Last night was a balmy warm evening in East Yorkshire, so I was sat outside engaging in a bit of painting whilst Mrs Cottingfield sat reading.
The warm weather provide a swift drying experience with the acrylics and I was in a position to be able to do second coats where needed within a matter of fifteen or twenty minutes.
Nothing too exciting to show as it was slow and steady. Painting wheels and gas bottles on a fork lift truck is not a quick job.
Industrial Progress
As well as painting some of the finer details on the fork lift truck, we made other progress on the industrial area.
The fork lift truck will take a few more evenings to finish yet. Due to it’s diminutive size it’s not easy to handle without touching what you’ve just painted.
However as you can see the outdoor racking units are done. These I started at the weekend. They are white plastic 3d printed kits. There are lots of variations of industrial racking to buy online. However, I like these as they are much finer print. They also benefit from being more realistic in my eyes due to the cross beams and supports. In real life racking like this would often have a SWL of 3000kg per shelf – not an easy feat with no supports.
The kit seen above for those wanting the same level of detail was an eBay find. Just search online for Redimp Railways.
Not sure where to put this…
If I’m truly honest, this model will never see light of day on Cottingfield. Whilst tidying up my workbench I came across a Kestrel Stable kit. This kit has been part built and sat in it’s primer undercoat for at least a year I reckon.
As is seemingly the case with a lot of Kestrel kits the rook is not a great fit. A lot of fettling of the parts with a sharp knife will improve this. However a thin gap will still exist along the ridge of the roof.
As with the industrial buildings featured elsewhere I have sought to disguise this with a couple of strip of 6mm masking tape run along the ridge prior to painting. In my eyes this not only helps improve it by hiding the gap, it also adds to the authenticity of the model as it provides the often seen ridge tile effect.
I’me tentatively aiming to finish having this one painted over the weekend. However once it is done I shall be tucking it away, I may have no place for it on this layout however I do have a potential place for it on a new layout yet to be revealed.
Watch this space – however don’t watch it too keenly – nothing is likely to be breaking cover on this new layout for 6-12 months yet. An opportunity presented itself that was in my eyes too good to turn down, and may well see if jump North Wroxham in the queue. In the very short term whilst Cottingfield is being finished however it will have to go into store.