Ford AA With New License Plates

Back in April 2022 I finished my rebuilding and repainting of a Ford AA recovery lorry. By mistake I had designed the car's license plates a tad too small. As I ordered decals for the Land Rover's license plates, I had new ones made for the Ford lorry. It was a quick job cutting and sanding a pair of new and larger pieces of plasticard for the plates. With a quick pass of a brush with gloss black paint they were soon ready to receive the decals from 'Skilteskoven'. 

I may be a minor detail, but in my view it looks better with true to prototype sized license plates. Here the recovery lorry is parked next to the lorry loading ramp in Nystrup.

The old license plates were carefully removed and the new ones fitted with AC-glue. Small scratches in the paintwork were repaired with a fine brush and black paint. As most car owners kept license plates resonably clean I didn't add any waethering to them.

The lorry is equipped with a warning sign looking pretty much like the Ukrainian flag. Hardly a coincidence as I finished the model merely a month after the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Having to revisit a model to make small changes or correct minor mistakes isn't unusual for me. It's seldom something I write about on the blog, though. But it's a common practice as there is always something extra that can be done to add extra finesse to a model. Not least in a large scale like 1/19.

Land Rover in Service

As mentioned in a previous blog update I have been working on my Land Rover model. From the beginning it was my plan to decal the car as belonging to a farmer or a foresty official. In the end I decided to provide the car with markings from the Danish National Forest District 4 that took care of the large forests between Nystrup and Skovby. The district was subordinated to the National Forestry Authority placed in the Danish capital Copenhagen and as the authority had a central vehicle administration the Land Rover is carrying Frederiksberg (a district in Copenhagen, Denmark's capital) license plates (denoted by the 'A' on the plate).

The Series 1 is a small vehicle as illustrated by Nystrup Gravel chief mechanic Petersen posing in 'victory parade style'.

I've had the Minichamps Land Rover Series 1 in my collection since autumn 2021. It is fairly standard that car models spend some time on my shelves before they get the treatment that allows them to take active part in the Nystrup Gravel story. The treatment consisted of several stages with the first being application of decals printed by 'Skilteskoven' in Odense. With a very glossy surface on the model the decals went on nicely. I made two license plates from plasticard, painted them glossy black and once dry applied decals there as well. Once dry the license plates were AC-glued to the Land Rover.

Straight from the package without tarpaulin fitted. 

With decals in place, I began painting some of the smaller parts on the car to enhance its realism. A few underside parts were in bright metal that needed to be toned down and many other small details had a new cover of paint - exhaust pipe, doorhandle and rearview mirrors to mention a few. I used Vallejo acrylic paints for detail painting.

The Land Rover on the worktable having the first weathering applied.

I like the vehicles on my layout weathered as well as everything else to make them blend in realistically. In contrast to the heavily weathered Ford AA with crane the Land Rover received only light weathering. The 'Landy' would be a rather new car in the early fifties and usually Danish state institutions kept their equipment well maintained.

A heavily thinned light earth acrylic paint was painted over the tires' tread area. Once dry I sanded off the paint on the tires' top, leaving paint only in the grooves. A little paint was applied to the sidewalls of the tires followed by a thin misting with the air brush using the same colour. The underside of the car had a thin spray of light earth as well. Carefully I also sprayed a little light earth on the areas of interior areas that would collect dust.  To illustrate wear on the seats a light colour was sprayed very sparingly in the middle of the seat cushings. The engine and engine bay had a light spray of dark grey, manifold some rust and the bay treated with a engine grime wash. The tarpaulin had a wash with a thin mix of black oil paint and turpentine.

Finally the whole vehicle had matt varnish airbrushed over it in varying intensity. I avoided spraying glassed areas by covering them with masking tape. Headlights and other smaller details I wanted to keep glossy were simply covered with a finger tip.

Side view of the finished Land Rover. I really like the writing on the door with the Royal crown insignia masterfully created by decal producer 'Skilteskoven'.

The doors open on the model and allows for a variety of scenes to be created on the layout.

With windscreen, door tops and tarpaulin removed the basic, rugged lines of the Series 1 is clearly visable. In this form it's more a utility vehicle for agriculture, forestry or industry than a car.

As a vehicle from the forest services the cargo bay should naturally have a saw or an axe and maybe even one of the petrol powered chainsaws emerging in the Danish forest business in the early 1950's. Until I find (or get to scratchbuild) 1/19 scale versions of the tools, I have simply placed a red oil can to avoid the rear of the car looking empty.

What's missing? An early design chainsaw of course!

As the Land Rover is such an iconic car I'm quite amazed that my modelling colleague at Sundborg doesn't have a Land Rover post on his blog, that has detailed descriptions of many less well known car models in H0 scale. Perhaps time to change that, Mr. Sundborg?

Historic Skip Photo

One of my primary sources of inspiration for modelling projects are old photographs of real prototype industrial railways. Recently I got an e-mail containing the image below. A lovely train of skips pulled by an internal combustion engine locomotive in a design obviously inspired by surrealist art. The location is Løsning gravel and stone works owned by Henriksen & Kähler, a large Danish company best known for supplying construction materials as well as owning several ceramics factories. The company wasn't nervous branching out into other business areas as they also had a factory producing gas measuring devices and to end a long list of diverse enterprises: a fishing net factory.

Overgrown track, a characteristic IC loco, loaded skips, a row of telegraph poles and an assortment of metal scrap in the foreground. A well composed photograph and rich source of inspiration for a modeller.

In the photo the wooden framed skips for 785 mm gauge stand out. A simple, square frame of timber bolted together with rough steel brackets and added wheel bearings. The V-tub rests and tips on three cross struts held in place by a combination of brackets and chains. The type was relatively widespread in Denmark, primarily being used by gravel companies and contractors with 785 mm gauge. I have often wondered if the type could be adapted to my prototype gauge of 600 mm.

The locomotive is most likely one from several series produced by Henriksen & Kähler themselves in work shops at their larger gravel operations. 

Summer Disturbances

Occasionally my modelling hits a point where not much progress is made. I'm experiencing such a period just now. Loads of other tasks have prevented any actual modelling and the little time available has been spent on cleaning up and rearranging shelves and modelling table. 

Seconds to departure! HVB No. 3 (O&K 7459/1921) ready to bring a chartered special back to Hedehusgård Station. In track 2 dieselelectric M 24 waits for the steam train to clear track 1 permitting the diesel loco to run around its train. A day with chartered specials for three different customers.

Fortunately I'm not living a life without railway content, as my daytime job at a railway contractor and my primary hobby volunteering on the HVB vintage railway provides plenty of railway experiences. 

Modelling wise I have primarily been 'project managing' as I call it. Getting decals designed and ordered, parts aquired and projects planned. A good deal of time has also been spent 'armchair modelling' in a shady corner of the garden, as the summer in Denmark has so far been exeptionally sunny and dry.

I'm about to pick up work on my Series 1 Land Rover again. New decals for license plates have been ordered and once they are applied, there is basically only minor painting and weathering remaining. Perhaps a project for the holidays?

Scale in Blog Headlines

Having worked and blogged about my model of the Nystrup Gravel 600 mm narrow gauge gravel line in two different scales, I have spent a few minutes on a number of evenings to add the scale in all the posts with content in my old scale of 1/35. According to the statistics my old posts on 1/35 modelling still gets a surprising number of pageviews. I felt those readers needed more guidance to easily  navigate between posts with 1/35 and 1/19 scale content. 

Loco 78 on my 1/35 scale modular Nystrup Gravel layout. A 3D printed loco body mounted on an Australian motor bogie. Now residing on a German layout.

Almost 250 blog posts now have a note in the title clearly marking the scale as 1/35. Not a funny job, but something that had to be done at some point. The 1/35 marking in the title is backed up with a short notice in the right sidebar. 

Screenshot with 1/35 clearly marked in the title making it easy to identify the scale of the models.

Information on Nystrup Gravel's current 1/19 scale and the earlier 1/35 scale.

Hopefully the changes will make the blog a worthwhile visit for modellers in 1/35 scale even if my modelling in the scale is fast becoming 'historic'. At least it will make readers able to quickly recognize the scale.

Loading Three Hudson Skips

Over the course of a few days I have loaded my three U-tub Hudson skips. Using 5-10 minutes at a time it's quite fast to get decent loads in place. I now consider the skips finished.

Three loaded Hudson underground skips finished. Cheap 3D printed models that can be treated to look like something a lot more substantial.

The task of getting loads in the skips began in my shed where I store a supply of styrofoam in different thickness. I cut three rectangular pieces of differing height. Cutting the styrofoam was also done in the shed as small bits of styrofoam will invariably end up everywhere if cut inside the house. 

I glued the styrofoam inside the skips' tubs with white glue. Once dry I shaped the top of the styrofom to look like a load of ash or general waste from the workings of the gravel company. I added finely sieved gravel to the styrofoam shapes and used my usual glue mix of white lue, tap water and washing up liquid. The mix was applied with a syringe and once the gravel was flooded the skips were set away to dry. In one of the tubs I embedded some planks, in another some rags and a used paint tin. Once dry I further detailed the loads with some broken up concrete floor, paint and pastel powder and some branches.

Cutting styrofoam at the worktable in the shed.

Basic shapes of loads glued in the tubs ready for detailing.

One load is glued and painted while the glue still dries in the two skips to the left.

Weight naturally increased a bit with the gravel loads. The lead strip in the bottom of the tub and the light styrofoam filling ensures the skip isn't getting top heavy and unstable on rought track. A method I developed in my 1/35 scale modelling days.

 

Skips loaded with ash, broken up concrete floor, planks and dirt mixed with rags, branches and paint tins. No sorting of garbage and safe disposal in the 1950's. All Nystrup Gravel garbage was disposed off in emptied gravel pits.

The skips have made a fun, although slightly slower project than expected. The 3D printed kits are well made and with suitable modifications and treatment almost every sign of these being 3D printed models disappear.

I know I couldn't fool anyone, but it's fun experimenting with different techniques to make a photo of my models appear old at first glance. Practice makes perfect - or a little better, at least.

 

Coupling Tweezers

Getting fiddly coupling chains attached to coupling horns on skips can be a challenge. Just making up a train of 4 skips can be a project in itself. It was so in my old scale of 1/35 and it still is in 1/19 scale. Recently I have been greatly assisted by a commercial product, however. 

Tools and materials bought at the DMJU national exhibition in April.

When I visited the Danish Modelling Railway Union's exhibition in April, I bought a selection of tools and materials as well as some books. Building a small Danish industrial narrow gauge layout in a large scale leaves me with very little off the shelf to choose from, but now and then something very useful shows up. 

A first time acquisition for me at the exhibition was a set of coupling tweezers. Until now I have used a wooden toothpick, a piece of wire or a set of ordinary tweezers. Not always with the best results,, but good enough not to annoy me sufficiently enough to do something about it. With the light Hudson underground skips recently coming into service something a little more advanced was required to allow relatively safe coupling and uncoupling. A set of specially adapted tweezers from Forhmann Werkzeuge now serves me when coupling chain link coupled rolling stock. The tweezers are about 150 mm in length and made from stainless steel. Their bent shape allows then to reach between skips standing almost buffer to buffer. The shape also means thire movement to open and close the tweezers is up and down, limiting the risk of separating the stock one tries to couple.

Fohrmann image of the coupling tweezer in action. One of the rare images of a standard gauge model on my blog. 

I shopped at the stand of Epokemodeller that has a good selection of what the demanding enthusiast need for the workshop - and if you model in smaller scales than me, a lot of other usefull things are available.

At the DMJU exhibition I also found some railway books that I missed in my collection. Most of them on light standard gauge railways. Some will note them being in three different languages. I have railway litterature in a multitude of languages from English, Dutch and German over Russian and Czech to Spanish and Estonian. Having knowledge of the main Scandinavian languages (except Finnish), German, English and Russian most of the books makes some kind of sense to me. The Estonian ones are still Greek to me, though.

Books in Danish, Swedish and German.