Cutting through!

Well the wait is over as the glue has dried on my scenery sub-base and, just as I predicted, it has enough integral strength to be lifted and moved about. Phew!!!!

Moving it into its place the form of the landscape begins to take shape.

I then constructed the small sub-base for the front of the baseboard. Using off cuts of material from the previous two sub-bases, it was glued together and then left to dry before cutting to shape.

The final piece of the scenery was the central pillar, theoretically left when the cutting through the hill was made to route the railway - well that is what would have happened in real life.

With all that done the whole scene of a cutting comes into clarity - well to me anyway! I need to do some carving now to geth the final contours and then start the long process of making it actually look like a piece of UK countryside rather than part of the Artic!

Rocks by rail - living up to its name and 'Trust me, I am a mechanic"!

Rocks By Rail is a museum recording the history of ironstone quarrying. What it has not done for years is actually transport any rocks by rail! However that changed on my last visit and this is the reason - a platelayers trolley.

Taking a step back, the source of the rocks for filling the gabion baskets/cages that I posted about last week, at the moment is old cement bags that have set. These are on top of the loading dock and require breaking up into rocks. Half an hour saw me turn this pile into ..... 

this.....

Then they were wheel barrowed over to the edge of the loading dock and dropped over the side before being put onto the platelayers trolley. There are ten wheelbarrow loads on the trolley which despite John and David indicating that it was hard work to push was actually a lot easier then wheeling ten barrow loads up and down to the site.

Once pushed up to the quarry the trolley was unloaded into the gabion baskets/cages.

Three trolley loads saw one and a bit gabions filled.

Alex and David looked very happy with the days work. Just the last one to fill and then two more go on top which will need more rocks by rail!

Meanwhile, this years prize for innovation goes to Andy who needs to lessen the angle of the ridges to go on the plant shed roof. Rather than struggle with bending bars and hammers he just uses a gas bottle to roll over the ridge slightly flattening it!

Meanwhile, all was quite in the restoration shed where the re-tubing work has temporarily stopped.

However it did give me a chance to take a close up look at the existing tubes, all of which you should see daylight through! I can see why they need replacing!

As I left I noted this hanging up on one of the tool racks. A mechanics stethoscope! Brings a whole new meaning to, 'Trust me, I am a mechanic!'.

Cat art, canals and a boat called Earwig!

In repainting the hall I noted that a lot of the pictures that I took down and then rehung are related to cats which given the number who have lived their lives at WMD HQ over the years is perhaps not too surprising! I go have some personal favorites - the art that is , all cats are treated equally!

This first one is one that my Mum bought from a car boot sale about 40 years ago. She had it framed and I always loved it. Why? I don't really know but I just do! When I inherited it I wondered where to put it so it has leant up against a bedroom wall for some time but with the opportunity to re-arrange pictures during the repaint process it now hangs in the hall

This hangs by the front door and is another of those that just captures my heart!

Finally for today this one probably says it all. Any cat owners will more than likely understand the words!

Apart from admiring cat art I have also managed several bike rides over the past few days. You may recall from an earlier post that I had see the Marie Celeste of the local canal following its disappearance after being stranded when the canal water level subsided to trickle level! It was riding high in a lock but the glare of the sun made it difficult to see. Well another bike ride has found it hiding in the bottom of the lock but I ventured a different way to avoid the glare of the sun.

My venturing also allowed me to observe that its name is not Marie Celeste but Earwig! Now it takes some imagination to conjure up why it is called earwig. Any thoughts, please tell me!

The wait!

In my continuing endeavors to create a mess, yet more foam has been cut for the second layer on the landscape sub-base that I am building at the moment. The great thing about building off the layout is that it makes things like marking out where to cut so much easier. I have used a felt tip pen for this but Mrs. Woody normally limits my creativity to safer crayons!

Soon one side was cut from several off cuts or the first layer and glued in place.

The other side followed but being lower in overall height only required one small off cut.

Now left to dry and then I can see if the whole structure is still rigid and strong enough to support itself when I lift it. Will the wait be worth it? Only time will tell!

However, for Mrs. Woody, the wait is over, well for stage one of the hall, stairs and landing repaint.

Next off is to refloor the under stairs cupboards and probably find some elusive treasures junk but that won't be until next week now! Oh, the wait is just too much!

I really must remind Mrs. Woody to remind me to dust behind radiators more regularly!

Yesterday I raised the question as to if the landscape sub-base for My Last Great Project 00 gauge layout would lift out in one piece following gluing a long strip of polystyrene sheet to it?

I think this answers that question - much to my amazement! I was expecting to have it fold in half on me!

Having got over the shock I got over to the WMD Stores where yet another piece of insulation foam was sourced - another, I knew it would come in handy one day, moments! Using the sub-base, I was able to trace the required profiles of where I needed to cut.

With that done it was time for Sammy Saw to enter the scene. No doubt any true woodworking devotees will be rolling their eyes as I use a chair as my saw horse! However it works - I just take my time and try to avoid cutting the arms of the chair off!

The only probelem is that this type of work creates a mess that even I cannot live with!

With that cleared up I could start mounting the cut foam on the sub-base. It will need further shaping but this initial shape is good enough.

With th efoam cut for both sides the PVA glue came out and a good coating to all surfaces to be joined allowed me to set the whole sub-base on the floor to set on a flat surface.

I need another level of foam to get the required height but that will wait until the glue dries on this lot. I just have to be patient and wait, just like Mrs. Woody has to show patience or is perseverance with my painting of the hall, stairs and landing! Today, having got out of the corner, it was onto a main wall!

As you can see there is a fair amount of sanding and filler on the wall. At times I do wonder if I should name the house Polyfiller Villa or Tetrion Towers (other makes of DIY filler are available!)! One of the issues stopping me progressing was this radiator. Now I could have left it in place and tried to paint behind with a thin roller but I don't like cutting corners - well sometimes anyway! So it was coming off.

With the valves either side closed off and undone from the radiator and the bleed nipple opened it soon drained into a plastic tub. That then enabled me to remove the radiator and admire the dust and fluff of many years! I really must remind Mrs. W to remind me to dust behind radiators more regularly!

With the dust and fluff removed the painting could commence. Just need to let it dry and put that radiator back on before carrying on with the rest of the hall. That should be fun!

The cat sat on the ......kitchen cupboard?

As is usual in the WMD household nothing is ever as you expect. Our cats do not sit on mats but they do find other strange places such as on the top of the kitchen cupboard where Marty sat himself.

Why on top of there? Well I think he was fed up with the work on repainting the hall where I am now getting out of the corner with some paint on the walls and almost all the ceiling done. Mrs. Woody will be impressed - hopefully!

There has been a little time to get in the Man Cave where corners still feature as I build the landform that I started the other day. First off another section of sub-base has been constructed from mounting card for the far end of the baseboard.

The picture below shows the entire sub-base made up of three pieces.

Then a large sheet of polystyrene was liberated from the WMD Stores - I knew it would come in handy! The idea of this is that by gluing it to the profile or upright of the sub-base it will join the three parts together making them one piece.

With the polystyrene cut it was glued to the back of the sub-base with various handy tubs of things used to keep it in place whilst the glue dries. Whether the theory works remains to be seen but I need to give the glue a chance to dry so I am not moving it yet!

In other news, the first bike ride for a week due to the weather, saw me passing the local canal where the water levels are really high - just about 6 inches off the top of the bank.

Interestingly, especially for those interested in such matters, the disappeared stranded Marie Celeste boat last seen about two weeks ago has reappeared - just as I said it would! Not a great picture as that large bright object in the sky decided to shine directly into the lens of my phone camera! However, the red arrow indicated where it is.

A close up gives a bit more clarity.

Will it stay there or disappear for several more weeks? Who knows but I will be keeping a watchful eye! Maybe that was reallly why Marty was on top of the cupboard to see the boat?

Groundhog Day and stuck in a corner!

At the moment it is a bit like Groundhog Day for me with the last few days almost being repeats of themselves. In addition I am trying to get out of a corner.

First Groundhog Day and corner issue is on My Last Great Project Layout where it is a continuation of making landforms. This time on the opposite side to the last one I constructed. This is the corner I am trying to get out of. In the same way as the other landform I am constructing a sub-base from mounting card onto which a mix of polystyrene and foam will be added. First off the uprights were cut to match the plywood profile boards previously fitted.

With that done, the floor could be cut to fit.

Then the other side of the 'escape' or possible extension track was laid. 

Still working in the corner but at least I can see a way out of it now and the same goes for the hall repaint project where I feel as though I have been working in this corner for days - well three actually! I an at the stage where just about all the cracks and holes are filled and all the wood has been rubbed down and removed where practicable so that it can be revarnished. It my not look as though I have done much but I have had a big tidy up! Hopefully tomorrow will see things move on!

Destructive to be constructive!

Destructive to be constructive! The first word, destructive, in Mrs. Woody's mind, applies to me , the fourth word, constructive, is not a word she associates with my actions! However I will prove her wrong - one day! In the meantime, my destructive work on polystyrene and foam in the safety and refuge of my Man Cave has resulted in something constructive in the form of a basic landform that can now be carved to proper shape and enhanced with landscaping materials to turn this mass of white into a green and pleasant land!

There was not a great deal more to add to the basic structure but as I am using PVA glue it takes time for this to dry especially in the cold of the Man Cave. This means I can only add so many pieces before I have to wait for the glue to dry and give some integrity to the whole structure. I have, in the past, not been so patient and ended up with a pile of polystyrene and foam bits on the floor - not very constructive, just destructive!

Building this on a sub-base makes it so much easier to deal with as I can turn the thing round and work on the other side without having to lean across a baseboard.

As with all these types of projects, much of the work is mundane with cutting similar shaped pieces out of the polystyrene sheet but you have to stick with it and see it through.

With the destructive cutting of parts out of the way it certainly gives some body to the baseboard now. Just need to construct the landscape for the right hand side of the boards now. 

Whilst in the Man Cave I finished cleaning the Revell 1/25 Peterbilt 359 "Iron" truck and glued on the broken exhaust stack. In the photo, the pair look crooked, but in real life they are actually parrallel to each other. 

Meanwhile back in WMD HQ, the destructive to be constructive adage is really in full swing as I slowly dismantle door trims, fill cracks which turn into large holes and create massive amounts of dust sanding things smooth.

It will be a while before the constructive part of this project commences I told Mrs. W who is now worried as to be defines ' a while'?