Small Power Tools

If you are going to construct an indoor layout, you will absolutely need a power drill and power screwdriver. This Makita battery powered drill will do both. I built the entire GIRR Mountain Division with two of these, one set up as a drill and one set up as a screwdriver. These tools are powerful and rugged and have amazing battery endurance. I even drilled the 1/2" by 7" deep holes for the masonry anchors with these drills.

A screwdriver bit kit is handy as well as several spare #2 Phillips bits for drywall screws.

For all around modeling work, a Dremel Motor Tool is indispensable. It can be used to drill, cut, grind, gouge, route and polish. Get a collection of cutting and grinding tools, you'll soon discover which tools works best in any application. A flexible extension shaft is also handy to allow the bit to be positioned in some places where the motor body gets in the way.

A Sabre or Jig saw like this one can be used for most heavy cutting during layout construction. It does fine on material up to 2" thick and will allow intricate shapes to be cut from sheet material such as plywood and Homosote.

I bought this Makita battery powered reciprocating saw to do one specific job because buying the tool was actually cheaper than renting a SawsAll for a weekend. With an extended length blade, I actually did cut grooves into a 4 x 10 header beam, two layers of drywall and the metal corner strips. When I was done, I though that the tool was probably not going to be used much anymore. Boy, was I wrong. I use this thing for cutting almost everything. I have used it to cut wood of all shapes, steel reinforcing bar, iron, copper and plastic pipe, tree limbs and roots and firewood. I even cut some tile with it. You can stick it in a hole in the ground and cut out broken sprinkler pipe. Anywhere you might use a keyhole saw, this thing works better and faster. Further, it uses the same batteries as the Makita drills.