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. 

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