Make & Craft Embellishments from The Works

Last week I picked up this bag of what looked like ground foam from The Works. At just £3.00 I thought it was a great bargain and one that I was sure I could use for adding ground cover to my wargame models and model railway layouts.

For £3.00 you get quite a lot of material as it is really stuffed into the bag. On opening the bag I found that rather than being lots of fine foam it was in fact a mix of foam and threads more suitable for modelling bushes and trees. 

There really is much too much for anything other than a large layout and all being one colour it could look a little off. I therefore decided to experiment and see if I could make different colours.

The image below show the first tests. From left to right they are; basic colour, added Ochre, Linen and Ochre, red brown and dark green with a touch of black. As you can see there is quite a variety and I have not yet used 1/5th of the bag.

The new colours were mixed from acrylic paints with just a touch of water - remember to wear gloves as it is very messy. If you 'click' on the images you can get a better idea of the texture - a bit like natural wool with fine foam added.

Trust me this is well worth the outlay and should give you enough model greenery to last a very long time plus it is so much cheaper than model shop bought ground cover.

Tony

Car Boot Sale Bargains

Sue and I have just returned from the local car boot sale where I picked up this bargain box of sanding sticks for just £4.00. My best bargain buy of the year!

Below I have detailed the full contents which I have estimated to be worth in excess of £60.00. The stall holder was not aware of what they were and said I could have the whole box for £4.00. I later told him what they were and he was pleased that they were going to someone who both knew what they were and would use them.

On a different stall I bought this OLFA rotary cutter and spare blades for £2.00 - £1.50 for the cutter and 50p for the blades. In addition I picked up two A3 cutting mats one brand new for £3.00 and 20p for a used example. Even more modelling bargains.

Back home I just couldn't wait to post about my good fortune.

Tony

Late March and early April purchases

These two packs of DAS modelling clay and sketch book were just some of the birthday presents I received last month. Thank you.

In addition Sue and I have just returned from a short trip to Disneyland Paris where we had great fun watching our two grandsons enjoy the rides. On the way back home we stopped off at Carrefour and as well as bottles of Normandy cidre, Belgian beers and lots of French crisps I picked up these essentials. Two metal set squares (I use them for marking and cutting out plastic card), a pack of wooden knives (they were much cheaper than lollipop sticks) and a pack of discounted fine sandpaper (you can never have enough sandpaper).

Happy Easter.

Tony

Ground cover bargains

I picked up these bargains at Bewdley railway station on The Severn Valley Railway earlier today. I could never claim to not having enough ground cover but these five bags cost just £3.00. A real ground cover bargain.

I also bought three narrow gauge railway magazines which will now be placed in the summer house as reading material for later in the year.

For anyone not familiar with Bewdley the station has a number of charity shop/charity coaches each offering fantastic second-hand bargains and best of all - the proceeds go to various renovations on the SVR.

Tony

More tools!

Sue and I had a day out in Tewkesbury and as regular readers will know, I just can't help picking up old or interesting tools. Today was no exception.....

First we have these three mini drill or pin vices bought for between 50p and £1.00 each from a charity shop. At those prices they were a steal. I particularly like the brass handled vice.

Next we have this OLFA mount cutter again bought in a charity shop this time for £1.50. I'm not sure what I will use it for but at this bargain price another bargain.

I really must stop buying tools.

Tony

A new hot glue gun

This week my tried and trusted hot glue gun gave up on me.....

My Stanley hot glue gun has been my go-to for over five years and in my opinion the best hot glue gun I have even owned but this week it went pop. I tried replacing the fuse but nothing happened. Then a second replacement fuse and the glue gun went pop. I use it too often to take any chances so have binned it and ordered a new Stanley gun via ebay.

The two heat setting Stanley hot glue gun has been a real workhorse for me. I had a second cheaper hot glue gun but it just isn't up to the job and although great for simple paper-to-paper joins it just isn't as good as my old Stanley.

What do you think?

Tony

Wilco Brush Cleaning Pad

This was a recent find from a local charity shop. A Make Up Brush Cleaning Pad which I thought would make a great drybrush testing pad as well as helping to clean the make up brushes I use when drybrushing.

Just 50p. I know that Wilco's stores have now closed down, but you must be able to get similar products from discount or make up stores in the UK. I've found some on Amazon!

Check out the silicone pad and the textures. I'll report back once I have tested it.

Tony

New wire cutter

I picked up this pair of wire cutters from a local charity shop for just £1.00. At this price I thought they were worth taking a chance with.

Back home I tested them on some plastic sprue and found them so much better than my old and trusted Citadel plastic sprue cutter. I now wish I'd bought a second set!

The cutting edges are great for using on plastic kits and with the large 6 inch sprung handles are so comfortable in the hand.

Bought from British heart Foundation, Droitwich.

Tony

Interesting tool kit find

Sue and I found this tool kit at the local charity shop yesterday. As you can see it was not complete, but for just £1.00 I thought it was well worth taking a chance and picked it up.

Back home I realised that I could use my existing paper crafting tools and Exacto knife handles to hold the wide variety of different tools.

I am well aware that I have way too many modelling tools but I just can't resist buying more.....

Tony

Silicone Workstation

Some time ago I saw a YouTube video giving details of a new silicone workstation or mat that the YouTube-er was using as a work mat for plastic kit modelling. The soft silicone mat is described as a silicone soldering mat and as expected has sections for holding circuit boards and screws (see below).

I thought it would be interesting to pick one up and ordered my via Amazon. My intention is to add a self healing cutting mat over the main work station (I have a spare cutting mat - which I will cut to size). The silicone mat will not allow glues or paint to stick to the surface, so should be OK as a base for painting BUT SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR CUTTING!

This image (taken from the internet) shows the size and design. I also chose the blue version, but I have seen different designs and colours are available.

I am very well aware that I have loads (I mean loads) of different tools, many of which I do never use. But I'm confident that this new addition will be useful.

Tony

Malvern Flea Market Haul May 2024

Sue and I have just returned from the latest Malvern Flea Market held at the Three Counties Ground, Malvern. For most of the morning the weather was glorious and apart from a brief shower around lunch time, the rain held off.

The first image shows my tool haul - total spend less than £12.00. The best purchase was this Thayer & Chandler air brush which I picked up for £5.00 for both the air brush and the wooden boxed Exacto knife set. The air brush was in a terrible state, but less than one hour later I have cleaned off all the gunk and polished the main body. I've not been able to test it as the screw thread is different to my air hose connector, but the plunger and needle adjuster work perfectly.

Here you can see the air brush after cleaning. Thayer & Chandler air brushes are now sold/manufactured by Badger.

In the bottom of the plastic box was this receipt dated 82 - 04 - 03 for £38.32 so I have had a great bargain. 

The serial number 14203 A A is clearly stamped on the upper barrel.

I look forward to testing it with some paint.

Tony

Ocaldo Drawing Ink

While browsing a local charity show I came across this small glass bottle of Ocaldo Drawing Ink - Gold. I thought it was worth picking up as it was being sold for just 99p. Back home I can confirm that it is a fantastic Gold ink/paint and I now wish there had been more for sale.

An internet search has not heralded much about the Leicester based company and nothing drawing ink related. But it is a great product.

Tony

Car Boot Sale Bargains

Earlier today Sue and I visited our first car boot sale of the year. The weather was great and I picked up some bits and pieces but the best bargain of the day was this Burgess Powerline Electric Engraver Model 72 complete in its box with all of the paperwork and attachments. I was a little reticent at first, but can confirm that it is in perfect working order. 

It cost me just £1.00.

My second bargain was this Toe Nail Clipper set, two very high quality clippers plus various tools. Perfect for model making and particularly trimming items from the sprue. 

Another bargain at just £4.00.

I really should get around to visiting more car boot sales....

Tony

Fathers Day 2023

Holly came around for lunch yesterday and brought me this Fathers Day present - a desk mounted disc sander.  

Iv'e often looked at buying myself a compact disc sander for detailed modelling, but never got around to it. I now have my small detail sander and will be using it for terrain building and sanding plastic card for scratch building.

Thank you and lots of love to Holly.

Also thank you to Gary, Beckie and the boys for my book and top.

Tony

Some amazing charity shop finds

It all started with a simple plan - we were going to drive to Stratford-upon-Avon around lunchtime and spend a couple of hours enjoying one of our favourite town centres before moving on to Leamington Spa, but that all changed when the main road between Droitwich and Alcester was closed (again) so it was over to plan B. Up the M5, across the M42 and then down the M40 so we could arrive in time to pick up our Grandsons from school and babysit until their parents came home from work.

Arriving early, we browsed the shops in Leamington where I saw  this book - How Airbrushes Work by Steven Leaby on a shelf in a charity shop. It was just £1.00 and I thought I'd have that. And as I walked over to pay for it.....

I spotted this second book also for a £1.00 - Painting and Finishing Scale Models by Paul Boyer. Before paying I thought, I wonder if there are any others?

And there was. This time - How to Build Plastic Aircraft Models by Roscoe Creed, another £1.00 bargain.

Three great reads and all for the cost of less than one new magazine.

But that wasn't all. As I was thinking, this must be my bargain/bargains of the day I spotted this plastic, tilting and locking turntable in a second charity shop. I have often thought I would like a turntable for my modelling and at just £6.00 I think this is my bargain buy of the day.

In the first image you can see it in its tilted form.

Th second image is it in the plain turntable mode.

The locking nuts can be removed and refitted in any of the 24 holes and adjusted with the screw threads.

This locking nut holds the turntable in place when you want it fixed.

And finally this is the label that was attached to the top - FOR MUG/CUP PAINTING.

The lady who served me asked what it was and how I was going to use it. I said for model making and promptly paid the £6.00 and couldn't wait to test it out back in my shed.

Since coming home, I have tried searching for more information, but as there are no markings or details printed on the turntable, the best I have been able to come up with is that there are a number of different cake decorating tilting and turning turntables about - some are quite expensive, but I have not been able to find a plastic cup painting turntable on the internet.

The turntable is extremely well engineered and the only modification I will make is to add a sheet of sticky-back plastic to the main face as I am a messy modeller and I would expect to get paint and/or DAS on the main surface when using it.

I'll report back once I have some 'hands-on' experience with the turntable but look forward to using it.

Tony