Grape & Grain

Although the intention of this blog is principally to entertain we hope, too that occasionally we may educate a little as well.

Today's lesson is all about how your alcohol consumption can help your modelling.

If you read the posts about building a batch of FR Super Barn carriages earlier this year you'll already know that an empty beer can may be recycled as a very passable carriage roof.

(In the case of the Super Barn, as it is such a long carriage, it needs to be a Pint size beer can.)

But those of you who prefer the grape to the grain do not despair, because I have found a modelling use for a bottle of wine - or at least some of the packaging.

The material in question is the wire net around this bottle of cheap Spanish plonk which I have taken to using as an alternative to brass picture hanging wire.

It takes a little time to untwist it all, because it's made up of around seven strands, but I can find a number of uses for it.

For example it can be used on the ends of my FR carriages to represent the electrical connection cables or some of the long hydraulic pipe and cable runs on my KMX Tamper models.

It may even be a substitute for the fine wire from point motor coils which we twist around 0.5mm wire to represent vacuum hoses.

What more excuse do you need?