Lego wagon at the Rocks by Rail Museum.

The World of Lego is certainly different to when I was a child which to be fair was some time ago although Mrs. Woody maintains that I am still a child at heart! The change in Lego was highlighted when a group from the Lego UK Railway Club attended the Rocks By Rail Museum last Sunday and presented a very accurate copy of one of our hopper wagons made entirely from Lego for display. Brilliant it is to and a long way from my days of Lego!

The guys who came to the Museum to present the wagon were a fantastic group and well versed in railway matters. They have a website showing what they do which you can see by clicking 

here. It is well worth a look if you want to see just how far Lego has come along!

Meanwhile, in the kitchen rebuild, new doors have been fitted. In fact the whole of the lower part of WMD HQ has new doors which has pleased Mrs. W and that makes my life so much simpler!

The painting begins!

The painting has started! Parts of the Tiger 1 tank build are now in black primer including the wheels and the tracks. This is a good undercoat for the lighter top coats and will give shadows where necessary.

In addition parts of the main gun have been painted up. You wont see a great deal once it is in the enclosed turret but with open hatches there should be enough vision to at least show some detail.

 This is going to be a complex kit to paint so it will take some time and knowing me I will have to rectify some errors I make along the way!

Mr. D derails!

I hinted that it was an unusual day at the Rocks By Rail Museum yesterday with the Bank Holiday Monday quarry day. It was almost derailed by Mr. D derailing on the point to the exhibition centre where the locos are stored. Luckily, two of the three we needed were out on the main line when the incident happened so it could have been worse!

Here is Mr. D off the rails in-between the point rails.

Jacking the loco up required high powered manual jacks and lots of wood.

After three failed attempts one set of wheels went onto the rails following a big push from one of the Sentinel locos.

Then, at the end of the afternoon Mr. D finally was back on the rails - much to the relief of everyone!

How the rest of the event went I will explain tomorrow!

Detail painting.

Having been shunting at the Rocks by Rail Museum, more about that later in the week, there has not been much time to do anything else but I did get half an hour to paint the seats in the turret of the Tiger 1 tank.

I just followed the instructions on painting so have no idea why the gun loaders seat is painted red. Maybe it was a hot spot to be in?

Anyway, small progress it may be but it does bring the build another step forward.

Similarities between the kitchen rebuild and the build of the 1/35 scale Tiger 1!

There are similarities between the kitchen rebuild and the build of the 1/35 scale Tiger 1 as I have informed Mrs. Woody! Basically, you have to paint certain things before you can progress to the next stage. In the case of the kitchen the clear walls and ceiling needed painting before the units were fixed in place. With the Tiger tank, there are interior parts to paint before the upper deck to the hull can be glued in place and likewise with the turret.

White, which is the colour most tank interiors were painted in,  has been applied to the undersides of the various hatches, the gun and the turret which will require further detail painting of some parts such as the seats in the turret and parts of the gun. Once that is done I can progress onto the next stage of the build!

Although it is the Bank Holiday weekend I have not escaped working on the kitchen. Whilst it should really have been done before the plastering but there was no time, Phil the builder has fitted new door casings. The old ones were somewhat twisted and to fit a new door to current standards would have been impossible so two new ones have gone in. My job is to try to fill the damaged plaster and also to get something a bit straighter to match the straight frame! Nearly a kilo of filler has gone into this project but it is just about there now. Then I will need to get the paint out again so that the next stage can progress!

Grill time!

It is a Bank Holiday in the UK signifying that summer is coming to an end and what better way to celebrate than getting a grill out on a BBQ and having a feast. However, this is the UK and it being a Bank Holiday it has rained most of the day! That did not stop me grilling though! Only this grilling was related to the etched brass grills for the Tiger 1 tank build.

I was really pleased to find that they had been pre-bent to form a lip around their edge which made life a lot easier for me.

Fitting them to the model with a few drops of superglue really brought the rear to life.

Another step forward! 

Talking about grills, I saw this parked up by a dog training section. 

Never seen anything like it but apparently the dogs are happy with it although I did see this one looking from behind the grills of his travel compartment.

Mr. D comes alive!

Following on from the floor issues outlined yesterday that floored me, I had a day at the Rocks By Rail Museum where I was again floored! This time pleasantly with witnessing the starting and first running of  Mr. D the 0-4-0 diesel shunter that has been worked on since I first started volunteering at the museum. In those years I have never witnessed a loco awakening from years of slumber so I was floored and it was great to see Mr. D come alive! Here is a very short video of him.

It sounds sweet and should not take too long to finish now. There was certainly a triumphant feeling for all those present!

Floored!

Much as Murphy Cat was enjoying the sit on the flooring for the kitchen he had little idea that I was about to be floored today when Phil the builder told me that two different colour shades of floor had been delivered which means that the floor cannot be finished in the kitchen which means the units that can be fitted are limited and on it goes! Replacement flooring is on the way but not until next week! However all issues can be overcome so I am only temporarily floored! In  the mean time what progress that has been made is looking good.

On the tank front, the Tiger 1 build has seen the interior parts for the wooden cladding on the fuel tanks painted. I certainly learnt something in that I never knew there was wooden cladding which I presume is some sort of shield against bullets or shrapnel entering through the grill above and potentially puncturing the tanks. Not found anything on line yet but I will continue looking - I wont let myself be floored by this! 

Lofty heights!

 Things move on with the Tiger 1 tank build. I was particularly impressed by the inclusion of a pre-bent metal conduit for the light on the front of the tank. Never seen that in a kit before but is a nice detail and easy to fit with a couple of drops of superglue.

I have also got round to starting on the wheels with these front drive and rear idlers being built.

I have also mounted some of the running wheels which makes the tank begin to come alive!

It is a slow build but it is looking good - to me anyway!

Back with the kitchen rebuild, Marty the Cat has decided that the tall units make a great lofty height vantage point! I had to laugh when I saw him up there looking as though he owns the place - well he probably does!

The floor has also arrived and those packs are heavy as I found out having to bring them in!

Hopefully tomorrow, if the underfloor heating mat arrives Phil the builder can get a start on laying it. I'm sure Marty would be enticed down from the lofty heights to be able to walk on a heated floor!

Momentous occassion!

A momentous occassion today but lets start with the limited progress on the Tiger 1 1/35 scale kit. A few more turret details have been added such as the the machine gun mount which was made up of an extraordinary 4 parts! 

I also have started on a few things I still need to do to the lower hull such as these radiators that fit under the rear grills. The sides are etched parts but nice and large so easy to work with. They now need adding to the hull when I get the chance!

A momentous occassion as Mrs. Woody sees it, in the kitchen rebuild project with the kitchen being delivered and now filling the WMD garage. I just hope that Phil the builder doesn't now suddenly decide to go on an extended holiday!