The season finale!

Over for another year! The last public event of the year happened today and whilst we all thought that it might not be the finish we wanted due to Storm Ashley lashing the Country with rain and gales it actually went remarkably well with a good number of guests coming to visit. It must have been good as two even became members and asked about volunteering! 

As usual brake van rides were available all day.

For me however, it was not the luxury of riding in a relatively cosy diesel engine cab or brake van. The reality was walking up and down the quarry sidings shunting wagons which I actually enjoy a lot! Something therapeutic in sorting wagons and locos! Today was also different from other times in that I had assistance from loyal blog reader Mrs. B. who on numerous occasions put me to shame but we wont dwell on that!

Point switching was no issue to her!

Directing the locos was no problem either!

Nor was coupling!

The day was also different with as Mr. D was out on his maiden operating session. 

Trevor, who had the privilege of driving, did say it drove very smoothly but the controls were the other way round to the Sentinel locos that he had been driving for the last 5 or 6 years. Well, there were no issues so he must have got used to them.

Interestingly, the operating consul (I keep wanting to call it a dashboard as would be in a car) does have a speedometer which registers speed in either direction which of course it needs to as the loco can go in either direction at the same speed. It just looks odd when you are used to a speedometer in the dashboard of a car.

This the Sentinel loco that hauled wagons up to the quarry to be exchanged with the ones that were being shunted.

Withy both locos, eight wagons and a brake van things can get messy if you don't have a Mrs. B around to keep you on the right track!

The face shovel is a brute of a machine and much respect to Martin who operates it - you really do need to know what you are doing!

Even though some of us got wet at lunchtime, Pam here 

getting a bit wetter than most as she was looking after the crossing by the platform so could not leave to shelter, we all enjoyed the season finale and I think our guests did too given the positive comments I heard. That may be the end of the season for the Museum but work carries on over the Winter as we prepare to reopen next Easter. That may seem a long time but I suspect the time will wizz by!

More decals!

 Work on the Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk11B carries on with the last of the decals being applied to the undersides of the wings....

and the interesting mouth and eye markings around the front end. Yes, I have managed to break off one of the machine guns in the wings as predicted but it is safe ready to be glued back in place.

These last decals were not the easiest to fit as they had to meet in the middle. There is a bit of a gap but I should be able to hide that with some paint. I am somewhat in territory I have not been in before with aircraft so a lot of looking at pictures on the net has taken place to clarify details including that the wheel wells were painted greem so that is what I also did!

Reaching this stage means that the last few pieces can be fitted so hopefully that will be a job for the next day or so once I have sealed the decals with a coat of matt varnish.

Inside a smoke box!

 

That is what it looks like inside a steam engine smoke box! This is 1391 at the Rocks by Rail Museum where all those tubes behind the big pipes need to be replaced. However those big pipes need to come out and old nots and bolts need some persuasion to come free which is taking time which is why Richard probably is looking down at the ground for inspiration! 

Alex and John are smiling in the maerntine - maybe they are glad not to be in the smokebox!

Back at the cab end of the loco, the work on dismantling the cab continues as the top half will need to be lifted off as part of the retubing work. Who said steam engines were easy to work on?

Mr. D on the other hand is progressing well having moved across to the exhibition centre.

John has started repainting it back into shiny green rather than the weathered out green that it has worn for the last few years.

And even more painting with Martin continuing the repaint of the drag line. Luckily for Martin, he can swing the cab round so he is always in the sun!

For me, apart from grass cutting I did straighten up some posts which was interesting as they all had been bent over the years.

So, what I thought would be a straightforward bang it back in the ground ended up having to dig holes! At least it was sunny!

It looked better afterwards though.

And just to prove I am not the only one taking pictures, here is Pete taking photos of his and Pam's painting of the Sundew cab. A lot better than being inside a smoke box!

Decal delight!

I don't normally get anywhere near this stage of a model build in such a short time so I was delighted to be decaling (is that a word???) on the Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk model  First off though a coating of gloss varnish was airbrushed all over the model. This gives a smooth surface that the decals can be applied to which avoids the possibility of 'silvering'. This is the phenomena where applying the decal to a rough matt surface traps air between the decal and the surface which results in the decal having a silver colour around its edges in certain light conditions.

There are a quite a number of decals for such a small model and it is worth taking time to position them correctly otherwise any imperfections stick out like a sore thumb. In addition there are a number of recessed panel lines on the model over which the decals go. Just leaving them flat would not look right as the decal should drop into the recess of the panel line. Luckily there are products (Micro Sol and Mirco Set are two such products) that assist in creating this by softening the decal so that it moulds its self to the surface over which t is placed. These are brushed on  and left to do their work with maybe a little encouragement from a moist cotton bud. Patience is the name of the game. 

I still have the underside wing roundels and the Tomahawk bird teeth and eyes to fit  but in the picture below the effect of the decal moulding itself to the underlying surface is clear to see.

Hopefully getting the last of the decals applied will also be a delight!

Lots of Wows!

Mrs. Woody and me had a day out - it was her birthday after all! We ended up at Burghley House just outside Stamford in Lincolnshire. We had never been before and it was to say the least a Wow property. You jus kept saying Wow! 

First thing that made me go Wow was the house itself.

Second Wow was the arrival of the chimney sweeps! Looking at all those chimneys on the house these guys must have at least a months worth of work ahead of them!

Going inside the kitchen is another Wow with all the copper pots.

Theses were just some of the bells that would ring in the servants area when assistance was required - Wow!

Before being queen, Victoria slept in this so called 'Travelling' bed!

There are around 350 paintings on display.

It was not just paintings on display but entire rooms painted like this.

The rooms were all painted in a 3D manner - very deceptive to the eye.

More Wow moments n the huge gardens with the Garden of Surprises being particularly interesting with a variety of water features.

The day really was a Wow day and after a birthday meal out it was back to WMD HQ where I was onto more painting of the  Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk. This time the underside using the provided paint which looks like that classic duck egg green that was used during WW2. First off though was a bit of masking.

With that applied the paint was airbrushed on.

Then it was that precarious moment as I removed the masking tape hoping it would not pull the paint under it off the model. Wow! I was lucky or should that be skillful? 

It needs some varnish next to allow the decals to be applied but all in all, so far a quick and easy build as Mr. Beecham said it would be when I started. Wow!

Seat goes up, seat goes down! Or how to amuse a simple mind!

Following on from the kitchen rebuild, Mrs. Woody has decided that the 1993 bathroom needs updating. For an easy life I have agreed (I am learning in old age!) so we are now touring bathroom showrooms. Surprisingly I was informed that bathroom suites in those old favorite colours of yellow, chocolate brown, burgundy and powder blue are no longer available with white being the in colour! Apparently it has been the in colour for some years now. Mrs. W is not surprised that fact bypassed me noting my fashion sense over the years!!

Now the choice of bathroom suites is enormous and you become blind to the differences after seeing several dozen of the things but occasionally something stands out and for me it was this automated toilet seat! Now as Mrs. W would tell you simple things amuse my simple mind and this is just one such thing! Had to video it and love the way it rises as you approach. 

As Homer Simpson would say, Seat goes up, seat goes down! 

This bathroom perusal is going to take some time so I hope there are more items like this to amuse my simple mind!

Back at WMD HQ the Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk is progressing with the second part of the camouflage now applied - almost the same colour as those chocolate brown bath suites of old! I did manage to break one of the machine gun barrels off the wing but luckily found it and reaffixed it. Somehow I think I might be having to do that again with my clumsiness in painting the model!

Gravy or paint?

Time for some painting which seems a common theme of my life as of late! However in this case a more pleasurable painting operation involving the Airfix Curtiss Tomahawk. Having got to the stage where the main parts had been assembled it was prudent to give the model a coat of primer. In this case a light grey which just happened to be to hand which was handy! There are not a lot of places to hold this small model when airbrushing it so a cocktail stick was carefully inserted where the propeller will eventually fit - oh nasty!

That cocktail stick did its job though and all the model got a good coating of primer.

Whilst the primer was drying I was looking at top coat options. I could search through the WMD HQ paint store to find suitable colours or I could use what was supplied in the kit. The supplied paint did not exactly look inspiring, in fact it looked more lumpy than any gravy I have ever made without the close supervision of Mrs. Woody. However, I decided it was worth a go to see if I could thin it out and actually have something workable unlike my gravy! Mixing some of the lumps with some thinners and stirring like mad for some time actually produced a paint like substance so it was time to see if it actually would come out of the airbrush or just clog it.

Pleasantly surprisingly it did actually spray well! So the first part of the paint scheme is now applied. I just need to let that dry thoroughly and then see if I can get the darker brown lumpy gravy paint to thin out suitably to airbrush or even brush paint. Now did Mrs. W want gravy with her dinner......

 

In the flying seat!

 Just a finishing touch to the cockpit with the application of some panel line wash to highlight the detail. It probably will be unseen but it was something I thought worthwhile doing as I would know it was done!

In preparation for the placement of other parts of the fuselage I had to smooth the joint between the two halves. Doing this obliterated part of a recessed panel line so I had to reinstate it. A piece of masking tape highlights where it should be and the very thin razor saw was used to 'cut' in a new panel line along the edge of the tape.

  

The beauty of this kit is that it is relatively simple with only a few parts so you see some results fairly quickly. It already looks like a plane! That model pilot is probably hoping he will be flying something other than what I have built! No such luck for him though. He just needs a bit more painting and he will be in the flying seat!

Cockpit capers!

Quick and relatively easy progress (as predicted by Mr Beecham yesterday) with the cockpit interior assembled and painted. Just five parts for this caper, including the pilot, go to make up the cockpit and the general overall colour is green but having looked at a few pictures I have highlighted a few boxes in black and a two floor rails in aluminum. No idea how accurate that is but given the small scale and that most of it will be hidden once the canopy is fitted no one will be able to see anyway! The pilot is still a work in progress though. I have even managed to put the propeller together and paint that.

There is a decal for the instruments which I applied and I must say for the scale is very detailed. I am impressed by that!

Once all is dry the fuselage halves can be joined and then the rest of the parts should follow relatively quickly and easily!

A quick, easy build with no brass etched parts!

From the start of this blog I have featured me building quite a few kits, mainly military and trucks but never a plane. However that has now changed! There is a story behind this kit. Last year, Rob at the Rocks by Rail Museum who built models some time ago suggest a build off to see who could come up with the best model. He also helpfully pointed out that Lidl, the discount store, had some Airfix kits on offer for I think £7.99. I was up for the challenge and for reasons that I cannot recall it was left to me to go to Lidl's to get two Spitfires and actually coming out with two Tomahawks as the Spitfires had sold out! I presented Rob with his kit and we agreed that the new year would be the time to build. Well Rob still has not started so I decided it was time before the new year became another new year!

The kit is one of the new style beginners packages with the kit, paints, paint brush and glue - great value! 

Opening the box reveals the contents which are a lot different from those that came when I was a lad many, many years ago!

The instructions are much the same once you wade through the various safety warnings in many different languages. The paint brush is a nice Humbrol one and the paints are acrylics in small pots that can unfortunately dry out with age. Not sure how these ones will fair but I generally use my paint collection so I probably will not use these. 

The moulding themselves are a revelation over my memories of these Airfix kits with crisp, flash free parts that look very detailed.

With the examination out of the way it was time to start building and as Mr. Beecham commented to me when I told him I was building this, it should be a quick and easy build with no brass etched parts! He is right about the etched parts but quick and easy with my history - that might be optimistic!

The first thing you have to do is paint the cockpit interior. This is where the kit and reality are at odds with each other. From what I can gather the cockpit interior was green whilst the instructions and supplied paint say it was like a beige. Having a suitable green paint in stock I will be painting it green!

If Mr. B is right, by this time next week I should be finished! Stay tuned to see if that is any where near correct!