or more layers of paper off to FIX the poorly done (non)repairs. Ceiling plaster flaking (or chunking) off because of unknown, neglected roof leaks being hidden by dropped ceiling panels?
Didn't you rebuild some of those single pane double shashes? I've got about
1/3 of the 22 rebuilt, glazed, insulated and rehung the weights. Almost all the windows are original 100 year old 'bubble glass' (I only broke 2). We now use about 1/2 the gas of our first winter but it costs just about the same though :-(. Replaced all the cast and galvanized plumbing with CPVC. The only 'real' problem I can see is when (if, actually) I get the rear corner of the house leveled (way) up, it'll cost half what we paid for this place, to get a *real* stone mason to make a new top row of limestone foundation stones. Wonder if he'd take some models in trade?
Not related to this hobby but as a hobby for itself, a friend of mine once restored an ancient petrol engined tractor working inside a small hayloft of his father's farm. It was a small auxiliary building, converted into a small farm tools garage, but made with solid brick walls. When finished the restoration he realised that the main door of the hayloft was some inches narrower than the tractor with wheels installed. He studied the trouble for a couple of days then he make the decision and gave full pedal... Then he HAD to change hobby.
Add to that some hanging bays that had been coated with genuine concrete instead of stucco and you have it about right. The weight of the concrete was dragging them down. Another year or two and they'd probably have fallen off.
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