My FAWW, which is short for Financial Advisor and Wallet Watcher (aka Mrs. Woody)

As a result of my airbrush compressor having given up the ghost, my FAWW, which is short for Financial Advisor and Wallet Watcher (aka Mrs. Woody) has released funds for a new compressor which is now ordered and should arrive soon. I now also need to negotiate with her for funding for a new printer as that blew up (literally) when I switched it on today! 

In the meantime I managed to just get a bit more air out of the old compressor to apply some top coat paint to the BG Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank parts. It was a painfully slow job but at least it begins to look more like a model heading towards being finished then it did last week!

Hopefully the new compressor will make life a bit easier! It would be great if it could also make life a bit easier with fuel prices by compressing them back a bit! Regular readers of this blog may recall back in March 2022 I posted about the rising price of fuel in this post and then again in June in this post and this post. Well things are more or less back where we were four years ago. Same petrol station just four years on!

In other news and just when I thought things might go right I heard a siren behind me whilst out on a bike ride! I had visions of being carted off for breaking a speed limit ( I like to be optimistic about my cycling proficiency and speed) but no, it was a Fire Engine! Well at least I got to take a photo of it without being carted off!

Cold and compressor woes!

Mrs. Woody is still under the weather with her cold and mine is just lurking in the background - letting me know it is there but not unleashing its full onslaught - oh woe is me and if you are with Mrs. Woody when she has a cold you know it is woe time!

In the meantime though I have Been out to the Man Cave with the intention of starting the painting of the IBG Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit. However more woes with my compressor more or less giving up. It blows some air along with some water and as Mrs. W would highlight it is a bit like me - knackered! I pointed out that the compressor has only lasted 15 years which is a lot shorter than me so far before it gave up but I think the cold has blocked her ears as there was no reaction.

 I did manage to get primer on most of the parts but I now need to look for a suitable compressor before continuing. More woe for the wallet then!

When laid out like this there are a lot of parts for such a small scale model!

Feeling a bit under the weather as the phrase goes! Mrs. Woody is feeling a lot under the weather so I presume we have picked up a bug from somewhere. However, I have still managed to do something in the Man Shed. Not a lot but all the parts of the IBG 1.72 scale Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit are now ready for priming before a top coat is applied.

When laid out like this there are a lot of parts for such a small scale model!

Back with building the Scammel Pioneer readying for paint.

I am back to the tractor unit of the IBG 1.72 scale Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit. Having pondered the painting of this i had a few parts to add to the chassis like the radiator and lights. The lights were a disaster! The kit parts flew off the bench as I tried to clean them up and remain lost! I made some new ones up from some kit sprue. They are passable and in this scale I don't think my efforts will be noticed!

Cab wise, I am leaving the roof off as well as one of the cab sides and the two halves of the cab will be painted separately. I should then be able to paint the details on the interior and then put the side and roof on having not forgotten to put in the steering column and steering wheel!

Hopefully the weekend may see all the parts in at least primer!

There was also this sign that says STOP, so I did!

A truly glorious day weather-wise at the Rocks By rail Museum today which made everything seem a bit easier to do. 

I brought Morris Mower out of his Winter sleep for a bit of action and to join Sammy Strimmer. He started after a few pulls of the starter cord so was soon awake unlike me!

Andy was bringing the oversized washing machine out of its Winter hibernation after I had used Sammy Strimmer to cut back the vegetation. It is now ready to wash more ballast.

John and Alex shunted a few wagons about to get the ballast wagon ready to be loaded with washed ballast.

It is now in the platform siding awaiting its first use this year.

Having gone down to the oversized washing machine with Sammy Strimmer I could look back up towards the top of the Bone Yard and appreciate just how much undergrowth is still to be cut back.

Being at the other end to Bone Yard with the strimmer, I used the opportunity to do a bit of clearance work and discovered the following in my usual weekly treasure Junk Hunt.

Fist off a dustbin with what looks like a wheel barrow tyre in the water that has filled the bin!

An empty plastic blue barrel.

Some interesting electrical equipment that may have worked but that is now unlikely having been left outside for years!

There was also this sign that says STOP, so I did!

I didn't stop for long though!

A combination of the strimmer and mower cut back undergrowth on the approach to the Museum entrance which brings a bit of symmetry to the approach. The cut back bit is the brown part to the right!

The thing I noticed again was the number of ladybirds that were out. These were down by the oversized washing machine

It should be a good summer!

On the other hand our regular Robin was having a great deal foraging in the cut back areas.

And as I left for the day these two pheasants were fighting out their territorial aspirations!

 

Whilst rummaging in the box I did find this interloper!

Out on todays bike ride and one of the local hot spots for flooding is still flooded. Now, being on a bike is bad enough in dealing with potholes but when you cant even see them under water or know how deep the water is makes me think sensibly and find an alternative route. 

 Unfortunately for a number of motorists this is not their thinking as this collection of number plates and other automotive paraphilia ripped from vehicles as they plunged through the flood testifies! There are going to be some big bills coming to some people soon!

Meanwhile, back in the dryness of WMD HQ work on the Crusader tank has progressed to the point that it is ready for paint!

I did have to replace the aerial but that was a simple job. Whilst rummaging in the box I did find this interloper!

Some form of ladybird which seem to be in abundance at the moment but I have let it where it is so it can fly off when it is ready!

Now that is a nice walk!

And now it begins to look like a tank! Yes, after the complexities of building the Scammell and its tank carrying trailer which has been akin to walking up a steep hill in mud on a windy and wet day, the building of the Crusader tank to go on the trailer is almost like a walk in the park on a warm sunny day!

After a few hours this is where I am up to.

Maybe a couple more sessions should see it built! Now that is a nice walk!

The last component of the kit is the Crusader tank.

 Having got the trailer built up to a stage ready for painting along with the tractor unit it made sense to build all the three components of the kit before getting the airbrush out. Using it once means it only needs cleaning once - working smarter not harder as I get older!

The last component of the kit is the Crusader tank. Not seen this before but the tracks and half the wheels are moulded as one part with the outer wheels to add. Different and not something I am too sure about at the moment but we will see!

A short build session saw the wheels added and part of the hull constructed.

Hopefully this sould not take too long to build but there are some more etched parts to add so where is that sear jar?

Time to add the ramps and what a pain that was!

The trials of etched brass parts on the trailer of the IBG 1.72 Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit are just about done! Can't say that I am sad either!

It looks interesting in this bare plastic and brass etched state that will later be harmonised with paint.

Additional from the last update is that the jacks are in place along with some sort of frame on the underside. 

Meanwhile, up top some additional pipework is in place but now it is time to add the ramps and what a pain that was!

There were more etched parts in the form of support bars which needed to be fitted to tiny pins on the ramps themselves and the trailer floor - nice!

Its done now and no contributions to the swear jar were made - amazingly! I am leaving the wheels off at the moment as it will be easier to paint them separately and then attach them.

The only way I could actually see the things was with a magnifying glass!

After a couple of warm and amazingly dry days the weather is back to wet! These two pigeons spotted on top of the WMD greenhouse looked particularly fed up with the rain!

In the dryness of the Man Cave, the progress on the IBG 1.72 scale Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit moves on - slowly! More etched brass parts which are brassing me off due to the literally minute size of some of them.

Look at this bracket that goes on the end of one of the poles on the ramps. You can see the scalpel blade in the background to get an understanding of how small this part is and there are two of them to bend to shape and then attach to the end of the poles. The only way I could actually see the things was with a magnifying glass! 

Anyway, they are now fitted but I suspect they may fall off during the painting process and I probably won't even notice!

These are the ramps that the poles with the brackets fit onto. I had to replace the kit supplied poles with some rod that was in stock as the kit parts were that delicate that trying to clean up the mounting points where they gad been cut from the sprue just broke them! As you will note there are other brass parts that had to be fitted as well. Looking at the sheet of etched parts there are only a few more to add - thank goodness!