Engine block time!

Engine block time with the build of the Italeri Mercedes-Benz Actros MP4. Initially, most truck kit engines take shape fairly quickly and with this kit about 6 main parts go together to produce a substantial looking part of the model.

However, there are far more detail parts to go on yet as you can tell from some of the location holes and pins on this closer view of one side of the engine. In fact there are about another 40 parts or so to finish just the engine and all have mould and joint lines to smooth out before they can be fitted. Oh joy!

However, the chassis does look more truck like with that engine block temporarily fitted.

My plan next year is to make my New Year's resolution 'I must buy more model railways and kits"!

Having explained yesterday how my New Years Resolution was somewhat short lived with my trip to the Newark Toy and Train Fair, I better admit to some further bargain purchases. #

These three nicely weathered and loaded hopper wagons join my slowly expanding fleet of such wagons.

£15 for the three of them make them a bargain in my mind!

Still in the hopper mood these 9 hoppers were on for £9 each which was a fair price but a bit of haggling with the seller saw them come to WMD for the princely sum of £70!

In a bit closer and these are very nice wagons which with 9 of them make up a nice rake  to be hauled round the layout.

£14 bought me five wagons in the form of these old Hornby flat wagons with wheelset cradles. Not prototypical in any way but with a does of weathering they can be made to look authentic and even if it all goes wrong, £14 is not a major loss!

And finally! I really don't need anymore kits but this just stood out to me.

It is a conversion based upon the chassis of the old Centurion tank as you can see in the artwork on the side of the box.

The kit does contain my dreaded etched brass parts but nothing appears overly small or fiddly from the pictures on the box. I just hope that is actually the case!

Well, that is me spent up for the year as I have been advised by my Financial Monitoring Department in the form of Mrs. Woody! A good haul especially as I only bought a die cast truck last year! 

Thinking about the whole episode and the breaking of a resolution so quickly my plan next year is to make my resolution' I must buy more model railways and kits!' .That way when I break it I will achieve the real objective!

The resolution that lasted all of 12 hours!

2026 comes in, Woody's New Years resolution - No more kits or railway stuff! Well that was doomed to failure as I took Mrs. Woody to buy some cookies on our annual visit to the Newark Toy and Train Fair. Well the cookie stall was there as usual with some very nice cookies that came home with us. However there was a lot of other non-cookie related things that were also very nice and some of those came home with us as well! As usual there were lots of stalls and lots of people.

So, to the items that came home. Well, these three USA freight cars with Kadee couplers cost me all of £15 for the three!

Then there was this ten high stack of boxes which cost me £40.

And once the contents were out I ended up with these.

 

And these.

And these!

There was also this that just needs the bogies added and a few parts.

I also saw these three n gauge USA coaches which were £5 each.

Now why buy these Woody? Well about 15 years ago I bought these with the loco for £20!

So the three additional coaches add to that train to make up this! 

There were a few other bits but that is for tomorrow but in the meantime I am appreciating the USA related bargains and thinking it was a good way to break that New Year resolution as these were bargains just too good to miss! Oh! The cookies were good too!

Happy New Year!

 Hoping that 2026 is a good one for you!

This always takes time but is worth the effort to build a better model!

s 2025 draws to a close (and where did that year go?) the chassis of the Italeri Mercedes-Benz Actros MP4 takes on some interest with the drive axle now in place along with its air bag suspension and the leaf front suspension is also attached. 

There were lot of mould lines to clean up and smooth off like these on the front leaf spring.

This always takes time but is worth the effort to build a better model which is probably a proverb that I should take forward to 2026! Talking of which, tomorrow is 2026 so have a Happy New Year, build some models and stay safe!

Chassis comes together!

After  yesterdays strange sights, today was much more on stream with the chassis of the Italeri Mercedes-Benz Actros MP4 kit coming together.

At this stage there is not a lot to show for the work put in but hopefully over the next few days things will become more visually exciting!

A day of unusual sights!

It was indeed a day of unusual sights! 

First off the sight of a model truck chassis being constructed on the workbench!

It must be about two years since the last one of these appeared on the bench! However the chassis rails have been assembled. Strangely, each side is in two parts which makes it tricky to join them so they are straight and level However, they are now glued and the various cross members and parts that fit in between the chassis rails are coming together.

Second strange sight was seen out on a drive with Mrs. Woody. I may have posted about this some time ago but I am sure that the collection of railway memorabilia in this garden has got bigger and very impressive it is too!

Finally the third strange sight seen on the same journey as the garden above was a herd of deer which suddenly came out of a field hedge and about a dozen of them then crossed the road in front of us, jumped the ditch and headed off into the distance!

I would normally associate deer with being near some wooded areas for cover rather than in the open fields of Lincolnshire but this lot appeared unbothered about needing cover.

A magnificent sight but it was not until we looked at them on the horizon that we saw the stag with some amazing antlers.

Mrs. Woody normally complains about my 'slow' driving but had we been going a bit quicker and arrived a few seconds earlier we could well have had deer's on the bonnet of the car!

It's time for a new project!

 Time for a new project? Probably not as I have so many already on the go that need finishing but I have an urge to glue some plastic parts together! So this is the chosen subject that has been sat in the Man Cave for about two years which actually is not that long as most of my kits are decades old!

I have not built a truck kit for about 18 months now so I need to reacquaint myself with the bigger scale but at least there are no etched brass parts!

I was amazed by this model of Locomotion! Just look at the miniature mechanism working as it runs in this short video

This was my one of my Christmas presents from Mrs. Woody. I have built up a bit of a collection of models of the early steam locomotives and one day I will get them all together for a running session.

The box for Locomotion is not very big compared to those that contain more modern locomotive models but very well presented and makes it clear that it is part of Hornby's 200 years of railways series. Upon opening the box I was struck by how tiny the model was. There were a few surprises as well. 

There is a nice level of foam packaging, a very informative information certificate, a cast name plate for display purposes, a bag with driver and fireman to fit. The part I had never seen before was that the protective clear packing was a Perspex box which is a first to me for a model railway engine! It certainly provides a safe repostitory for such a small and fragile model.

Getting it out of all its packing is when the real beauty of this model comes to light.

comparing it with the Class 08 shunter in the background which is a small locomotive on todays tracks the smallness of the model really shows itself.

Even the cast name plate which accompanies the model is almost as big as the model!

Looking at the information certificate I found out that Locomotion was the first locomotive to ever be preserved in 1856!

Thanks Mrs. W for a great present!

Neighbours can stop panicking as this drum kit is just a wooden model

Out on a Christmas Day bike ride to get a better appetite for lunch, I swung by the canal to see what was going on. Nothing! It was eerily  quiet with not a sole in sight,

Or was there someone in the distance?

Not sure exactly what this guy was doing highlighted by the red arrow but it does look like he was fishing! Maybe he was after his main course for Christmas lunch?

Anyway, back at WMD HQ, Mrs. Woody had dished up one of her famous lunches which stuffed me and kept me stretched out on the sofa watching Mission Impossible! Maybe I should rename my 00 gauge Last Great Project model railway Mission Impossible?

I am pleased to say Santa did bring me some gifts so I must have been good!

First off was a cycling related T shirt... 

...which says a lot about my life although not sure about the 'Still going strong' bit!

I also got a new drum kit!

However, neighbours can stop panicking as this drum kit is just a wooden model yet to be built but I'm sure I can get a beat out of it!

Last off is this wonderfully delightful model by Hornby of Locomotion.

I will delve into that a little more tomorrow as it is stunning looking model.

 

Merry Christmas from WMD!

Have a wonderful time!

If you cannot get to sleep tonight this may be just the thing to bring about the Land of Nod!

Well, it is Christmas Eve and in one more 'sleeps' I will know tomorrow if I have been good and get some presents! In the meantime, the WMD film crew have been out in the Man Cave with another layout update and a bit of train running which if you cannot get to sleep tonight this may be just the thing to bring about the Land of Nod!

Things that you might never have guessed about Woody!

Things that you might never have guessed about Woody! Yes, I play, or should I say bash,, drums! That is me in the picture, many years ago I hasten to add, playing a gig with a band I was in at the time. Note the half drunk pint of larger at my feet, its thirsty work playing drums, and the parker coat muffling my bass drum. Oh the happy memories! As you can probably tell I never became famous but I had a lot iof fun!

I still have that kit but nowadays I play an electric kit which is wife and neighbour friendly although Mrs. Woody complains about the tapping noise! There is no satisfying some people!

Just wish my wallet would recover as quick after one of Mrs. Woody's shopping sprees!

No time for model making activities at the moment but a bike ride was undertaken and as I was passing a diversion to on route to see how the canal was looking after the Summer of it just about drying out. Well, the recent rain has certainly changed things and it is now positively brimming to near the top of its banks!

I seem to recall being informed by those who know about such things that after the drought this Summer it would take months for the water levels to recover! Apparently not so!

Just wish my wallet would recover as quick after one of Mrs. Woody's shopping sprees!

Gailston - a little mentioned layout of mine!

I talk a lot about several model railway layouts of mine, My Last Great Project in 00 gauge, Chalkdon in 009 gauge and the USA Switching layout in H0 scale which ahs yet to be named. There are however other layouts which hardly or have never featured on this blog. One which has had mention but not a great deal, is Gailston, my 00 gauge terminus to fiddle yard layout. As with most of my projects, it is yet to be finished despite being started nearly 25 years ago but it does work and I do enjoy running passenger and freight trains in and out of the station with some shunting and run rounds being part of the process - very therapeutic especially when the Man Cave is cold!

It is 9 feet long which is the scenic part.

And another seven feet long at right angles to the scenic board and this is a five road fiddle yard.

I will come back to looking at Gailston in a bit more detail in future posts but here area few closer up images.