ROKR vintage car

A year ago I constructed my first ROKR wooden model - a Formula One Racing Car. My post about this wonderful method of modelling was one of surprise at the outstanding quality of these models and my sheer delight in having built one for myself. 

Some months ago I was in The Range (Home & Leisure store) browsing the shelves of the craft section when I spotted a 3D Wooden car kit. The picture on the box showed it to be of the same type of construction as the Racing car. I was delighted to find it but even more so when I saw it's price ... £3.29. That's a tenth of the cheapest models in the ROKR stable and so cheap that I was very sceptical as to it's detail and quality. Still, at that price, I couldn't go wrong even it was a load of rubbish.

As it turns out, it was NOT a load of rubbish. I found it to be of the same build quality as the first model I made, and only the name on the box stopped me from believing this was a genuine ROKR product. I have since seen this same model with the ROKR logo on the box selling on Amazon for £24.99. This price comparison isn't me criticising ROKR for overcharging but it is me praising The Range for it's commercial skills in bringing a £25 product to its stores for less than £4.

My first ROKR wooden model

Racing Car

Sycamore Gap Tree

From what I've been able to find out, "The Sycamore Gap" tree is well known outside of the UK. Located beside Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England, it gained global fame partly due to its appearance in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. International condemnation was widespread when the 150-year-old tree was deliberately and illegally cut down in September 2023.

A while ago there was a discussion in my Art Forum about drawing trees and how most people felt they couldn't really draw or paint them properly. In response, by way of providing an opportunity for some practice, I decided to choose a tree as the subject for the forums next Monthly Painting and Drawing Project, and what better specimen than the famous Sycamore Gap tree. 

Though most members reached for their watercolours or coloured pencils, I reached for my Pigma Micron Pens. I'm very pleased with the resulting drawing but keep thinking I ought to splash some green watercolour on it. I've resisted so far.

More monochrome tree projects

Canal Cottages

Web sites and stuff

Paynes Greye

Stamps with borders

Though I collect postage stamps, I know very little about them and my collection of just over 13,000 is very modest and juvenile compared to those of real enthusiasts and experts. Whatever I say on here about stamps is likely to be inaccurate and wide open to criticism. That's fine .... I'm a hobbyist not an expert. 

That disclaimer out of the way, I often find I am drawn as much to the periphery of stamp collecting, as I am to the stamps themselves. For example, a couple of years ago I posted about "Cinderella" stamps and other non-postal issues, which are interesting in themselves.

This post is about the borders that surround the sheets of stamps. Until recently I thought the borders were mostly plain and served no other purpose than providing a Colour Swatch. But then I came across some German stamps with highly decorated borders. Though the patterns and decoration on the borders is usually very repetitive, I found some stamps where the borders were far from repetitive. 

Take the commemorative stamps of illustrious composer Carl Orff, issued in 1995 to celebrate 100 years since his birth. All around the border of the sheet is a musical score. Viewed as a complete sheet, the musical legend would be continuous and complete, but when separated each individual stamp is more unique with it's border attached than it would be without it.

Another example is the 1994 issue commemorating 500-years since the birth of Hans Sachs, a master of poetry and song. The border here is of Court Jesters climbing through Vines, with some titles printed along the top and bottom borders.

Though I have many examples of these decorative borders, in the main they are just individual stamps. The nearest I have to a complete border is with the 1996 issue marking 450-years since the death of Martin Luther.

For me, these unique borders add another dimension to the stamps they adorn. I don't buy mint condition unused sheets of stamps, which seems like the only way to see complete borders. But to discover these gems unseparated and stuck onto envelopes and parcels, is quite magical. Given how many people discard stamp borders without a thought, it raises the question, how many stamps with borders still attached actually get posted and survive to become part of someone's collection.

Previous posts about Postage Stamps

When is a stamp, not a stamp ....

Stamp Collecting

Old Railway Shed

Back in 2023 we visited the Beamish Living Museum in County Durham. We had been before, several decades ago, and it was great to get back there for another look round. For those who haven't heard of it, the museum is a village and surrounding area that has been restored back to the early and mid 20th century. Visiting the museum is like stepping back in time.

One area consists of railway paraphernalia including steam engines, wagons and railway sidings and it was there that I spotted this old wooden shed tucked away in a corner. It instantly appealed greatly as a painting/drawing subject so I took some photos for reference. 

Though the shed was old, weather beaten, and smoke tarnished dark grey wood, the door and the boards around the edge of the roof were red. This fitted perfectly with my intention of doing some more ink drawings with a touch of red, as I did with the Lakeside Cottage and Vintage Petrol Pump. I'm very pleased with how it's turned out and happy that I now have 3 pictures in my "Touch of red" series.

Previous drawings in my "Touch of Red" series

Lakeside Cottage

Vintage Petrol Pump

Hand Pulling Rope

Once again I lapsed with my blog posting. A while ago I was determined to keep my blog active and interesting by posting regularly and varying the subject matter. A great plan and good intentions but as as happened so many times before, I failed to stay the pace. So here I am, for the umpteenth time, wondering what to write and how best to catch up on what I've been doing since September. 

I must confess that most of my leisure time has been spent on Marquetry and Model making, and very little on painting and drawing. One of my models, a scale replica of Nelsons flagship HMS Victory, has occupied me totally from the beginning of November, and is still quite a way from being finished. Prior to that I messed about with various small projects and I'm certainly finding variety very rewarding.

I'll start by sharing this pencil drawing of a hand pulling a rope. I actually drew this in April but I was so behind with my posts that I didn't get to show it. 

This is a statue called "Hand Pulling Rope" by Derek Tristram and is situated in St.Aubin, Jersey. On the back of the hand an inscription reads "Ships are the nearest thing to dreams that hands have ever made". It's part of a quote by Robert N Rose and it commemorates the village's boat-building history and maritime traditions.

A selection of other pencil drawings

A faithful servant

Sunset over Buttermere

Contre jours

Puppy with Snow on his face

So one day, I was taking my 8-year old Granddaughter back to my house after collecting her from school and stopped at a local supermarket to pick up a magazine for my other half. Granddaughter spotted a comic she liked the look of, so I bought it for her. A while later, we were all sitting around quietly at home and the peace was shattered with a loud, piercing shriek. It was a squeal of delight and excitement. Granddaughter started jumping up and down and shouting "How cute, how cute, I just love him!!!". When she'd calmed down enough to talk coherently, she showed us a photo of a really cute little puppy playing  in the snow, with snow on his nose and plastered all around his muzzle. "Yes, he's really cute" I said supportively as my heart gradually returned back to a more normal rhythm.

A couple of hours later, I heard those words that mean "Uh-huh .... what's coming next". Granddaughter said "Gra-an-d-dad". "Yes" I replied. "Would you do a painting, just for me?". "Of course, if I can" I replied, "What of?". "This really cute Puppy" came back the response.

The rest as they say, is history, and "Puppy with Snow on his face" now hangs on her bedroom wall.

Dog Portraits I've had the pleasure of painting

Kiya

Rocky & Alfie

Buddy

Pelican

I came across this chap in 2016 at Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water, a small picturesque town in the English Cotswolds. We've been to Birdland 2 or 3 times now and we see something different every time we go. This chappy was flying when I first spotted him but by the time I'd readied myself for a photo, he had splashed down - literally.

More Animal paintings

Puffin

Lion in Ink

Badger

ROKR racing car

I have been aware of ROKR wooden models for a long time. I've seen them on display in shops and online stores and always marvelled at their original olde-worlde style. Steam engines, Marble alleys, working clocks, Carousels, Musical instruments .... the list is endless. But it was Christmas 2024 that I finally got to find out for myself just how superb these 3D wooden models really are.

Lucky me received from Santa my very first ROKR model. I say "very first" because I'm determined that there will be many more in the future. My first ever ROKR model is of a Formula One Racing Car - and to my amazement, it actually works.

Car under construction

The first thing to know about these model kits is that they are laser-cut from thin sheets of wood. To assemble the model it is only a case of pressing out each pre-cut piece and adding it to the developing model. The skill level required isn't huge and most people will be able to assemble these models without too much difficulty.

What IS outstanding is the degree of accuracy in these kits. The wooden elements fit together with such precision that glue isn't necessary yet the wheels rotate and steer and the clockwork motor drives the car forward. The pieces are well labelled and press out of the wooden sheet easily, and clear instructions show exactly where each piece is to be positioned. In addition, some more complex pieces are duplicated in case of breakage during construction. These kits just ooze quality.

Though the skill level for building these models is fairly basic, the level of self-satisfaction from watching a 3D model develop step-by-step is immense. I certainly know what will be at the top of my future birthday and Christmas present lists.

Rowing Boat

Pen & Wash of an old broken Rowing boat

When walking around a local area of small lakes, I saw this broken and rotting old rowing boat on the opposite bank. I never go on such walks without my trusty Nikon so I cranked out the telephoto lens to it's maximum magnification and snapped a shot. I've cheated a lot with this one because the background is a heavily overgrown woodland with a good mix of shrubs and trees and I just didn't fancy painting all that shrubbery. I think I've put in enough to give the idea of the setting. 

More boat paintings

Small boat

Fishing Boat

Barmouth Viking II

Hexagonal box

Recently I saw a small, very cheap (£3), hexagonal wooden box in an art store and it just screamed at me to buy it. I had no idea as to how I would decorate it but eventually decided on marquetry to create a multi-coloured star-burst effect. The lid would be made up of several pointed pieces all meeting up in the centre. The sides would be matching veneers but running vertical from top to bottom (as most 'vertical' things do).

Obviously, work on the box began with the removal of the hinges and catch. To help with the positioning of the pieces I marked out the lid of the box and the next job was to cut 18 triangles, each with a 20 degree angle.

I laid out all my veneers so I could choose colours that are varied but that also work well with each other. It took a lot of swapping and moving sheets around until I found a combination that I was pleased with. Learning from previous mistakes, I numbered the veneers.

These veneers are extremely thin and it's very easy to break them while cutting due to the blade catching in the grain. One way I've discovered to reduce the instance of splitting is to stick masking tape on one side of the veneer. It also helps in that I can make pencil marks, etc, on the masking tape rather than on the veneer itself.

So my present process is to stick some tape onto a piece of veneer and then carefully mark out a 20 degree triangle. This was then cut out with a sharp scalpel. The triangle was then positioned on the lid of the box and I put a piece of masking tape, sticky side up, to hold the pointed ends in place.

I decided to cut opposite triangles from the same veneer and the work I put into selecting and arranging the veneers at the outset is now paying off. Obviously, at this stage, I could easily swap veneers around again but I don't see the need as I'm quite happy with the scheme as it is.

In addition to the lid I also glued the veneers to the sides of the lid and to the main box, paying close attention to making sure I get them in the right order. 

Each piece was numbered to make it easier, and I also marked an arrow on each piece to show me which way the grain runs. It was a slow process because I could only work on one side at a time, and I  needed each side to set before moving on to the next.

The box was sanded using varying grades of sandpaper and the surface was cleaned with a tack cloth to remove the fine particles of dust trapped in the grain. I applied a couple of coats of Shellac Sanding Sealer which fills the pores and grain of the wood. This process was repeated a couple of times, sanding between each coat with extremely fine sandpaper, until I felt it was ready for varnishing.

So here is the finished box. The Sanding Sealer was followed by 3 coats of water-based polyurethane varnish (Clear) with a light sanding after the second coat. The process was finished off with 2 coats of Finishing Wax polish, with a good buffing between each.

Every time I've done some marquetry I've finished off with a different varnish, polish or process because I've never been completely satisfied with the result. I've been aiming for a high gloss finish that doesn't yellow the wood. I think with the above process and products I've finally found a result I'm happy with.

More Marquetry posts

Tess & Sally - a tribute in wood

My First box

Marquetry - my first attempt