A Few Thoughts On Addiciton

Wow... it's been a while. A fair few months in fact. Too long it would seem. Others might think it too short... but blah! bugger them.

In my absence from this page there has been a few changes. Firstly, I left my job! Woohooo or more likely, it's left me! still woohoo!

Secondly, Peter Capaldi! Woohooo! he's amazing isn't he, with his total change on that nicey nice Doctor in Doctor Who which was beginning to irritate the bollocks off of me. I really think it's in safe hands. Even the episodes which seem weaker than most it's still really good and watchable. He suits Moffat's writing more, IMO.

Thirdly, I'm starting university! WOOHOOO! though I am crapping myself. PLRM, that's what they call my course, What it means, who knows! I joke, it's Performance for Live and Recorded Media which fits in nicely with my performance experience. It's something I wish to go into further and make a career out of.

Fourth, and finally, I've started smoking! WOO...oh...not good. It's an addictive process which can possibly lead to me talking through a voice box and carrying an respirator by this time next year. God, I hope not. It's a good coping mechanism though as there have been a few trials and tribulations in the past year.

But this is not why we are here is it? No, so onto another form of addiction; train talk.

This blog is just a catch up of my recent updates from my previous post.

I you may have witnessed in my previous installments of the saga known as my modelling you may have noticed that I was building a B1 and restoring (of sorts) a Hornby-Dublo breakdown crane. Well, they're done, completed, finito...

The gears were just some parts I found in the local model shops designed for Servos and the likes for radio control boats and planes. They're handy for breakdown cranes too ;)

This is the completed article, the full breakdown train. In addition to the crane and support wagons themselves, I have added a repainted and modify rake of wagons and coaches from about 4 generations of Hornby stock. 

The stock includes a Palethorpes sausage van; a heavily modify Gresley teak with side doors haphazardly added (as per prototype), one of the old Clerestory coaches, and a 12t van. They have been modify in various different areas including underframes, roofs, brake and steam heat pipes and a full repaint into the appropriate black for the 50'-early 60's.

Also completed was my beloved B1 "Nyala". Now weathered and with a crew.

She's a canny puller too. So far no problems at exhibitions (unlike the ruddy sulphate train and tanker trains).

Finally, to top it off, a Mucky Duck. My second one, and it's 43050 which is another local Ivatt 4MT. 

Away from my previous efforts, I have refrained from the normally heavier weathering which these beasts were accustom to. 

All of the weathering here is my usual mix was block painting the uncleaned areas (chassis frame, smokebox, roof, tender top and interior etc) with a humbrol 62 - 33 mix. I then washed the whole thing over in humbrol 33, 29, 113 and 27004 before wiping most of it away from the "cleaned" area with a cotton bud lightly soaked in white spirit. The rust and ash stains around the smoke box where done with WHSmith artist pencils that were applied then lightly dabbed at with a cotton bud dipped in water. Sofar... good effort. I now have six complete trains (although some need some refining work to get them to run.)

I'm now going to sit back and enjoy Nightbreed radio for a bit and fill my lung with cancer causing chemicals before life calls upon me once more. See you lot in another six months!

For anyone who likes Goth and Alternative music, please do follow this link Nightbreed Radio

A Title About Something from Motherhood...

I give up.

I'm an ignorant, awful person who cares as much about other people as he does about everyone else. So no wonder I totally forgot it was Mothering Sunday today, I should have had an inkling when she was going on about calling some midwife. I kept telling myself, she's too old to bare children...

But I managed to trudge to HMV today and buy series three of Call the Midwife which one of her favourite programmes at the moment. This is, somewhat, a bit of a relief as my ears have been pounded by the constant bellow of the Merlin theme tune every day she's off.

Also today, I've managed to also buy myself a new camera, after the other one I had decided to take a business trip to Beijing via Kuala Lumpur and has yet to be seen since.

I've also found myself absolutely fascinated Canadian musician Grimes, an individual who was brought to my attention by a friend of mine last year and didn't really explore properly until the last few days. There is also the Seoul based BBC correspondent Lucy Williamson, of whom, I've been hoping tensions between North and South Korean grow so I can see more of her on television. I think I'm in love, I doubt it. It might be possible though.

Modelling wise, I've have been using alot of elbow grease on something which is technically old enough to be my own  mother. This is technically impossible as it is a Hornby Double crane, and not my mum.

It really wasn't bad for £15 quid, which I managed to bully the 10 year selling it to knock an extra £5 to strike a deal on £10. I'm the bestest :D

Normally these thing will cost around £45 - £50 at exhibitions and it didn't take a genius to see why it was so cheap. There was evident scenes of mishandling from some twisted edges on the turret to a large break in the jib.

The first task was to take off whatever was necessary on the model. Things like the winding handles, old ropes and the caste metal parts which would interfere with the flashes gearing system I plan to put in the model. 

The diecast parts were easily cut into with a circular saw bit but the steam handed simply sheared them down to nothing. So out came the razor saws and stone cutters which happily made short work of them. Some elbow grease was needed to file away any left over bits.

despite all efforts, I managed to turn my trousers either a distant Nebula or someone's pants from Dance with the Stars.

Not really alot to talk about really... god this was quite a boring blog in all honesty. Sorry for wasting your time. But look, there's more stuff to do... things such as the gears....

And the support stuff, like the trucks....

 And here are some photos I took with my great new camera, like my knackered Laptop... I broke the keyboard by dropping Contact Lense Solution on it... currently using a USB keyboard which looks like the designers are been eating illegal mushrooms. It's got a pretty picture of Parika dressed like Monkey :D

Here's one of my toilet with the lid open...

 ...and now with the lid closed.

and here's one of me, with my new Sunglasses :D

I'm off to listen to more Grimes and watch the Young Ones whilst regretting my current career choice.

Here's one of my favourite Grimes songs, and also whilst I'm at it, here's Lucy Williamson talking about South East Asia or something...

Night kids

A Series of Unfortunate Events

This weeks has been a fun ride, I assure you. No, I really do, rest assured that this week has been most entertaining, mostly.

To find out I’m on back on a 45 day consultation at my current employer is proving to be a plan hindrance as I was hoping that we would at least keep this job till September. I might do… but then again, I might not. Who knows… I sodding well don’t!

Also to top it all off on a personal front, I am now the prison bitch to a terrifying dehumidifier in my bedroom which I think is out to get. I don't know when, or even why… but it will… one day.

It’s not the one bought last Sunday. That one believed that it had a contractual obligation to jam the fan and prevent itself from working. I called in the union who promptly explained to the dehumidifier that the fan must be operating all times to successful consider itself a dehumidifier, but it was having none of it. So out it went, back on the dole, to find itself a new vocation of a professional pisser offer. I returned from Argos with the new and improved bedroom bully of a dehumidifier which is just as loud and pissed itself as soon as I got home. I soon sorted that out, but I think I’ve hurt it’s pride, and now… well if you’ve seen the HBO show Oz… you'll get what I mean.

It’s pretty much a normal week by comparison.

Also this week, I have been working on a Bachmann Thompson B1. One of the old split chassis ones which I fully expect to fall apart at the very moment that would cause me the greatest embarrassment. All the best ones do.  I would give you a full breakdown on what I’ve done, but instead I’ll just point out where I went wrong and how I rectified it. 

First off, the read driving wheel’s spokes decided to try and make a run for it but I was on top of it. Fixed into place with some superglue. But I have been told that this is a brief respite and will happen again. Thank my lucky stars for a member of RMWeb who has provided me with a B1 chassis for the spare wheels. So that exchange will be happening before painting and weathering.

Next on my list of bugger ups, the bogie truck. It had originally came with a set of guide irons The blade things in front of the wheels) which looked presentable. So I did try to keep those and add what I needed with plasticard. Only when I come to added the wheels, the ruddy things snapped clean off. So in the end I braved it out and made a go with some brass and solder to give the thing some substance. 

Thirdly, the smoke box dart…. Something I should have realised from before with the J39 I built. The flange on most LNER engines is different from others, smaller, much smaller and I didn’t realise this. So off came the plastic dart and all ready to pin the Comet Models one on until I realised that they were wrong. Obviously, a normal human being who cares not for the intricate details of locomotives would just fob this off. But not me, it would just fester and piss me off until someone or something would end up through a window. So as a solution, I soldered together some small brass rod and tube to create this little beauty which fit nicely onto the smoke box door.

I think that was most of the problems with it actually… oh no, I forget the steps. I didn’t take many pictures other than the plastic cut outs but the finished bits are here. The only real problem was that they stuck out quite a bit. I bit too much for my liking some I had to snap them back off and cut them down again. They’re a bit wonky up close but overall… the effort was worth it, especially when they’re weathered I suspect.

The other bits were pretty okay to do, things such as the plumbing under the left hand side of the running plate and the lubricator rods, the coupling loop, draincocks, reach rod for the draincocks and the fall plate and cab doors.  

I also added some copper sanders and was aiming to replace the plastic reverse sander but the copper was refusing to play ball and I ended up cursing the general dynamics of life.

One thing I would say too all budding modellers, the easy modelling day dreams you have bare nothing, NOTHING, in the reality of modelling. Just keep telling yourself you’ll laugh about it afterwards.

Another note for those budding modellers, I never laugh at anything I’ve modelled, it’s largely harrowing, but it’s the only thing I’ve got in life. I’ve got more things, in my life to be frank, but I want the sympathy.

So the locomotive is done now. Now the tender!

The Tender was pretty okay in most respects. I did unnecessarily spend at hour trying to drill through two layers of plastic and my thumb only to find the plastic coal would have come out with a little effort. But I had committed by then… no pulling out! So I filed away and filled in the slightly damaged bits and filed again. The false floor was some spare brick sheet which will be hidden by coal once completed. As I plan to only fill it so far I also created a tunnel for the fire irons and ribbing for the coal space. I’m quite happy with the outcome to be honest.

All that was left for the tender was to add a steam heat pipe (my chosen prototype only had one on the tender… I know ‘cos I saw the photographs!) and finally the cab doors.

…BUT THEN! I realised that I needed to close the gap between the loco and tender. Just enough to go around 2^nd radius curves. So with brass tube and a pipe vice I went around drilling a lovely hole in the draw bar… only to find out it was too close, then another, which was way off mark and then finally a third. Which was okay, but not entirely Goldilocks. It works however and I’m happy with it. Unfortunately, as I was cleaning the tender up with white spirit, the transfers decided to wipe away as well… SIGH! Never mind. I have transfers to sort that out, but it’s just another extra job on top of it all.

So here we are… the structurally complete B1 which I think, looks okay.

Please do visit RMweb if you are into model railways. It’s a good laugh.

I’m off to drink tea from this great mug and expect a buggering from the dehumidifier cell mate, though those who have no idea what I’m in for here are some clips from the HBO series, Oz.

Oz... not for children!

Anti-disestablismentartisainjsnvjdsnvdann.... whatever...

Right, I’m going to take a piss and make a cup of tea, then I’ll come back…

…back. Hello cruel internet, my only friend. I lie, not even you are my friend. Bastard.

Hello, anyway.

Yes, I have returned from a random and almost uninteresting assortment of months where I really lived very much like a boring human being. That’s all changed, I’ve re-joined my old sketch group (I think they still hate me and now we’re back to our old selves of not doing anything until the actual day (keep the energy up on the night).

It was a bit of a bittersweet weekend in all honesty.

I finally felt that "Fuck Yeah Friday" feeling, which had promptly turned into "Oh Shit Sunday".

I’ve also managed to successfully act like a 14 year old by getting irrationally drunk and acting in a behaviour which can only be described as adolescent.

Also, I got told off by a Car Park. Yes, I real car park. I don’t even have a car. Maybe that’s why I was on the receiving end of a verbal reprimand.

It was that moment I have decided to become anti-establishment again after many years. Not because of any left-wing social connotation, no! It’s just a bit of a laugh really, you only live once and all that, why do I want to waste my life by supporting some rubber faced associate to a political entity I care little about? Or towing the line for some outdated social sensibilities when in fact I’m not hurting anyone. You know, we are ignorant, I get told off by a car park and yet not one person was arrested after I caught them trying to break into my shed!

I mean, there was that but also, the fact that Russia have just proved what everyone was thinking and suddenly come out the closet as a big bunch of baldy, muscular, homoerotic homophobes…what’s going on there.  Get a grip Putin, you big scary phallus.

So yeah, massive social change and acting like a 14 year old in public spaces, I guess the world isn’t as boring a place as I expected.

I fear we are getting a little off topic as I have been busy modelling. Modelling I say! Modelling all sorts, well a building. Hey! It was a new adventure for me.

I had never really painted brick before, I mean, I tried to restore the old station on the old layout but I eventually came to nothing. The old layout was stored away, never to be seen again. Until it came back, and now it just hangs there, watching us like some senile old grandparent ready to innocently shout out a racist remark in front of the foreign nurse and send the room into a tirade of red faces and apologetic remarks.

Actually going back to the night I was bollocked by a car park, I was offer wine by a friend. Actually no, that was afterwards. She kept topping my glass up. Incredibly tenacious that woman.

So yeah, train stuff.  

What we got here was the engine shed, based loosely (very loosely) on Malton shed for our club layout , "Hartburn Junction".

The mission, if I chose to accept it, was to paint and weather the bugger. I accepted it, and then promptly regretted having to take it home to paint it up. But after a few weeks of hiding under my bed, gathering dust and feeling forgotten, I decided to drag it out and get it a whack with the old paint brush.

The initial undercoat was Humbrol 187 although, this happened back in November, so I can’t really remember. It could also be Humbrol 72. Either or, would be a viable option. Sorry I can’t remember it but… sod off, I’m not the memory man!

Afterwards, a few days maybe, I went over the brick work with Railmatch Dark Brick. Not quite dry brushing but not soggy enough to annoy me by filling in the mortar.

It was then dry brushed with Railmatch light brick.

The roof and supports were painted using Humbrol paints. The ratio being 6 parts Humbrol 33, 4 parts Humbrol 98 and 2 parts Humbrol 147. That combination doesn’t have to be an exact match and I’ll inevitably change it on other projects.

The guttering along with other fittings were painted a 50:50 mix of Humbrol 98 & 33 and the window frames were given a coat of Revell  65.

The weathering was generally a mixture of Humbrol 33, Humbro 98 and Humbrol 174. This time with an emphasis on the Humbrol 98.

E.g. 6 parts Humbrol 98, 4 parts Humbrol 33 and 2 parts 174. But, as with before, the ratios are not concrete, be free young brethren, paint the living shit out of your models. If you ruin it though, not my fault!

Finally the roof received a random assortment of the base colour, adding darker and lighter highlights streaking down. Plus touching in some green (Humbrol 226) to give the impression of moss. The corrugated roofs, smoke vents and other bits of metal work were dry brushed Humbrol 62 and Humbrol 113 to show weather beaten rust. Finally the blackboard were given some writing with a white gel pen and the windows were given a light wash of the weathering mix from inside before being wiped off.

So, there you have it. An engine shed.

In other news, I have seen the six lovely ladies again at Shildon. When I say ladies, I mean the A4 Locos, and I’m hoping to see then again on Saturday. Because, I’m a greedy bastard okay, and proud of it! But hopefully I bought some bits to keep me quiet for the next year.

Also in the post I received a part order for some Brandbright 16mm Coaches. More on those later.

So, theres ya lot.

FUCK THE SYSTEM!

For more information on Hartburn Junction, please visit our club website Stockton & District Model Railway Club