Saturday Film Club: Erie Steam Shovel action

A short video this week, but what a machine!

Time for an AGM?

 

Spotted while on a photo shoot a couple of weeks ago - and it made me chuckle. 

I had to ask, and it seems that B.L.O.G. stands for Buckden Lodge Owners Group, for users of  Buckden Marina, nothing to do with those of us posting away on the internet...

Not sure an AGM would be a great idea. The Treasurer's report would be a bit of a disaster, and you lot might vote me out!

Wythall bus museum

Some days, you just need to escape "the office" and go to watch the countryside pass by from the top deck of a vintage bus. A couple of weeks ago, I had such a moment, but it handily coincided with an event at the Transport Museum, Wythall. 

Off I toddled, and spent the day riding around on old Brummie buses, enjoying a workshop tour, and some nice grub. Just what the doctor ordered, or at least I'm sure he would, if I'd asked him.  

There's not much more to say, other than there are more photos over on my Flickr album. 

And yes, there was a minor haul. I recently had to set up a photo and realised I was very short on flatbed lorries. One of the stalls at the museum sorted this out with a couple of diecasts. 

 

Theatre Review: My Neighbour Totoro

You might wonder why I'm posting about a stage show on a blog about toy trains'n'stuff. Well, this visit was inspired by something I spotted on an N gauge layout. 

Chatting to the owner, it turns out that this is a CatBus, from the 1988 film, "My Neighbour Totoro". Obviously this fascinates me, and I spend time I should be working falling down the CatBus rabbit hole on the internet. Fairly quickly, I find that there is a stage show put on by none other than the RSC. At this point, I decide to stop messing around, buy a ticket, and get back to work. 

Last week, I trotted off to London to the Gillian Lynne Theatre, which is in Parker Street, a good sign.  

Finding my seat, quite high up, but with an excellent view, I awaited the show. There is quite a lot online about it, but I'd tried to avoid reading too much. 

The story is a bit limited, but that's not what we are here for. The staging is amazing. I'd go so far as to say the whole thing is magical. 

Much of the work is done with puppets. Those operating them wear black, and are veiled when not being part of the ensemble cast. This works well, you simply don't see the people, like you don't see baseboard joints on model railways at a show. 

Totoro appears in several sizes, most notably about 25 feet high (or long, we meet him lying down), and while not the nimblest puppet, he can move around thanks to his team of helpers. I understand that the multiple scale is based on the film, where the artists drew him at convenient sizes. 

For me, the star was the CatBus - it is huge, pretty close to the size of a real bus!

Again, the puppet work is amazing. As he does the flying around, miniature buildings and even a train rush by underneath. Again, we get a different scale puppet for one sequence. 

Aside from this, there is a house that spins and splits up so we can see inside and out. Plants that erupt from the stage,  a forest that closes in, moving sweetcorn plants and a whole lot more. 

The show is funny, poignant, and always visually stunning. I really enjoyed myself, and am tempted by a repeat visit. There's so much to see, I know I will have missed some of it. 

Picky point? The family arrive on a piaggio ape, which is an Italian three-wheel transport, surely unlikely to be seen in Japan. Surely a Mazda K360 would be more appropriate?  

Stern work

 

Time to move outside the barge, and work on the stern. A series of wire pieces are cut and superglued in place. Over this, slips a couple of laser-cut card parts. To cover the wire ends, a thinner card piece fits over the top. 

This reads quicker than it turned out to be. I used a piece of MDF as a spacer for the bottom rib, but did the top by eye. It's not perfect, but OK. 

Leftover wire has been used for the tiller, although it deserves a bit more colour than the plain black I've painted it. 

To be honest, this double rib arrangement seems a bit of a fantasy to me - I don't recall seeing anything like it in real life, but I'm going with it. This isn't a kit to rebuild too much. Due to work commitments, it's already taken longer than a "quick build", and I won't argue that it looks nice.