Ladas in H0

With a steady stream of Eastern European railway models in 1/87 scale arriving, I have begun collecting a few matching cars as well. I had no problem selecting the first type of car to buy: Lada. Rugged, practical, and iconic, it symbolised (well, kind of) national pride in the Soviet Union and will continue to outlive the USSR for many more years.

The Busch Lada 1200 loaded on a Soviet narrow gauge flat wagon. Not an unlikely load in a post-Soviet rural area even today.

There is a wide range of Lada models available but I chose two of the models from the Busch range. I decided to have a rather early model and one of the more recent that I remember myself - including a taxi ride in one on some very frozen streets of Leningrad.

The 1971 Lada 1200 is a finished model while the 1976 Lada 1600 is in kit form.

Instructions for the assembly of the Lada 1600. I think I can handle this level complexity...

The Lada 1200 (VAZ-2101 'Zhiguli') was a licence-built version of the Italian Fiat 124, that was heavily modified and tailored for the rough climate and road conditions across the Soviet Union.  The car was widely and successfully exported to the West under the Lada brand for more than two decades.

The Lada 1600 (VAZ-2106 'Zhiguli') was a modernised version of the original model and it became the Soviet contribution to top the Eastern Bloc charts for comfort and prestige during the communist period as the really expensive and luxurious GAZ and ZIL cars, intended for party members and various state officials, were completely out of reach for ordinary people. 

The Lada 1600 was in production 1976–2006 and after the fall and disintegration of the Soviet Union the model was produced by Russian IzhmashAvto in Izhevsk and RosLada in Syzran. There seems to have been a 'shadow production' in Ukraine, but it was most likely nothing but a tax evading assembly of parts imported from Russia.

I'm slowly beginning to settle for a 2000-themed Eastern European in the western, rural part of the area. Consequently the Ladas will be rather old cars and heavily weathered.

Fowler Finished - Nystrup Gravel no 8

Finally a finished Fowler F 30 on the Nystrup Gravel layout! It has been a long drawn out proces, and over the last couple of years the loco has played the role of the project that could always be set aside when something easier or more enjoyable came along. But now the long suffering loco is on track to be the main source of motive power on the line in the coming years.

Bonkers! Having lined up for a perfect shot of Nystrup Gravel's recently arrived Fowler another photographer forces his way into the image. And wearing a bright yellow pullover!

First job, picking up where I left, was to fit the scratch built sandboxes in the cab. The sanding pipes were adjusted to fit and pencil marks added to aid in placing the sand boxes in equal height above the floor. The boxes were glued in place with AC-glue.

Inside the cab I repaired a tiny amount of overspray, where green paint had crept under the masking tape during painting of the exterior, before I weathered the cab interior. Minor details were also added to the cab floor: two whitemetal wrenches and an oil can. Once the cab was painted I could also fit glazing to the front window openings.

Sand boxes glued in place in the cab and some flaking paint on the company name on the cab rear wall as first stage in weathering.

Moving closer to the finish line!

The previously tested front and rear LEDs were unsoldered from the circuit and the tiny LEDs fitted into the lamps, AC-glued, tested and once I was convinced everything worked I passed the thin wires along the inside roof line of the cab and glued them down with AC-glue. Through a hole drilled in the cab front wall the wires reached the Loco Remote unit in the engine compartement, where they were resoldered and protected from short circuits with heat shrink. I couldn't wait getting the bonnet in place, and the loco was tested on the layout a late evening. It worked!

My wiring probably wasn't the prettiest but I got it all jumbled into a 'bird's nest' and crammed away under the bonnet. Everything was tested once more before I fitted the resin lenses in the lamps. I used Humbrol Clearfix to glue the lenses.

Front lamp glued on (for the second time). The tiny LED is just visible a yellow rectangle in front of the reflector.

Late night testing on the layout because I just couldn't wait! Despite dangling wires all worked fine and nothing on the layout got caught in the wires.

Daylight testing. Wires rolled up the best I could and hidden under the bonnet. Exhaust pipe (chminey) fitted and the Fowler is ready for a little weathering.

With the wires tucked away under the bonnet, I fitted the cab and fastened it with the two small screws through the rear buffer plate. From here it was plain sailing with small details painted, scratches and wear applied with fine brush, sharp pencil and graphite powder, oil washes, rust painting and getting some track dust on the lower part of the loco with the air brush. Finally I could fit the driver figure in the cab and take the loco on a tour of the layout. In no time loco no 8 gathered quite a crowd!

Close up of the loco's rear end. I could get tired of the standard screw heads used to attach the buffer plank. They may be replaced with proper bolts in the futore. Other than that I'm quite pleased with the busy look of the cab interior showing.

'Looks solid and sound good' says Thorleif Petersen, chief mechanic and workshop manager at Nystrup Gravel while another employee stands ready if more oil is needed. The driver seems quite relaxed despite all the hype...

I managed to get a good shot of the loco pulling skips through the red wooden building, once the other enthusiast had left.

It's being said that a model railway is never finished, and I guess the same is true for any model I build. There is always something that can be improved. I've already found a few things on loco no 8 and more will probably show up. But now it's time for a new project! 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is here again! It's incredible how fast a year passes by! I can't believe that in two weeks' time I'm going to take stock of the year's modelling progress, I wish all railway modellers and every reader of the blog a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

As always the Nystrup Gravel Christmas card features a tree and lights, but this year a fox has sneaked in as well. The skips almost disappear in the murky background.  

As usual I'm going to celebrate Christmas with my family in Denmark - a small and peaceful country. I'm blessed with manageable challenges. Not everyone is so fortunate. As usual my thoughts go out to people with little time to design model railways; humans hit by powerty, unrest or war. If you are well-off and don't usualle donate to people in need, please make an exception during this Christmas. Most people running a model railway can probably spare a small sum for a donation to a good cause.

Merry Christmas!

Help! Lights, Poles and Shadows.

It's quite seldom I'm doubting if my modelling adds or detracts to my little layout, but with my newly installed wooden poles with lamps I'm not quite sure how to rate the result. Last week I finally got some time at the modelling table and I had two lamps installed on prepared poles with 3D printed isolators. The lamps were wired and painted in no time. The wiring is only temporary but everything works fine.

Snapshot of the two lamps at the lorry loading ramp.

My problem is the annoying shadows the poles cast on the backscene. The poles are placed no more than 7 cm from the backscene. My modules are only 40 cm deep so everything is quite close to the backscene! The shadows are cast almost no matter angle light is projected onto the layout: my usual room lights makes the poles cast shadows, light coming in throug the room's window the same and even when I blind the window and turn of the room's lights - the lamps on the poles cast shadows when I turn them on. And to think I own quite a collection of old LP's with the 'Shadows'! Now I don't like them...

Can some of the knowledagble reader of this blog spare a second for some good advice on how to mitigate the shadows? Am I going to ad some lighting above the layout to blend everything together or do I have to accept defeat and pull up the poles?

Mushroom cloud shaped shadow cast by the lamp mounted on the pole at the ramp. 

Working Lights At The Loading Ramp

Phew, it's been a busy November and I haven't had any time for modelling. Only on the last day in the month I managed to get some time at the workbench. I devoted the time getting a pair of lamps mounted on poles I finished a long time ago.

I have had a working lamp detailed with lampshade and painted mounted on a post earlier, but I have bodged the final installation several times leading to short circuits. This time I took a different route and soldered wires and battery connection up before I added 1/19 scale versions of enamel lampshades.

The lampshades are cut from a piece of thin metal upcycled from an old soft drink can. Precut with a circle cutter and cut free with a pair of cissors, the metal circle is then cut, bended and glued with AC-glue to form a flar cone. The lamps are cheap Chinese LEDs in white metal housings in H0 scale bought from ebay. The soft drink can lampshade is AC-glued to the lamp, blended in with fillet of extra glue and then painted dark grey. Quite simple really. 

Discs of metal cut from a soft drink can.

The home made lampshade fitted to the Chinese H0 scale lamp.

Complete assembly waiting for the glue to dry. I have since fitted a fillet of glue to blend in the lampshade better. Once painted it will probably look quite decent.

Then and Now 2

As my 1/19 scale layout has gradually developed to a semi-finished state I've looked back on a few old images on the blog. I have enjoyed seeing the difference three to four years of hobby work has made. The first 'Then and now' post can be found here.

I have tried to set up almost identical situations on same location to create a 'now and then' comparison. 

In April 2021 track works were making shunting difficult. A lot of planning was needed to keep the supply of gravel running. Still no landscaping, ballast and even the rails are still in shiny nickle silver.

Image from October 2025 showing that a range of improvements have taken place and the photo shows an almost entirely landscaped layout - still with lots of tasks remaining, though.

The Baguley-Drewry locomotive has only reached first stage of rebuilding. In 2021 I removed current collecting gear and taken out the glazing in the cab windows. Hand rails on the top of the bonnet have been removed too. The Baguley will probably become my next loco project once the Fowler is finished.

Three New Underground Skips

Another three Hudson underground skips are now in service on my little 1/19 scale industrial narrow gauge railway. They are as dirty as the first three, carry the numbers 31, 34 and 36 and are from the same shipment that arrived in December 2022. I began assembly of the last three skips during summer and continued with final assembly and paint in September.

A full train of underground skips at Nystrup Gravel. The three new wagons in the foreground. The skips were primarily used to transport ash from the company's boiler room.

As the proces of painting and weathering is essential a total repitition of what I did on the first three U-tub skips I will refer to the post on finishing the first three skips. Below are a few images further illustrating the painting and weathering process in addition to the images in the post linked to above. 

Wheels sprayed with 'Chaos Black' from Citadel directly from the rattle can. Axles protected with masking tape and the single wheels double taped to a piece of scrap cardboard.

The first layers of weathering is on. It looks like a total mess at this stage. It will look better once finished... Notice numbering covered with dirty deposits.

With most of the weathering in place I just had to finish the couplings. That was done adding homemade hooks to the single chain links made previously. I only fitted hooks on one end of each wagon.

Home made hooks bent from nickle silver wire.

Last touches of weathering being applied. In reality the process will probably continue until I have found a level of ash deposit and dust I find reasonable.

With black paint on the hooks and a quick wash of heavily diluted rust coloured oil paint the skips received an air brushing of matt varnish with a little pale sand added. Then wheels and frames had track dust added with a thin layer Vallejo 71.142 'Sinai Sand' mixed with a lot of water.

Model Trains as Decoration

Many, if not most, railway modellers have too little room to build their dream layout and many has very little room for just a small layout and their collection of locos, rolling stock etc. I'm no different. I had been wondering if by making small dioramas or miniature settings I could enjoy some of my models in a different way. A 1/87 scale speeder, due to its small size, became the first of my model trains to appear outside of the model room. The small diorama on a slice of birch has been exhibited in our bed room on a low cupboard. It's small, green and kind of cute - not too different from a small plant. 

A mini diorama as decoration.

I have even taken the liberty to drag one of my 1/10 scale skips into my office at work, where it due to its large size is perfect as a conversation item. Not least because I work for a company building railways.

My next project is a narrow box diorama to fit between books on one of my shelves. A mine adit with track, lights and a underground skip - and maybe even forced perspective.

33. Internationales Feldbahnertreffen

Four days of narrow gauge trainspotting, forest trekking, a guided tour around a closed clay mine and good German beer. That was some of the ingredients in this year's Internationales Feldbahnertreffen at the 600 mm 'Stumpfwaldbahn' in Ramsen, ca. 16 km northeast of Kaiserslautern in Germany.

Henschel 24011/1939 with a pair of timber bogies moving through the forest.

The 'Treffen' is the major annual event for vintage narrow gauge industrial railway enthusiasts in continental Europe. As usual the event had four days filled with networking, presentations, train rides and visits to usually off limits workshops and storage buildings. 

A pair of visiting Hatlapa locomotives pausing in front of the station building at Eiswoog terminus.

American Fairbanks-Morse speeder visiting from France speeding along the line.

A large concrete and steel girder viaduct towers over the Eiswoog Station. Here a view down on a Jenbacher Werke 'Pony' visiting from Romania.

The 'Stumpfwaldbahn' is located in a hilly, forested area and with beautiful autumn weather both resident and visiting locomotives looked their best. The hosts must have been relieved with the weather turning out so nicely!

Gmeinder 1992/1937 with three skips being filled by a 1970´s hydraulic excavator.

The loco shed in Ramsen with Henschel steam loco being readied for service in the foreground.

Two Deutz locomotives in the 4-track shed.

As usual the event provided a good view into another organisation's way of doing things and several observations was noted that may be useful on the vintage railway where I volunteer myself. As a modeller inspiration was picked up and as usual the details on several types of steel skips made me think about the next project.

The viaduct above Eiswooge Station is an impressive structure.

Henschel 24011/21939 taking water from a small stream.

The sign from the event's bar is passed on from this year's hosts to next year's from Apedale in the United Kingdom.

Soviet Bogie Platform Wagons

In my continued proces of building up a collection of Soviet narrow gauge rolling stock, two platform wagons arrived today by mail. Quite unusual for such rather rare prototypes they are out of the box delivered finished and ready for service (even if I don't have a layout to use them on).

 

Two new platform wagons unpacked and photographed in the garden with a MD-54-2 and a piece of mining machinery as load.

The protoype for the models is a simple steel framed platform wagon with sheet metal floor and cast steel 'american-style' bogies and central couplings. Pockets for stakes to enable transport of wood etc. are placed on the outside frames. Several types of platform wagons were built by Demikhovo Engineering Works (DMZ) with some of them having very low sides and some strengthening beams across the load area - probably for transporting logs. The Demikhovo Engineering Works (Демиховский Машиностроительный Завод, ДМЗ) in Demikhovo near Moscow was founded in the Soviet Union in the 1930's building machines for the peat industry including bogie hoppers by the thousands. Today the company is the Russian Federation's main producer of EMU's. 

Drawing and data sheet of almost identical platform wagon built by DMZ. It's fun that the gauge is stated as being 1520 mm - clearly a mistake!

Works photograph of a platform wagon from Demikhovo.

The wagons are handbuilt in Ukraine by the Ukrainian 'Miniland' model railway organisation that is best known for operating Ukraine's largest 1/87 scale model railway in Kyiv. They are not what I would consider cheap, but the quality/price ratio is well balanced and I already have more models on order. Packaging on arrival from Kyiv is top quality, and once cardboard box and bubblewrap was removed I had a tailor-made lasercut wooden box in my hands. The box will help protect the models from all but the most viscious mishandling.

The contents laser engraved on the lid of the wooden box supplied as a safe home for the models.

With the lid off the wagons can be seen fitting into the foam lining of the box. Thin plastic wrapping makes it easy to extract the models.

The models correspond to available drawings of Demikhovo platform wagons and both are assembled with care, bearing no visible marks from glue, solder or files etc. The wagons are equipped with full underside detail like air tank, pipes and brake rodding. Paint is well applied, probably by air brush, and the lettering is clear and the wagons carry individual numbers and appropriate data.

Platform 1930 in light grey livery.

Braked platform 1262 with brake compartment built from steel sheet and profiles.

Underside detail on platform 1930. The only thing missing is the brake shoes.

As an extremely utilitarian design the Demikhovo platform wagons weren't the kind of rolling stock anyone took a particularly interest in. Consequently most images show prototype wagons heavily weathered and worn. As long as all eight wheels touched the rails and the couplings pointed in the right direction all seems to have been fine. I look forward to add weathering to the models in the future. For the time being they will stay in their nice box.

Platform wagon loaded with two substantial concrete elements. This particular wagon seems to have been light grey in a distant past. Surely an inspiration for my future weathering work on the two models.

More Underground Skips

During my summer vacation I began assembly of the last three 3D printed kits of Hudson underground skips that I had delivered in December 2022. I finished the first three of the skips in May 2023. Having to recover after a bike crash left me with a chance of getting to work on the skips after a period of demanding work.

Six underground skips in the Nystrup Gravel yard. The newest of them closest to the camera with unpainted wheels and no weathering.

The work remaining was mainly related to the wagons´ couplings. Small triangles of 1 mm plasticard with a hole for the coupling link was glued behind the endframes. Next identical  coupling links were made by winding 1 mm NS wire around a piece of 2 mm plasticard with the width matching the inner measurement of the coupling link. A fast method to fabricate links of the same size.

To add weight to the light 3D printed wagons small pieces of led were glued in place on each side the mount for the couplings.With lead weights also glued behind the skips' supports for the tubs have worked on the first three skips work tolerably well, even on my bad track. 

Plasticard triangles for mouting couplings glue behind the buffers. The added lead pieces on each side of the triangles are also visible.

All the stuff needed to make equally sized coupling links in close-up.

The links ready for further work and fitting on the skips.

With the last glue dried I sprayed both tubs and frames with 'Chaos Black' and a little rust coloured paint left in a spray can. The skips are now ready for weathering and I also need to bend up three hooks for the couplings.

The skips are nice and simple kits demanding only simple tools. As such they are an exellent choise when modelling in the cottage. Here photographed on the stub of a newly felled tree.