For the love of it all.

For the love of building something, anything, you there, I'll build you! Yes go on, what could go wrong? I'm building my muscles - thanks to Shaun T. I hate Shaun T. like I hate my mother when she told me off. One of those hates where you'll thank them for it in the long run but you just can't help but want to tell them to fuck off. But sorry I'm digressing. So yes, what could go wrong?

Well, surprising a lot in all honesty. Yet despite professing that I completely and utterly Frank Spencered the hell of of it, this Dave Alexander Q6 chassis has somehow forgiven me enough to work!(I wish girls worked like that...)

That's right, we're back to the Q6, new home, new job, new pets but same model as before ( Have mentioned it before haven't I? *goes and checks* No... bollocks. Okay a bit of a history lesson, somewhere between by breakdown train and now I bought a secondhand kit Q6 off of a gentleman on RMWeb! The body was partially built but the chassis was untouched and included pretty much everything I needed which was great. I had to buy in a new motor and gear box but that wasn't too bad.

But judging by my ability to literally balls up every effort I aim for - I was slightly reluctant to ham fist my way through this without taking my time.

Anyway time past, I met my girlfriends family, and extended family, bump into several people and eventually moved house and did other stuff and blah blah blah!  So eventually i realised i was going to die one day (hopefully not too soon) and I would look up from the depths of hell and wished I had built the bugger from I perished so this is literally me trying to hurry it along before time takes it's toll. not that i'm knowingly dying that the moment (christ, I hope not)

But yes, I finally got there, the chassis is complete and it works!

Here's the result.

I've even added a flywheels to which is suppose to improve running... though the jury is still out on that, but it looks fairly important so I'll just tell people that it's important.

Here's the Q6 looking complete (but the discerning viewer will notice it isn't). By the time of my next blog, i should have built my twelfth. Looking at what the gentleman wanted to do originally it would be a shame now to use the fine scale items he's supplied so hopefully you'll get to see it with all the mod cons like a Q6 GTI or something car people get aroused over. I'm not a car person so not even a semi for me. Now love rot professional corner where I attempt to make love someone else model. Well, I was given this little darling to repaint... more to come on her. Needless to say, she won't be Great Western for long. 

Yes that's right, she'll be London Transport L.150, except she won't! She'll be carrying "Metropolitan 1". I'm quite looking forward to this project actually despite the full repaint that I will have to carry out, I was also told it doesn't have to be exact which is helpful (Frank Spencer anyone).

Going back to my stuff, next in line (possibly concurrent with my Q6 project) is this Bachmann (and the bits) WD. Personally speaking, I'm no rivet counter but also I'm not a big fan of haphazard finishes without good reason so this better have been bloody good one. By the looks of this it'll be a need a full repaint after a fair rub down to get rid  of the "LNER" that still prevalent. Love what they did with the number too. Matching shades of cream! No that I should point and mock, we all start somewhere, plus I don't know who did it - so I can't point. 

I'm just going to randomly point and wave madly. You know this is how Hitler started, you know!

Crosti, Cats and Cottaging

Hello, welcome, good to see you all again. Yes, it has been too long, if not for you, then certainly for me. I type this from the comfort of my bed, in our new cottage. YES…. I did say cottage, how awesome is that.

But firstly, I need house the toilet. Actually, sod it, I’m gonna’ write a bit of this on the bog. Also, I may leave for a bit as I need to walk the dog and gawp at the solar eclipse but i shall be back to talk about trains! 

So, down to business Crosti toilet- I mean boiler - yes, I am writing this on the toilet too… I care not what shame to put on me. This is my blog and I can write it wherever I bloody well want. 

…In fact I’ve now writing this a week later whilst rehearsing lines at university…

…oh how time flies…. a few days have now passed even then, and now we have a kitten! Bernard. He's a real, bastard too.

He and Bert, our dog, seem to be getting on like a house on fire, or wildfire or something relatively destructive. But they are getting along, which is nice. 

…now, I’m re-watching Game of Thrones as the little buggers mess around in the living. Sorry, I’m being terribly ill disciplined. 

So modelling, well as you can tell from my hectic lifestyle of bed that not much has been progressed. However I was given a commission to fulfil in the shape of a Crosti 9F. 

The person in question has built it around a Hornby Railroad 9F using the Dave Alexander Crosti conversion kit. 

A lot of the weathering was pretty much my normal mix of layer upon layer starting with the blocking in a mix of Humbrol 62 & 33 followed by strategically painting on rust patches using Humbrol 62 and Humbrol 113 and another wash of 62 & 33 until everything is toned down. 

The limescale streak were a real pain in the hoop, I haven’t really done a lot of these before as from my research the Teesside Region locos tended not to have limescale to the point that Midland Region did.

A lot of it was just scribbled on it brought downward lines followed by dry brushing Humbrol 64. The initial process didn’t work for me but after trying it a few time, going away, coming back, shouting at it, swearing a few times, going on mass genocide and finally returning to it, I think I got something I like. 

One further thing I did, was to light dry brush Humbrol 27004 over the side of the loco and tender to give it a much more lifelike sheen. 

I’m quite happy with the finished model and was more than pleased to release it back to my friend. 

Here it is with my own detailed Railroad 9F.

so, what’s next for me.

Well, I decided to completely fuck with history… more on this little beauty in the next few weeks.

Oh by the way, by the time I finished this blog, we re-named the Nigel (You know after Sir Nigel Gresley). I reckon next week we’ll have re-named him Ivatt (fingers crossed)

Here's the delightful little bastard, with our dog, Bert.