No trees but some tracks today and the cats help out with a diorama although they don't know!

After the last two days of tree matters it was nice not to have to deal with any more tree related disasters. It allowed me some time to do a bit more on the Egyptian T34 tank, namely finish the tracks. 

Being metal, tank tracks rust! However because they also run on some metal wheels in the tanks running gear there are also areas where that metal to metal contact leaves a shiny surface on the tracks. In the case of this tank the drive of the powered rear wheels leaves a shiny surface on the track guides as well as on the inside surface of the track links. To replicate this I used some aluminum paint (for some reason the WMD HQ stock of paint did not have a suitable silver in stock) literally dry brushed onto the parts of the track that would be shiny. In addition the outside faces of the track links run on various surfaces which in effect abrade the metal of the tracks and leave a shiny finish on the raised parts of the links. Again I replicated this with some dry brushed paint. 

Track awaiting being 'shined up'.

Track now with shiny parts!

Once the tracks were treated it was time to mount them to the tank hull. I had some time ago glued the rear drive wheels in place as I needed them securely in place to construct the multi part track links. The rest of the wheels were left loose until the tracks had been painted. I used some UHU glue to fasten these to their mounting points. I use this glue rather then plastic cement as it allows the wheels to be removed relatively easily and without damage later on if for some reason I end up with a broken track which I need to repair. Working smarter not harder!

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One side finished - just the other to do.

I also managed to do a little more to the diorama base. The trunk and leaves of the two palm trees have been toned down with some stone coloured paint which worked better than the grey I had planned to use. I also added a few enhancements around the two palms with some rocks and grasses. The rocks are selected from a clay cat litter (unused!) that my cats were using until we moved onto a wood pellet one. If I run out of rocks the cats may have to get used to the clay type litter again! The long grasses are a piece of sisal string that was from a well used and much clawed cat scratching post. It was cut into suitable lengths and glued into PVA. The cats have certainly helped out with this project! The rest of the shorter grasses are static grass and pre made tufts from PECO. Not much more to do now.

If only real trees were as easy to deal with as model trees!

My plans for today went out of the widow as I dealt with the aftermath of yesterdays apple tree disaster. With the collapsed branch dealt with I found several large dead branches which had to be removed and cleaned up. The end result is an odd looking tree but happy cattle in the field behind who are benefitting from the apples which are not big enough for me or Mrs. woody to eat! They could well get fairly fat as I have three sacks of them.

Dealing with model trees is a lot easier and having planted the palm trees on the base for the Egyptian T34 tank yesterday all I have to do with them is tone them down with a misting of a grey/brown paint which will make them look a little less Disney like! 

On the base itself I coated it with PVA glue.

Once the base had been covered the wet glue was covered in some kiln dried sand.

Once dried it looked good to me!

Although neither the base or tank is finished I could not resist posing them together - just what I hoped for! Just need to push on and finish it subject to any more issues with real trees! 

Its all trees today!

Getting back into things after a few days away I started to make a base for the Egyptian T34 tank. I made one for the Russian T34 and just as a reminder here it is.

 I made the base for the Egyptian T34 in the same manner and to the same size as the one above using the styrene base that pizzas used to come with - I built up a stock some years ago as I eat many pizzas and now the styrene is no longer environmentally friendly so has been replaced by cardboard.

The new base was cut out.

The tank was placed on it and a small raised section added for a little variety.

In the WMD HQ Stock Room some palm trees have been languishing for some years - I bought them because I wanted one for a project but could only buy a pack of six. However they have now been useful and another two have been used for this project.

The base was sprayed with Halfords grey primer and two palm trees were glued in place and the tank placed to see how it looked.

I would have applied the sand base to it this afternoon but unfortunately my plan was curtailed by my apple tree in the garden which decided the weight of apples was too heavy for one of the branches and it half broke off. 

It is an old tree - about 50 years in age - so I guess it is coming towards the end of its time. I will be spending some time cleaning this mess up. I managed to fully cut the broken branch off as it was resting on adjacent branches which could have ended up breaking under the additional weight. Mrs. Woody and me need to decide if we take the tree out completely and plant a new one or see if we cut it all back and get some shape into it whether it will last a few more years. Whatever we decide, it is only when you start clearing up something like this that you realise just how big trees are in kit form but then again it is all about the trees today!

Speeding in forward and reverse!

No sooner am I back from a few days away then I am back to the Rocks by Rail Museum. Today was a quiet day which was good in a way as Mr Beecham, he of cycling and modelling prowess, visited and I was able to spend some time with him between greeting guests and producing bacon cobs! 

We had a good look at the locos in the Exhibition Shed and they all have their own special history and characteristics. 

One oddity I pointed out was the speedometer in the Sentinel locomotives which shows the speed both in forward and backwards directions which looks odd if you are used to a car speedometer! One thing though is that these Sentinels will never be in danger of being driven at speed. The maximum speed shown is 30mph!

I think Mr. Beecham had a good time and enjoyed a bacon cob - well maybe he was just being polite about my culinary skills!

Holiday souvenirs.

Most people bring home a holiday souvenir - a piece of pottery or similar. However I usually end up with some model related item and the bill for the holiday! Whilst in Norfolk on holiday last week I took Mrs. Woody to Sheringham. A seaside town that we have visited for more years then I can remember but one of those special places especially as it is home to the North Norfolk Railway sometimes referred to as The Poppy Line. The town also has always had a model shop in the same premises although now under its fourth owner since I have been going there. The shop is now Smiths Model Railways - click here for their website - and is very well presented with a wide variety of model railways and associated needs. Whilst in there leaving Mrs. Woody to peruse the handbag shop next door, I did spot a second hand Proto 2000 GP30 loco in Burlington Northern livery. Ideal for my USA switching layout. It said on the box that it had a slight clicking noise but on the shops test track that did not affect its running especially at slow speeds. A very fair £40 changed hands and I exited the shop happy with the purchase and even happier that Mrs. Woody had not progressed inside the handbag shop! A quick move on towards the sea front saved any need to spend further money! A few days later we went on the Bure Valley Railway. At Wroxham they have a second hand book shop where strangely enough I found two USA outline wagons for £4 and £5 which joined the GP30.

Holly the Cat carries out a close up inspection of this rather strange, to cats anyway, looking thing!

Mrs. Woody may not have got a handbag as a souvenir of the holiday but she did come home with something unusual - a chair! I spotted this at the Norfolk Lavender Farm and we bought it as a spur of the moment thing. Someone has got talent and an ability to think outside of the box to make this 

Having cats this is just perfect but no one gets to sit on it in case the painting gets damaged!

The Muckleborough Tank Museum T34 Tank.

I have been to sunny Norfolk with Mrs. Woody for a few days. It is a beautiful place with many interesting attractions apart from the wonderful scenery and the sea. One of these attractions is the Muckleborough Military Collection just outside of Sheringham on the North Norfolk Coast. It is a large collection of artillery, tanks and hard/soft skinned vehicles. You can even have a ride around the site in a Leyland DAF four wheel drive truck. Not as exciting as the Gamma Goat I went on some years ago but never the less rough enough to need fully harnessed seats, More on that and the other vehicles in another post but today I will highlight the fact that there is a T34 as part of the collection. Anyone having read previous posts will know I am building an Egyptian T34 at the moment and built a Russian one last year so these tanks are of interest.

Whilst building these tank models I am always worried I am not neat enough in my build. However take a look at these pictures to see just how rough these tanks were. It does appear that by accident, my poor modelling skills may have actually produced something more realistic than if I had skillfully constructed the kit into a pristine vehicle! 

Have a look at these to see just how rough the real tank is. Whilst I was taking the photos I also stuck the camera through the open drivers hatch and just blindly pointed it to see what images I would get. Very interesting especially as I built the Italeri kit with the interior in it last year. It is more roomy than I thought it would be!

Brass bearings.

I have had a problem with one of my second hand coaches derailing on an increasingly regular basis. It is always best to carry out an inspection of the track work first just to see that there is no problem there and there was not. Looking at the bogies on the coach I noted that on one of them the wheels had a lot of sloppy movement that meant they were not running true. This was because the plastic bearing face in the bogie frame had worn.

I could have got a new bogie but I had in stock a pack of brass pin point bearings. All I had to do was to put these into the bogies where the pin point axles of the wheel sets locate. In true Woody botch style rather then drill out a suitable hole I used a soldering iron to heat up the brass bearing and in effect 'sink' it into the plastic bogie frame.

Amazingly my botching work!

 Putting the wheels back in the coach runs without derailing - Result!

Kite Flying.

Not the kind on the end of a long line but in this case the bird Red Kite. Out on a bike ride I spotted one hovering in a thermal above a corn field. The I caught site of another and before I knew it there were eight of them. I understand that bird enthusiasts have mixed feelings about them but they do look majestic as they seemingly float in the sky. My camera is not a very good one but there are black dots in the picture below which are the kites and the photo below that is about as close a shot as I could get. The photos may not be much but my memory has these images stored in detail for the rest of my life!

The difference of scale.

No time for model making but the picture below shows the sheer difference in the two most popular scales for military vehicle modelling. The smaller model is an Airfix Sherman Crab in 1/72 scale. The actual tank was a mine clearance tank where the chains on the roller at the front were rotated and set the mines off a safe distance from the tank and cleared a way for following vehicles and troops. I added various parts to enhance the level of detail.

Meanwhile the Sherman behind is an Academy kit in 1/35 scale of a loan lease tank to the Russian army. I added a few details such as tarpaulins laid over the rear of the hull and various bags and sacks formed out of epoxy resin.

Obviously the bigger scale allows more detail but with what I added to the smaller tank it illustrates that you can still get a lot into the smaller scale. The one thing you can see though is that a life time of modelling in 1/76 scale takes up a lot less space than the same collection in 1/35 scale! I won't tell Mrs. Woody about that!

Looking around and getting in close!

Being a volunteer at the Rocks by Rail Museum usually involves being busy. However there are moments when you can spend a bit of time just enjoying the site for what it is - a museum. Not many museums allow you to get so close to the exhibits but Rocks is a hands on place that allows guests to get up close. 

An example of that is how many people can say they have seen the inside of the cab of a steam locomotive. Not that many but here at the Museum I had the opportunity to do just that with this with this Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 locomotive built in Kilmarnock in 1958. 

It may be a small locomotive compared to the large express steam locos but if you can master the controls of this then you could probably drive Flying Scotsman or Tornado too!