What started off as a promising spring day, featuring some bleak sun and even reaching 14 C soon transformed into a regular late October afternoon. Pouring rain and muddy like the WWI western front.

Well - I managed to sort the stubborn driving lights fault on the Jaguar and also to "summerise" Mrs P's Discovery, renewing all wiper blades, adjusting washer jets and exchanging the blanked out winter grille to the open summer one.
With the latter came off the extra driving lights on that car, being mounted on the grille rather than in the car. A very elegant solution indeed, featuring industrial fast connectors, proper sealing, and also impressively well performed, looking at work quality. That's a rare thing to find in a 2nd hand car. Nice!
It remains to be seen whether we find the standard high beam good enough for the summer though, or if we invest in one of those small but surprisingly effective light bars you can put under the license plate.

Damn, the weeks are passing by fast! It seems last Sunday was yesterday, and here we are, looking another weekend straight in the face. Having been away on business matters (again!), there's been no time even to just hang around my unfinished projects, picking and fiddling with them to keep the mojo up. Finally arriving home yesterday evening, today's schedule is annoyingly full of all the leftovers accumulated during several days of absence, an equally common and irritating consequence of being out of your ordinary office.

Well, at least the weather is decent. For now. The forecasting services has kindly informed that another portion of arctic air is expected during next week, so I suppose I'll try to spend as much time outdoors now as I can, before the polar bears return..

Finally some spring weather! Loads at work and even more chores to catch up with due to the stubborn winter means the modelling time is.. not really existent.
Well. I'll keep track of you more fortunate, and sooner or later, I'll get back in the game again.

It's remarkable how another kit purchase kickstarts the mojo! Just looking at that Hellenic Mirage in its box.. Now, I just have to make some spacetime available for modelling as well. Hmmm...

That aside - by grace of our own Narses, I got the opportunity to read the April issue of a very nice newsletter, belonging to the UK IPMS What If SIG, and therein, aside the really cool write-up of possible Swedish Hunter variants, another of our esteemed forum members, dear Mr Rheged, told his history of finding his way into this part of the hobby. Very, very relatable indeed, I have to say, and I couldn't agree more to the experience of friendliness and inclusion in this group. A daily scan of this forum is probably what's keeping me sane in this increasingly threatening world.

Right. Maybe I should try to get on with something, whether that is mending the odd car, rebuilding a robot lawn mower or two (don't ask) or doing something in the garden. After all, it's Labour Day, so labouring is at its place, right? 

Quote from: Pellson on May 01, 2024, 02:52:55 AMRight. Maybe I should try to get on with something, whether that is mending the odd car, rebuilding a robot lawn mower or two (don't ask) or doing something in the garden. After all, it's Labour Day, so labouring is at its place, right? 

Labour Day It's May Day.... frolic and mirth, not hard work even if it is via a robot 

Quote from: NARSES2 on May 01, 2024, 06:27:44 AM

Quote from: Pellson on May 01, 2024, 02:52:55 AMRight. Maybe I should try to get on with something, whether that is mending the odd car, rebuilding a robot lawn mower or two (don't ask) or doing something in the garden. After all, it's Labour Day, so labouring is at its place, right? 

Labour Day It's May Day.... frolic and mirth, not hard work even if it is via a robot 

Labour Day over here, due to some clash between early unionised workers and police back in the significantly less nice days. In any case - it's a day off, and I took the opportunity to sleep in thoroughly.
Having done that, not too much got done, really, due to circumstances. Amazingly, I still feel as if I have been toiling about all day. Annoying.

Quote from: Pellson on May 01, 2024, 01:54:36 PMLabour Day over here, due to some clash between early unionised workers and police back in the significantly less nice days. In any case - it's a day off, and I took the opportunity to sleep in thoroughly.

The May Day Bank (Public) Holiday is quite a recent one here in the UK and although it was initially meant to celebrate "The Working Class"  as it is world wide holding it on the nearest Monday (as are the majority of our Bank/Public holidays) somewhat took the sting out of the tail 

Quote from: Pellson on May 01, 2024, 01:54:36 PM. In any case - it's a day off, and I took the opportunity to sleep in thoroughly.

A very sensible course of action!

Finally - Summer! It's been a wait this year..

Work is churning up most of my life these days, it seems, but last weekend, being a long one, I got a chance to get away properly from the day work, just to immediately being kidnapped away to construction work at the cottage. Well - at least two thirds of the pateo is done now, and the old mud crawler earned its keep by relieving me from having to carry all the material the 70 or so metres from the parking lot, rather being able to drive all the way through the neighbouring farmers grazing land. A rather muddy such, as might be seen, but Defenders can endure a wash off..

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Not much modelling, as one can expect after physical work like that, but I actually got around to paint the unpainted leading edges of four SAABs. Having put that off for quite some time, it was actually quite nice having a go. Not perfect by far, but a few rounds of touching up, and touching up the touch-ups, and then we might be good to move on.

On a less cheerful note, servicing the old Jaguar X-Type I've been using as a daily, it's now apparent that it's beyond economical repair. Annoying as it's been a good companion, if a bit low under the belly for our localities, but nevertheless a nice and stylish transport. However, a sudden and surprisingly large oil leak between the engine and the transmission is beyond my abilities, and on looking into procuring the work, it's simply too much money to pour into a car of that value. For the time being, I'll be relegated to the Defender as the budgetary balance Is somewhat on the wobbly side for the time being. But times might change.

Nice job on the Defender weathering! Oh... wait...

          

Patio and I assume what's a hot tub ? looking good 

Quote from: NARSES2 on May 15, 2024, 05:58:15 AMPatio and I assume what's a hot tub ? looking good 

The wood fired hot tub is/was existent, so it's been built in. Nice - rather than having to climb a ladder to get in, we now climb down into it.

Another day on the road, having had to go to Stockholm and back, stressing somewhat to reach the kids annual spring concert with the school orchestra. Made it, and as this was the first year all three were in the same orchestra the concert was a real treat. 


But now I'm totally rinsed out, so kip time.

All in the same place? Nice - makes logistics for transporting to practices a lot easier!

And yeah - good weathering on the Defender.
Humbrol Buff or Dark Earth?

Quote from: Rick Lowe on May 15, 2024, 10:39:39 PMAll in the same place? Nice - makes logistics for transporting to practices a lot easier!

Yes and no. Still separate individual lessons.. 

QuoteAnd yeah - good weathering on the Defender.
Humbrol Buff or Dark Earth?

Dark earth it seems, but not Humbrol, I'm afraid..