Models

[Jim]

Thanks, Foxtower. No need to hold the lever down while cranking. Crank it up tight with the lever standing upright, then load it, hold it down with your finger & let it fly. I thought about a pin release, but again decided it was more trouble than it was worth.

The base is light & the lever long, so keeping one hand on it helps steady it. Any kind of yank would certainly move it around & there is a fair amount of pressure needed to hold the lever. A squeeze trigger would add a lot of parts to break, too. Something I learned years ago making toys for the monsters was to keep it simple & durable.

All parts should preferably be attached or they will get lost. I was tempted to put a string through the movable stop so it couldn't wander off, but decided that they're old enough & it's big enough that they should be able to keep it together. If not, another is easy enough to make.

[Foxtower]

Great solution! The "monsters" should have a great time!

[Jim]

If you knew my kids when they were little, you wouldn't put quotes around "monsters". They truly were, each in their own way. Erin was crawling out the dog door into the ponies' paddock before she could walk & scaring us to death. James, aka Young Edison, was sending his siblings to the hospital when his experiments went awry, & Brandon was just a plain wild man.

Do you have any?

[Jim]

I made one more for the son of a friend here on GR. I didn't finish it, just cut out the pieces, so he'll have something more like a working kit model that he can finish up. Since he's finishing it, he'll likely value it more, but it's also a matter of time. It took me 2 hours to make it in its rough form. Finishing would likely have required about the same amount of time, but over about 4 or 5 days.
Sand & glue - let dry a day.
First coat of poly - let dry a day.
Sand, fit, 2d coat of poly - let dry a day.

Sometimes that goes on for 3 or 4 coats depending. If the fitting doesn't go well, that can mean resanding & additional spot coats. Some pieces fit fairly tightly together, but must come apart. Finish has thickness, so pieces often have to be tweaked.

Still, I'm not cruel. I screwed it together so it can be used until he gets around to finishing it. That should give him some play time before he gets down to business.
;-)

[Foxtower]

I think one thing we learn as we get older is patience. Weenie Dog has had two coats of expoxy paste and sanding to smooth out the welds, and now I'm letting the primer cure.

Dry time is much different than cure time...

[Jim]

You're right. I keep telling people that about multiple coats of poly. First one dries quickly, 2d takes longer & so on.