One Hobby Shop Less (1/35)

You probably know the story: The local hobby shop you used to go to as a kid or young is closing. Sometimes it can make your modelling life a lot more complicated even though you can have everything you need from online shops. Copenhagen's oldest hobby shop 'Model & Hobby' closed this summer and now leaves the centre of Copenhagen without a proper hobby shop. (There is a War Hammer shop just around the corner from my office, but that is not the same...)

I know that many live far from a hobby shop and will probably find me sort of spoiled when I think it's hard that the nearest hobby shop from where I work is now not 5 minutes away but 15. But now I cannot visit a hobby shop in a lunch break - something I will miss. In the future I will be visiting Stoppel Hobby a lot more on my way home from work.

An image from the now closed hobby shop - a long time before I visited it for the first time. Beside minor details and the kit boxes the shop looked the same when it closed. I even believe the lady behind the counter was the same - just some 40 years older. Scan from 'Danske model- og jernbaneklubber, 1970'.

The shop supplied me with plasticard, wooden profiles, knife blades, landscaping materials and paint for almost 20 years since I began studying (my old department being just a short walk away). The shop was in existence for more than 65 years and closed because the owners wanted to retire - not because me and many other Danish modellers spent too little money there. But the shop hasn´t left without a trace. On the internet there is still a memorial site - and my shelves are full of models that owe their origin to the little shop in central Copenhagen.

Two French army wagons from the first World War built on Pechot bogies. The bodies are home built from wooden profiles from 'Model & Hobby' in Copenhagen and painted with Vallejo paints bought from the same shop.

Works Plates and Primer - My 3D-printed Schöma Loco (1/35)

After having cleaned the model, I sanded off the raised lines on cab front and rear and used sanding sticks to make the roof appear nicely rounded. After another wash with Ajax window cleaner, I primed the model with a thin layer of 'Chaos Black' from Games Workshop.
 



Current status of the Schöma KML5.

I’m also in the process of getting together the parts I need for the building of the loco (if the term 'building' applies to a model coming out of a printer). With the help of a German modelling friend I have received a set of etched metal plates.

 

The plates are made by a German manufacturer, Beckert Modellbau and are tailored in 1:35 scale to fit the Schöma loco both my friend and I have bought from the Shapeways’ site. My plates are made from etched nickel silver and were delivered painted black with the raised lettering rubbed down to show the metal and finished off with clear varnish. All that is left for me is to glue the plates in place. At 22 € the 4 plates are not exactly cheap, but well worth the investment anyway. The plates are quite a prominent feature on the prototype so the model wouldn't be complete without a set of plates. Next up is a drive unit for the model.

The Soviet Tractor at Nystrup (1/35)

I have been giving a short history of why Nystrup Gravel was in possession of a Soviet built tracked tractor for towing equipment and felled trees from areas to be quarried. Now the 1:35 model I have been building of that tractor is finished.

'Stalin' (as the tractor was known among the employees at Nystrup) has been in for serious maintenance at the loco shed. Minor repairs were done in the gravel pits to save the hassle with the local council over the road damage the tractor usually caused when travelling on them. Apart from it not being approved for road travel by the police...

A size comparison with one of the workers. By far the largest tractor to be found anywhere near Nystrup!

A rear view showing the heavy chains used for pulling logs and machinery at the pits.

After priming (see my previous post on the tractor), the model was given a coat of 'panzer grey' as it seems the Germans besides giving conquered equipment a mechanical overhaul, also took the trouble to repaint it in standard German military grey. I fitted a custom made decal from 'Skilteskoven' marking the tractor as a piece of equipment from FluPlaKo (Flug Platz Kommando). The tracks received a spray of a mix of brown and rust and several washes of rust and black oil paints. Wear on the tracks were made with a soft pencil.

The LZ-Models' huge diesel engine was a pleasure to build and it really lifts the model into another league. Do remember, though, to put some lead under the driver's seat or in the gear box as the resin engine has potential to make the tractor a 'nose sitter'. I added some fuel lines from copper wire and a few other home made details.



The LZ-models' resin engine fitted in the tractor. Radiator only temporarily fitted. The basic tractor kit has been primed in 'Chaos Black' from Games Workshop. Just behind the drive sprocket part of the towing chain can be seen. I fitted a brass shackle from Aber's set R-18 for Soviet heavy tanks.

Accident in a level crossing

From the binder I found this spring containing papers from Nystrup Gravel, it seems that the company also made newspaper clippings from the local papers. I have previously found clippings in a local archive, now a second source has appeared. The first of the new clippings I bring here on the blog is on a very mundane happening, but apparently still important enough to warrant a notice in the local paper.

The article mentions a crash between a tractor and two wagons with hay from a nearby farm and a Nystrup Gravel train. No serious damaged resulted, neither to drivers nor ‘hardware’. Some argument must have ensued, though, as the police was involved. The result being that the gravel company was forced to erect warning signs at every level crossing. As road crossing, especially with small farming roads, were numerous it was no small investment for the gravel company. Fortunately a standard gauge railway in the vicinity had just succumbed to the competition from road vehicles and closed down. A relatively cheap supply of cast iron warning signs was acquired from there. The signs could be found at crossings even years after the gravel line was abandoned and torn up.

A New Danish 1:32 Narrow Gauge Railway (1/35)

The number of industrial narrow gauge railways in the scale range 1:35-1:32 is growing in Denmark. The increase is an impressive 100 % ! With a continued growth rate of that size, scale and theme will soon outgrow H0 in Danish railway modelling. Well, the facts behind the story is that the number of operations has gone up from one (my own) to two! For me it is great not being all alone in my hobby. (And just because the owner of this new narrow gauge line and I share surname we are not related, more than 260.000 Danes bearing the surname Nielsen.)

On a 1:32 Gauge 1 home layout far away from Copenhagen a small narrow gauge line is steadily growing. The line is owned by a standard gauge railway company and used primarily for transport of wood and coal to supply the standard gauge locomotives. The line is different from most of the very short systems with that task. This line runs from a wooded area where firewood is collected to the loco depot covering a distance far longer than most depot serving narrow gauge lines. The line has several unique features: a level crossing with a standard gauge siding and a small bridge over the point rodding to a point on the neighbouring standard gauge line, besides crossing a major road. A wooden loco shed has recently been erected.

A view over most of the narrow gauge line. The line ends by the buildings in the background. The wooded area will materialize later in the right hand side of the image. Photo: Arne Nielsen.




The DG 26 with a short 1:32 scale train of small flats and a Bachmann skip. The DG 26 saw service on my modules at the exhibition near Odense in 2012 and is an excellent slow running loco. Photo: Arne Nielsen.

So far there is one Henschel DG-26 diesel loco from Asoa and a few wagons on the railway. More may arrive in the future if traffic on the line increases. The narrow gauge line is being built with clever use of cheap materials. The tread plate ends on the Bachmann skip based flat wagons are made from scraps of packaging band (free) and the loco shed built from coffee stirrers (basically free, too). It proves that narrow gauge modelling in a large scale doesn't have to be expensive.




The loco shed during construction. Notice the neat wooden cladding possible with simple coffee stirrers. Scale lumber may be more exclusive but not necessarily much better looking. Photo: Arne Nielsen.

The newest information from the narrow gauge line indicates that major investments are due. A new loco, a bogie flat and a closed goods wagon are among what the company plans to deploy on the little line. Several sidings awaits construction. Unfortunately the supply of PECO 016,5 points in Denmark seems to have been completely exhausted. Hints on where to shop both new and used points are most welcome - please leave a comment.

The modest loco facilities of the little narrow gauge line. Photo: Arne Nielsen.

Gas Generator Schöma (1/35)

New technologies are constantly changing what is possible in modelling. Years ago resin casting gave modellers a lot of kits and detail parts that would never have been available otherwise. The etched metal kit or detail part then made it possible to even further expand the number and quality of kits and parts available to us. Now 3D printing makes it possible to print models from a computer generated drawing. Like any (new) technology there is  improvements to be made. 3D printing doesn't differ from any modelling technique when it comes to compromise. All modelling involves some kind of compromise to be practical, so don't expect miracles.

While 3D-printing has been around for a few years, I only recently made up my mind to try a 3D-printed model. Not one I have designed and drawn myself (I have no skills for that), but one bought from the website of Shapeways.

Image from the Shapeways site showing the Schöma built KML5-loco. See the loco and more on Shapeways.

My first 3D model is a 1:35 model of a Schöma loco fitted with gas generator. The loco was built in Germany during the second world war when normal fluid fuels were primarily reserved for military use. The gas generator turned wood into gas that fueled the engine. The loco is of the type KML5 (Kriegs Motor Lokomotive) built by several manufacturers and based on the O&K type MD2. A preserved loco of the type can be seen today at the Oekoven museum near Köln.

Schöma 933/1946 type KML5 in the shed in Oekoven, Germany back in 1997 on my first visit there.

The 3D model came from Shapeways covered with some oily substance. I removed the grease with warm water, soap and some Ajax windows cleaner. What the greasy stuff does in the printing process isn't clear to me, but it has to be cleaned off before any painting can begin.

My first printed model. I ordered the loco in Shapeways' best quality material called 'Frosted Ultra Detail' (FUD). Despite a slight crookedness on the cab right side and some raised lines on cab front and rear I'm quite pleased with the model. The roof will need some work too, but most of the faults will be easily sanded away. 

With the complicated piping of the gas generator unit definitely not an easy model for printing. The quality of the piping is most impressing, nevertheless.

Despite the small faults I'm looking forward working with this model. I now have to find a power unit to drive the loco. Maybe a Bull Ant from Australia will fit?

Jung Driver (1/35)

I like to equip my locos with drivers. Having a large scale open cab loco running unmanned along the track isn't very realistic. You may get away with it in the smaller scales, but in 1:35 it looks quite odd! The figure also helps to make the scale more obvious. With a figure, the loco's small size immediately shows and my model isn't taken for a larger loco in a smaller scale.

The figure fitted in the cab. A snap shot on the garden table after a quiet afternoon of modelling in the sun.

The figure in the Jung is dressed in denim overalls and made by MK35 in France. I have used several of MK35's figures and most are great value for money. I have quite a few still in their bags for future use. I chopped off the figure's tennis shoes and fitted a pair of more appropriate leather shoes. To make him fit in the cab I had to performe extensive surgery to his leg and pelvis region. It involved some brutal sawing followed by glue and reshaping with Miliput. I also changed the position of the figure's arms.

Image from MK 35's web site showing the figure in original condition. Photo: MK35

My version of the MK35 figure before painting.

The problem with large scale figures is that they are hard for me to paint well. I keep on trying. The result this time is not much better than last time I tried. But I'll keep on trying!

With a driver in the cab, the U-Models' Jung ZL 114 is now finished.