Getting Started

After working on some of the Z scale kits, I went back to the suitcase.

To help compensate for the curvature of the suitcase, to support the foam to be the lowest layer of the layout, I glued a 12x6-inch scrap of 1/4-inch foam in the low spot with Woodland Scenics' Scenic Glue. I then glued a 12x18-inch piece of 1/4-inch foam on top of this.

Since I will need power for two tracks plus some Christmas trees that I picked up at WalMart, I installed three phone jacks.  I drilled the 3/32-inch lead hole with no problem, but when the 15/64-inch bit for phone jack bit went through the suitcase wall it grabbed the fabric liner and jerked it loose along the front and right side of the suitcase.  So I cut around the foam support in the center and just removed the fabric.  The fabric probably would have served no useful purpose, but a little more caution is called for to avoid this "problem" in the future.

The suitcase wall was a single thickness, so no Forstner bit was needed to enlarge the inside of the suitcase as with the briefcase layouts.  Each phone jack was inserted though one of three holes and held it place by its round nut.

Next I began to work on the foam for the landscape.