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Thursday, June 30, 2022

Accurascale Deltic.

I succumbed to this after literally years looking at the website on the progress Accurascale were making with this long awaited project which was heralded as being the best Deltic ever produced. The Deltic is one of those iconic diesels that replaced steam and took British Rail passenger traffic into the 80s when the HST's took on that role. It is popular with many railway enthusiasts so the model had to be special to meet up to the makers claims. Have those claims been fulfilled in the final model? Well like many others who have received their models you cannot be anything but impressed. The packaging is superb. The accompanying literature is fully detailed and comes complete with a sheet of alternative head codes. The model itself is hefty at about 800g or just under two pounds for those of us with long memories. As you start looking at the model itself you realise this is something else. For the price or even less than the price of some Hornby and Bachmann locos you get a level of detail I have never seen on a mass produced model.

Accurascale green Deltic

Accurascale green Deltic

It looks great but start moving in to see just how detailed this is.

Accurascale green Deltic

Accurascale green Deltic

Sprung buffers compliment the model but things like the finesse of the windscreen wipers, the sliding cab windows, the way the door is correctly recessed are all things that you really do not find that well done on other models.

Move in closer still and you see the chains that run between the bogies and the body which I have never seen modelled before. You also see the manufacturers plate above the loco number and through the window the dtail inside the engine compartment.

Accurascale green Deltic

However the biggest surprise is the cab. My camera is not good at close up shots but this photo at least shows the level of detail just in the cab. Regulator, recessed dials, doors for the electrical cabinets. If there were such a thing as a 4mm real life driver I think they would be fully at home in that cab!

Accurascale green Deltic

I have the DCC sound version and the sound of the real Napier engines is fully captured. They really have a unique tone.

Any downsides? Well I have to be honest and say on unpacking there were a couple of small detail parts that needed to be reattached. After some running I have also collected four other detail parts that need to be reattached. And this is the quandary. If we want models this well detailed they are going to be fragile and parts will fall off if they are used which is something your 1980 Hornby Deltic would be hard pressed to replicate as there was only the body moulding with no other detail to fall off. 

I am not sure where I stand on this quandary but for the moment I am just going to enjoy this model and appreciate the detail it has. 


Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Linking tracks!!

Some more progress on the MiniArt T34 Egyptian tank with one side of the tracks nearly done. I say nearly as whilst the kit makers envisage you constructing everything to completion and then painting it, most modellers of military armour will build sub assemblies and paint these before bringing the kit together as one. This is especially true of tracks and wheels. Tamiya and many other manufacturers supply a poly cap that goes in the wheel assembly and allows you to pop the wheel on and off the chassis. This is great for building as you can ensure the wheels line up whilst building the kit and then take the wheels off for painting and allowing the hull behind to also be painted. MiniArt however do not follow that method so a bit of improvisation is required. The wheels are attached with a wing and a prayer as well as some BluTac and this at least allows the tracks to be built around them and once complete removed along with the wheels for painting. That is the theory! 

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

I used my usual method of constructing track links be attaching them to a strip of masking tape as I glued each link. This holds the links together whilst the glue sets but allows some flexibility so that the tracks can be posed over the various wheels with the correct sag. I then inserted a large set of tweezers into the gap between the top of the track and the hull fender which in effect forced the track links to take the correct sag over the wheels that the real tank had. 

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Once the glur started to harden I took the tweezers out and I have now left this first set of tracks to dry over night. Hopefully they have set correctly once I remove the masking tape. Then again it could be a contribution to the swear jar tomorrow then!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Sentinels under repair.

A day at Rocks by Rail Museum today with me reunited with the lawn mower for most of the day making the place look neat for Sunday's Driver for a Fiver day. It will be one of the diesel Sentinel locomotives on duty and we have a choice of two. Either Betty or Jean. However it is feasible that Graham who has been off duty with various issues for some months now will be back in operation as well. 

Rocks by Rail Museum

The guys who maintain and repair these locomotives certainly have a challenge so it is a good job they know what they are doing. It is one thing working on the engine but when you start with wiring that is another thing. Take Betty for example.


This is what her cab looks like with a clear operating control panel which looks reasonably simple.

Rocks by Rail Museum

This is Graham.


Graham's control panel is undergoing maintenance and with the cosmetic covers removed and things opened up, it shows the real complexity of what makes these locomotives work. Rather the guys dealing with this then me! It just looks like a mass of spaghetti to my untrained eye! Hopefully though it will be up and running this Sunday.

Rocks by Rail Museum





Monday, June 27, 2022

Tankers take their places.

Having completed the so far headless quartet of Egyptian tankers I have posed them around the tank. They appear to be in poses that compliment the tank which also means I will be modelling the turret hatches open - unless something unforeseen happens! Always leave yourself a little wriggle room in case something does go wrong and knowing my luck it will!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


Sunday, June 26, 2022

Different types of water!

Not an experiment but this morning I had to unfortunately join the Sunday Car Washing Club which seems to prevail in the UK. Mrs. Woody had decreed that her car needed cleaning and today was the day to do it and who am I to disagree? So it was the soapy water type that saw use and several hours later the car had not only been washed but waxed as well! 

With several other things going on today as well that did not leave much model making time but I made the most of it by examining the resin water I had poured into the river on the 009 narrow gauge layout a few days ago. Having waited literally months for it to dry when I poured the first layer back in January, I was pleased to find it dry and solid after just three days - Result!. So another type of water in my life today as I poured the third and probably last layer of resin water into the river. Hopefully dry in three days time too.

009 gauge layout

Not water related was the assembly of the second Egyptian tanker for the T34 MiniArt kit. A nice pose and one where he looks at ease on the tank itself - well he would do if he had his head but as I explained yesterday I will probably paint the heads before mounting them on the bodies.

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Finally something that could get me into the type of water that is very hot if Mrs. Woody finds out about it is the arrival of this which I have not had a chance to sit down with the time to properly unpack and set up. The reviews are good and it appears that Accurascale have indeed produced the ultimate Deltic locomotive - I just need the time to find out myself!

Accurascale green Deltic

Having completed this blog it is time for the final type of water for today - the washing up type of water as I have the job of doing the dishes after dinner!


Saturday, June 25, 2022

Headless?

I have spent some time putting the drive sprockets and idler wheels together as well as preparing some more track links ready to be assembled once I have enough to do a full track run. The tank has an unusual sprocket drive in that unlike most tans where the drive wheels have teeth that engage in holes in the track, the T34 has a toothless drive wheel but the triangular guide teeth on the tracks are pushed by rods that are between the two faces of the drive wheel. It obviously worked!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Nothing too exciting with the work above but I have started to assemble the four figures provided with the kit. They are nicely detailed and come in a harder plastic than the tank kiy so are a little more robust when it comes to cleaning them up as they come off the sprue.

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

The first figure has been put together minus his head! I am thinking of leaving his head off whilst painting the figure as it might be easier to paint the face. Figure painting is not my strongest skill. In fact to use the word skill in relation to my attempts at this art is perhaps a major injustice to the word itself! Anyway I will see how this one goes once he and his three mates are in the WMD HQ paint shop. In the meantime here we have the headless tanker - for the moment anyway!



Friday, June 24, 2022

Making tracks!

I woke up at 4am this morning. By 5am I knew I was not going back to sleep so I thought I would leave Mrs. Woody deep in sleep dreaming about handbags or her list of jobs for me being completed! May be that was a nightmare? Anyway, the cats got an early breakfast, which they seemed to appreciate even if they were a bit shocked and the greenhouse plants got an early watering and by 6am I was making tracks on my bike for an early morning ride. Lovely, with few cars or people about and nature still doing things you don't normally see like these two swans and their seven signets making tracks through the green algae along the local canal. Makes a great start to the day!

Swan

Back at WMD HQ I am also making more tracks. This time for the Egyptian T34 tank. The tracks are made up of individual links which have to be cut from the sprue and then cleaned up. If that was not boring enough the joints also have to be opened up slightly with a file other wise they do not fit.

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

I need to assemble 144 track links in total and so far I have done 52! A long way to go and with all the work they need it will keep me amused making these tracks for many hours yet!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank



Thursday, June 23, 2022

Heating up and pouring more water!

Out for my daily cycle ride this morning to avoid the heat of the day I passed the service station that I have kept an eye on with their fuel price. They went past £2 a litre a two weeks ago as I blogged here on the 8th June. Although the latest price has not risen as fast as previously it is still heating up with another 3 pence a litre.

Highest petrol price in the UK?

Back at WMD HQ I mulled over the heat issue of fuel price and the weather and suddenly realised I needed to take advantage of the heat. The river on my 009 narrow gauge layout is created using a resin. I foolishly put the first layer down on the last day in a particularly unseasonable warm spell at the start of the year. I think I blogged the equally foolish words 'What could go wrong?'. Click here to see that post. Well what went wrong was it took about 2 months rather then the advertised 72 hours on the bottle for the resin to set as the cold weather returned the next day and continued, as you would expect it would in the Winter, unless of course you are Woody! Doh! Anyway I did vow that the next layer would be poured once warmer weather arrived. Despite the warmth of the past few months, in my usual way, I have put pouring the next layer to the back of my mind but sense and taking advantage of the heat has prevailed and so I have now poured another layer of the Jarvis Simulated Countryside Water into the river bed. I did firstly take the precaution of putting a spirit level on the baseboard just to make sure it was still level - no use in having a sloping river unless it is a rapids!

009 gauge layout, Javis - Simulated Countryside Water,

The spirit level almost makes it look like I know what I am doing!

009 gauge layout, Javis - Simulated Countryside Water,

A steady hand is required when pouring to avoid bubbles - pity my camera hand was as steady!

009 gauge layout, Javis - Simulated Countryside Water,

With the resin poured, a hot environment and the weather heating up what could go wrong? Why did I say that????

Back with the MiniArt Egyptian T34 tank I have done some more track work but more on that another day as progress is slow with all those individual track links to assemble.

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Fragile parts!

In the heat of my Man Cave I have managed to finish the turret of the MiniArt T34 Egyptian tank. Amazing! However it was not a straight forward job! That would not be the Woody way! Apart from the photo etched parts that remained to be fitted =, there was a radio aerial to fit. Located on the sprue I knew it was going to be a problem!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Taking care to remove it from the sprue I did manage to get it off in one part. I then tried to clean up the various mounting points and the whole thing just broke up into four parts! It was just too fragile!

Rather than trying to glue it together I cut my loses and got into my 'working smarter not harder' mindset and found some thin plastic rod in my stock of materials. Some fiddly work with super glue but certainly easier than gluing the original and I have a new aerial. Result!

With that and the other parts fitted the turret is there and making the whole tank look ....well more tank like! I quite like that shovel although the photoetch mountings were horrible to do!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Hopefully once painted all the parts will fade together but I still have the tracks and a few other, hopefully not fragile, parts to do. More on that and whether the swear jar receives further contributions from me another time!

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Moving on and turret progress.

We all have to move on from distressing events in life and sometimes just doing something different helps in that process. So today I took Mrs. Woody out into the depths of the Lincolnshire fens where is is so flat that if your dog runs away you can still see it two days later. This is big sky country though you do wonder if sea levels continue to rise will it be bid sea country in the not to distant future? 

Putting those thoughts to the back of our minds we ended up near to Fosdyke which is next to the River Welland close to where it enters The Wash. There is a small copse and a nice set of walks along the flood defenses which we walked part of after eating our £4 CoOp Lunch Deal (other lunch deals are available, etc!). It used to be a £3.50 Lunch Deal but that is inflation for you! On the walk we came across an Environment Agency compound which was certainly secure. .

Fosdyke quay

The EA appear to drag abandoned boats to this location which I guess makes it a boat graveyard. Looking at the condition of them I can see why they were abandoned. I certainly would not be taking to the water in one of these

Fosdyke quay

Back at WMD HQ, an hour with the T34 Egyptian tank turret saw a few more parts added including some lifting points and grab handles. I must be getting better with the etched parts as the six handles on the back of the turret only took about 20 minutes to do. I did not even bother with the three plastic grab handles on the two sides and rear of the turret. With the previous experience of similar parts on the tank hull I just made the parts out of brass wire and used these instead. Again this only took another 20 minutes. There are a few more etch handles to add and a couple of other parts and then the turret should be complete.

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


Monday, June 20, 2022

The World still rotates!

If you have read my previous two posts you will understand that Mrs. Woody and her siblings have lost their mother and me my mother-in-law. I did say that no matter what affects us, the World continues to rotate and life continues although somewhat differently for those affected by a loss. 

With the above in mind I did take a short break out in my Man Cave which allowed me to reflect on matters and do this whilst making some progress on the MiniArt T34 Egyptian tank. Nothing too taxing but the main components of the turret are now together and with the main gun barrel added it suddenly looks like what it should do. There are still a number of smaller parts to add including the dreaded photo etched parts so that will give me something to look forward to. 

At the moment the hatches are not glued down as I will wait and see if the figures supplied with the kit are in suitable poses to use open hatches.


MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


RIP.

Following on from yesterday's post the inevitable has unfortunately happened. 

I will say no more but in death comes peace.

Dealing with the inevitable



Sunday, June 19, 2022

Dealing with the inevitable.

 


No use in trying to be upbeat today as Mrs Woody's mum and my mother-in-law is very ill. It is unfortunately only a matter of a short time until the inevitable. We all deal with such things in different ways but as I say to people, the World will continue to rotate, the sun will set and then rise again and life will continue - just a bit differently for some of us. The important part though are the good memories - no one can take those away! Treasure them for always!

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Woody's got a fan!

Well what a difference a day makes! 32C yesterday and 12C today. The heat did carry on through the night so out came Woody's fan. Bought by my parents in 1972 when we lived in Malta for a time this magically quiet piece of electrical equipment still works as well 50 years on as it did when it was new and kept me and Mrs. Woody cool over night. If only all electrical equipment was built this well maybe the landfill sites would be a little less full? Anyway it has a certain 70's style which apparently is in at the moment - Woody being in with current fashion??? Whatever next? Me finishing models? 

Woody's fan

Chloe the cat is not sure about this wind creating machine but did eventually stand in front for a cool down.

This evening I did go out to my now cool Man Cave and finish off the DShK 12.7mm anti-air machine gun for the MiniArt T34 Egyptian tank. It looks good from a distance but these in close shots show my ineptitude with the assembly of it but hopefully once painted and part of the main tank it will fade into the overall scene. There is certainly a lot of detail including the bullet belt, sights and trigger. 

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Back on the turret itself, there was a problem with the main gun breach not staying fixed in its mount. It is supposed to elevate so the breach fits into its mount without glue but for some reason that I could not get to the bottom of it kept slipping out. Not wanting this to be an issue with the finished mode I drilled through the mount into the breach and inserted a piece of brass wire which I super glued into place. It appears to have done what I hoped and all is secure in place without the elevation movement being adversely affected. Result!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

Hopefully over the next few days I can get the turret finished so that I won't have to balance parts temporarily as in this shot! 

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank


Friday, June 17, 2022

Hottest day in the UK and not the day to be model making - for too long anyway!

Here in the UK today is the hottest day this year for most of us with temperatures of plus 30C. May not sound much to some people living in hotter climates but here we tend to suffer as we are not used to it and most of our buildings are designed for wind, rain and cold! I went out for a bike ride early this morning and stopped by a local canal thinking that looking at the water might make me feel cooler! Well that didn't work out as I ended up actually feeling sorry for the two swans swimming through this pea soup looking scene.

Hottest day UK 17 June 2022

Back at WMD HQ and a few 'in the shade' not too strenuous jobs from Mrs. Woody's never ending list saw me stay coolish and this afternoon I felt confident enough to go out to my summer sweat box and winter freezer Man Cave and have a further session on the Egyptian T34 tank. 

Today, still working on the turret, I started work on the DShK 12.7mm anti-air (and everything else that gets in its way for that matter) machine gun that is mount on a swivel mount on the main hatch. Progress has not been quick but then again the machine gun is almost a kit in its own right with about 25 parts including some of the dreaded photo etched brass parts. It certainly is highly detailed but it takes an age to build. With the heat building up inside my Man Cave I abandoned it with the gun half built waiting for my return once it has hopefully cooled later this evening. Then again I could always take a cool dip in that inviting canal water! Think I will leave it to the swans!

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank

MiniArt Egyptian T34/85 tank