The weather has been cooler this past week but I am still able to sit out in the garden each afternoon and soak up the sun and read my book. Apart from the usual traffic noise and shouty neighbours, it has been quiet and I have enjoyed seeing the return of butterflies, some bees and lots of dragonflies. The kids are back at school next week and the summer is drawing to a close but I am hopeful of an Indian summer. I also, finally, have six tomatoes on the one surviving plant. It has been a terrible summer but noises are already being made about it being the hottest summer since time immemorial!

I have made some progress with the Fokker E III and the wings are finally cemented on which was a palaver and a half. Two small holes to attach the wings to and the small attachment nubs were terrible at holding it together. I used an old trick utilising gravity to finally get them attached.

The first wing cemented in, supported and left well alone for 24 hours and the same for t'other wing. The decals are fragile but I will use them and paint in the broken areas once clear coated to protect them. This is an old kit and the build really is making a silk purse out of a sows ear. 

Whilst that was setting I worked on the M10 Tank Destroyer and that is now built with some figures added. I will clear coat, add the few decals and then look at further weathering including mud. oil stains and general dirt plus the add ons of bags, packs, gas cans, etc...I am pleased with this build and the figures are coming on nicely.Both of these builds should be completed during this coming week and once done, I will look at the next build. The open Church weekends is coming up in September and I will be visiting a few of the ones that are closed to the public or difficult to access on each weekend, something I am looking forward to. Otherwise, the weather looks good for another week and I intend to enjoy it while I can.

TTFN.

n.b. The closed bridge has now been confirmed as re-opening next summer, only eighteen months overdue!

 I was thinking the other day when did I last write a letter and seeing BW’s latest missive about postage stamps it prompted me to blog today. I sent cards at Christmas but I cannot recall when I last wrote and sent a letter to anyone. There was a time when I was a prolific letter writer and I recall having a pen pal in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa when I was a kid. Travelling and living abroad I sent and received many letters but with 'progress', emails, face time and mobiles have taken over. I can't help but feel we have lost something.

Progress on the Fokker E III is slow but steady although the wings might be an issue as there are two small tabs for the holes to connect to the fuselage. Ordinarily I would drill out, add a thinned sprue or metal rod but there is little space within which to do this. The bracing wires will hopefully help with it but we'll see.

I have also made further progress with the M10 Tank Destroyer as the hull has olive drab paint airbrushed on.

Again, slow work but an enjoyable build so far although the external bolts I now realise I glued in the wrong way round. I will have to remove them and drill out the holes and reapply correctly. Most people would not notice but I will and so will fellow armour modellers. 

I also bought a more modern aircraft, a Hawker Hunter from the fifties / sixties as it is a plane I have long liked and this was offered at a reduced price. Hooked and reeled me in!

I have no idea what is happening news wise as I have avoided social media and the news so for all I know Putin could have reached Berlin by now and Starmer resigned to take up trout fishing in the Hebrides.

TTFN.

 

Hooray! The Sopwith Tabloid 1/48 scale is finally finished. After repairing the struts and rigging for the umpteenth time and sanding down the propeller, I added a thinned wash and later a pin oil wash to accentuate the ribbing on the wings. It has been a challenging build and whilst I waited for various things to set, including the cabane struts cemented in one each day, I started on an armoured model, the M10 Tank Destroyer. This will keep me busy for a couple of weeks and I will look through the stash for the next WW1 aircraft build. It might be one of the monoplanes although many of them still require rigging.

Not a great deal to say as when the sun is out, I sit in the garden and read a book or chill with the moggies. But today has been overcast and cooler than of late so time for modelling, reading and music. A colleague keeps me informed about work and I remain happily retired and disinterested in nursing. 

Back to the book, the second diary of Michael Palin and a welcome cuppa.

TTFN.

 Full of a lousy summer cold but as the weather is cloudy and wet it matches my mood.

The current build (Sopwith Tabloid) is proving to be very difficult and I have had to walk away from it twice to prevent me launching it towards the wide blue yonder. The first occasion saw much of the upper wing fitted but then the wing fell off taking many of the struts with it when Sherlock launched himself onto the table. Not his fault as he was away from the build but surprised me. The second time was this morning when the struts fell out. I have now re-attached the struts and glued the upper wing onto some of the outer struts only, put it away safe from me and felines to allow the glue to set. I will use tweezers to manipulate the other struts into place and glue them individually. It will take time but it is worth the extra effort and to be honest, attaching struts, wings and rigging on biplanes always takes time and perseverance. I have taken out the two 1/48 scale Fokker Eindeckers from the stash and I might start on the earlier 'cruder' model. Crude in terms of the moulding, a good practice mule perhaps for building. I have built a 1/72 Eindecker which was a joy to model and I have several of these aircraft models in various scales.

In other news, I have been avoiding social media apart from the usual modelling, paranormal and history videos I watch because the world has gone crazy. What a shambles. I expected this government to be an 'interesting' one compared with the last lot of useless clowns but...It beggars belief that the first month in power sees two tier Kier and the upper sixth committee of prefects considering widespread censorship and criminalising huge swathes of ordinary people. If you're jailing those who assault the police, destroy property and make threats towards others, surely that should apply to all? The handcart to hell has now got an engine attached.

Moving on, I am enjoying the Michael Palin diary so much that I bought volume two and I will start on that this weekend as I have nearly finished reading the first volume 'The Python Years'. The book has brought back some memories of seventies London and sent me down the rabbit hole looking up people and stories from that time. 

Time for a strong coffee having put the model away and I have ordered some fishing line, a decal fixer as a reviewer stated the decals for the early Eduard kit disintegrate when attempting to apply them and a book about the Eindeckers and pilots during 1915 - 16. 

The roadworks continue and there is almost a permanent queue of traffic outside the house with the noise, pollution and raised angry voices. Why do those who play loud music from their cars have such awful taste in music? Rhetorical question as the answer is they are selfish inconsiderate dickheads.

TTFN.

 

As the rain poured down this morning I added the ribbing to the wings on the Sopwith Tabloid, cutting out thin strips of tape and placing them to run on top of each rib. I can then airbrush another shade of paint on the wings and then remove the tape leaving lighter ribbing before I add a protective clear coat. There is already a layer of acrylic paint on the wings and a layer of clear coat so a labour intensive task but the effect looks very realistic.

I have stopped for now as Sherlock wanted cuddles and reassurance. The little bugger stayed out all night, as did Maisie and Mindy escaped outside until 1 a.m when I finally got her in, hence I am very tired. We don't mind the two oldies being out as they are generally cautious and avoid the roads and people. Mindy lacks any common sense and gets herself locked in houses, sheds, etc...

I will continue with the painting tomorrow as I have already broken one rigging wire and knocked a small piece of PE  and a strut off, the latter two are now mended but the rigging can wait. The rigging is elasticated line and is attached using CA (super) glue and needs a very delicate touch to avoid creating a mess. I am too tired to deal with that so a coffee and back to reading Michael Palin's diary.

TTFN.