Ballasting and the art of furnishing!

An unusual title but it does describe activities at WMD HQ well! Ballasting, in as much as I am beginning to finish off the unballasted sections of Chalkdon , my 009 gauge layout starting with the area near to the newly installed level crossing gates. All that was needed was some kiln dried sand and some dilute PVA glue to get that job finished.

In relation to the furnishing, this is about 1/76th scale items for my buildings on Chalkdon. With such large windows in the garage shop, an empty interior and for the workshop with its large up and over door an empty working space are not that realistic. Whilst my attempts to add suitable furnishings are not precise works of art that you may find in a quality dolls house, they are something that at least gives a feeling of the spaces being furnished and used which is all I need.

Small pieces of plastic card were cut to size and glued together and just need painting now. On the left is a shop counter with a cash register on top and on the right are a set of shelves and a work bench for the workshop. There are still a few more things to make like a chair for customers to sit in when they get their car repair bill! Then there is also the shop with its large windows that needs some shop like furnishings. Should keep me busy for a day or so!

Open and shut!

Before doing some more in the Man Cave with the level crossing gates (more on that later on) I managed to get out on a bike ride today - the first time in nearly a week. Rain and snow having provided a good excuse to stay in the warm for the past week I had not seen much of the effect of all this moisture. To be honest I should have just opened the front door looked out and stayed in as the local roads were somewhat damp! This looks like a ford but there is a road under there! I did cycle through as I could see the road surface below avoiding any potholes.

However, I was not cycling through this so it was a case of turn round a go a different way! 

I have never seen this at this canal location with the water flowing over the lock gates. Looks quite spectacular!

Just a bit further down this building is so close to being flooded but hopefully will keep dry.

Back in the dryness of WMD HQ the level crossing gate project on Chalkdon my 009 gauge layout has progressed well. They have been painted and put in place on the layout.

Allowing the safe passage for trains by being closed this rather interesting vehicle goes through - I am  sure I have seen it somewhere before! 

With that loco having gone through this passenger train then had the right of way.

With the trains having gone through it was a case of opening the gates!

The photo below shows how the gates fold over each other when open - I am almost proud that my measurements worked out!

It may be an open and shut case for the level crossing gates but for this pedestrian the side gates remain firmly closed! He is in for a long wait!

Test fitting!

A wet, cold and miserable day - weather wise anyway! In the relative warmth of the Man Cave I made a little progress on the level crossing gates. The posts have been capped to seal off the tube and I have made some pedestrian gates out of plastic strip to go at the side of the main gates. I also cut two circles of plastic card using my circle cutter. I then cut them in half and glued them to either side of the outer edge of the gates so that they form a circle when the gates are closed. Once painted red they will be in line with the normal UK level crossing gate design.

Of course, whilst I have taken some measurements prior to construction, I have yet to put them on the layout to give them a test fitting! With a little trepidation one pair of the gates were temporarily put in place and luckily it shows that it should all fit - hopefully!

Next up is to paint them which will be white so it won't really show much progress but at least that plastic sheen should disappear!

Gates!

 It is cold and damp here in the UK. May not be as cold as some parts of the World but but it is a shock to the system especially in a cold Man Cave. I have turned on the heater but the cold comes up through the floor. However I did actually manage to brave a couple of hours which moved forwards the 3D Printed Maintenance Loco No 5 forward with the additional chassis part I have made now painted black.

Once dry, I can glue it to the chassis and move that project on towards being finished - well as finished as my projects ever are!

This renewed involvement with my 009 layout Chalkdon has highlighted I still have much to do on the layout. One of the things needed is a level crossing and so I have commenced construction with the four gates that will be required.

The gates are made up of 1.5mm square plastic cut to size.

Much work still required but hopefully the gates are square and flat!

Meanwhile I was reminded by the number of adverts and songs on the radio that Christmas is approaching! Whilst the WMD fleet of cats gets something on the day I had to draw the line at this that Mrs. Woody spotted whilst in a store. The way the WMD cat fleet and indeed most cats that I know of gnaw anything cardboard the chances of this lasting for more than an hour are somewhat remote! You have to wonder why someone would design a cat toy in cardboard! Does look cute though!

Frustrations!

I have decided that my 009 narrow gauge layout Chalkdon needs some use. I literally have not run a train on it for about 6 months! Too many other projects on the go and I sometimes just put some aside thinking I will leave that for a week or so and go back. Unfortunately that week or so turns into months or years and in some cases decades! However that is me and the way I work but I think the last time I ran a train on Chalkdon it was the West Highland Railway Baldwin. It is a sound chipped loco but I now recall it was not running very well, stalling and refusing to run. I further now recall that was the reason I parked it and the layout up in frustration thinking I will leave it a week and come back to it in a better frame of mind. Well even having left it 6 months that loco still was not running properly so it was time to get the screw drivers out!

You can tell just how long the loco has been static by the amount of dust on it or should I actually say that is weathering!

I was fairly certain that the issue was with the electrical pickups from the wheels. These are contained on the base plate so this was unscrewed. The pickups were dirty and twisted so work with some rubbing alcohol and some tweezers were used to bend the pick ups back into a shape that would make continual electrical contact with the wheels and therefore power from the track.

There were frustrations with dealing with small parts and I did loose a spring that went off somewhere never to be found until a time when I am not looking for it. Luckily I had a feeling that the spring from an N gauge coupler would fit so a wagon was raided for the spring. It did fit and I will find another replacement for the wagon - promise!

Anyway, despite that frustrations the work I did has certainly made the loco run a lot better. Its not fully sorted but definitely a lot better and more importantly no where near as frustrating! Despite its faults I can not help but love the looks of this loco. It just needs a crew now which I am sure I will find frustrating to fit!

Instant flower pot!

Not a post about gardening although I did do a fair amount of hedge cutting and weeding today. These flower pots are from the scenic bits I bought at the market Deeping model Railway Show the other day.

I saw these and thought they might look good on the platform at Chalkdon my 009 narrow gauge layout.

I think they add that little bit extra!

No doubt Mrs. Woody will now be thinking that I can do much the same on a one to one scale basis!

Coronation - a day to remember.

Well this was the first Coronation I have witnessed and although I may see one more in my lifetime I guess it is one of those unique moments in history - a day to remember. However, despite all the celebrations, the weather was unfortunately emulating what it did back in 1953 when the late Queen's Coronation took place and rained. The continued rain saw me seek shelter in the Man Cave where I spent a happy hour or so. 

The Tamiya Sd.Kfz 234/2 Puma had some more weathering added and the turret hatches added. The officer figure now has his binoculars added so looks a little less strange. There is still some more weathering to do but it is getting to where I want it to be.

Whilst I had my weathering head on I washed these sacks, crates and cable drums which I built a few weeks back with my dilute black wash to tone them down. These are for my narrow gauge layout Chalkdon.

Whether I will actually remember that I did these jobs on the day of the Coronation is open to debate but then I can always look back on this blog to remind me!

One small step but one giant leap for Woody

The Airfix Dodge 1 1/2 Ton Personnel Carrier is almost finished! The masked up windscreen was unmasked having had a coat of dirt airbrushed on it yesterday.

It was fitted with some PVA glue to avoid  any damage or smears on the clear parts. In addition the tool rack for the rear tailgate of the truck was painted and fitted. The two remaining figures were also glued into the back of the truck and a few items of cargo were placed in the trailer. Small steps but leaping forward!

A few jobs to do on the base and then it will be fully finished! 

On Chalkdon my 009 narrow gauge layout, the walkway onto the platform I made and painted yesterday have been fitted making it safer for the 4mm passengers to get to the platform with their small steps rather than leaping!

On the step project the blocks are in and the slabs have been placed on the brickwork awaiting setting into a cement bed. However they are at least in place as they are not the easiest things to move and lift! 

Mrs. woody seems impressed which is a major plus point! 

'One small step but one giant leap for Woody' to badly misquote Buzz Aldrin! However it does at least look a lot better then 3 months ago! Hopefully that grass seed will grow soon - how can it not with all the rain!

A mixed bag!

A mixed bag of things done today including an incredible bike ride of two halves. Firstly heading into the brick wall of a wind and then, secondly, on the way home feeling as though I am about to take off! The weather appears to be so unpredictable that even the weather forecast seems to be a best guess at what might happen! Today started sunny but cold. At least it was dry and that was enough for me to mix up some concrete for inside the brickwork of my step into the rebuilt conservatory. I had already put a base of hardcore inside the brick base.

The idea is that seven of the concrete blocks just by the lump hammer in the picture above will be cemented in the base and provide support for the slabs that will span the bricks and form the top of the step. The blocks need a base to sit on hence the concrete base inside the brick work. I do try to think these things out - not always logically though as Mrs. Woody would say!

Mid way through above and the finished job below - just as the temperature really dropped, the wind blew even harder and the rain started!

Luckily although the rain bothered me as I got wet, the concrete was nice and snug under cover from the wooden temporary step. Hopefully I can get the blocks cemented in place tomorrow and then the slabs for the step installed on Friday - weather permitting!

In the dry of the Man Cave I had a mixed bag of small but important things to get on with. First off I need to finish the Airfix Dodge 1 1/2 Ton Personnel Carrier. One of the few parts to fit is the windscreen which is a one piece moulding including the windscreen wipers. As the truck is fairly heavily weathered a clean windscreen was not going to look right. Therefore I used my compass cutting on some masking tape to cut out a mask for the sweep of the two windscreen wipers. I will spray some 'dirt' coloured paint to simulate the grime thrown up on the glass and then remove the masks which will reveal clear glass where the wipers wipe. That's the theory!

For my 009 narrow gauge layout Chalkdon, I need to have a walkway across the tracks to the platform. I also need some packing cases, sacks, cable drums and oil drums to place around the canal wharf. These have been made up and have been sprayed with an initial coat of paint so should be in place soon.

Video making day!

Today was a YouTube video making day. Strange how my unscripted 20 minute rambling about Chalkdon, my 009 narrow gauge layout, takes about 5 hours of time to produce. I guess those better at these things can get the whole process done in less than an hour but for me I end have to record it several times over because things tend to go wrong. Then there is the editing, the processing to convert it into a suitable video format and then the time to upload, which given I am not on the end of a fast connection, takes some time. However I enjoy it, it is something different for me and does give me a different view of my layout which can be enlightening as to what remains to be done and equally whether it all looks as I intended. Photographs are great but video just gives that little bit of a different perspective.

I just use the camera on my phone and there is no script so what comes out is fairly amateurish but I am a model maker not Spielberg! Anyway todays video is Part 3 on Chalkdon and there is a fair amount about the Bachmann EZ Command controller that I use to run it. 

 It is about 20 years old and one of the first DCC controllers that was produced so it doesn't have all the features that modern day DCC controllers have but it is great for a small layout such as Chalkdon. If you would like to find out more the video is below for you viewing delight!

Hairspray - and its not the movie!

On with further work on Chalkdon my 009 narrow gauge layout. I had several jobs in mind but as with the best laid plans, especially mine, things did not go according to plan! In fact I could have pulled my hair out but luckily I had hairspray in stock!

First item was to 'plant' the tree by the canal wharf. I have decided I like it in its position where it had been temporarily plonked for a few days. Before I did that though I needed to add a bit of the leaf foliage that had dropped off the foliage mat when I first applied it to the tree. Surprisingly my chosen adhesive was the aforementioned hairspray. I have had this spray for possibly nearly 20 years now and being cheap it is nice and sticky!

With the existing foliage sprayed I just scattered the loose leaf material over it and it stuck to the tree.

That looks better! Who would have thought that hairspray would be a good model making adhesive!

With tree now leafed up it was glued to the layout. Moving onto the next job which was that locos were hesitant on the wharf siding.  They would stall which I thought was a simple two minute track cleaning job. Wrong! After an hour or so I managed to figure out that in placed the plastic cobble stones either side of the track was loose and higher than the track. The result was that the loco wheels were being lifted clear of the track and loosing power. I addition the cobbles in the center of the track was tight in places and binding on the loco wheels. No choice but to lift the cobbles, adjust and re-glue. Of course the freshly 'planted' and glued tree did not make this job simple!

It does not look pretty but you sometimes have to be destructive to be constructive! 

With the adjustments made it has been re-glued and tested and works! Unfortunately I knocked the chimney off the narrow boat having only recently re-glued it! Luckily I still have most of my hair  - even if it is stuck back on with the hairspray!