It now looks like this....

I have hawe moved onto the various pipes for the oil depot. Not much to see really but valve handles added and awaiting painting.

You may have noticed the two etched handles in the above photo which were tiny when compared to this etch for the catwalk along the top of the tanks.

Cut out from the fret and put into my bending tool....

It eventually looked like this....

And after some airbrushing, like this.

Things are moving on even if slowly and it is interesting to look back on photos to see how things have changed. And that is the same with the local canal which I visited whilst out on a bike ride. A few weeks ago it looked like this....

but despite the lack of rain during August it now looks like this....

Just wish I could make rapid progress like that on my jobs! No doubt so does Mrs. Woody!

Anyway, a local swan seems to like what has happened.

Another relaxing hour!

Another relaxing hour (hope Mrs. Woody does not read that!) with some Panzer Light Rust colour paint saw the brickwork on the recently constructed bund painted and the coping stones got a stoneish colour on them too. As with most of my brick painting, I then mixed up some darker and lighter colours to randomly highlight individual bricks. More relaxation!

With that done I then used a wash of dilute grey paint to settle into the mortar joints on the bund and the office building. This also subdued the overall brick colour making it look waethered.

I think that looks OK, but then again I would!

Bund!

In todays World, every potential large container of a hazardous product needs a bund around it in case of leaks. The idea is that the product is kept contained within a sealed area so that it doesn't leak into the ground and can then be dealt with to make it safe. Oil depots are no different. However the Ratio kit dose not have such a thing so I have to construct my own. If I was constructing a real bund it would probably be referred to as a cauldron! 

Anyway, as it is a 4mm scale bund, my constructional capabilities are not at risk of leaks. A visit to the ever well stocked WMD Stores soon had suitable plastic card and embossed sheet on my workbench. This was cut to the size to go around the supplied kit base.

Coping stones were added and then it was time to prime the bund.

Rattle can grey primer was soon drying out ready for some top coat.

It all gets clear!

Moving on with the oil depot kit, the window and door have now been fitted to the office and look in keeping with the structure.

Obviously the fitting of these would make the building cosy only if the window had some glass. The kit says use the clear packaging that it came in to glaze the window but I find that method can look a bit odd so I opted for my now normal approach of  Glue and Glaze. It didn't take long to apply and although at this early stage it looks a white mess things do improve!

To this when it all gets clear......

And I think that looks really realistic - but then I would!

WMD Destructive Cats!

Being a Mrs. Woody and cat run  organsiation, WMD HQ has to do other things than model making, most of which is on a certain list. On that long list there was an item relating to cat activity tower. The old one was built back in 2023 and I blogged about it here. Since then it has been subject to cat activity that was probably never envisaged by the makers who probably don't know about the WMD Destructive Cats. They had literally scratched one of the supporting posts in half - better then the sofa I guess, but never the less this had structurally compromised the tower so that it had a Leaning Tower of Pisa list!

As the cats like the upper sleeping area on the tower, there was a danger that the whole thing would collapse so Mrs. Woody found a suitable replacement - in the middle of Lidl (other stores are available, etc) . That was really my fault as I wanted a small socket Lidl had on offer so whilst I had Mrs. W observing my spending she also observed said cat activity tower!

 

Anyway, it came hom with us along with my small socket set and I have built it!  It does look good and as Monty cat illustrates, meets with the cats approval!

So was it to the tip with the old Leaning Tower of Pisa? Well at WMD we do like to recycle when ever possible so the sound parts of the tower were recycled into this.

I think that looks a lot safer at least until the WMD Destructive Cats work their magic

A relaxing hour or so, just don't tell Mrs. Woody!

Spending a relaxing hour or so, just don't tell Mrs. Woody, I mixed random darker brick colours and picked out individual bricks on the oil depot office. It does give a more realistic appearance to the walls. I also did the same to the ridge tiles on the roof.

A relaxing half hour, just don't tell Mrs. W, saw individual slates on the roof picked out in slightly darker shades again making it look a little more like real life.

The oil tanks themselves have been airbrushed in a matt black so I just need to paint the concrete block bases. The windows and doors to the office have also been painted up ready for attachment to the office. All in all very relaxing!

Adding some colour!

Having got the office of the oil depot primed in grey from its original red plastic colour, it was time to paint it red! Only this time the red was a brick shade using the rust colour from the Panzer paint range.

Also achieved has been the attachment of the supporting bases to the two oil tanks. Hopefully they all look level when the kit is finished!

Next job is to randomly paint individual bricks a slightly darker colour on the office so that it does look like real bricks rather than a painted wall.

Little time for model making!

Not a great deal of time to do model making today but I have primed some parts of the fuel depot and added some parts to the tanks. Hopefully tomorrow may see some more progress!

Put a roof on it!

The hut to the oil depot now has its roof built. Still not glued on for painting reasons but at least the 4mm workers will have a dry place to shelter in bad weather! The two tanks now have their end caps attached and are all smoothed down to get rid of the joint lines. I need to think about getting some paint on the hut  and getting the tanks built up with the rest of their parts next.

Sammy Strimmer meets the Sidings! More adventures in vegetational butchery!

 Another day at the Rocks by Rail Museum with progress being made on steam loco 1931. Things are being put back together which is always a good mark of progress! At the moment the boiler is getting a coat of heat resistant paint which will be covered with insulation, cladding and the water tank so despite the care that Steve and Hazel are taking in the finish it will all be hidden unfortunately!

I think Steve is enjoying the work or maybe it is becayse its nearly lunch time he is smiling!

Meanwhile, Harriot the JCB is undertaking some work on the oversized washing machine where Rob is digging out a base for a a new shoot for the ballast to run down. Although great at the drag line Rob has still to master the complexities of the controls for the back actor. He will get there - eventually!

I took Sammy Strimmer to meet the Sidings! Mainly to meet the siding overgrowth! This is going to be a long job but I seem to have perfected the art of vegetational butchery!