So Long, Giant Peanut.

Well, maybe not "so long." More like...see ya later.

Today was clean out the garage workspace day, and I decided to streamline my workflow by removing all projects that do not require my attention. The elephant in the room, so to speak, was the neglected 2x4 benchwork from Marmion Valley V1.0; lovingly christened by my wife, the "Giant Peanut."

The Giant Peanut, with remains of PC Board Ties and Code 55 Rail.

A pair of pliers and a hot soldering iron made short work of the (imperfect) handlaid trackwork.

I'm sure many of us have experienced the same stalled-out project syndrome in this hobby, and it's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. What we are dealing with is essentially an artistic process, and not all artistic ideas come to complete fruition when executed.

For each dusty project, we have a list of things we have learned; things that we have come away from wiser because of trying. In the case of the Giant Peanut, here's mine:

1. The brand of thin CA I used to cement the PC ties down was not strong enough; too brittle, and didn't withstand the heat from the soldering iron. I will stick to liquid nails in the future.

2. Pre-bend curves with a jig or rail bending tool; eyeballing and hand-bending resulted in too many rail kinks.

3. Use flux to ensure strong, even solder joints.

4. Don't use Masonite sub-roadbed until it has fully adapted to the ambient temperature and humidity. After laying rail, I got a multitude of kinks and warps after the Masonite shifted.

5. Slathering giant amounts of Sculptamold all over every inch of the landscape was fun, but not really necessary. Save Sculptamold for shaping countours between foam and roadbed, or for creating rock faces. Use lightweight spackle elsewhere.

6. Very few hills in nature look like a Giant Peanut.

I could go on; but really, this is what this project was about; taking learning steps and using the experience to create a better outcome in the future.

I'm not destroying the Giant Peanut, but it will be stored out of sight for the time being. I am considering using it for an N Scale roundy-round setup; my son is showing more interest in the hobby so this might prove to be a project he might enjoy.