Gaps between modules (1/35)

On a small module you are literally always standing close to the edge. Even more so in a relatively large scale as 1:35. How a module is designed, how the track runs across it and how buildings and trees are arranged all contribute to how obvious the connections between the modules are.

When my modules are set up my primary visual concern is to disguise the narrow gap between them. I have tried to hide the gaps with grass and shrubbery. But having grass every 80 cm will end up being far too obvious.

My newest module - the one with the bridge over a small stream - is for the next few years the end of the line. The left end of the module is designed to enable a connection to be made to the only other established industrial railway in the scale range 1:35-1:32 in Denmark. My friend's modules are not of the exact same profile as mine and to help disguise that the module is finished off with a wooden fence, grass and shrubbery.

A tiny piece of fence. Should I be able to build a bit of the bakelite factory in the future it will be hiding behind a brick wall. The wooden fence was almost completely levelled by one of the factory's lorries in 1942 and replaced with a more sturdy wall. On the nearer side of the track shrubbery will facilitate a smooth transition to the next module.

My 1:35 fence is supposed to be surrounding the bakelite factory 'Bankes Bakelit'. The fence is made from wood and quite simple. Just like a real fence. The lettering on the fence is hand painted after the letters were marked out in pencil. Not as difficult as I thought.

New 1:35 Kit - O&K MD2 (1/35)

Having modelled industrial railways in 1:35 for more than a decade I have not grown accustomed to the luxury of having a selection of kits in the scale for neither locos nor wagons. Most of what pulls skips at Nystrup Gravel is more or less home made or cobbled together from a resin upper body and a drive unit that has been adapted to fit. The only exeption has been the kit of the Swedish Sala-loco currently undergoing maintenance and updating at my work table. I have accepted that without any problems as 1:35 is not a traditional railway modelling scale.

But now a new company has announced what looks like an extremely promising 1:35 kit of the Orenstein & Koppel MD2. And from my interpretation of the company's post on the FS32NG-group it seems it will be the first of a series of locos in 1:35. Something I never dared to hope for. 

Finshed MD2 with cab. Photo from Mark Hesketh.

I have always fancied the sturdy looking O&K-locos. Because of their slab sided construction, many of O&K's locos designed before the war lends them well to etched metal construction.

You can see more images of the model on the web site of the small company that makes the kit – Hesketh Scale Models. You will even be able to start planning the build of the model, as the instructions are online as PDF-files. A nice drawing of an MD2 can be seen on the Dutch website Industriespoor.

A Ferguson Has Arrived (1/35)

After some pleasant modelling I have finished my first model in 2013 - a white metal kit of the Ferguson TEA-20. It is finished as a rather newly imported machine and consequently only lightly weathered.

Waiting for the next task. An almost new TEA-20 having recently arrived from the United Kingdom.

Assembly done and ready for priming.  Bonnet and steering wheel is not glued in place. The wheels have been primed already in an effort to contain the soft vinyl and prevent splitting and/or melting.

Primed and ready for the characteristic 'Ferguson grey'. The bonnet sits all wrong. It will need some sanding and physical persuasion to fit properly.

Ferguson grey applied and details painted. Weathering of wheels started.

My Ferguson grey was mixed from several Vallejo greys and a bit brown and some gloss varnish was added to the mix.The wheels were weathered with heavily thinned paints and pastel chalk.

If you have any interest in Ferguson tractors I would recommend you to have a read on the blog 'ploughmyfield' This post in particular shows what has happened to the size of agricultural machinery in less than 40 years! And if you thought that models of the Ferguson is a recent thing see Danish toy manufacturer LEGO's Ferguson models from the 1950's.

Excavators at Nystrup Gravel (1/35)

The building of my Ferguson tractor is still in progress. I'm on the final stages of weathering and it'll be finished soon. While the paint dried I assembled a little info on the excavators of Nyestrup Gravel. When gravel production started at Nystrup the only tools used were shovels and skips. It seems that Nystrup Gravel went straight from hand digging to a diesel excavator. It is not known if the first excavator was the RB-17 in the image below or if it was preceeded by a smaller model. In the mid 1950's a new Menck M60 machine supplanted the old Ruston. In the beginning of the sixties the R&H excavator fell out of use and was sold. During transport from Nystrup the excavator fell from the road trailer and almost blocked the road for two days.

Nystrup Gravel's Ruston & Bucyrus RB-17 excavator. It came to Nystrup in 1938. In this image it is photographed at the loco shed in the summer of 1954. Probably the excavator was in need of some serious repair. Minor repairs were usually done in the gravel pits.

The Menck excavator was the first new major piece of equipment Nystrup Gravel bought after the war. In the first 10 years after the German occupation the company made do with it's old machinery or obtained used items. For a photographic record of the build of the model see my Flickr-site.

The R&B excavator in an awkward position. The machine was put upright again and continued to serve the new owner for another decade before being scrapped. 

Grandad's lorries

During the Christmas holidays I had time for a little research in the family archives. The result is as series of images showing some of the lorries belonging to the brick works where my grandad worked during the 1940's. I have mentioned my grandad in previous posts. See him drive a 600 mm loco or take a look at my model of a thresher and tractor - also inspired by my grandad's work in rural Denmark.

Grandad posing in front of lorry number 2 from P. Bolvig (the owner of the Orebo brick works). The lorry is equipped with a gas generator and from the writing on the filter box behind the cab it seems to be a 'Vulkan'. Grandad is wearing the characteristic apron worn by many lorry drivers. Photo from 1940-1945.

Another P. Bolvig lorry (reg.nr. E 1734) shortly after the war. The lorry (a Ford AA?)  is hauling peat to be used as fuel in the brick oven. A few years later my grandad left the brick works to become a full time lorry driver for one of the peat factories around Bodal, hauling peat by lorry to Copenhagen.

Grandad and one of his colleagues in front of lorry no. 5 (reg.nr. E 1789) during the war years. Note black out-lights, gas generator and the general worn down appearance of the lorry.

I'm not a lorry expert and identifying the lorries will take help frome someone more into those matters. Anyway, I'm slowly working up plans for a model of one of my grandad's lorries. The most likely candidate to be modelled is the one that I suspect is a Ford A. The basis will probably be either the Eastern Express Soviet GAZ-AA or the new MiniArt GAZ-AA.

Looking Back on 2012 (1/35)

Although by all means busy work vise 2012 still turned out to be a productive modelling year. Perhaps a busy work life requires relaxing at the work bench? And no, you won't see me write a best seller for the management bible-section titled '101 railway modelling tips to further your career' or 'Big Bucks - How toy trains made me realise my business potential'. I'd much rather spend my spare time modelling. At the moment I'm nearing the stage where my Ferguson tractor is ready for primer paint.

Looking back on 2012 I really cannot complain. I've been exhibiting Nystrup Gravel, finished a record high number of models, visited several narrow gauge railways abroad, 'researched' the history of Nystrup Gravel in almost forgotten archives - and started this blog. Recently I have begun studying the blog statistics and I'm amazed that so many visitors drop by and from such a variety of countries.

Most of what I built during 2012 is described on the blog - so by running through the posts anyone with enough energy and patience (or nothing better to do) can see how I spent my modelling year. The three things I count as most important are Nystrup Gravel's participation in the Gauge 1 exhibition in April, the work with both old and new skips and my research into the history of the gravel company and it's railway.

The exhibition was great because I rarely have my modules set up for running. All the comments and questions from the visitors gave me a lot of inspiration and motivation. Running trains for days almost non stop is quite fun and I approach retirement (in 30 years time) with no fear of boredom.

Nystrup Gravel with an interested visitor allowed behind the scenes to inspect rusting scrap behind the shed. It's me in the background so graciously made unrecognisable by the visitor. I 'harvested' the photo on the web. I beg the photographer to forgive me - and I will not hesitate to remove the photo or credit the photographer.

My work with skips is also on my top 3 because they are such an integral part of a Danish industrial railway. Even to the extent that skip is part of the Danish popular word for an industrial railway 'skip railway' ('tipvognsbane' in Danish). And because skips are plentiful, normal and boring they should be the foundation of any model of a small Danish railway like Nystrup Gravel. Many (modellers and others) are drawn to subjects that are unique and colourful, but my model railway is supposed to look like the prototype did in the 1950's - dull, boring and normal.

Long lines of loaded skips at a chalk quarry on Sealand, Denmark. Most likely Sigerslev chalk quarry. Nystrup Gravel never had quite so many skips. From the archives of Bent Hansen.

The unearthing of Nystrup Gravel's history is important in many aspects. I have always liked to know the history behind what I model and it is my impression that readers of the blog easier will be able to tie my different modelling projects together when there is a history of the subjects. The history of the gravel company and the surrounding countryside will be as boring as skips and reality. 

One of a few folders I have had the opportunity to check in my quest for information on the little gravel line. This contained a spare parts list for an O&K excavator type L 3. If any excavator of that type actually worked at Nystrup Gravel is still to be determined.

I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Blisters and Ferguson (1/35)

I have yet to get blisters from modelling, but volunteering on HVB (a real railway with 700 mm. gauge) has often provided me with blisters - large ones! This week I did another half day's work of moving snow to open up HVB for the christmas trains. And managed to get a blister from the shovelling. But work was great and fighting snow drifts two feet high isn't something I get to do everyday. See a pictorial on HVB's blog.

Last week's sunny weather didn't repeat itself...

Home again and with feet warmed up, I got to do some minor work on my Ferguson model. I fitted axles, engine details and the patented Ferguson three point linkage. Next up is brakes and steering system.

 

It begins to look like a tractor!