The concrete bunker takes shape!

Well, as I said in the last post this T34/122 looks like someone dropped a concrete bunker onto a T34 hull and called it a turret. The turret has come on assembly wise and is basically finished but it still looks like a bunker! 

The last piece of etched brass you can see in the photos is a step that fastens to the side of the turret but I will leave this off until I am ready for painting - it is just too vulnerable to me knocking it off! The grey part around the gun represents the cover sealing gun and turret. It is made from a sort of stiff rubber which is unusual but it works!

I have also painted the rubber tyres and primed both sides of the wheels and got one side into top coat. 

The fact that the tyres are separate makes this painting job so much easier. I could never get such a clean edge painting freehand as in the photo below. I was never any good at colouring books - always went outside the lines!

I took a little time out to have a play with my birthday present which was the Freightliner Class 57 and 5 limestone hopper wagons for it to haul. The loco is second hand but is like new and runs sweetly. It has a great sound to it with a full engine start up sequence including warning buzzer at the very start. I could understand though if you were at an exhibition for two days the whole DCC sound thing could become very irritating! I must admit there are times when I just run a loco silently and listen to the clickety clack of wheels going over my rather poorly laid track!

The wagons are great too but far too clean for working rolling stock. However I will just pretend they are fresh from the production line on their way to their first load which will cover them in dust. As is often said, my trainset and I will do as I please! Well of course unless Mrs. W says something!