As I've written in this blog earlier; Neither Wargaming or Model Railways are particularly 'big hobbies' in Norway. Perhaps that's why there are no 'toy soldier shows' and just a few Model Railway exhibitions. The autumn is usually the time for such exhibitions and even if they are few I can't attend to them all as some are arranged on the same weekends (!) and others on weekends I am coincidentally working. But I've managed to join a couple of Model Railway exhibitions and a day out in a friend's garden for a running-session. Here are some brief impressions:
The Norwegian Railway society's exhibition at Mysen
This was a very small exhibition with few layouts. This Norwegian Gauge 1 (1:32 scale) layout deserves honorable mention though:
A day out at Erik's awesome Garden Railway
Even if it's autumn and the weather is usually not so good anymore (actually it hasn't been all summer), we were quite lucky when Erik invited the club-members to a running-session on his garden railway:
This is on the very social end of the hobby. Thank you for your hospitality Erik!
The Model Railway exhibition at Skedsmo
This weekend I managed to visit another model railway exhibition located just some hour away by car. There were some few layouts that caught my attention there.The winter layout below is a N-scale (1:160 scale) ready made layout by Noch, customised into a Norwegian railway during winter:
The layout in this old television was made in Z-scale (1:220 scale). Even if the railbus was German, the scenery and buildings looked 'Norwegian'. Very cool with the old railway magazines on the shelf below:
And even if this layout was still under construction I immediately recognized this street and buildings as I walked by them daily to my earlier job located on the next block:
A modular Norwegian H0 layout:
N-scale permitts running long trains on a modest area:
The fellow who exhibited this winter layout also displayed a module in H0e (1:87 scale narrow gauge running on 9mm track) of the Norwegian Aurskog - Høland line:
This was not a very big H0 (1:87 scale) layout but built to very high standards:
All the trams are scratchbuilt after Norwegian prototypes:
Another Z-scale layout:
Hi Roger, have occasionally thought it might be fun to pick up a cheap 1/32 die cast VW Beetle and see if a bit of work and a paint job could convert it into a ww2 ambulance, or something wargame useful. Spotted Erik's two.
ReplyDeleteMichael (Wargaming with...)
Actually the military train with the VW Type 82E "Geländekäfer" is mine. It's a 1:18th scale diecast post war model painted up as a VW Type82E. The other vehicle is also a post war 1:18th scale diecast model of a Citroën Traction Avant widely used by the Wehrmacht. Some more information about those 2 vehicles can be found on the bloggerpost:
ReplyDeletehttps://modelrailsandwargames.blogspot.com/2024/02/from-lgb-toytrain-system-to-g-scale.html
Both these vehiles are post war model based upon the same as the 'war model', so I think a conversion of a VW Beetle will work good for wargaming. I also made a 1/32 scale VW beetle as a 'terrain' to use for cover for my miniatures during wargames:
https://modelrailsandwargames.blogspot.com/2021/11/generic-scenery-and-wargaming-terrain.html
Some very impressive work, and an attractive hobby to boot.
DeleteMichael
Agree! There are many highly skilled modellers out there!
DeleteDo you find some inspiration to your own Timpo trains?
Well, I enjoyed using plasticard to convert one of the engines into an armoured train some time back. But I have a strict policy on my miniature hobbies, I only work in two scales, 28mm and 54mm. It is all too easy to end up with numerous scales, all requiring their own terrain, etc...... that would not be efficient or prudent, my budget is limited, and I have other interests outside collecting miniatures. And secondly, the collections must be linked to wargames, so no collecting miniatures just for the sake of collecting. I justify my collecting in the knowledge they can all be used in 'gaming' history and nostalgia.
DeleteMichael
To keep to only 2 scales is very disciplined and I admire you to manage to keep it that way. I'm into way too many different scales, but I think each different scale has their different benefits over others, so I kind of use them for different modelling purposes. By the way, 54mm is usually the same as 1:32 scale which is equivalent to 'Gauge 1' in model railways. So I'd guess your Timpo trains are Gauge 1
DeleteYes, the Timpo trains were made to go with their 54mm or 1/32 range of figures. I should clarify, when using this scale, I do take liberties with terrain scales, for example 1/35 kits. My only real rule being 'it must take a nice photograph'.
DeleteMichael
1/32 scale and 1/35 scale are certainly close enough. I would love to see your armoured train sometime. I run 'military trains' in the garden, but no armoured ones. It would be nice to convert one at some stage. I'm curious what the gauge of your Timpo trains are? Gauge 1 is usually 45mm gauge for standard gauge.
ReplyDeleteIf I may, Roger, my blog's sidebar has a label 'Trains', this has about five entries, two are about the armoured train, with one painted, the other on its construction. It is generic, so suitable for various conflicts 1870-1945. The Timpo track is 32mm between each track, and each track is about 2 or 3mm wide.
ReplyDeleteMichael
Sorry. My mistake to didn't catch that hashtag. Your armoured train looks awesome Michael!! 32mm (between inside of the rails) gauge in 1:32 is 'narrow gauge' and is probably closest to 'P34', which is again 3ft 6in (1067mm) narrow gauge in 1:34 scale. -Which was again a very common narrow gauge world wide.
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3_ft_6_in_gauge_railways
DeleteI wouldn't place too much faith on the accuracy of the Timpo train set, but it is a useful and fun addition to my 54mm wargaming. Certainly not comparable with the quality of your own WW2 model railway. Yes, I am pleased with the armoured conversion. My intention was to still keep the 'toy' look, hence the gloss varnish, and bold green paint, no signs of weathering, etc. I actually wanted it to look as if Timpo had also made it for the toy market, lol.
DeleteMichael
Despite the quality of my large scale WW2 trains, due to their scale they're still not accurate according to prototype track gauges...
Delete-That's why I like narrow gauge modelling as it allows for more variations and everything is not standardized.
Your Armoured train kind of remind me of the Finnish armoured train I saw at Parola TankMuseum this summer. It's a small photo of it here:
https://modelrailsandwargames.blogspot.com/2024/08/the-model-military-or-railway-tour-of_7.html
How did you do the rivets?
(I'm not a rivet-counter modeller)
When I was researching examples of armoured trains, one thing became clear. They were typically local, ad hoc conversions to trains. Mine was inspired by several examples, particularly Japanese! Concerning the rivets, I used some very small nails, cut down, and added to my drilled holes.
DeleteMichael