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People have complained about building these more complicated kits, stating the parts are too small and fragile and they take more time to build then they are willing to invest. I want to help you with the small fragile parts, but can't do anything about how much time you have. Personally, I enjoy the time at my work bench, putting these kits together and am attempting to promote building these kits to those whom have an interest. I have built a few wooden cars and want you to know these are also fun and when you get done you have a real master piece! AMB in particular has some wonderful cabooses to build with detailed plans and well thought out construction. These caboose kits are railroad specific and are the most inexpensive method of getting RR specific caboose you will find. Removing parts from sprues: 1). You need a hobby knife with a SHARP #11, or small SHARP chisel bladed knife. Did you notice I capitalized SHARP? Notice also, I am not espousing the use of sprue cutters. Unless the cutting angle on the jaws is very shallow, when used, these cutters place to much stress on the tiny parts being cut free. Generally the sprue holds the part in several locations. The idea is to back the part up, and place as little stress on the part as possible, when cutting. 2) You need a part cutting anvil. This anvil is a piece of wood which backs up the part being freed from the sprue. Popsicle sticks work great for me. My anvil was made like this; Cross two popsicle sticks, both across their centers. flip the top stick up on it's edge, mark and cut a lap joint out of the upper stick, where it crosses the lower stick. The lap joint allows the sticks to cross with both setting flat on the work bench's surface. Both the edge of the top stick and the flat surface of the lower stick are used as cutting surfaces. Glue the lap joint together and use some small scraps of wood to reinforce the joint. The upper stick's edge is easier to get between the sprue and the part, allowing firm back-up when the knife is used to cut the part. 3). The motion used to free the parts with the knife is a slicing or sawing motion. Get as close to the part as is possible. Cleaning flash off of these tiny parts is a difficult proposition, so get close. I free only the part I am going to use and leave the rest in the sprue for protection. Gluing parts to the various sub assemblies: 1). Chase each hole used to index and secure each part with a small drill, a few thousandths of an inch larger than the index pins on the part. I have found most part's index pins to be approximately .020 in diameter. So I chase the holes with a .025 diameter drill mounted in a pin vice. 2). Use tweezers to handle the parts. Have several different types of tweezers or hemostats on hand. The manufacturers generally provide extra grab irons as these are the most likely parts to break. Bigger parts which break might be repaired by re-gluing while the part is still in the sprue. 3). Generally, once the holes have been chased, the parts sorta fall into place. Use liquid cement to secure. I use Testers, I have a modified a Testers bottle by removing all but 5-10 hairs of the bottle brush. This allows a very precise placement of a small amount of cement where it is needed. If you can place the cement from within the car body, do so. Otherwise I have found the liquid cement dries almost invisible. There you have all the working knowledge I have on building these types of cars. If interested, have at her. If you have good ideas on how to build these cars, let's hear them! I find building these cars both a challenge and fun to do!
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