Time to get dirty

With the Airfix Stolly in green and the wheels painted up it is time to get dirty!

I start off with a dilute brown wash which sounds as though it will not really do much but take a look at the before and after on these wheels.

Applying the wash to the body of the Stolly makes you initially think that the model is ruined.

However, once gravity works taking the pigment down and the wash dries the effects are very subtle but realistic as to how vehicles get dirty in real life.

All this is the result of three applications of wash. Just let each one dry before applying the next and let gravity work!

During August the Rocks By Rail Museum opens every Sunday and on non-event days visitors can walk around the museum and just enjoy the delights of the exhibits. These days are usually fairly simple to run as the cafe is not open so there only needs to be two volunteers on site. Somehow I managed to be asked to be one of those two for today! So, I arrived, having also picked Geoff up and whilst John was happy enough to speak with visitors as they arrived, Geoff and myself took the opportunity for some site maintenance. Geoff got a lot of weeding done whilst I tool out Sammy Strimmer and butchered vast areas of overgrown vegetation!

It has been a long time since that was cut and all this rubbish came out of the cut area!

Before...

After....

All in all a great day with a fair number of visitors despite Google wrongly telling everyone we were closed! Must get that fixed!

On the Airfix Stolly things move on with decals applied. Not many but they add some colour.

Now in green!

The Airfix Stolly build has now reached the stage of being all green!

It really is beginning to take on some character. A good weathering should really enhance it. Just need to find the time to do it!

Pizza time!

Whilst I had the day at the Rocks By Rail Museum yesterday, I actually spent all my time cutting grass which the recent rains have encouraged to grow! That means I never got to see what was happening around the site which was a bit strange but I was on a tight schedule to get the grass cut, get back home, get cleaned up, pick Mrs. Woody up and head out to Easton Walled Gardens for an evening Pizza event! Now, I have to say that attending this was very much Mrs. W's idea. The prospect of pizza had nothing to do with me agreeing!

It was fantastic freshly made Italian pizza and it was delicious! 

Having stuffed my face it was of course a good idea to have a bit of a walk round the gardens which took on a different look in the evening rather than daytime light.

Although it is supposedly Summer, you can see the Autominal colours coming through already with the reds and oranges.

What a wonderful way to end a day! And Mrs. W enjoyed it too!

It's all grey!

It is strange how getting a model into a uniform colour changes the way it looks, especially when that colour is grey! However, that is what has happen to the Airfix Stolly which is now in grey undercoat awaiting its top coat of green. Having a number of separate parts yet to be fitted makes the painting a bit more of a challenge but it is certainly easier in the long run then trying to mask them or paint them in situ. Anyway, it all has to dry off now so I will have the delight of seeing it all grey for a while!

RIP Murphy cat!

RIP Murphy Cat

The WMD fleet of cats is now reduced as Murphy has now unfortunately had to leave us. Always a difficult decision to make, but it was clear he had suddenly become very unwell so it was time to visit the vet who was very compassionate and gentle in dealing with Murphy.

He was 15, which is a good age for a cat, especially as he had been diagnosed with a growth on his heart in 2019 and at that time given just months to live. Move on over six years from that diagnosis and he outlived both his sister, Holly, and brother Spike.

Of the three he was the most laid back! Nothing really phased him even the growth on his heart. Maybe that was the secret to his long life?

The three of them were close which was nice to see.

When Spike suffered a stroke he had to come on holiday with me and Mrs. Woody in our caravan which meant that Holly and Murphy came as well! The three of them are eyeing up the pigeons outside!

Even in the caravan he was laid back choosing to go under a quilt to sleep!

However, he was a bit of a night owl and would play with a Ping-Pong ball at 3am in the caravan which was a bit of a shock as it rattled around the hard surfaces and acted more like a pin-ball machine!

As with all our cats, he will be sadly missed but never forgotten! RIP Murphy!

A load of old fossils!

 A load of old fossils! Well that is one way to describe the Rocks By Rail Museum volunteers but it actually relates to a unique collection of fossils from the Barrington Cement Quarry that the Museum has been lucky enough to obtain.

John Drayton MBE who worked at the quarry for 45 years starting as a joiner and ending up as General Manager had collected the fossils as he walked around the site. Having used them as part of his talks to groups to raise money for charities he has now decided they need a new home at the Museum and given the connection between the Barrington Quarry and the Museum that makes perfect sense. Thanks John! That is him on the left talking to the Curator, David.

The handing over was done this past Sunday as the Museum had an open day and as part of that there were variou items on display including this diorama that had been presented John by David some years ago.

Also, a wonderful set of information boards about the history of the Barrington Quarry.

Which included this fantastic picture of the Museum's loco Mr. D, named after John Drayton, being loaded onto a low loader at the Barrington Quarry ready to be transported to the Museum.

Talking of Mr. D, he was in operation with three of the wagons from the Barrington Quarry and John and several of his former colleagues reacquainted themselves by having a drive.

Continuing with the Barrington theme, things are moving on with the steam loco named Barrington who was replaced by Mr. D! Owner Paul, is giving a cosmetic restoration to it and having taken the non-original coal bunker off it and replacing it with new metal to the original configuration, is now in the midst of painting it. 

That yellow smoke box door will stay yellow as that was its original colour!

Meanwhile, visitors were also enjoying brake van rides.

The volunteers were enjoying some refreshments and a catch up!

For me, it was mainly a day of shunting but working with some great colleagues, it is always a pleasure to do even if they call me an old fossil!

Just about ready for paint!

 Well, the Stolly is just about ready for paint. Just a couple of parts to attach and then its time for some primer before a top coating. 

I 'm impressed by this kit - I just need to get the painting right though! That is also what Mrs. Woody says to me!

Some extra detail would be nice!

 I have to admit to enjoying the build of the Airfix Stolly. I have said it before but will say it again, it does remind me of the early Tamiya kits, simple but detailed. Unfortunately there are always the odd parts where that extra detail would have been nice. On this kit, these are the mouldings for the headlight protectors. In real life a frame with slats that should deflect any large rocks or such like that could damage the headlight. In model form, Airfix have moulded the part as a solid so that the headlight that will be behind it will be invisible. Not exactly a good moulding.

However, with some dexterous cutting and some plastic strip something a bit better can be created. First job is to cut the innards out of the frame.

Then add some plastic strip. Now I have just got to wait for the glue to dry to trim the strips to length but that should at least look a bit more realistic then the original part once mounted on the vehicle.

Crashed and bashed!

Crashed and bashed today and I am not talking about some new weathering technique on the Airfix Stolly build! It is me who is crashed and bashed having come off my bike on a corner in the rain. I just know that the front wheel slid out and before I knew it I was on the ground looking at the lady in the car following me who must have had more of a shock than me! Amazingly no bones broken, no ripped clothing and minimal damage to the bike. I seem to have taken the main damage with gravel rash and a very sore left hip and shoulder which will heal whereas any damage to the bike won't heal! Anyway, after a minute or two I was back on the bike and continued home to present my bloodied self to Mrs. Woody who said not to make a mess!

Right, crash or not, work on the Stolly continues with the interior of the cab masked in readiness for painting.

It was then attached to the cab base before the joints were flooded with glue.

I will need to fill the joints but there is nothing too serious unlike my body joints at the moment!