Dark like the clouds!

Another fine summer day here in the UK! Waking up to the sound of rain I thought I had woken early as it seemed dark but that was due to the clouds blocking out the sunlight. With no chance of a dry bike ride until later in the day the Dragon Panzer Ferry kit progressed a bit further with details like the marker lights and mirror arms being fitted. The various wheels were also prepared for painting. The running wheels in particular had a prominent mould line around them which needed some careful and delicate sanding to remove.

With the main parts that I wanted fitted to the hull glued in place and the wheels prepared it was time for some paint. In my usual way the loose parts were mounted on a board using upturned masking tape to hold the parts in place. 

Then it was time for the undercoat which in my usual way is a dark colour to give shading and darkness in places that top coat does not reach. Vallejo black primer was the colour of choice matching the ever darkening clouds outside!

I did two sessions of priming using the gap between to get a bike ride in whilst the clouds and rain broke a little. I now have a primed hull and various wheels and fittings ready for some top coats.

One side of the wheels done so all turned over ....

I also managed time to glue a further section of track on my 00 gauge layout which is making progress!

Things are brightening up!

Would it float?

Back on the Dragon Panzer Ferry kit and I glued the deck to the hull which brought about thoughts as to whether this vehicle would actually float? A bit of an internet search revealed that my model is that of a prototype  produced by Magirus in 1942. It consisting of the two tracked vehicles and a pontoon. It was capable of ferrying vehicles up to 20tons. Given the ever increasing weight of German tanks, the load capacity was insufficient to carry Panthers and Tigers and so this particular design never got further than the prototypes. Whether they were actually tested is something which appears to be confirmed by this picture which you can see by clicking here.. It floats but does not look too stable!

Back to the kit and there are a few more small parts to add but I am getting near to the point where I can apply some paint.

One thing is for certain I won't be trying my model out in the bath to see if it floats! I can just imagine Mrs. Woody's reaction to that! She would probably get me a rubber duck!

Airfix/Dapol JCB kit.

An unusual day at WMD HQ it being the birthday for both my departed sister and mother in law but one where we did have a get together of families over a meal which was nice. No model making activities today but time to reflect on a model I built around the time my sister died.

This is the Airfix JCB kit. Well it is not quiet the Airfix kit as it is now under the ownership of Dapol but more on that later in this post. 

Even though I built this kit years ago it is not, in true Woody style, finished yet! It needs the various rams painting silver, the decals applying and some weathering. Despite its small size it is a fairly detailed kit and the rear actor is movable.

At the moment the model stands in the quarry at Chalkdon, my 009 narrow gauge layout, where it will probably now stay.

There is some history to this kit. Originally released in 1966 by Airfix, the JCB was actually the load for a lowmac wagon kit so the JCB was never available seperately. Go forward about 25 years and Airfix had stopped production of their railway based kits, including the old Kitmaster range they had bought, back in the 1970s. Dapol however bought all the moulds from Airfix in the 1990s. They started to re-release the old kits but they had a major fire in their factory in Wales shortly after and a number of moulds were lost in the damage including, it was thought, the JCB moulds. Roll forward many months and the story goes that Dapol got a phone call from a local engineering works who carried out repairs to moulds. They wondered when Dapol were coming to pick up the repaired JCB moulds? Apparently before the fire the moulds had been sent for repair but nobody remembered that! Since then the kit has been released on its own and is still in the range.

Sometimes it is good to look back and remember things and not just models but those close to you.

A trio of tractors!

Not the farm type of tractor but the Class 37's which are nick named tractors because of their engine noise. Having spent so much time laying track and soldering wires it was only sensible to test it all out by running some trains so these three came out.

I also tidied up a bit with the layout cleared of most rubbish and clutter.

However some clutter soon went back onto weigh a section of track down that I had glued.

I think I'll just run the trio of tractors a bit more now!

Calm returns - almost!

After the chaos of yesterday in the Man Cave with scattered tools, materials, track, trains, scenic materials  and an assortment of miscellaneous junk added for effect, today has seen a resemblance of calm return! That is on the baseboard as I have moved most of the aforementioned things off it and onto the floor so I need to do some cleaning up! Most of the track laying and wiring on the front half of the layout is now more or less complete.

There are still sections of track that need to be glued down and then ballasted and the baseboard joints still need doing but the layout can function again.

You may notice I have installed a couple of additional points heading off toward the edge of the baseboard which are there for possible future expansion. Thinking ahead it is easier to put them in now then once everything is glued and ballasted!

There is still a lot to do including dealing with a lot of wiring. This is only part of it! 

But sorting it out can wait until I can turn the baseboard upside down - my back just cant take much more bending at the moment as I have told Mrs. Woody who calmly and sympathetically (I think) rolled her eyes, sighed and turned the volume up on the TV! I just stayed calm!

Chaos but making progress!

Chaos! Well it has to happen in the World of Woody! I am not the tidiest of workers and it probably looks worse in the photos then it actually is. At least it is all confined to my Man Cave where Mrs. Woody only occasionally ventures! However all this chaos is progress towards moving forward with this layout. Toady saw more track weathered.

To illustrate the effect that weathering has the bottom weathered track looks more realistic then the top unweathered track. When was the last time you saw the sides of real rail shiny?

There was also more wire soldering and hole drilling!

 

Hopefully by the weekend the scene may be a bit more calm in nature!

A wet and warmish summer is great for grass growing!

A day without tracklaying, ironically at a railway museum - Rocks By Rail. Instead of the joys and delights of 00gauge track wiring and laying I was out yet again with the mower but ut has made a great break!

It was tough getting through the new growth....

 

...but ut looks as though someone cares afterwards!

All this wet and warmish weather just encourages it to grow. Last year's heat wave saw most of this as almost straw!

As always, a look at what else is happening and Thomas has almost finished the body of the van wagon with its lower top coat of red. Looking very smart!

In the restoration shed John continues the painting of the planks for the new three plank wagon. 2 coats of primer followed by 2 coats of undercoat followed by 2 coats of top coat and then finished with 2 coats of varnish! As John assured me, it should out last all of us! 

Meanwhile Harriot the JCB comes along slowly in her restoration.

There is still a lot of corrosion to deal with but rumour has it that there is a cab available with less rust - whatever that means!

Ketton No 1 which I said last week might be nearing an engine start does indeed look as though such an event is near as I found it with its rocker covers off. That will be a great moment and no doubt a lot of smoke and soot as she has stood some years now.

A frustrating day!

Sometimes a day comes along when you think that you can get a job done in a couple of hours and it ends up taking 5! Well today was one of those days. I set out to wire up the point complex on the other side of the layout and had visions of having the job done as well as several others. The drilling of various holes through the baseboard for wires and point motors went smoothly enough. Then the frustrations started. The points in this complex are Hornby. Not my first choice but as I had them they were used as part of this layout and the cost of replacing the eight of them (four in the complex that I did last week and four in the complex I dealt with today) would be over £100. One of the problems with Hornby track is that the metal or the covering on the metal that they use for the rails will not accept solder very well. Occasionally a good joint will be formed first time but the majority of the time I have to scrape the metal to try to get a decent surface for the solder to adhere to. I do get some joints that look OK but if I give them a tug they come away so I have to start again. Very frustrating! However I have managed it! The curved Peco point took just five minutes to do!

Hopefully over the next few days this scene of track carnage will be somewhat more calm!

To add to the frustration I tried to change the soldering bit in my iron which should just screw out. It didn't! Instead it snapped with the shaft of the bit left in the iron which I suspect will not come out. Luckily there is a spare soldering iron in WMD HQ Stores!

Hopefully tomorrow will be less frustrating!

The monotony of ballasting but photography can help and the Panzer Ferry project gets bigger - with some inquisitive cats!!

It is certainly not the most exciting task in building a model railway but it is necessary and needs to be done neatly. The first viaduct is almost completely finished but as this picture shows there are still a few areas that need a bit more attention like the section of track at the bottom left of the photo. 

Not sure why I failed to put enough ballast in between the sleepers but what the naked eye doesn't notice at the time sticks out like a sore thumb in a picture taken later on. At least this way I can see where I need to go back over.

Although I have not had the chance to progress with the Panzer Ferry kit I did get something in the post the other day.

When I posted about the original kit I did say that there is a second amphibious vehicle to go with it which I might get at the next Sleaford Model Makers Show. However one came on a certain auction site at a good price so I thought it would be best to get it!

As with anything at WMD HQ, sooner (as in this case) or later a cat or two will take an interest in a new arrival. In this case Peggy and Monty. 18 years separates these two with Peggy being the grand age of 19 which in human age is 92 but she still acts like a teenager!

 

No soggy viaduct!

Despite the almost wintery weathering that hardly inspires me to do anything involving going outside and getting soggy, I have ventured out into the Man Cave where further ballasting has taken place on my 00 gauge layout. It may not be much but I have done half of one of the two viaducts. 

I did, in a post a few weeks ago, outline my worries about in effect spreading dilute PVA on a cardboard structure and possible water damage with the whole viaduct ending up as a soggy mess. I did lay a plastic track bed with some pre-applied ballast along the edges and middle in an attempt to minimise any risk of water damage. Amazingly, for one of my ideas, it has worked. No soggy viaduct - so far anyway!

With the ballast dry this Class 57 in Freightliner livery took its train across to see if there were any issues and I am pleased to say there none. Just the addition of the ballast to the weathered track makes the scene look much more realistic.

The Freightliner livery is one of my favorites and really suits this loco. 

So far about 2 feet, or 60cm for younger readers, of track has been ballasted. There is a lot more to do which should still be keeping me busy into the real winter period!