Warning - Chocolate will make your clothes shrink!

I always like a good sign and this one on the platform fence at the Stapleford Park Miniature Railway caught my eye and made me and Mrs. Woody laugh and we probably need to heed Warning - Chocolate will make your clothes shrink!

Back to the exhibits I just loved this Showman's tractor and living van. Beautifully restored and a real piece of history.

The inside was pure luxury!

Keeping the theme of trucks this 8 wheeler ERF B series caught my eye. I have driven a few of these many years ago.

And the same with this classic Bedford TK.

Tractors were about too!

This Opperman three wheel Motocart caught my eye. A teenager was in charge of it and was really enthusiastic about this piece of history. 

There were plenty of retail stalls and displays like this one by a local Macano club.

Then of course there was the railway! A 10 inch gauge railway run just like the real thing with a 2 mile line fully signaled and run by steam locos in the main.

The locos are all replicas of real ones.

The guard gets a 'comfy' seat whilst passengers have to sit on the wooden benches but it is worth it!

Not running on the day but there are some diesel locos to.

This was my favorite loco. A USA outline steamer built in America as the builders plate states.

A great afternoon out and so much variety! Must remember to go again next year and also remember that chocolate will make your clothes shrink!

Stapleford Park Miniature Railway 2024 - Part 1

Trying to pick some photos for this blog from yesterdays trip to the Stapleford Park Miniature railway Miniatures and Models Weekend 2024 hasn't been easy. I could have filled this post several times over! I will do it over two days though so lets start todays look at some of my favorite exhibits vehicle wise!

Starting with the car that I would choose to go home with and it is this superb Mk3 Cortina 2 door. A real beauty and brings back many memories of when cars had a personality! 

Fantastic interior with acres of vinyl and masses of imitation wood trim!

That tax disc (remember those) and the number plate dates this car at more than 50 years old and it looks brand new!

This Rover 2000 looked fantastic in that green paint work and with the upgraded alloy wheels.

This Morris Marina was as standard as they come but looked wonderful, just like Mrs. Woody who drove a similar one years ago!

Another Rover 2000, a Morris Minor Traveler and a modernish BMW were also looking good in the sun.

There were also some custom cars including this rather nice Dodge pickup.

However this Bedford CA van was my favorite custom semi resto. From the outside it looks lovingly restored to original condition ...

...but look inside and this very modern and very comfy looking interior awaits. Although I didn't find out, I just know there is going to be a somewhat interesting and powerful engine under the bonnet.

A Land Rover and 4x4 club were on site with some interesting exhibits.

There were a few other Land Rovers there to including this one with several interesting notices on the windows - I do like them!

There was this more modern snorkled and winch fitted model.

There was also a Mk1 from the 1950s and worth a fortune now!

For the ultimate in off road camping - the Land Rover Camper!

There was also a collection of motorbikes.

I couldn't help but admire this mini bike from the 1960s.

I will carry on tomorrow as there were some really interesting things that I want to record!

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?

John makes an error but finds a novel way to sharpen his pencil - all at the jungle trail of the Rocks By Rail Museum!

The sound of woodworking greeted me as I passed the restoration shed at the Rocks By Rail Museum. John was repairing an old gate. 

He had cut half joints in the wood frame and was routing out holes for the cross pieces. However and never witnessed by me before, John had made an error! He had routed the holes for the cross pieces on the wrong side! He was also cross with himself!

However John soon showed one of his trade tricks to impress me as he sharpened his pencil to mark out the new holes for the gate in the right place using the grinder! Fantastic!

Meanwhile, Alex was spending yet another day chipping off cement gathered from Ketton No1's previous existence at the Ketton Cement Works. A seemingly endless task but he looks happy!

For me another day of battling undergrowth! This time on the Nature Trail where I have not been for a long time and I renamed it the Jungle Trail given that I had to beat a path through it! Certainly nature had taken over. A few before and after shots of what I was dealing with.

At least you can walk the trail now!

Having had enough of grass cutting I had some banners to put up on the way home for the next events at the Museum. Not to strenuous except I had to use my hedge cutter to cut the grass back which was hiding thr banners! 

Another YouTube video!

The WMD Film Crew have been busy this week with yet another YouTube video. This time it looks at what is available as 3D prints for the railway modeller and the costs, which, if you have read this blog before, you will know are fairly cheap!

For your viewing delight or insomnia cure......

Swing motion!

With the 3D printed diesel loco complete I am back to the 3D print crane which had been primed with a grey undercoat when I last posted about it on the blog. That undercoat was then given a red top coat. There are details to paint but the main colour is red so the details can be brush painted later. In the meantime I needed to build a small plinth on which the crane can stand and also allowing it to have that swing motion. Some scrap Wills brick sheet was a handy source for the walls.

The walls were cut from the sheet and a base added from some handy scrap plastic sheet to the square they formed. The crane had some plkastic rod added to the hole on the underside which is a fit into the bigger plastic rod located under the middle of the base.

This photo of it temporarily posed on the layout probably explains the theory better than my words!

Still detailing to do but it looks the business and will be posable with that swing motion!