The case of the missing water!

Another bike ride taking in the local canal where the case of the missing water has perplexed me and loyal blog reader Mrs. B! It was still much the same as my previous picture but in this picture there is a clue in the bottom right hand corner about what is going on. 

Given the opportunity to ask someone who looked as though they knew what was going on I discovered that a lock further up the canal has been leaking into the adjacent field. To carry out repairs the local canal group needed to reduce the water levels in the lock so used 'Stopping Boards'. This in effect reduced the level down stream of that lock hence the reduced levels. However, just like one of my projects, reducing the level upstream revealed issues around the bridge that I take my photos from. Using the opportunity of reduced levels the group are now in the throws of carrying out repairs.

Looks just like a Rocks By Rail Museum project!

With that mystery now explained and work ongoing it should not be too long before water levels return to their natural state.

Back ay WMD HQ, the watery mess on the Tiger 1 tank has now dried (another case of missing water?) and, in my view anyway, is looking good!

The 'mud' has atken on a variety of hues from the paint and weathering powders.

That 'filter'coat of dilute brown paint has toned things down. 

I just need to add those hatches, a radio aerial and some more weathering and rust and it should be good to go!

Brook to stream but not canal!

As I contemplated whether I should take up boating instead of cycling given the amount of rain in recent days it surprisingly stopped! So out on the bike and as I was passing and questions have been asked in the comments to this blog, I took in the delights of the canal. A few days ago I noted that it had all but dried up and was almost like a small brook during a drought. Today it had advanced to slight stream status but certainly given the amount of rain I was expecting something more watery and river like at least! 

Strangely, turning 180 degrees the water behind the lock was almost brimming the canal sides with water cascading out of the closed lock gates at a faster speed then Mrs. Woody can order an internet shop! I'll be in trouble for that!

That would make an interesting shower!

I still have no idea why one side of the lock is full whilst the other side looks drought like.

Back in the Man Cave the Tiger build is almost at a point of being finished. The tools and cables are fitted and the whole model has been airbrushed with a coat of matt varnish. It certainly looks like a Tiger now which is more than can be said for the ones in that fantastic film Kelly's Hero's. Despite being made in the late 1960's less than 15 years after the end of World War 2, there were no working Tiger tanks left by then apart from a handful of static ones and the running one that is now at the Bovington Tank Museum in the UK. The film makers had Russian T34 tanks converted to look like Tiger tanks! More fascinating facts on the background to this film are on Wikipedia - click here.

 

And the number is 112!

Before I can do any further weathering to the Tiger 1 build I need to add the decals and some other parts. Those 'other parts' can wait until after the decals though! Not many to do but with the Zimmerit coating on the turret and hull with its rough texture any application would need some assistance to get the decals to mould themselves to the contours under them. Enter Micro Sol and Mirco Set - two of the 'must haves' in model making

With these you can soften the decal to conform to the texture under it and it does work as these photos show.

More numbers now - just two though! They are 6 and 20 which are the dates in October that bring this years season at the Rocks By Rail Museum to an end. I put out the banners yesterday evening and it struck me that it does not seem all that long ago I was putting the first out for the this years events.

Lastly, one of those strange things that I see on my bike rides. This morning, despite all the rain and reports of flooding, this was the scene at the local canal!

No doubt there are a number of reasons for this but 112 will not be one of them!

Wet, wet, wet, but some painting is done!

Starting with the painting, the internal parts of the hull of the Italeri Kanagroo APC have been top coated with some Tamiya Olive drab. I ended up having to do several coats as the first was probably a bit too thinned and did not cover well. However, there is now a base layer of paint ready for the application  of further details and weathering. The details include the first aid box, the radio set, the drivers seat and the dashboard for the driver as well as some fire extinguishers.

Most of these details have been undercoated as well as some of the tools and various boxes of cargo that will eventually go somewhere on the vehicle!

Wet, wet, wet in this case is not the band of the 90s that Mrs. Woody had a soft spot for, but like many places in the UK the wet, wet, wet was the incredible amount of rain falling on saturated ground leading to flooding. The Man Cave escaped luckily but for others near by it was not so good with internal flooding just months after the October flooding.

Luckily the Fire Service was able to attend and pump away some of the water. Talking to one of the crew, the pump was sucking out water at the rate of 600lts per minute. Even at that rate it took some time for the water level to go down. Just hope we have some dry weather now.