Hello everybody i'm dedicating this thread to my modelling projects.
first up a comically oversized crane for my layout. In one corner is a small portion of a yard and I want something in the corner preferably something tall being a fan of tugs in decided to create a 00 scale replica of the steel mill crane big mickey

so enough yapping here are the pictures.

first i gathered up some materials namely ransacking the local McDonalds of coffee stirrers.

next i began to build the structure from skewers and stirrers as lattice work.

next these were glued to the base and extra lattice work added to the other sides as bracing

then I added the top base,pivot,the weight and the start of the arm.

Next the mechanism housing was built as was the remainder of the arm as well as the arm bracing.

Finally I detailed the weight and added the under slung cabin.

Next update painting weathering and further detailing.

Beautiful. Is it going to be able to rotate? Or use the hook?

5335208 Nice!

I also spy a J70 in the background

5335489 yep it does rotate and a pulley system is in the works.
5335820 thanks and yes you do some wisbech stock is in the works.

5337087 cool. Are you going to power it too, so it can actually pick up cargo?

5337087 for a refined model in the future (big mickey mk2?), maybe give some microstrip reinforced by brass a try

5337227
5337112 given its location on the layout I don't need it to however if I ever do as nova suggested a Big mickey Mk2 then that's something I'm going to fiddle with
Any way Update !
so with the structure complete I've given mickey a coat of black primer, the spots where the brown show through are going to be blended in to act as weathering or brushed over to add texture. After that had dried I lightly sprayed on silver acrylic to show bare metal spots.


Then it was time to get a sense of what he looks like on the layout.

to gain a sense of scale I ran a jinty with some Mk 1s along side and he's fairly big about 35cm tall

this is the 'high tech' method I used to make the pivot one cardboard tube inside another, its basic but works.

Finally for nova here is the J70 tram and W&U bogie tram car I've begun to build. I've gone my usual route of using a existing chassis with a body built around it for the loco and the carriage is a balsa base with bogies off of a old tender screwed in.

5337470 And you primed it using that fantastic Citadel primer. Really brings out the details in the wood.

5337641 thanks for the kind words, i'm glad you like the painting as much as i love it i cannot afford citadel paints at the moment so instead i used halfords automotive paint i got for £4 on clearance but its pleasing to hear that you thing it looks just as good

5337851 the can looks just like the Citadel Chaos Black, down to the yellow on red logo. How much does the citadel stuff cost over there? Because here it's $17, while automotive paint is $25 for the same kind of primer (the stuff that shrinks into the gaps, rather than the wall paint that expands to smooth the surface)

5337913 it depends where in the country you are last time i checked a can of chaos black cost about £15 the auto motive stuff usually costs from £20-25 and checking i made a mistake its the paint intended for car bodies not the standard stuff for undercarriages. any way school is on stricke today so i may get some work done weathering locos.

5338674 School went on strike? Well, enjoy your day off. I get to spend mine working.