Adornments!

The tunnel scenic sub-base is beginning to look a little more interesting with some adornments to the previously flat brickwork. These bits take some time to make and add but do enhance the look. Just a lot more to do yet before I can say it is finished - just like the WMD HQ bathroom at the moment!

A level of sanity returns!

In Mrs. Woody's view, sanity and me are not words that you associate with each other! However, in the case of WMD, a level of sanity returns with me getting out into the Man Cave and doing some model making activity and inside of the WMD HQ the bathroom is now fully plaster boarded and looks a lot better even if there is much more to do!

Lets deal with the model making first and I am still working on the tunnel section of my layout with the installation of the various supporting piers that are needed. Although I had previously made some of these, because of the need to alter much of the main structure these no longer fitted so there I am having to build new ones.

This is where the above is going to fit.

And fitted, it tidies up that joint nicely!

The next one is now under construction so hopefully with the return of a level of  sanity to model making it will be completed shortly!

Meanwhile, the sanity level returns, in part, to the bathroom with plaster boarding complete and things tidied up. Next step is plastering next week. That will be nice!

Under the weather!

Under the weather! A wonderful expression to say you feel unwell, which, from my search is a maritime expression coming about from when unwell sailors were sent below deck and away from the weather to recover. Not sure if I can find any under-deck area but I do not feel well! A bad cold that has developed during last week feels worse now. Not felt like doing much but I did at least make some progress with the tunnel sub-base on my 00 gauge layout where the upper walls have been glued to the main structure.

I also started the supporting piers which will add some vertical interest to the structure.

In the meantime I just hope Mrs. Woody doesn't get this cold or I will be suffering again!

Looking like a white van!

Again not much model making today, just a few minutes to stick some brick paper to the card for the walls on the tunnel sub-base that I am building.

However, there was a lot of painting with the various skirting boards and door architrave for the cloakroom getting three top coats. Painting a dark colour over white primer is no fun!

However it does contrast well with the rest of the paint and fittings.

Now here is something that I have never done before - wash a Transit van! Phil the builders van has been filthy for weeks and my questioning as to why he had not cleaned it got no where and with no sign of him getting round to it O took bucket and sponge to it. It was filthy and I did at one point ask Phil if he had a bio-hazard sticker I could put on it!

However, 90 minutes later and it was looking like a .....white van! Just hope Phil doesn't think that this is a regular thing!

The convenience of a skip!

Not much modelling done apart from a stay made on the wall sections for the tunnel sub-base that I have posted about over the past few weeks which will keep me amused for a few days yet!

The reason for a lack of model making is that I am painting various skirting boards and door frames as part of the ongoing rebuild of the bathroom and cloak room. Far easier to paint the parts away from the room especially when you have a convenient skip to support things! If it all goes wrong its not far to dispose of it either!

Maybe I should do my model making near the skip - that could be convenient!

It works and looks good - in my eyes anyway!

The tunnel scenic sub-base works! Well the main construction is now finished following on from the tunnel mouths being glued to the main sub-base and the top where my card board butchery hacked a part of it away has been repaired. That bit was fairly easy as I was able to lay a piece of card under the affected main structure and trace around the 'hole' to give the right shape to cut from the new card.

With that cut, it was simply a case of gluing it in place.

It was then time to glue the tunnel mouths and tunnel insides to the sub-base and strengthen a few other parts of the overall structure.

Left a while to allow the glue to dry, the sub-base was then transferred back to the layout to finally see, for the third time, if it looked OK and that the rolling stock passed through without issue.

I am more than happy to report that it does look good and the rolling stock goes through and pass without issues! Phew! Looking from a distance it does fit in even better with the overall scene now.

So, now it is back to building new top walls and parapets, as the the ones I built for the first design of tunnels no longer fit!

Light at the end of the tunnel?

 After a few days of bleak weather the sun came out and it seemed a lot lighter - a bit like seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Well, there has been some sight of light at the end of the tunnel making saga on my 00 gauge Last Great Project layout as I managed an hour out in the Man Cave. The tunnels have now got a roof and supporting tabs so that they can be glued to the main structure so progress is made!

My work bench is so untidy!

More clamps!

Once all the glue dries it should be time to glue it to the main structure and then I can see if there is light at the end of that tunnel!

When self levelling doesn't level!

On occasions, you wonder how a product managed to get its name. Take self levelling screed for example. You presume, that if you follow the instructions, that when you pour it onto the unlevel floor it will do as it is named and self level. However that was not the case with the rebuild of the cloakroom, which appears to be the posh way to describe the downstairs toilet! With the freshly installed plaster board plastered, it was time to level the floor. Phil mixed the product to the instructions and poured it out in the far, most of level part of the existing floor.

Now you would think that it would flow out and literally find its own level. Not this stuff! Phil poured a second batch to see if it needed more mass. That didn't work! The stuff just sat there as though it wanted to be a hill!

Finally, Phil had to venture in and start prodding and troweling to get the stuff to move.

Finally he managed to get it spread but there were still some humps!

Luckily, when it dried, which was quite quickly, the self leveling product remains soft so Phil was able to use a scrapper and level off the humps, Later in the day Marty Cat decided to investigate as he was sure there used to be a litter box in there!

 Next job for me is to get some filling of small holes done and then do some painting once Mrs. Woody has decided on a colour!

Meanwhile, back in the Man Cave, slow tunnel sub-base progress has been happening. The tunnel inner walls are being constructed.

Trial fitting has taken place.

And it all seems to work but I will need to fill the hole on top from my previous cardboard butchery as I tried to make the previous two attempts work!

Maybe this is third time lucky!

Clamping down!

A large number of clamps on the tunnel mouth section of the sub-base that I am building at the moment as I construct the tunnel lining. Card and paper brick paper do tend to warp as they get wet and then dry with PVA glue so it is always advisable to try to encourage them to keep straight by clamping down on something such as a steel ruler.

Although going on for the last week or so not much mention of the cloakroom rebuild but it is progressing. Having taken the ceiling down it made sense ti insulate it.

Phil plaster boarded the ceiling and wall which made it look more like a room again

Just awaiting some plaster to be applied and then it is ready to paint which is my responsibility - Oh joy!

Third time lucky!

Hopefully, this is third time lucky and I have found the ladder to the finish of this tunnel sub-base. Following cardboard butchery I now have this.

Which whist the clearances are still tight they are far better than before.

From a distance it looks reasonable as well!

Could this be third time lucky? I have no idea but I do know I have a lot to do to make this look as it should!

A game of snakes and ladders!

It has been a long time since I played the snakes and ladder board game. More often then not my progress along the board was thwarted by those snakes whilst the handy ladders were always elusive to the score of the dice that I rolled. So, interesting my board game failures may be, but, what has this to do with model making you may ask? Well. the current tunnel scenic module build is akin to a game of snakes and ladders in that every time I think I have advanced up a ladder I find the snake to take me back down again!

I have, over the past few days related how I have now had two attempts at getting the arrangement of the tunnel mouths right and you can now add the third attempt! I thought that I had it sorted with the second attempt and I got as far as constructing walls and tunnel internals only to realise that the tight clearances between rolling stock and the structure were just too tight! I should have recognised that earlier on but I didn't so down the snake I go and having to find another ladder to get back up on! These two photos show just how tight the clearances were.

Another rethink was required and has resulted in this as a potential solution or ladder to use the board game analogy!

It needed cutting back a bit before  it was in the right place.

Clearances are certainly much better between the structure and the rolling stock.

Will this be the winning ladder or is there another snake to thwart my progress? I have no idea but may find out in a few days!

Complex cardboard engineering!

This is becoming complex cardboard engineering! Lots of clamps, lots of glue and lots of crossed fingers hoping that the whole thing holds together. 

Don't ask how I managed to get the curved roof the right shape - it was more by a fluke of luck than any science based calculation!

Just hope it all fits!

On a completely different note, Mrs. Woody reminded me that despite the grey, wet and cold weather, it would be soon time to prepare for growing seeds for flowers for the garden. She also reminded me that we needed some compost to plant the seeds in and so I was ripped way from my tedious varnishing job that I posted about yesterday and went off to the garden centre. Not a place I relish in visiting as my wallet becomes almost porous as Mrs. W finds items that we never knew we could live without and in all honestly could live without but still find their way back to WND HQ. However, it was a break from the smelly varnish and as I walked in I was delighted to see this.

Which is one of these...

Which is the same as the model that I got for Christmas and put together back in late December and early January.....

I think that stands comparison with the real thing!