This is the current state of play as Sherlock is very needy and yes, he did break my current build the little blighter. Bless him, the kit has been repaired and safely squirrelled away.

It's a Leap Year hence my desire to post on February 29th. The virus is finally leaving me and the cough pretty much gone but the tiredness remains.  Sue remains unwell with a nasty cough and feels exhausted with any effort seeing her flaked out on the settee, usually with Sherlock asleep on top of her! I also have come out in an itchy rash on the top of my right hand, small scaly patches. It started as one patch a couple of weeks ago but there are now four and I have no idea what it is. I think it is an allergy so I will start the antihistamines but what is it I am allergic to? We use hypoallergenic soaps but it must be something that my right hand comes into contact with and if it was a cleaning product, surely my left hand or other parts of my body would be effected? I have checked through my inventory of various products on the modelling table as I suspect it might be something there but I have no new products. A mystery...I am applying witch hazel cream which helps and I will keep an eye on it.

Have an enjoyable Leap Year day and depending on the weather I shall see if I can escape the house for a much needed gentle stroll and look at the new youth centre they are erecting across the road from us. That will be 'interesting' when it finally opens. Deep joy.

TTFN.

A quick update and work continues on the Tiger 1 in 1/35 scale and the tracks are tackled in short bursts and then left to set. The tracks are straightforward to assemble once cleaned up but the tiny cleats and the system to attach and cement them is awkward.

 I ended up cementing in the individual cleats and it is time consuming, both during assembly and then leaving it to set. Despite that I have found individual cleats have fallen off. I also ran out of the Tamiya thin glue and I am awaiting delivery of new supplies.

I painted the cleaned up wheels and I will continue with the build when the new glue arrives. I also started on several figures for this build and another future build.

Illness wise, the bloody cough comes and goes as does the temperature fluctuations but we are doing better now and I am planning a trip out later to get some fresh air and hopefully see some snowdrops. A couple of dry days although it is still cold at night and there has been some frost in the mornings. It will be nice to get out and about again knowing Spring is just a few weeks away.

TTFN.

 Delivery day for the large box of three 1/35 Tiger tanks I ordered last year and I am like a dog with two tails. Sue's response on seeing the box was 'Jesus!' and a shake of her head as I dived into the box ably assisted by Sherlock. He managed to get some tape on his paw which I had to rescue him from.

I would usually avoid ordering three similar kits but this was a special at a reduced price and includes a 1/16th figure as a separate kit so I leapt at the chance. 

I have placed two of the kits upstairs in the stash and I intend to build the late production Tiger 1. I have some figures to go with the kit and so this will be my next build. The current build, a 1/72 scale Albatros W4 has had burnt umber oil paint brushed over the base for a wood effect and I will leave it alone for several days to fully dry. I also did a light grey wash over the green parts to dull down the green colour. My plan is to airbrush a linen colour on the wings and other parts but the oil paint has to be dry for me to mask them off.

I also received two cheap kits, one is a Albatros D III which I ordered for the decals for an earlier cheap Pegasus kit I bought last year but it did not have decals. The kit with decals was cheaper than buying decals on their own!

The second kit was reduced and offered to me and naturally I accepted. It's an old kit from 1978 but quite detailed and will be a fun build at some point. I have now cleared my evil bay list and I will be buying no more kits this year as these will keep me busy for the next year.

 Weather wise, it has poured down today and not stopped until an hour ago. I had a look around the garden earlier this week making plans for a clear up and ensure the gate can be accessed as we are hoping to install a new gate. I'm just waiting for a dry day and I can bring the garden recycling bin through for the clear up. The usual stall in the market that we buy plants from is no longer there so I will have a wander round at the end of the month for seedlings, tomato, cucumber and chilli. They will go in the raised bed and large pots with some colourful flowers / plants in the garden itself. Fingers crossed the leurgy is gradually going although I pulled muscles in my back from coughing over the last two days. It never rains but it pours! My plans for the next few months is modelling, gardening when I can, gentle walks and reading some good books with an occasional good malt whisky. I had a glass last night of a 14 year old American rye cask Jura and I thoroughly enjoyed it after nearly five weeks of abstinence from alcohol.  Getting used to life on a budget hence no more buying models and hoping the malts I have left will last.*

TTFN.

* The four bottles won't last three years but No.1 son bought me a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label for Xmas and I do like that.

 I spoke too soon as both Sue and I have relapsed although she has it really bad. Earaches and coughing for her, an earache today and a scratchy throat for me. Just what have these evil bastards released into the world, bats my arse. Gain of function in bio-labs courtesy of the USA and China.  Rope and lamp posts...Moving on before I climb onto my ranting soapbox...

Although it needs some paint touch ups, especially the yellow parts, I am calling it done. I might use oil paints for the yellow areas. After I had knocked off the umpteenth part and for a while I lost a yellow painted tail, I have decided to leave it to set properly and if needs be, I can always weather it or add washes at a future date.

An Avro Lancaster Mk III of 100 Squadron RAF circa April 1945 based at Waltham but moved to Elsham Wolds in the last month of WW2. Both local airfields and something I have wanted to do for a while as a tribute to the men and women who were based at the airfields.

Almost immediately after I took the photos a large needy Tabby leapt onto the table and nearly undid all the hard work! It's hard to believe he will be ten years old this year and it is starting to show, poor auld fella. Given his age and that of Maisie who is or will be nine years old this year, I shall be looking at their diet and buying food with fewer additives and especially more meat and no cereals. I'll also look at supplements for them. They get the usual supermarket cat food plus chicken and ham but we have woken up to cat vomit on a few mornings over the last two months. They lead very pampered lives and I want the best for them as they become feline pensioners. They are also enjoying the early spring weather which is currently wet but mild. Signs of Spring beginning to emerge and birds are singing each morning over the past week. Early days yet but hopefully winter is coming to an end.

TTFN.

 Some progress from this morning but that yellow paint is not brushing on smoothly despite being thinned.

Notwithstanding that, it is starting to look more like the finished aircraft and there are about a dozen small parts to attach, some further tidy up of the paint and another clear coat to prepare for the decals. The camouflage and black paint was airbrushed on but other small parts were brush painted. The home made masks for the clear parts have also turned out ok. Built OOB (Out of the box) with no aftermarket parts but I will buy some bits and pieces for the second future Lancaster build.

I managed to break off and lose a propeller blade but later found and reattached it, the second one to break off. Once this is completed I intend to display it alongside a Stirling bomber I built some years ago. There is a third heavy four engined bomber to make up the set and that is the Halifax which I haven't got in my stash. 

Once I have finished this and the F9F panther I will tidy up the modelling area and both Sue and I plan to start an early spring clean around the house. The latter we will do over the next couple of weeks as we are beginning to recover from this virus after three weeks. We went out yesterday, just locally but both of us returned home bathed in sweat and exhausted which surprised us. I am expecting delivery of the Tiger tank box I ordered last November and hope to make a start on one of those. I also plan tentative brief walks out over the next few days as part of my recovery from this virus. 

TTFN.

 

The Lancaster has an airbrushed coat of black paint on the underneath or rather, 90% Nato black and 10% medium grey. Clear coated this morning and left to dry and set over the next several hours. I realised I have made an error on the engines and fitting the props but I will just glue them in and the error won't be noticed as it will be covered up. I will be prepared for the next Lancaster build when I decide to do that at some point. A new kit has arrived and I decided to buy this as it involves Sue's favourite animal...

It will also be a challenging paint scheme but one I look forward to.

The plastic is an extremely bright yellow which looks very garish and hopefully won't pose too many problems when it comes to airbrushing the paint on. It will be put aside in the stash for now as I have started on another build...

A floatplane from WW1 that is a small and as I discovered, fragile engine with thin pieces that break very easily. Assembled and brush painted using various metallic paints and rust on the exhaust with a wash of very thinned black paint. The floats have been assembled and cleaned up and the upper wing has been glued together from three separate parts. The wings for this early model will be doped linen with a primarily wooden fuselage which will be enjoyable but possibly frustrating to paint and achieve a realistic look. 

I am fascinated by seaplanes, whether on floats or as a flying boat and the early ones from WW1 and the interwar period really grab my attention. I guess it is the challenge of not only the air but also water, coping with two elements.

Time for a much needed cuppa.

TTFN.

 

Slow progress on the Lancaster as undercarriage painted and glued in with some choice words turning the air blue. I added some sprue goo to strengthen the connecting points this morning and the seams have had some more CA flexi glue added as filler. I will leave this well alone for the next day or so and then sand those seams out. I can then airbrush black paint on underneath with various shades plus some grey dry paint brushing of raised parts. Again, this is to create shadows and depth which is quite hard to achieve on black paint but we'll see how it goes.

I also received two books in the post, both cheap from the bay of ee by gum. One is for reference for this build and the other is the memories of aircrew during the war flying Lancasters. I recently finished one book,  Rear Gunner Pathfinders which I enjoyed but it left me feeling sad as he explained briefly the impact of the war and PTSD on his emotional wellbeing during the rest of his life. These books should be required reading for some of the arseholes who are waving sabres for a war with Russia, China and Iran. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post I have stopped drinking alcohol as this leurgy has changed my sense of taste and smell. BW pointed out we are saving money which is certainly a bonus and given I paid out for a special model box last October and is due for delivery at the end of this month, a few months abstinence will be helpful. It also helps for a planned trip to a local airfield where they have a working Lancaster and Mosquito. I have a few bottles of malt whisky and one blended whisky stored away but they will hopefully be ok for later this year. Now, if I can only break my addiction to chocolate!

TTFN.

 After two weeks both Sue and I are still unwell although some slow progress is being made. I have no idea what this bug is other than it is a damned nuisance. My appetite is back along with my sense of taste but both of us are permanently exhausted. Happily, rain, sleet, snow and cold weather has returned so there is no desire to go out. It also allows me time to focus on the three builds I currently have on the go although one is now 'finished'.

Masking the clear parts for the Avro Lancaster B III which is a fiddly and time consuming task. I thought I had lost an important clear part but after checking the instructions on this and a second kit, I realised there was an error on the instructions and it is a plastic part, not a clear part. Yes, I bought a second kit some time back when it was sold at a very cheap figure given there was no box for it.

Taking my time with this build and enjoying it so far and the second OOB build I have now finished...

The Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star which saw action over Korea. I like the early jets and the decals on this one stood out for me.

The other build is proving to be difficult and requiring a lot of filler, clean up of seams, etc...

Another early jet and although not the specific model I had hoped to build it was cheap as chips and will go on display with the other early jets.

Time for a cuppa and to check how the chicken curry is doing...extra chillies needed.

TTFN.

 

The funeral went well and despite Sue and I having caught a dreadful cold  I was still able to attend it. To be honest I'd have hired a taxi to take me there rather than miss it but the drive was smooth and uneventful. Unfortunately Sue has been hit very hard by the flu as we realised it wasn't a cold but something nastier and she stayed home. Four days of little sleep and no food is not a combination I ever wish to repeat with a long journey and an emotional funeral on top plus meeting several relatives for the first time in many years. It was a non religious service and my sister read out a wonderful eulogy which made us cry and laugh with some of the stories from my mums life. That's a picture of her in better days during the seventies and below a small sample from a larger collection of photos.

She was a strong, feisty independent woman with a great sense of fun and humour who had at times a very hard life including a very poor and hard childhood in rural Ireland. I'm immensely proud of her and she has left a huge gap in our lives. I still expect the phone to ring and hear her latest opinion about someone she has just watched on TV.  Life goes on albeit sadder and with a rich thread of gold and purple missing from its tapestry.

As stated above, both Sue and I acquired a nasty bout of flu from our last hospital visit where a woman in the waiting room was coughing fit to burst a lung. Four days spent either in bed or wrapped up in layers in the armchair and attending to the cats needs as and when required. I left for the funeral but decided to stay just the one night as I was worried about Sue who has been laid low by this on top of her recent health issues. I also heard today from a work colleague that there is an outbreak of covid and norovirus at work, a nasty combination guaranteed to floor anyone. So much for the mRNA fauxines (It's all a con!) as there appear to be no end of bugs and viruses out there but it is winter and colds and flus do make their mark known especially once immune systems are reduced or damaged. Although we are both slowly on the mend I suspect the rest of this week will be spent quietly recuperating and I finally managed a nights sleep last night uninterrupted by my coughing. 

Stay well folks and if anyone comes near with a nasty cough do your best to avoid them, Failing that, spray them with Dettol.

TTFN.