JayBee's Secret Santa build

[JayBee]

Well I have posted before that I received this from Sudzonic.



I have also said that:
1/35 is not my comfort zone. Lets face it anything bigger than 1/72 is just silly.
AFV's are not realy my comfort zone. Altough I have built a few in 1/72(76) scale.

I do have to say that I have done a few figures in 54mm/1.32 scale.

So when I opened the box I was delighted to find amidst all the, far too big, tanky bits, the Tank Commanders figure, which I immediately recognised as having some possibilities.

Sudzonic asked in the letter that came with the model, what should he send me, should it travel on the land, float on the water, or fly in the air.

Well what I have produced can do all of these things.


With new arms, hands, and head, may I present my model of.............


Phik McTuel.

Phik McTuel is an internationally famous, or infamous, and very eccentric, Irish inventor.
He was born a rather sickly child, and this goes a long way to explain his appearance as an adult. Slight of build, and with his right leg shorter than his left.
However he was born with an amazing brain, highly inventive, inquisitive, and creative.
He is best known for his invention of the lightweight armour plating.
This is so light in weight, it weighs about the same as cardboard, that Phik has declared that it is as light as the Fairy Folk of Irish legend.
It is so strong that it has been remarked that it is almost magical.
With these two statements having been made, Phik decided to name it in honour of the "Little People" and called it............ LEPRECHAUNIUM.
All the claims for it have proven true, however there is one fault. Any vehicle built with Leprechaunium is so light that firing a weapon, or even a gust of wind, is likely to cause the vehicle to move significantly if it has not been tied down firmly beforehand.

[JayBee]

You know, I am realy SO disapointed in you lot.
Not one of you has come back and said something along the lines of " Er! JayBee, I think you were meant to build those tanky bits!"



OF COURSE I have built the tanky bits.

So here is the story line.
Pictures to follow in time for the deadline.


Phik McTuel is an internationally famous, and very eccentric, Irish inventor.
He is best known for his invention of very lightweight armour plating, which being so light (it weighs about the same as cardboard) that Phik has declared that it is as light as the Fairy Folk of Irish legend, and being so strong that it has been remarked that it is almost magical, he decided to name it in honour of the "Little People" and called it............
                                                             LEPRECHAUNIUM.
He then went on to design a new fighting machine for Ireland.
This was "inspired" by the punt gun that Phik's uncle Seamus operated, and which Phik himself had used to hunt waterfowl.
The vehicle was to be an amphibious AFV, and because it would be so light, due to the Leprechaunium, Phik decided it should also have a flight capability.
Given it's planned capabilities Phik named it:
                                      Quel'dorei
(which is ancient Irish for an ELVEN STEED.)
The Irish Air Corps declared that as it would be capable of flight it should fall under their jurisdiction, and so the prototype was painted in a colour scheme reminiscent of early IAC aircraft, having a black body with silver doped wings with the Irish tricolour stripes on them.
The maiden flight was planned for St. Patrick's day 2000, and the plan was that the prototype Quel'dorei would join the annual St. Paddy's day parade by flying along the length of O'Connel Street in Dublin.
Sadly, on the day, the machine failed to get airborne, and in fact, ten years later, it has still failed to do so.
Waterborne trials were carried out with the craft..............
                                         It sank!
Now in 2010, it is believed that trials are still underway to try and get it airborne, but the machine has not been seen for a number of years. However it is believed to still be resident at the secret Irish testing base, known to one and all as "Area 50 and 2/2".

[PR19_Kit]

I've spent the last week on holiday in Ireland, just mssing Paddy's Day as I value my sanity (a bit....) and we drove on some mind blwoing roads out there, but failed singularly to see any aircraft at all until the penultimate day when a Victa Airtourer took-off from Coonagh, just west of Limerick, and we saw some Airbuses etc at Shannon.

There was a guy in a funny hat and a beard on the Visitors Gallery at Shannon, looking out over the field with a pair of bins and occasionally looking west out along the Shannon too, toward Foynes Island, the 1930s flying boat base. When we drove down the Foynes road later in the day there was a crowd of Irish Army guys down by the quayside there, all milling about, but we couldn't get close enough to see what was going on and they were all heavily armed too.

Just where IS this 'Area 50 and 2/2'? Could it be at Foynes?

[This isn't a backstory, we really DID see the weird guy and the Army too........  ]

[JayBee]

Just where IS this 'Area 50 and 2/2'? Could it be at Foynes?

Good grief Kit, of course it isn't at Foynes. It is on dry land

Jim

[sudzonic]

Good to see you took the should it float should it fly or should it roll on the ground to hart Mr Jaybee looking forward to the pic's.

[JayBee]

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. Lady's, Gentlemen, and Whiffers, I give you the

Quel'dorei

[lancer]

BRILLIANT!!!! that beauty can only come from a guinness inspired mind!!! Superb work Jim...

[Weaver]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

J.W.Christie eat your heart out..... That's brilliant Jaybee - nice one! 

And at the risk of being serious for a moment, that technique of using the turret top and front to "jagd-ize" a tank is very interesting for more orthodox projects....

[sudzonic]

Very nice Jaybee vey nice.. Maybe you should post the poem that came along with it so everyone gets the jist of the should it float should it fly or roll on the ground? 

[Ed S]

Inventive to say the least.  Well done.

Ed

[NARSES2]

You wouldn't want to bump into that on a dark night 

Fantastic Jim 

[Martin H]

hee hee, that has just got to be entered for the scots nationals what if sheild this year.

[PR19_Kit]

Magic Jim, pure magic! 

Yet another Whiff for the 'What do I do with this underscale Revell Rotodyne kit?' list.

[GTX]

 

[proditor]

And I thought I was crazy!  Great work!