Christmas 2025 Project - update #15

I can now call the mine building and head frame finished. The latest update shows the head frame and gondola glued in place with masking tape flashing applied around the main wooden structure and the addition of a chimney to the lean-to. I have continued to weather the structure with both paint and watercolour pencils as well as adding a small antique sign to the side of the building.

The last two images show the mine building in place on the Pizza layout but still not glued in place.

It has taken some time to get to this stage with the Christmas 2025 deadline well and truly missed. I would hope that Christmas 2026 will now be possible.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #14

The painted and weathered gondola has now been glued in place although the tar paper roof is still loose while the flashing was modelled from masking tape folded in half (sticky side to sticky side) and painted weathered grey. I have permanently attached the head frame to the front of the mine building with a small spacer to move the main wooded frame forward by about 3mm. This allows me to model flashing to the wooden frame and corrugated iron roof (see future posts for more information).

The corrugated iron roof has been finished with a capping strip (more corrugated aluminium foil trimmed and painted) while the roof panels themselves have had odd panels painted grey - a feature I had seen on the corrugated iron roof at the rear of my mothers flat. It might look over done but trust me it was a lot worse than this!

Looking down on the head frame you can see where I have added additional detailing and weathering in some cases by sanding the wooden structure with coarse sandpaper. Finally the low stone wall to the front has had some additional washes of dirty water/light green paint to add some 'age'

There is still some detail and weathering to add but for now you can clearly see the effect I was trying for - a slightly run down structure but still very much a working mine.

Tony

Quar Attack Kite - Miniature Wargames issue 523

Miniature Wargames issue 523 (November 2026) features this Quar Assault Kite that was scratch built by me. I am very well aware that the Quar are an acquired taste - a bit like Marmite but I enjoyed modelling this fantasy WW1 mass-up.

For more information of the content of this month's magazine, see this link.

The remainder of the images, show both work-in-progress and the painting (and decaling) of the kite.

Next month John (the editor MW) has promised a follow-up article showing how I modelled and painted a tank.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #13

The roof gondola has been painted in the same red as the main mine building and the tar paper roof has been painted in weathered grey. I have done some drybrushing which helps to accentuate the aged balsawood and the masking tape covered roof.

I have yet to glue the gondola in place as I still have some work to do on the corrugated iron roof but I would expect it to be in place soon.

The gondola roof will be removable as I will need to attach the cable from the headframe and maybe adjust it so that the mine tub is at the right height. You should also be able to see where I have made the opening for the cable a little smaller than the initial opening seen on the white card base structure.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #12

The gondola was built from distressed balsawood with plastic rod detailing and a masking tape covered balsawood roof. In this first image you can see the gondola in place but not yet painted or fixed in place.

The next two images show the detailing and distressing. The balsawood was glued in place with superglue and is inspired by the ThunderMesa kit that I have mentioned in previous posts.

The plan is to keep the roof removable so I can fix the rope or cable from the painted and completed headframe once all are glued in place.

At this moment the gondola is a tight fit in to the hole on the corrugated iron roof.

I shall be painting to gondola over the next couple of days so expect another update soon.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #11

I have now added the corrugated iron sheeting to the roof. It was a fun project that used many of the techniques that I had used on the main Yellow Pelican mine buildings which I have describe below.

The raw materials - aluminium food containers bought for the bargain price of just £1.00 for 10. The containers were cut in to smaller sections using the sides and ends then flattened out by rubbing with the curved or bottom edge of a large spoon over sheets of newspaper. The individual sections were then trimmed to size 60mm x 36mm and corrugated.

Corrugating - I used this make shift corrugater which was constructed from a paper crinkler (or a paint tube squeezer, I'm not sure which) that I had made some years ago. I placed the small flattened pieces of aluminium foil on to the base and rolled the corrugated roller over the top. I could sometimes take a couple of turns but overall the process was easy and quick.

Sheet material - Once I had enough it was on to the painting. I should mention that I initially produced too few sheets and had to go back to a third aluminium container to get enough for the full roof.

Painting - The roof pieces were undercoated with a grey spray can undercoat before being painted with various acrylic paints. I tried to vary the colour by mixing up the paints and using a rough old brush.

Detailing - The initial painting was then detailed by 'splattering' the pieces with even more acrylic paints. I have watered-down the paint and used a large brush which was 'flicked' with a cocktail stick. A very messy procedure but I think it was well worth it.

Roofing - The individual corrugated iron sheets were superglued on to the roof in a staggered pattern working from the lower edge to the top and trying to keep that random effect that I had produced during the painting process.

Any paint flakes (there were a few) were touched-up once the sheets were attached.

I still need to add a number of small details to the roof and attach the headframe and gondola but for now I think you can see the progress I have made.

I have tried to be though in my description of how I modeled the corrugated iron sheet roofing, but if you have any questions please contact me.

Tony

Christmas 2025 Project - update #10

This latest update is split in to two parts, the first shows the start of the work on the gondola which was constructed from some white card. The gondola is a tight fit in to the opening in the roof and strengthened with some internal supports. I still need to detail the exterior and add a roof but for now I am satisfied that I have the small opening for the cable in the right place.

The second part of today's update shows the work on the pit top opening. In the earlier post I showed how the simple wooden surround was built from balsawood. 

I cut a hole in the baseboard by drilling a series of holes and then cutting out the pit or hole. I then modelled a short section of the mine pit with more balsawood as well as a base or bottom before gluing it to the upper surround. The mine or pit is only about 60mm deep but as I painted the bottom in darker colours it looks deeper.

The whole assembly was then glued in place on the layout and the edges filled or built-in with DAS modelling clay.

Here you can see the mine or pit opening situated on the baseboard. The yellow masking tape is so I can add the main building back in the correct position.

The final image for today shows the pit head, main building and mine surround all situated on the layout. I have added the building at an angle but centrally on the baseboard. Please note that the red painted building and pit head have NOT been glued in place as I still have quite a bit of work to do on them before I can do this.

Tony