Tuesday's YouTube recmmendation!

As the WMD film crew have been out again, I can highly recommend (as I would having made it!) this classic YouTube video describing the 3D printed engine shed in a bit more detail. Sometimes film can explain things better than words!

Finished!

Something you don't often find me saying - finished! However, in the case of the 3D printed engine shed that is exactly what has happened and as you can see in the pictures below it fits into Chalkdon, my 009 layout, quite well. As you can also see the doors now have hinges that fit onto the L brackets that I fitted a few days ago so can be opened and closed.

It also has a hidden surprise as lifting the roof of reveals all of the interior detail that I fitted. Workbenches, pillar drill and step ladder are 3D prints, the oil drum and crate come from a kit of such things and are probably from the old Knightwing range. The tool box is a piece of balsa with a bent piece of bras wire for a handle, the tins on the workbench are off cuts of plastic tube painted and there is a stray piece of balsa wood in the corner which might come in handy one day for levering something! All of this was given a coat of my dilute black wash and some rust weathering powder to make it looked worked in. Again I think it looks good but I would!

 

All in all I'm really pleased with this project and that I have something finished! Just don't tell Mrs. Woody or she will want some of her jobs for me finished too!

Hinge bracket!

The interior of the 3D printed engine shed has now been glued in and weathered with the dilute black wash that I have used extensively on this model. It still needs a little bit more but it looks good to me!

The last part of this build is getting the doors fitted. I could just glue them in an open position - or indeed closed - but that would be too easy! So I am making working hinges. Four L hinge brackets have been fitted to the door aperture and then corresponding loops will be fitted to the doors to fit over the brackets. In this case it is much easier to say than do so especially with such small sized components, so wish me luck!

An inside job!

My version of an inside job is that I am going to put some detail inside the shed which is one reason the roof is removable. The other is if the track needs maintenance it can be got at with the roof removed. 

Part of the interior will be a concrete apron either side of the track. Measuring the length and required widths to allow locos to get in without fouling the apron the relevant parts were cut from some plastic card and then painted with a concrete colour.

There are some 3D printed items such as workbenches, a pillar drill and step ladders that I will include in the scene. Having undercoated these I have just had a test fit and it is looking good.

I do like that image through the front - once everything is painted I think it should match in well.

Blood Moon - A time to let go and heal!

 Getting up during the other night I peered out of the window and saw a Blood Moon. My photos are not that great but it is only a camera phone so that is my excuse. The sight of the moon in a reddish glow compared to its normal whiteish colour is quite spectacular and from what I know technically is due to the moon being in a total lunar eclipse. Of course hundreds if not thousands of years ago there was no technical knowledge as to the cause of change of colour but from what I have looked up, a blood moon symbolizes it is time to let go and heal.  

Maybe that means getting this 3D printed engine shed finished? Well I better press on then!

I have done exactly that and the window frames have now been glazed using Deluxe materials Glue n Glaze. I am slowly getting the hang of using this without mass spillages of glue. As they say - practice makes perfect!

First frame done!

All four none and you can see how the product turns from a white liquid to a solid clear surface as it dries.

I did have to redo four panes but other than that it all went smoothly - amazingly!

With the product dry and two frames temporarily in place you can see it looks realistic. I really need to weather that roof and the barge boards!

Woody hounded!

 This is the third time in a week that I have, on my bike ride, come across the local hounds being exercised so am I being hounded? It is quite a sight to see but dogs do seem to have an interest in cyclists, especially cyclists legs, so best to keep your distance! 

Meanwhile back in the hound free Man Cave it was back to the 3D printed engine shed and the rusted roof got a light coating of grey pain which looks like the galvanised finish these panels of corrugated iron have when new to stop the rust - which never works!

It is beginning to come together so unless I get hounded by Mrs. Woody to get on with even more tasks on her job list for me, it should not be too long before this project gets finished or in my usual way, nearly finished!

Aging and weathering and that's not me!

As shown in the YouTube video that I posted about yesterday, the engine shed has received some aging and weathering - just like me as Mrs Woody likes to point out! A dilute black wash has certainly taken that 'new build' look away from the stone work and it does look as though the building is old - just like me as Mrs. Woody would again point out!

The doors and window frames have also been treated to the wash.

The roof has now been airbrushed in a rust paint from Vallejo and once that was dry it got some rust weathering powder applied and then matt varnished. Next it will be receiving a light coat of grey which will allow some of that rust to show through.

Therapeutic painting and aging and weathering!

The WMD film crew have been at it again! This time two short videos based around some of the modelling on the 3D engine shed. The first being about painting realistic stone the therapeutic way....

The second being about  a quick way to age and weather model buildings.....

Sometimes the visual nature of a video and narrative that goes with it can explain things better than words - well at least my words!

More colour and a murmuration!

Out on a bike ride I was reminded of yesterdays post about shades of colour when I came across this beautiful field of wild of wild flowers in varying shades of yellow and blue.

Back to the 3D printed engine shed and the walls have all been 'shaded' and now matt varnished ready for some dilute black paint wash.

In addition the doors, window frames and barge boards have been painted in the Chalkdon red which is on several other railway related buildings on my 009 layout so matches the company livery.

Coming out of the Man Cave yesterday evening I had to stand and watch the skies for about 10 minutes as a murmuration (which I understand is the right name for what I saw) of rooks took place. Literally hundreds of them flying in circles, landing in a tree and power cables then all flying for another circuit before going back to the tree and cables and repeating it several times. Just fascinating!

Shades!

On a day like the sunny and hot day it is I could look cool in a pair of shades and be cool by sitting in the shade although Mrs. Woody would disagree with both of those possibilities! However the shades I am talking about are shades of colour on my 3D printed engine shed. This is what it looked like with a coat of rattle can 'sand' coloured paint.

Interestingly, if we focus in hard on the building you can see the individual layers of plastic laid down by the 3D printer.

To bring some realism to the stones I painted random stones in slightly different shades of complimentary paint to the sand colour.

I think that looks good! I only used three colours as shown below, but by mixing them a whole spectrum of different shades emerged. The hardest thing about the whole process is actually being random in which stones you paint. Sub-consciously I start doing things like every alternate of third stone!

Just need to finish the rest of the shed which is a job to do in the shade of my Man Cave!

Colour me!

Having almost shouted 'colour me' the 3d printed engine shed has now had its exterior walls base coated in a 'sand' coloured paint from a rattle can that was conveniently lying around the Man Cave! 

It looks a bit stark but that will be cured by the next stage of painting which will soon be done - famous last words!.

Yesterday was also a day at the Rocks by Rail Museum for me and having sourced a set of keys to ley everyone in as the regular key holder was absent, I installed my patented banner rack! I did need to use a grinder just to reduce the diameter of the threaded rod slightly and whilst not the prettiest thing it works! 

It was a day of grass cutting - when will it slow down growing? - but I took time out to see how the cab of Subdew was going with its repaint - another case of 'colour me' especially as the white is being redone in a soft cream colour. There is some scaffolding in place so hopefully the upper parts should be a lot easier to rub down and paint.

That front part is not going to be easy to get access to but there will be a way!

It is 50 years since Sundew 'walked' to Corby and much of the story is on the Museum's Facebook page available here. Well worth a look and read.

Paint it white.

Back with the £d printed engine shed, I have applied some white primer to the inside of the engine shed itself and to both sides of the rook as well as to the doors and window frames. The white on the inside of the engine shed will remain but be dirtied to replicate how many such buildings where painted in this colour to increase the light levels. The roof will be rusted up and the other parts will probably end up a red to match some other railway infrastructure on my 009 layout Chalkdon.

With the primer dry I have masked off the inside of the shed ready to put a stone colour on the outside but that will have to await until tomorrow - but it won't be painted white!

Changes!

Having returned from my bike ride this afternoon (it had dried up from this mornings downpour) I got caught in another downpour! Wet and soggy I thought where has summer gone? Looking back two years ago I blogged this on the 16th July 2022.....

With warnings of a hot weekend I still had to remind myself that it was only mid July whilst out on my bike ride this morning seeing harvested fields, hay stacks and tractors out ploughing - sights normally for late August and September!!

How times change with this today! Wet, wet and to avoid the pop group cliché, more wet!

And talking of change the 3D printed engine shed has changed a bit! The rook trusses have been fitted to the underside of the corrugated iron roof sheets

 

And it is a nice tight fit on the shed itself whilst still being able to be lifted off.

I have also fettled the window frames by removing some flash as well as on the doors.

 Next stage is to think about some paint and then it will really have changed!

Barge boards on!

A busy day with jobs plus I had a puncture on my bike ride  means just a small amount of model making time - enough to put the barge boards cut yesterday on the 3d printed engine shed roof. Once the glue has hardened I will sand the joints smooth and then think about the ridge that I need to put on.

Spur of the moment!

Well my spur of the moment idea led to very little model making but another YouTube video!

I just needed to cut six strips of plasticard to the identical width. So I did my usual of measuring the first one and cutting it. If I then tried to accurately measure and cut the remaining five I can guarantee they would all vary in width. But I did have a hack! That is to butt up a piece of wood to the edge of the plasticard, place the 'master' already cut strip against the block over the plasticard, then butt up my steel edge cutting strip against the 'master' and hold it tight as I remove wood and the 'master'. Result is that the steel edge is placed exactly right to be able to cut another strip identical to the 'master' strip. Saves time in measuring and gives accurate results. 

As I started cutting I thought that was a hint that I had never seen anywhere else so why not share it via YouTube. So this is the result!

I did however get the six strips cut and glued the two parts of the roof together!

Once finished, it will go on Chalkdon my 009 layout  and I think this location is ideal opposite the quarry unless I have any more spur of the moment thoughts!

Back to some model making with some coincidence!

I have actually got back to some model making - at last. Last night I picked up the narrow gauge 3D printed engine shed that I bought from the 3D Printing For Charity stand at the recent Sleaford model railway exhibition and started to make the roof - the one part not included in the kit. Profits from the sale of 3D models from the stand go to the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance which is a charitable organisation and a very worthy cause and one where my model making has actually made a small contribution to that charity. The coincidence is that this morning I watched as the Air Ambulance land in a nearby field. Obviously someone was in need of their attention which is not good but equally it was able to attend as the charitable funding allowed it to and who ever is in need stands a much greater chance of survival and recovery because of it. Just hope that the mission is a successful one and recovery will result.

So with that thought in my mind it was back to the engine shed. I had last night gone the WMD stores for some suitable roofing material which I had decided would be corrugated in some form. I had both packs of Wills corrugated iron and asbestos sheeting in stock.

I decided on the iron sheeting. With the choice made it was time to cut to size which is not always the easiest to do with Wills products. In general the sheeting is very thick but the secret is to score the back of the sheet and it will semi snap when you bend it. You then turn it over and a light cut on the surface which is clearly marked by the bend marks is usually enough to break the join.

With the sheets cut to length and width a trial fitting reveals all looks well! Next stage is to smooth and thin the edges and then think about joining them together. I want to be able to lift the roof off to see the interior I am hoping to put inside the shed so that will influence how everything is joined together.

That Doh momen!

Mrs. Woody thought she was in for some leisurely walking through nature when I suggested going to Stapleford Park near Melton Mowbray. It wasn't until we were close that I added that it was Stapleford Park Miniature Railway we were going to! It was a great trip out and I have to go through the many photos I took so will report on that tomorrow but here is a taster or three!

It wasn't just railways though....

Back in the World of 3D printed cranes I have made a hook! This will be attached to the crane by means of  either some thin wire or stretched plastic sprue. It is small so this close up picture makes it look some what awkward. However once attached and painted it will be almost un-noticed.

Looking through the pile of other 3D printed goodies I pulled out the 009 gauge engine shed. It comes complete with windows and doors but the roof is left up to the builder to create. Thats good with me. 

I thought that I would do a detailed truss construction to support the roof which could be admired by looking into the shed. I started cutting strips of plastic card to construct the trusses from when for no other reason then curiosity I opened the attached bag of bits to look at the windows and doors. I also found two highly detailed trusses! It was then that the Homer Simpson Doh moment came about! Doh! 

They fit great too!

Now what do I do with all those scale 12 inch by 3 inch roofing timers?