My FAWW, which is short for Financial Advisor and Wallet Watcher (aka Mrs. Woody)

As a result of my airbrush compressor having given up the ghost, my FAWW, which is short for Financial Advisor and Wallet Watcher (aka Mrs. Woody) has released funds for a new compressor which is now ordered and should arrive soon. I now also need to negotiate with her for funding for a new printer as that blew up (literally) when I switched it on today! 

In the meantime I managed to just get a bit more air out of the old compressor to apply some top coat paint to the BG Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank parts. It was a painfully slow job but at least it begins to look more like a model heading towards being finished then it did last week!

Hopefully the new compressor will make life a bit easier! It would be great if it could also make life a bit easier with fuel prices by compressing them back a bit! Regular readers of this blog may recall back in March 2022 I posted about the rising price of fuel in this post and then again in June in this post and this post. Well things are more or less back where we were four years ago. Same petrol station just four years on!

In other news and just when I thought things might go right I heard a siren behind me whilst out on a bike ride! I had visions of being carted off for breaking a speed limit ( I like to be optimistic about my cycling proficiency and speed) but no, it was a Fire Engine! Well at least I got to take a photo of it without being carted off!

Cold and compressor woes!

Mrs. Woody is still under the weather with her cold and mine is just lurking in the background - letting me know it is there but not unleashing its full onslaught - oh woe is me and if you are with Mrs. Woody when she has a cold you know it is woe time!

In the meantime though I have Been out to the Man Cave with the intention of starting the painting of the IBG Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit. However more woes with my compressor more or less giving up. It blows some air along with some water and as Mrs. W would highlight it is a bit like me - knackered! I pointed out that the compressor has only lasted 15 years which is a lot shorter than me so far before it gave up but I think the cold has blocked her ears as there was no reaction.

 I did manage to get primer on most of the parts but I now need to look for a suitable compressor before continuing. More woe for the wallet then!

When laid out like this there are a lot of parts for such a small scale model!

Feeling a bit under the weather as the phrase goes! Mrs. Woody is feeling a lot under the weather so I presume we have picked up a bug from somewhere. However, I have still managed to do something in the Man Shed. Not a lot but all the parts of the IBG 1.72 scale Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit are now ready for priming before a top coat is applied.

When laid out like this there are a lot of parts for such a small scale model!

Back with building the Scammel Pioneer readying for paint.

I am back to the tractor unit of the IBG 1.72 scale Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit. Having pondered the painting of this i had a few parts to add to the chassis like the radiator and lights. The lights were a disaster! The kit parts flew off the bench as I tried to clean them up and remain lost! I made some new ones up from some kit sprue. They are passable and in this scale I don't think my efforts will be noticed!

Cab wise, I am leaving the roof off as well as one of the cab sides and the two halves of the cab will be painted separately. I should then be able to paint the details on the interior and then put the side and roof on having not forgotten to put in the steering column and steering wheel!

Hopefully the weekend may see all the parts in at least primer!

Whilst rummaging in the box I did find this interloper!

Out on todays bike ride and one of the local hot spots for flooding is still flooded. Now, being on a bike is bad enough in dealing with potholes but when you cant even see them under water or know how deep the water is makes me think sensibly and find an alternative route. 

 Unfortunately for a number of motorists this is not their thinking as this collection of number plates and other automotive paraphilia ripped from vehicles as they plunged through the flood testifies! There are going to be some big bills coming to some people soon!

Meanwhile, back in the dryness of WMD HQ work on the Crusader tank has progressed to the point that it is ready for paint!

I did have to replace the aerial but that was a simple job. Whilst rummaging in the box I did find this interloper!

Some form of ladybird which seem to be in abundance at the moment but I have let it where it is so it can fly off when it is ready!

Now that is a nice walk!

And now it begins to look like a tank! Yes, after the complexities of building the Scammell and its tank carrying trailer which has been akin to walking up a steep hill in mud on a windy and wet day, the building of the Crusader tank to go on the trailer is almost like a walk in the park on a warm sunny day!

After a few hours this is where I am up to.

Maybe a couple more sessions should see it built! Now that is a nice walk!

The last component of the kit is the Crusader tank.

 Having got the trailer built up to a stage ready for painting along with the tractor unit it made sense to build all the three components of the kit before getting the airbrush out. Using it once means it only needs cleaning once - working smarter not harder as I get older!

The last component of the kit is the Crusader tank. Not seen this before but the tracks and half the wheels are moulded as one part with the outer wheels to add. Different and not something I am too sure about at the moment but we will see!

A short build session saw the wheels added and part of the hull constructed.

Hopefully this sould not take too long to build but there are some more etched parts to add so where is that sear jar?

Time to add the ramps and what a pain that was!

The trials of etched brass parts on the trailer of the IBG 1.72 Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit are just about done! Can't say that I am sad either!

It looks interesting in this bare plastic and brass etched state that will later be harmonised with paint.

Additional from the last update is that the jacks are in place along with some sort of frame on the underside. 

Meanwhile, up top some additional pipework is in place but now it is time to add the ramps and what a pain that was!

There were more etched parts in the form of support bars which needed to be fitted to tiny pins on the ramps themselves and the trailer floor - nice!

Its done now and no contributions to the swear jar were made - amazingly! I am leaving the wheels off at the moment as it will be easier to paint them separately and then attach them.

The only way I could actually see the things was with a magnifying glass!

After a couple of warm and amazingly dry days the weather is back to wet! These two pigeons spotted on top of the WMD greenhouse looked particularly fed up with the rain!

In the dryness of the Man Cave, the progress on the IBG 1.72 scale Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit moves on - slowly! More etched brass parts which are brassing me off due to the literally minute size of some of them.

Look at this bracket that goes on the end of one of the poles on the ramps. You can see the scalpel blade in the background to get an understanding of how small this part is and there are two of them to bend to shape and then attach to the end of the poles. The only way I could actually see the things was with a magnifying glass! 

Anyway, they are now fitted but I suspect they may fall off during the painting process and I probably won't even notice!

These are the ramps that the poles with the brackets fit onto. I had to replace the kit supplied poles with some rod that was in stock as the kit parts were that delicate that trying to clean up the mounting points where they gad been cut from the sprue just broke them! As you will note there are other brass parts that had to be fitted as well. Looking at the sheet of etched parts there are only a few more to add - thank goodness!

This could be a sign of a good summer!

More parts to the Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter trailer have been fitted including the side strengthening gussets and the end piece to which the loading ramps will be fitted.

Turning it right ways up it even looks like a trailer!

Hopefully I will get some more done soon but Mrs. Woody's list of chores includes tidying the garden so, given the somewhat nice unseasonable weather and rather than paint the Mercedes MP4 cab, i got  the lawnmower out as well as doing some weeding and pruning. What did surprise me more than Mrs. W was surprised I had done some chores, was the fact that there were so many ladybirds about. 

Whether they had survived the Winter or are new born I don't know but this could be a sign of a good summer! Famous last words and all that!

Painting it is going to take some planning!

It is one of those gratifying moments when things start to come together and in the case of the IBG  Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter and Crusader tank kit the Scammel is finally beginning to look like the truck it is. 

The chassis is more or less complete with additional parts having been attached such as the fuel tank and trailer turntable. There are some mudguards to go over the front axle and several more cab parts. However, at this stage I need to think about how I am going to paint this. Build the entire truck and things like painting the interior become impossible so it will need to be done in stages which is something still in the planning stage in my mind! 

That little lot took some doing but there was more!

More etched brass parts with the IBG 1.72 Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter kit, this time in the cab. It really tested my patience but I did learn more about the various controls inside that cab that the Airfix kit I built some years ago did not have included. It was a much easier build too!

This is just the start with the gear lever, gear selection gate, dashboard, cab front reinforcement panels and seat support frames! 

That little lot took some doing but there was more! Winch leavers and brake lever together with the more conventional plastic seat cushions! 

I think that is all the etched parts for the front part of the cab but I cannot bring myself to look forward in the instructions so I may be in for a surprise!

Did I have a body odour issue that no one told me about or was there something else going on?

Out on a bike ride today, between the rain downpours I was going down a country lane riding into the wind when I noticed a somewhat 'rural' smell.  Did I have a body odour issue that no one told me about or was there something else going on? Well the answer was just around the bend when I came across this tractor and slurry tanker discharging its contents over the hedge into the adjacent field!

I passed with some trepidation just in case the discharge pipe malfunctioned! However, all was well and back at WMD HQ, a bit more progress with the BG 1.72 Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter kit which now has its front and rear axles fitted.

I stood the axles on some needle files so that the axles were all level as the glue dried.

And just to make sure all was level I added a bottle of glue as a weight! Just ned to let that set now!

In real life these parts look a lot neater than in the photos!

Some more progress with the IBG 1.72 Scammel Pioneer Tank Transporter kit with relative success with etched brass parts. Both ends of the chassis required further Swear Jar inducing battles with small etched brass parts but this time things went reasonably well. I must be getting my eye in with these tiny parts. Most of the construction related to the winching mechanism with various pullies and rollers.

The only issue I have with the above photos are that digital photography is cruel in its sharp detail and with a camera phone the focus is not always that good in close up shots! In real life these parts look a lot neater than in the photos! Given some cleaning and a coat of paint, all should look good!

Etched brass parts! My nemesis! Part 2!

Now I am really into dealing with ridiculously small parts some of which are etched brass too!

Take a look above and that large red arrow is pointing to two model jacks. Only under magnification can you see what they are though.

And then there is the engine fan belt, pullies and fan blade....

Having gone through those parts it was almost a pleasure to put together the 14 or so parts that go to make an overly complicated chassis build!

I just need to clean up the sprue mounting points which with these small parts is often easier to do once they are securely glued in place. In the meantime I am off to rest my eyes!

If you add the two numbers of my age together you get a number between 11 and 19!

It was my birthday some days ago and as always Mrs. Woody did me proud with some fantastic gifts. I won't say how old I am but as a hint, if you add the two numbers of my age together you get a number between 11 and 19!

Whilst loyal blog reader Mrs. B works that one out I will get to the gifts.

First off there is this Gecko Models 1/35th scale Cruiser tank which has a fighting compartment interior to it. Probably one of the less know WW2 tanks it will no doubt be an interesting build and should add something unusual to the collection. Not built a Gecko kit before so that will be something new for me too. Just hope there is not too much in the way of small and fiddly etched brass parts!

Next off is the IBG 1/72 Scammell Pioneer Tank Transport complete with a Crusader tank as a load. Again, as with the Gecko Models kit, I have never built an IBG kit so it will be interesting to see how this compares to the Airfix kit of the same transporter that I built about ten years ago.

Last off, told you she did me proud, is this very nice Heljan Class 33 in DRS livery. It is a second hand or as the current vogue describes it, pre-loved! To be fair it was either loved or never used by its previous owner as the loco is pristine and still has the accessory pack unopened. I just need to get my Last Great Project layout back together to see and hear (it is DCC sound chipped - nice!) this running 

Well, just under a year to go to the next gift day!