Models Coming Apart - UMSLTPS-Syndrome (1/35)

This is not about glue malfunction rather the result of 'Unintended Mechanical Stress Leading To Parts Separation'. I have finally begun to repair the damage inflicted on some of my models during my move last December. The damage list was as follows:

• Menck excavator - broken off stabiliser on the bucket wire
• Scammel recovery lorry - broken off left rear etched brass mudguard assembly
• Bedford Q - broken off right rear view mirror
• Skip loading chute - completely shattered (repair not possible)
• Steam roller - roof and small details broken off

Two Danish army lorries ready for repair on my workbench.

I had expected worse things to happen. I wouldn't hesitate to conclude: the move has been kind to my modelling. What's even more important the list isn't showing a single loco or piece of rolling stock. Most of that is kept in foam lined wooden boxes and as such are much safer to move. I think it shows that good quality boxes for one's cherished models is a good investment.

My home built loading chute beyond repair. A new one will now have to be designed and built.

Repairing wasn't too difficult. Only the steam roller repair presented  a fair challenge. After the fallen off pieces were united with their models again I touched up with a little colour where paint had fallen off or glue had seeped out. The problem is to remember exactly what paint I used when I built the models.

My South Eastern Finecast white metal kit of an Aveling & Porter steam roller suffered some damage during the move to a new house.

With the damage repaired the roller is back in action again. Here seen outside Banke's Bakelite

Armoured Car 'V 4' of the Nystrup Patriots (1/35)

In the months leading up to the liberation of Denmark in May 1945 a group of the local resistance movement north of Copenhagen built their own improvised armoured car. They named it 'V 3' (a reference to the German 'Vergeltungswaffe' V 1 and V 2). Not known by many, another armoured car was built by a group of resistance fighters from Nystrup and neighbouring Skovby.

Two shots of V 4 in the early hours of May 5, 1945. The armoured car is ready to move out of Nystrup toward the German air field. Both images are from Nystrup Gravel employee Thorleif Petersen's family archive.

The resistance movement probably expected fighting around the large German air field at Mellemaaen. It turned out that the air field presented no problem, but V 4 saw action when it stopped a car full of fleeing 'Hilfspolizei' HIPO at a check point. The HIPO was manned by Danes in German service, spreading terror and fear in the last years of the German occupation.

An image from May 5 1945 of V 3 having returned from a raid against a platoon of HIPOs. The homebuilt armoured car is preserved at The Museum of Danish Resistance in Copenhagen. The V 4 that I built a model of was scrapped in 1946/1947, probably considered too heavy for preservation - all the more reason for me to honour it with a model!

The group must have been in contact with the designers of V 3 as the cars' layouts are very similar and the Nystrup car was named V 4. In some ways V 4 was more advanced, taking advantage of a three axled lorry to carry more weight and thus better armour. In places the armour was spaced to provide better protection for the 5 man crew.

Front view of my 1:35 model of V 4. The loudspeaker is in resin from Plus Models.

The left side of V 4 was completely devoid of markings on May 5. In the days that followed the crew added another Danish flag and the slogan 'HIPO killer' to celebrate their successful (for them) encounter with a car full of HIPOs.

My model of the V 4 was built completely out of the box - the spares box! I used an old GAZ-AAA lorry chassis and the front mud guards are leftovers from a ICM-kit that came with two sets. The rest is basically plastic card with only the hatches added - again from the spares box. Armament consists of two German MG34's and a British Lewis machine gun.

The Lewis machine gun is a Scale Link kit. I made the sandbags on the roof from Miliput. The plastic sheet is to avoid the Miliput sticking to the roof.

In contrast to V 3 the V 4 was elaborately camouflaged with green and brown dots on a light grey background. As the unit building it was a combined conservative/communist group it sported both the British colours of the resistance movement and a red star - along with the Danish flag. With such prominent markings the idea of camouflaging it escapes me, but I suppose the painters had a lot of fun!

Here I'm half way through hand painting the markings. I marked out the Danish flag with pencil before starting to paint.

V 4 during construction. Most of the build is from plain plastic card - the rest is from the spares box. The gas torch marks on the plates were made with a hot needle.

The crew manning the car had fighting experience, a rare thing in the Danish resistance movement. A period newspaper mentions that two of the communists had fought for the Republic in the Spanish civil war, while one of the conservatives had been in Finland in 1940 to help defend the country against the Soviet attack. Another from the conservative group had fought in a British financed Danish 'private army' against the Soviets in Estonia in 1920 (it's his Lewis on the roof). 

Marking Module Legs (1/35)

Last time I had my modules set up I got the legs mixed up during assembly. As I have built all legs and some of the modules myself they are not perfectly identical. In other words: Not all legs will fit under every module. As a consequence of my limited precision wood working abilities I have now marked all sets of legs to clearly indicate where they fit.

The risk of grabbing the wrong set of legs for a module should now be seriously diminished. From back to front the Danish words means: tree, bridge and Banke's (as in Banke's Bakelite).

I expect my next 'setting up session' will take less time with the legs marked. 

Updated: Placing Buildings now with original documentation

My post on construction profiles from June has been updated with an original document from Maribo sugar factory. The document shows how little clearance a particular steam loco had in relation to buildings and telegraph poles along the line. The document can also be viewed below:

Scan of the document from Maribo sugar factory with notes of distances from the new loco to stationary objects near the track. The document mentions a farm building on the Bukkehave-Nebbelunde line where the remark in brackets says (translated to English): "The windows must be closed when passing."

Alpha Driver Figure (1/35)

In my last post you probably noticed a somewhat cut down figure among the two fitted with a full set of limbs. The image used by Frederikshavn Jernstøberi in an advertisement for the Alpha E 10 had inspired me to fit my 1:35 scale version of the loco with a similar driver figure. In a box I had a MK35 kit (F072) of a suitable subject for conversion. I wanted to show a bit more of the driver, so I placed him square in the door opening.

Fitting the driver in the cab wasn't easy. There is very little room for a figure because of the way I designed the loco's upper body to make it removable. The interior takes up a lot of space, too. Consequently the figure had to have its legs cut off above the knees and the top of the hat sanded off to fit in. I donated a new left arm to the figure from the spares box. Other than that he received nothing but my usual average attempt at a paint job.

The rebuilt MK35-figure fitted in the cab. The loco is progressing but I have been temporarily stopped because I used up my supply of appropriate plastic strip.

Figuring it out (1/35)

Perhaps the greatest challenge for me in 1:35 scale is the figures. They are large enough to be models in their own right. Anyone with ten minutes to spare can assure them self of that by visiting a military modelling web site like Missing Lynx. The miniature figure work there is not any good for my modelling ego...

15-10 years ago you had to convert military figures in 1:35 if you wanted more than two or three civilian figures on your layout. Today you have a good supply of civilian figures of excellent quality. Even considering that I prefer figures in static poses I still have a large selection to choose from.

Unpainted figures assembled, but still undergoing modifications. The white Preiser figure photographs a lot worse than the two others. I received the Preiser figure as a part of a set of 5 from a friend. The detailing is not as good as the two other figures, but you get five Preisers for the price of 1½ MK35's.

This week I have been relaxing building a few figures. All three of them part of the gravel company work force - one of them slightly amputated to fit my Alpha E 10 loco. The loco driver (from French MK35) had his legs chopped off and his left arm replaced by a spare part. The relaxed worker (from German Preiser) had his leg remodelled with Miliput. The grey figure (from SKP Models) has featured in this blog before and was assembled as per the instructions.

A snap shot of the figures during painting. The white paper acts as a palette for my paints. I used acrylic paints from Vallejo and topped up with some very light washes of oil paint.

Almost done. I still need to paint the rubber boots a green colour. I haven't attempted to paint any facial details. Instead I used different hues of paint to highlight parts of the face and hands combined with a very restrained wash of heavily diluted burned sienna oil paint. I marked the eyes with a tiny line of black oil paint.

The slightly chubby relaxed worker from Preiser beginning to look finished. Shoes still needs paint. As the facial details are not as sharply defined as on the SKP Models-figure it is much harder to paint properly. There are no crevices for the thinned oil paint to flow into. Despite the soft detail nevertheless a charming figure that looks suitably different from most of my figures that have a surprisingly 'fit' look to them.

You have probably seen much better painted model figures (and I'm not sure these two are among my best results) but this blog isn't written to make me look a better modeller than I am. Perhaps my figure painting will have improved with a few more years of practice. I'll then be able to link to this post and show my progress.

A Visit From Down Under (1/35)

Most Europeans my age know the song 'I come from a land Down Under' by Men at Work. Australia has always held a special place in my heart. Why is a long story and completely irrelevant to model railways (and not being the least royalist it has absolutely nothing to do with Denmark's crown princess being of Australian origin). Late last year I had an e-mail from a fellow railway modeller in Australia asking if he could come visit Nystrup Gravel - "of course" was my answer - and my self confidence as a modeller jumped a point or two higher on the scale.

Having moved house not long ago and having had to spend time on a lot of the follow up work that entails, I hadn't had my modules set up for running in the new house. It turned out that my garden shed could easily accommodate Nystrup Gravel in its current form - without fiddle yard at least. 

Nystrup Gravel's four modules set up in my garden shed. On the left is the factory building of Bankes Bakelit still in white foam board.

The visit was as relaxing and informal as expected. Although informal there was an exchange of gifts as I was fortunate to receive a semi-built Hesketh & Snoodyk fuel pump on a skip chassis and an issue of 'Narrow Gauge Down Under'. In return I offered cold beer from a Danish micro brewery.

Here is a finished fuel bowser 'harvested' from the web site of Hesketh Scale Models. I plan to build mine just a little differently. I can't resist making small changes to a kit.

Much too soon the time set aside for the visit had expired and we had to say good bye. Hopefully my Australian friend is now home again on the other side of the planet.