Shades!

On a day like the sunny and hot day it is I could look cool in a pair of shades and be cool by sitting in the shade although Mrs. Woody would disagree with both of those possibilities! However the shades I am talking about are shades of colour on my 3D printed engine shed. This is what it looked like with a coat of rattle can 'sand' coloured paint.

Interestingly, if we focus in hard on the building you can see the individual layers of plastic laid down by the 3D printer.

To bring some realism to the stones I painted random stones in slightly different shades of complimentary paint to the sand colour.

I think that looks good! I only used three colours as shown below, but by mixing them a whole spectrum of different shades emerged. The hardest thing about the whole process is actually being random in which stones you paint. Sub-consciously I start doing things like every alternate of third stone!

Just need to finish the rest of the shed which is a job to do in the shade of my Man Cave!

Colour me!

Having almost shouted 'colour me' the 3d printed engine shed has now had its exterior walls base coated in a 'sand' coloured paint from a rattle can that was conveniently lying around the Man Cave! 

It looks a bit stark but that will be cured by the next stage of painting which will soon be done - famous last words!.

Yesterday was also a day at the Rocks by Rail Museum for me and having sourced a set of keys to ley everyone in as the regular key holder was absent, I installed my patented banner rack! I did need to use a grinder just to reduce the diameter of the threaded rod slightly and whilst not the prettiest thing it works! 

It was a day of grass cutting - when will it slow down growing? - but I took time out to see how the cab of Subdew was going with its repaint - another case of 'colour me' especially as the white is being redone in a soft cream colour. There is some scaffolding in place so hopefully the upper parts should be a lot easier to rub down and paint.

That front part is not going to be easy to get access to but there will be a way!

It is 50 years since Sundew 'walked' to Corby and much of the story is on the Museum's Facebook page available here. Well worth a look and read.

Paint it white.

Back with the £d printed engine shed, I have applied some white primer to the inside of the engine shed itself and to both sides of the rook as well as to the doors and window frames. The white on the inside of the engine shed will remain but be dirtied to replicate how many such buildings where painted in this colour to increase the light levels. The roof will be rusted up and the other parts will probably end up a red to match some other railway infrastructure on my 009 layout Chalkdon.

With the primer dry I have masked off the inside of the shed ready to put a stone colour on the outside but that will have to await until tomorrow - but it won't be painted white!

A real mix of things!

This post is a real mix of things! First off, a success! Out on my bike ride this morning I came to a level crossing that I probably go over two or three times a month. Oddly, I must be one of the few people who actually hopes that the barriers are down when I approach. This is partly to give me a justified rest but also to watch the train go by. Over the years I have tried to get a decent photo of the passing train but for all sorts of reasons I always end up with the middle of a carriage or a blur! However today some success!

Back at WMD HQ I had to get on with a job that I have been putting off for some while - taking a pile of scrap metal to the scrap merchant. The good thing is getting some money for it and by creating a large clear space getting in Mrs. Wood's good books (a rare event?) but the bad thing is having to sort it all out into different materials! At least the good parts come after the bad!

Always looking out for unusual number plates that have some relevance to their vehicle, I saw this on the way to the scrap merchants. Nice!

Back at WMD HQ I could have gone to the Man Cave but I actually did a job I have been putting off, again for some time, which is to make a hanging rack for the banners at Rocks By Rail. Old salvaged wood and some metal threaded rod got used and if my initial trial is anything to go by the principal is good. I just need to run an angle grinder along the threaded rod so that the banners slide on easily with their pre-made fastening holes.

I think that is me done for the day now - a real mixed day!

Changes!

Having returned from my bike ride this afternoon (it had dried up from this mornings downpour) I got caught in another downpour! Wet and soggy I thought where has summer gone? Looking back two years ago I blogged this on the 16th July 2022.....

With warnings of a hot weekend I still had to remind myself that it was only mid July whilst out on my bike ride this morning seeing harvested fields, hay stacks and tractors out ploughing - sights normally for late August and September!!

How times change with this today! Wet, wet and to avoid the pop group cliché, more wet!

And talking of change the 3D printed engine shed has changed a bit! The rook trusses have been fitted to the underside of the corrugated iron roof sheets

 

And it is a nice tight fit on the shed itself whilst still being able to be lifted off.

I have also fettled the window frames by removing some flash as well as on the doors.

 Next stage is to think about some paint and then it will really have changed!

Barge boards on!

A busy day with jobs plus I had a puncture on my bike ride  means just a small amount of model making time - enough to put the barge boards cut yesterday on the 3d printed engine shed roof. Once the glue has hardened I will sand the joints smooth and then think about the ridge that I need to put on.

Spur of the moment!

Well my spur of the moment idea led to very little model making but another YouTube video!

I just needed to cut six strips of plasticard to the identical width. So I did my usual of measuring the first one and cutting it. If I then tried to accurately measure and cut the remaining five I can guarantee they would all vary in width. But I did have a hack! That is to butt up a piece of wood to the edge of the plasticard, place the 'master' already cut strip against the block over the plasticard, then butt up my steel edge cutting strip against the 'master' and hold it tight as I remove wood and the 'master'. Result is that the steel edge is placed exactly right to be able to cut another strip identical to the 'master' strip. Saves time in measuring and gives accurate results. 

As I started cutting I thought that was a hint that I had never seen anywhere else so why not share it via YouTube. So this is the result!

I did however get the six strips cut and glued the two parts of the roof together!

Once finished, it will go on Chalkdon my 009 layout  and I think this location is ideal opposite the quarry unless I have any more spur of the moment thoughts!

Back to some model making with some coincidence!

I have actually got back to some model making - at last. Last night I picked up the narrow gauge 3D printed engine shed that I bought from the 3D Printing For Charity stand at the recent Sleaford model railway exhibition and started to make the roof - the one part not included in the kit. Profits from the sale of 3D models from the stand go to the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance which is a charitable organisation and a very worthy cause and one where my model making has actually made a small contribution to that charity. The coincidence is that this morning I watched as the Air Ambulance land in a nearby field. Obviously someone was in need of their attention which is not good but equally it was able to attend as the charitable funding allowed it to and who ever is in need stands a much greater chance of survival and recovery because of it. Just hope that the mission is a successful one and recovery will result.

So with that thought in my mind it was back to the engine shed. I had last night gone the WMD stores for some suitable roofing material which I had decided would be corrugated in some form. I had both packs of Wills corrugated iron and asbestos sheeting in stock.

I decided on the iron sheeting. With the choice made it was time to cut to size which is not always the easiest to do with Wills products. In general the sheeting is very thick but the secret is to score the back of the sheet and it will semi snap when you bend it. You then turn it over and a light cut on the surface which is clearly marked by the bend marks is usually enough to break the join.

With the sheets cut to length and width a trial fitting reveals all looks well! Next stage is to smooth and thin the edges and then think about joining them together. I want to be able to lift the roof off to see the interior I am hoping to put inside the shed so that will influence how everything is joined together.

What started it all? The U28B Union Pacific HO loco, that's what!

 

This is what started it all - my journey with DCC sound. I bought this U28B Union Pacific HO loco in about 2003 having already tried out DCC control with some of my UK outline stock and adding sound was the next logical step. At the time DCC sound for UK outline locos was something that was a specialist area with the main manufacturers yet to release anything ready to run. Whilst attending the Nottingham Model Railway Show a traders stand had several USA outline locos with 'factory installed DCC & sound'! That was the magic phrase and I was interested in looking further - but as I told Mrs. Woody, I was not going to buy! I had some USA n gauge but no HO at the time so this was a completely new territory for me. Then it happened. That moment sense goes out of the window and two things came to mind. Firstly was the loco - a Union Pacific U25B loco. Suddenly I was back in Boise, Idaho, where I can recall parking near to the freight yard in the blistering summer heat and seeing one of these idling awaiting its next duty and I could hear the despatchers radio from the open cab window. With that memory reawakened the second thing came into play - the price - £112. 

Now that was a lot in 2003 but for what this loco was and the memories it reawaken it was a bargain. I still recall trips to the USA every time I look a this and operate it and it has an awesome set of sounds including a really loud horn!  There is something about the Union Pacific livery and diesel locos that just go together so well in my view and I will leave you with some photos to make up your own mind. In the mean time I am glad I started on the DCC sound journey started with this special loco.

Talking 30 minutes about a model railway controller?

Talking about a model railway controller for nearly 30 minutes might seem impossible but somehow I manage to do just that in my latest WMD YouTube video!

Meanwhile, back in the reality of the Rocks By Rail Museum, my task today was once again to battle with nature - this time on the site's nature trail which a few weeks ago was more akin to a jungle trail. Cutting grass was one thing but cutting back the brambles and overhanging vegetation was the other but as these before and after pictures show it did make a difference..

At least I did not have to talk for 30 minutes about the lawn mower!