Well, fresh from our foray into weathering, airbrushing and all that nonsense, we return with a will to the next exciting (no, really!) installment of the Badman Pipe Factors private siding. At this stage, I have a dock-side, with some rails, and some wall sections to make a start on the factory building. I have a pipe wagon, and a little loco to push and pull it about. I even have a massive ants nest underneath it all, somewhere, and last weekend was 'FAF' - Flying Ant Fest. Of necessity, building work was halted whilst these beasts were dashing here, there and everywhere - trying to run, fly, mate, and in more than a few cases all three simultaneously. Several casualties must have ensued from that, I am certain, not to say a few 'bar-room tales'. Incidentally, I find it interesting that the 'black ant' and the 'meadow ant' (or 'yellow ant' as they are sometimes known in these parts) are not the best of friends, and yet the winged of both species are black - so why do not the meadow ants attack their own airborne forces? How do they know the difference, I wonder? Be honest, you don't really care, do you? It may however appeal to the darker recesses of your psyche to know that the preparatory training for flying ants is plainly devoid of anything even outlining the dangers of walking along railway tracks, even at a scale of 1:22.5 of the real thing. The body count last evening was testimony enough for me. Work may have stopped: the trains did not...
See how easy it is for me to get side-tracked? What I wanted to share with you was my latest development: an engine shed for the Badman loco, which you will doubtless recall was described in parts 4 and 5 of this saga. I say, 'shed': perhaps more accurately described as an 'engine lean-to', relying as it does on the permanence of the factory walls for 2 of its 4 sides. I am not averse to buying building kits where my own ineptness would see me fail miserably to build my own from scratch - however in this case, I sort of fancied my chances. Especially as I intended to build the entire thing from 'recyclables'. A tin can (hence the title above, do you want to hazard a guess as to how long it took me to think that one up?), some coffee stirrers and some 'rocket sticks' - generously if unwittingly donated by the local residents as fall-out (literally!) from the many long and rather tedious firework parties that seem to stretch the entire month of November these days. Here's the basic structure:
Here's a 'mockup' shot outside, with the basic shed doors leaning against it - more for mutual support than anything else:
Finally, after some wood preserver and a little distressing with a sharp pin, the doors look like they are on their last legs. By the way, observant persons might perhaps notice the doors sporting the ultimate in sadness - working G-scale door hinges anyone?
Total cost of materials: £0.00.
I'll probably try and weather the doors a little further, but as for the shed itself I hope the several thousand gallons of rainwater we're due for in the coming months will do that for me; if the ants don't cart the whole thing off first.
