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!

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

Blindness and exasperation...

EHwoh!

I'm back... I bet you'd never thought you hear that again! I am though, one year older and slightly more jaded that when you last met me, and let's be frank, I was quite jaded before hand.

I reached 27 and for a week I was okay, totally fine. Then it hit me, literally a week afterward, waiting at the bus station. I was older, physically, if not mentally. I hate that feeling. Especially considering I'm more atheist than agnostic. The pit in your stomach when you realise that you have about 70 more years on this planet, I'm 27 years in already and life's getting faster, God damn it!

This is one cruel game!

However, it's not all bad. Doctor Who was fifty the other week and I fankwanked myself silly with it all. Especially the Day of the Doctor and An Adventure in Space and Time.

An Adventure in Space and Time was beautiful and I'm not weak enough to hide the fact that I literally cried laughing and cried crying in the last five minutes of the show. It was a most beautiful moment which I was happily moved by the acknowledgement for the longest continuous running sci-fi in history.

This lead me to a site call Goodread where I've been reviewing books and adding short stories and talking to some cool people. Please visit and join in, it's pretty good. Goodreads

I've also taking to jabbing the living fuck out of my eyes with some contact lenses. What fun I'm having also causing myself to go blind by trying to make it easier for me to see.

Also what happened was a jolly little visit to the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway... which was both, enjoyable and bloody weird. Oxenhope, what is there, what the actual fuck is there? I found half a park and nothing else!!!! But it was nice to see the WD in action. Lovely engine, if a little loud.

Although there was a creepy moment between a train spotter and his Thai Bride, which made me question everything I hold dear.

On top of that, my local town has found out it has the world's shittest Christmas Tree, well England's shittest Christmas Tree. In fact it's not even a Christmas Tree at all... so it's a bit of misnomer really...

Bad tree

Anyway I'm digressing, we're hear to see me build trains and shit aren't we?

So, trying to combat lethargy, I have been pushing myself to work on the painting and decal side of this.

I managed to get so far with the brake van, I think all this I need now is to weather it, which a relief as it looked the hardest thing to make.

It isn't completely finished and is still prone to fall apart but it's good enough at the moment. The same goes for the Sulphate wagons below. The "Sulphate" decals were a little awkward but just some careful handling made short work of them.

As you can see with the wooden doors, I have added variations to the planking which will hopefully tone down with weathering.

Anyway, I must be off to repair my coat and sleep before *shudders* work tomorrow.

Awh and Doctor Who has finished on the DVD player whilst I've been typing this up... sod you all!

I hope I don't die of old age just yet...

I write this new blog entry thing literally a week before I turn 27.

I'm slowly becoming more freaked out about how old I am and how little I wish to remove myself from the kindly bosom of my parents. Am I really going to end up like a 45 year old undesirable bachelor? Will I die not fulfilling any potential at all!

Tune in next week, Same Twat Time, Same Twat Channel!

But modelling wise, things are happily coming along.

The main superstructure for the break van is now complete including adding updated it to make it more LNER. A lot of which was detailed in my last blog but something which I hadn't done before that entry was the double lamp irons common to LNER brake vans. there was simple being just a slice of "L" shaped plastic strut and some micro strip about a 1mm wide.

Over all the rest of it was simple enough to do until I came to the brass wire which I know I've messed up with but hopefully it won't look to bad once painted and weathered.

also whilst I've been at it, I've began painting the Sulphate wagons with some Railmatch enamels I bought from my local shop. The thing about these wagons is that the main body was made up of steel sheeting and the doors where wooden. I suspect the wooden doors would fade at a quicker rate to the nature of wood and the frequent handling of the doors.

To replicate this I painted the body the general early BR grey colour where as the doors I painted with LNER grey. I know, Grey is grey but as that sex starved dildo wielding writer lady state (incorrectly) there was 50 different shades. Actually, love, petal, sugar tits, you might find in the model railway fraternity there are far more than just 50.

I'm hoping that after some weathering they turn out okay, what this space....

Anyway, I'm off to try and see the Great Gathering again on my birthday :D then afterwards get smashed with some friends and try and find a way out of an uncomfortably interested cactus.

For more information on the recent gathering at York here's the link.

http://www.nrm.org.uk/planavisit/events/mallard75.aspx

A goods train, A Goods Train, A GOODS TRAIN!

.... said Gordon, grunting like an impotent executive trying in vein to enjoy his "business" trip in Bangkok.

Hello, it's me, Sylvian, welcome back to my irreverent look at model railways. As you may have guessed, I'm watching Thomas the Tank Engine. Mere weeks before I turn 27, I feel like  a dad who took divorce quite badly. I've even took to comfort eating... This life will be the death of me. 

But as I waft, limply into oblivion I continue with my modelling. I last left you with a rake of Ammonia Sulphate wagon, and I'm pleased to say I've done literally fuck all with them since. 

Instead I've been slowly but surely working on modifying a Dapol Brake Van to turn it into some more Ex-LNER. With the help of a scalpel, some squadron putty and a modelling by Martin Welch I commandeered from the library, I set to work. 

So far I've really just done the chassis but this is where I expect most of the work would have gone with it, the rest looks a little simple... apart from the railing. (Actually I've just realised I still need to do them...bollocks)

                                      

One of the main bits on the body I've reworked was inner wall way which lost it's original planking after a good seeing to with sandpaper to removed those ruddy moulding marks. The planking is just some 2mm microstrip.

The ballast blocks on LNER brake vans ran right up to the verandas so this was amended on the model with some thick plastic strip which was filed down when the glue has thoroughly dry. (I say thoroughly dry, I did risk it and it paid off)  

                                         

Once of this was finished, the squadron putty came out to make the little problems disappear , like what the CIA does to people. That is what they do, right?

                                         

 Further details were eventually added to the under frame including the bracing made from "L" strip.

And we see the eventual evolution of the brake gear given a basic mod to single clasp ( as per NER prototype), I couldn't be arsed looking around for some. I am told however ABS do some. They'll look alright once painted and weathered, from a distance, to a blind man.

So here is the overall outcome of the chassis bit, brake gear has been added along with brake loops made from staples and some whitemetal brake pipes from 51L models I bought at York about a year ago. As some of you more observant may have seen, the foot boards have been cut down by about 10mm from the left end and rejoined with some new hole made let them fit. 

Its been fun but I do fear I may suffer from a general unhappy lethargy which makes these projects protract. 

Sod it, I'm joining Fathers fro Justice!