Kangarooing into a New Year!

Well the Italeri kit of the Kangaroo APC will be going into the New Year still in progress (strange - a lot of my other projects are doing the same!) as 2023 draws to a close. 

Something both sad and happy about the change of year. Sad in that it is another year gone with so much still to do despite promising to get those things done and happy in that another year offers fresh opportunities to get those things done!

There has been building of the Kangaroo APC kit going on today with more of the upper hull having been completed. The lamps are on and the pulpit gun mount - if you look to the right of the vehicle the circular machine gun mount looks like a pulpit in a church. The original tanks from which these Kangaroos were created were called Priests by the British Army for that reason. With that final piece of trivia for 2023 out of the way here are a couple of photographs of where I am with this kit at the moment.

The pulpit machine gun mount has a joint half way down it where the two parts of the kit join. In real life this would be a welded joint so I used some very fine plastic rod to cover the joint. The rod was then softened by running glue along it. I then used the back of a scalpel blade to create a welded texture in the soft plastic rod as highlighted by the red arrow in the photo below.

If you are reading this on the 31 December 2023 then I hope you have a good evening and see 2024 in with some comfort and hope!

Famous last words!

In my last post I did say that 'hopefully there will be no parts to loose or break' as I build the upper hull. These were indeed famous last words to that post as on commencing work again on the inside fitments to the upper hull, I managed to loose a handle that should have been glued to a cabinet near to the drivers position. Oh well! It had to happen! Luckily I had some fine brass wire that was bent to the shape and size that I remembered before the plastic part sailed off into the distant parts of the Man Cave. Two holes drilled into the cabinet and some superglue saw the brass handle in place.

With this small matter resolved I was able to get the four parts of the upper hull glued together. Not the best fitting parts to each other but nothing that some filler can not cure! I still actually need to glue th upper hull to the lower but as I still have some internal parts to fit I will leave the gluing until those are fitted.

 Now, as my famous last words appear to become true, I will say 'this kit should be finished by next week'! Then again maybe not!

Wheels on!

After only a few hours of building the wheels and their carriers have been glued to the hull of the Italeri Kangaroo APC. Having carefully assembles the carriers the all the wheels rotate which will make painting much easier. The two box like fittings on the rear of the hull are the sir intakes which is something never knew before building this kit. 

Not only have I managed to keep the wheels free and rotating I also managed to keep the carriers and suspension full articulated as well. The drive and tensioner wheels also rotate which will help when being painted and also may make fitting the tracks easier. 

With, in effect, a rolling chassis, it is now time to think about the upper hull which will bring some further life to this model. As the upper hull is open to the elements there are numerous details to add such as the two rifles in their holder on the side piece nearest the wheels. Hopefully there will be nothing too delicate parts wise for me to loose or break! Famous last words!

Kangaroo!

The kangaroo that I am talking about it is not the Australian mammal but actually originated in Canada as an armoured troop carrier (or APC - Armoured Personnel Carrier) modified from the M& Priest gun platform. I had an urge to glue plastic together and although I have a few projects needing finishing this kit almost fell out of the loft as I put back some Christmas wrapping paper and unused cards for next year - as I always say to Mrs. Woody, it is good to have things in stock whether it be wrapping paper or unmade kits!

Although the kit is boxed as an Italeri product, I am sure it is a re-box of another manufactures moulds which is a common practice in the plastic kit industry. Never the less it is a detailed but relatively easy ( only three sprues) to build kit with no etched brass parts - that made me happy!

As normal the build begins with the wheels. The wheel carriers are from the same design as those found on the more famous Sherman tank and as usual most of the construction time was centred around getting rid of mould lines - especially on those wheels.

However after only a few hours of Man Cave time progress has been made. 

Hopefully I won't Kangaroo on to another projevct tomorrow!

So simple!

Hanging around and awaiting a few minutes to put a DCC chip in it has been this wonderful Hornby A3  Steam Loco number 45 'Lemburg' in LNER black livery. It really does look stunning and even more stunning was just how simple it was to put a chip in. Even I could not go wrong!

The socket for the chip is located in the tender. All that is needed to separate the tender body from the chassis is to prise off the coupling and unscrew one screw!

Then off with that blanking plate.

And in with the chip!

Tender body screwed back on and coupling reinserted and all was good to programme and get some miles in! 

If only all locos were so simple!

Well, I must have been good!

Fear of a Pot Noel Christmas Dinner for not being good, as described in my post on Christmas Eve, was fortunately unfounded as I got a full on dinner! Mrs. Woody did a magnificent job (its best I don't get involved in such edible masterpieces!) and there was stuffing and Yorkshire Puddings on a separate plate.

I had worked up a bit of an apatite for my dinner by having a morning bike ride and whilst out I spotted this rainbow. Then it rained on me! Oh well it was only a short shower! 

The apatite was further enhanced as before my meal I liberating some of the logs left behind from the clearance of a fallen tree near to WMD HQ that fell due to the wind. I was amazed, the guys turned up at 7pm Christmas Eve and had the road clear by 9pm. The logs will be ready for the log burner in a couple of years. 

I was also very fortunate to get a couple of great presents from Mrs. W. First off is this AFV Club Churchill bridge layer kit in 1/35th scale.

I was also very lucky in getting this Hornby Lion presentation set.

Having eaten that received these and eaten that delicious dinner it was a great Christmas but lot not a lot else happened apart from falling asleep on the sofa! I'll have to be good more often!

Merry Christmas from WMD!

 

Have I been good this year!

Have I been good this year? If Mrs. Woody deems I have not this could be my Christmas dinner!

In the meantime having spent most of the day cleaning the house in order to boost my possibility of a proper Christmas dinner there was only time to add some washes to the 3D prints that I started painting a couple of days ago.

They actually look more tasty then that alternative Christmas dinner!

Hopefully all will be well on the day and I hope that what ever you are doing tomorrow it is a good day for you!

Chalkdon - Facts and figures!

My most recent YouTube video on Chalkdon, my 009 gauge layout looks at the nearly finished layout and just how much time and money it has consumed. definitely not one for Mrs. Woody to watch but in my defence and surprisingy, I discover that per hour, building the layout has cost about £2.275 an hour! That is remarkably good value as an hourly entertainment rate!

A relaxing painting job!

After yesterdays grinding and painting of a JCB backactor I thought I would carry on the painting at home. When announced back at WMD HQ, Mrs. Woody was thinking that the house might now be painted but her optimism was soon dashed as I went off to the Man Cave and started painting some more of the 3D prints that I obtained at the Sleaford Model makers Show.

It may all look a bit red but the chassis and wheel rims of the trailer and the ladders and catwalk of the fuel tanks are actually silver. Once other colours are painted on the two 3D prints should look a lot more convincing! The issue with painting small things like this is that you really have to wait for the various colour coatings of paint to dry before you can handle them without fear of smudging what has been painted. That is probably why these types of painting jobs are relaxing unlike painting house!

Lifes a grind(er)!

A day at the Rocks By Rail Museum today and one of those days where the weather certainly made the place look abandoned and empty like one of those movies sets for a horror film!

IT may have looked abandoned and empty outside but in the restoration shed I decided life's a grind by taking an angle grinder to the backacter of Harriot the JCB. 

Very satisfying it was as well with the years of accumulated rust and crud being ground away. 

With all that now exposed, ready to rust more, metal it was time to get some etch primer on and give it some protection.

It will probably be next year before anymore gets done on Harriot and life will indeed grind on!

Motormania!

Time to add a few more vehicles to Chalkdon. Over the years, much to Mrs. Woody's amusement, I have collected 00 gauge vehicles. I have not done so for a while but my collection was raided for some suitable vehicles which were found.

What amazed me was the price tickets. For once I would be happy to show Mrs. W these! At £1.75 to £2 these were a bargain at the time as nowadays these models are more like £7 each. Another example of my buying for the future has saved money! Not that Mrs. W will appreciate or indeed believe my well thought out conclusion!

Anyway the vehicles are on the layout and look just the job!

Being on wheels they will of course be moved around as motormania strikes Chalkdon!

Flooding and life belts!

A bike ride saw me actually able to get through the previously flooded road under the railway bridge that I featured some days ago.

The flooding has gone but the debris of those foolish enough to drive through the flood remains. 

 

There are at least 7 number plates including a 22 plate Tesla. Apparently, from talking to someone who lives nearby, the Tesla stopped in the water with a loud bang! Ouch! And more ouches as you add up the cots of all the other cars!

Reminded by the above, and taking water safety seriously, the Wharf Master, me, at Chalkdon, my 009 layout, has installed a life belt on the wharf side! Actually it was one of the 3D printed items that I picked up at the Sleaford Model Makers Show. At £1 it was a bargain and painted up it looks good. The life belt itself was a seperate print which made painting easier.

Superglued in place it was time to mount it on the layout.

It fits in well and gives an added bit of interest as well as ensuring water safety!

Spitfire, Land Rovers and hedges - a typical day in the life of Woody!

A visit from that great modeller Mr. Beecham today. Always good to see him and have a chat and see his latest proliferation of models. Top of the bill is this 1/24th scale Airfix Spitfire.

At 1/24th scale it is a big model with lots of detail all brought out by the model making skills displayed here. It is certainly a different model to the earlier releases by Airfix in this scale and the removable panels almost feel like etched brass rather then plastic.

This Land Rover also is superbly built, painted and weathered. It is a 1/35th scale Hobby Boss kit and full of detail particularly with the armament.

Finally a project in the making. Apparently Mr. Beecham was given the figure of a lady 'with attitude', and he decided she needs a vehicle to match, hence the Italeri Hummer! He did say it will be painted black. My suggestion of pink did not seem to strike a chord! I will wait to see the final outcome.

Meanwhile, back in the mediocre World of my model making, I have been hedging my bets by continuing to try to finish off Chalkdon my 009 layout with, hedge making! 

As my duties include washing up Mrs. Woody has not noticed this scouring pad missing.

Scouring pads can make excellent model hedges and I cut off 3 strips about 1cm wide.

These were then coated with PVA glue.

With a coating of PVA the Woodlands Scenics Fine Turf was brought ut.

The fine turf was sprinkled on to the wet PVA.

Once finished and allowed to dry I had 3 strips looking hedge like!

They were then cut to length and glued around part of the thatched cottage garden.

I think it looks good!