Little Progress

There has been little progress on Nystrup Gravel during the last month. Obligations in other directions have been taking up my available time. Fortunately things are now getting better as we move into the traditional modelling season. As a small appetizer I added a few additional broad leafed plants to the layout's right end front.

The front slope is beginning to look finished. Now the remaining surface needs some attention.

The right end of my small layout will be further developed in the coming weeks with the prospect of melting together with the rest of the landscaped part. Other projects on the list are cab interior in the Fowler diesel, and painting of a few small scale models that I didn't get to finish during summer. The major reasons for not being able to show more progress is two other railway events in my life.

As usual I attended the huge railway exhibition InnoTrans in Berlin during september. I knew the managing director of Nystrup Gravel was also going, but I didn't meet him (among 170.000 attendees it would have been no small wonder). As usual I was part of my company's staff manning our exhibition stand, but I managed some tours round the exhibition and even got to see some narrow gauge equipment. The exhibiting companies continue to use models to illustrate their products and is to a large extent using 3D printed models. 

The most detailed models were seen at the stand of Полтавський Тепловозоремонтний завод (Poltava Locomotive Repair Plant) from Ukraine. In addition to the 1/87 scale TjME3 above a model of a M62-locomotive was also exhibited.

The use of 3D printed models is becoming very widespread. Here the technology is used to show maintenance equipment complete with scale figure.

Shortly after a week spent in Berlin for Innotrans the major event for vintage narrow gauge industrial railway enthusiasts in continental Europe, the 'Feldbahntreffen' was hosted by the Hedeland vintage railway (HVB), where I spend a good deal of my spare time. Volunteers had planned and prepared the event for several months, but most of the work took place in the week before the meeting and during the four day it lasted. Four Dutch vehicles visited HVB, the first time the railway has hosted locomotives from abroad. Naturally I spent a lot of time planning, working and enjoying the meeting.

Visiting Dutch locomotive nr. 6 'Ijsseloord' from Smalspoor Katwijk Leiden.

One Dutch engine and two Danish resting after a day's work on the 5 km HVB.

110 European enthusiasts from Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Romania, Ukraine and Poland joined more than 40 volunteers from HVB for four days of networking, presentations, train rides and visits to usually off limits workshops and storage buildings.  

Wooden box with 'Nystrup Gravel' painted on top in use as illustrative load in a wagon during the 32. Internationales Feldbahntreffen at the Hedeland vintage railway 10.-13.October.

I now hope to be able to devote a few more evenings for modelling and hopefully breathe some life into this blog again!

New Plants

Last week I experimented with some soft plastic broad leaved plants and I decided to carry on with the work. The soft plastic took paint reasonably well and I liked the contrast to the overwhelmingly grassy growth on the layout. My layout is too small for 1/19 scale trees so variety in low growing vegetation is important.

Butterbur plants with an assortment of grass tufts, stones and ground cover on the small slope next to the fuel and lubrication shed.

Before fixing the plastic plants, I glued some grass tufts in place and also fixed a piece of scrap wood and some rusty scrap metal to the slope. Then I scattered some finely sieved brownish sand to the slope fixing it with thinned white glue. The holes for the plants were kept open with tooth picks that kep away sand and glue. Further holes for plants were made after the glue had dried. I simply punch holes through the top of the layout with a screwdriver.

Before the glue dried completely I added the first butterbur plants. While I was working a sign saw the staff somewhat baffled. 

With the plants in place I'm now wondering if I should fit some more in the same area and perhaps also add a little 'colony' of the plants near the lorry loading ramp. The most important development is however, that I've now begun to add ground cover and vegetation to the layout's right hand end. I hope to have the whole layout covered by Christmas.

A zoomed out view of the fuel shed (a resin kit from Kippo Models) showing the right hand end of the layout with the fence creating a minimum of a scenic break. I built the shed back in 2019.

Politics at Nystrup Gravel

Most model railway enthusiasts are not incorporating politics on their layouts. On Nystrup Gravel on the other hand it's actively integrated into the history of company, layout and the figures giving character to my Nystrup universe. For general elections period election posters are hung on telegraph poles and prominent personalities on the layout have political views representative of Danish political history. Sometimes small anomalies creep in, though. 

The fuel and lubrication shed was a favourite spot for posters. As many political observations were present among Nystrup staff the political posters were often changing. The Vespa posters have been up for ages.

The new poster glued to the fuel storage shed is nothing out of the usual despite being in English. The design is 1950's with a simple slogan, although one of the symbols seems to be a little off for the modelling period.  You can't get everything right. It turned out the conservative owner of Nystrup Gravel didn't approve of the poster's anti-royal statement and as the chief mechanic didn't like the anti-communist hint they both agreed to let it quietly dissappear. 

Experimenting With Vegetation

In February I acquired some artificial grass from IKEA for an experiment with high vegetation looking a bit like the rushes growing in poorly drained areas. Although intially very promising, I ditched the solution after having installed a few tufts of cut down IKEA grass. It was too obviously plastic grass from IKEA and no amount of matt varnish or detail painting could hide that - particularly as they were placed at the layout's front edge. Now a new experiment is unfolding at the same location: planting butterbur.

At the right end of the small layout new, experimental plants have started growing

I don't know where I bought the plastic plants with large leaves, but they were probably cheap. I found 3 wraps of them in a bag while cleaning out a cupboard and they look like a type of plastic plants used by by people keeping fish in aquariums. They are from the time when I modelled in 1/35 scale and I probably decided they were too large for 1/35. Now I wanted to try them out in 1/19 scale.

A handful of plants were wiped with a wet cloth and when dry given a spray with black primer. The root end were cut off and the leaves painted green. Once dry they were stuck into holes on the small slope at the layout's right end.

3 stages of butterbur for Nystrup Gravel (from top down): unpainted plant, primed and painted. The fourth plant is as bought with stem and roots still attached.

First impression of the plastic plants isn't too bad. With some groundcover and a little colour variety these plants stand a greater chance of survival in the Nystrup biosphere than the IKEA grass.

My greatest concern is if the paint will hold on to the soft plastic over time. I have tried to rub the primer off the leaves without succes so perhaps I'm worrying too much. No one will be touching the plants regularly and they can be spot painted if needed.

The roots and stems have been put into storage. They may come in useful later.

Ballasting and Reality

The cab detailing on the Fowler has been hit by the reality of my work life. Not much progress on the small plastic parts to be hidden away in the cab. I have had more succes with adding some vegetation and ballast. Somehow I find it much easier to spend five minutes pouring out a little ballast one evening and then adding glue a few days later.

It's friday and the last train of the day has arrived in the Nystrup Gravel Yard. The Fowler locomotive is shunted by the little Lister. Probably for an evening check of a mechanical issue before the first train saturday.

The locos having departed through the building complex a few skips are now checked for oil in the bearings. Even though vegetation and ballast are now in place there is still detailing and weathering to add.

So despite a busy work schedule there's progress on the little Nystrup Gravel layout. I have begun to think it's realistic to have the entire layout fitted with ground cover before year's end. That is an accomplishment as my modelling speed can best be called moderate. I continue having high hopes of greater speeds, but I have to be realistic, as 1/19 scale Nystrup Gravel is only one of my railway endeavours. 

The different railway activities may sometimes limit each other, but mostly they actually add value to one another. And while some readers may wonder if there is a serious fault in the time continuum in Denmark the image below shows that Nystrup Gravel director Erik Holm is actually attending the world's largest railway exhibition Innotrans in Berlin later in september. I'm attending as well, and I have a few questions to ask if I bump into Mr. Holm.

Trade visitor pass to Innotrans for Nystrup managing director Holm.

Easy Living - Vacation

After a week in Germany my vacation has now settled into the slow rythm of doing very little in a slow pace. Giving my house a little paint, interrupted by watching the olympics and generally enjoying life with wife and family. A little train running and a start on the cab interior on the Fowler diesel has been added to the few things accomplished. 

Running the Fowler back and forth on a short temporary garden line in front of my garden shed. Very relaxing!

With the help of images and drawings from an article by Bill Strickland in the November 1980 issue of 'Merioneth Mercury' I've begun making interior details for the Fowler cab. I'm just getting started on the brake installation and sand boxes. It's fiddly work and I hope it will be worth the effort. Work on the driver firgure is also under way with intial adjustment to feet and head to fit the cab.

Covering the added exterior details with paint has helped to make the model a little more finished although there is still a lot of work left. I used Vallejo 'Black' to cover bolt heads and profile additions on the frames and an ancient (most likely early 2000's) tin of Humbrol enamel 195 'Dark Green Satin' on the body details fitted. Where I had fitted metal parts I was carefull to prime with enamel paint before the acrylic colour was applied. My experience is that enamel has a stronger 'grip' on bare metal than my favourite acrylic paints.

What a difference a few brush strokes makes! All the exterior detail additions have been painted. The loco will continue to develop in the coming months.

One of my vacation projects actually got finished: the Modelu fox and it even got some publicity on the Modelu Facebook page. The guys at Modelu said nice things about my modelling and provided their audience with a link to this blog. Things like that boost my modelling confidence. Hopefully it will also help the producer to boost sales something we all will benefit from. Notice that I'm no influencer type receiving gifts in return for mentioning producers. My blog is way too obscure and I'm a proud full price paying customer when I shop for my hobby.

My first Modelu animal lifted from the Modelu Facebook page.

More Models in 1/87 Scale

Among my selected summer projects I have been working on some models for a future 1/87 diorama of a yet to be decided Eastern European location. My summer vacation has seen work done on the K-Model TU4 and I have also been cleaning up some Micro_Miners models and experimenting with Soviet concrete wall segments.

Four mine tubs and an overhead loading machine liberated from their web of printing supports before final clean up. Here seen in front of a 1/100 scale Siemens Avenio tram from Majorette. Each tub is 1,5 mm long and the loading machine barely 2 cm.

As described earlier, the Micro_Miners models arrive in small card board boxes on their printing support webs and plate hot glued to bottom of the box. Once released from the box each model or part has to be separated from the printing supports. With small snippits the job is fast over and the few remnants of the supports can be removed with a small file or sanding stick. The two part overhead loading machine was very fragile and I took great care not to damage anything. Despite that one of the brackets keeping the driver's platform on the machine's left side broke. It was quickly reglued with AC-glue.

Four wagons attatched to the bottom of their small card board box with hot glue.

The overhead loading machine's two parts still attached to their frightening maze of print supports.

Equipment from the underground workings of a mine ready for priming.

The mining equipment is planned to feature on a diorama in a Eastern European setting on the territory of the former Soviet Union. Quite where is still undecided but I'm leaning towards one of the three Baltic countries or Ukraine. The narrow gauge mining equipment with 6,5 mm. gauge isn't the main focus, but will add interest and a very clear indication of what's going on next to the 9 mm. gauge railway passing through the industrial location.

Currently I'm sourcing parts that are typical 'Soviet' in style. Despite the Soviet Empire being long gone at the time I'm modelling, buildings and road vehicles are still showing the Soviet legacy. There'll obviously be both Ladas and Zils as well as above the ground steam heating pipes. What is also an absolute must on any ex. Soviet industrial location is the ПО-2 (PO-2) concrete element fence surrounding military barracks, hospital compounds and industrial locations. Read the history of the PO-2 fence in depth here.

While the PO-2 fence is easily available in the military modelling scales 1/76 and 1/35 I had to search long for elements in 1/87. But the German firm PTL-Bahn have them as item 210051 'Betonmauerelemente'. I bought the two remaining bags of 10 elements each from the German trader Modellbahn-Exclusiv allowing me to build a wall 64 cm. long. 

Grouping of items for a future diorama: 750 mm gauge TU4, 600 mm gauge mine equipment and in the rear the ever present PO-2 fencing.

The stuff seen from above on a small piece of foam board testing viewing angles. The future diorama will be much larger.