What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

... plus the rivet ridden Shackleton MR3.

I think that they added those rivets back in the 1970s when we had power cuts so that model makers could use the Braille method under candle light. Of course I was saving up my pocket money for the Airfix North American RA-5C.

[NARSES2]

 

[McColm]

Monday 28th September 2020

I found my 1/24 MiniCraft 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II,  the one that I was converting into a ute/pickup truck and started messing with some odd car parts.
It's not as detailed as other Whiffers as it lacks the engine and the bonnet/hood has been glued in the closed position. It has the wheels from the Lindberg 1/24 1929 "T" Rod and the interior is from the 1/24 Academy Hobby Model Kits Mini One convertible,  the headlight cluster comes from the same kit as well.  The steering wheel is on the left side and has the black & silver trim.
I'm going to line the boot/trunk with lollipop sticks and make a new tail gate.  I'll leave the windscreen surround and the front quarter windows but cut everything else off giving that retro look. I haven't chosen a body colour scheme,  but the black and silver seems to work.
It just needs some extra details.

[McColm]

Tuesday 29th September 2020

Sorry I couldn't resist,  I started working on the Convair-Boeing YB-88A Barbosa. The yoke sights and rings are all glued in place as well as the pedestal sights. The pair that occupy the cockpit area have been sanded back to the inner fuselage so they sit flat. The navigator 's table and weather observer's tables have also been glued. The nose gear well and nose section floor are glued as well as the nose wheel strut.
The wing spars from the B-52G kit have been adapted and superglued to the fuselage halves,  both wings are glued and have been dry tested along with the wing spar covers to hide the joints and add extra strength.

The 1/24 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud V prototype , two seater tin roof convertible /ute has had it's front quarter windows removed and just has the windscreen surround. No seatbelts. Might highlight the dashboard as it looks a bit dark. Another possibility is side exhaust pipes.

[McColm]

Wednesday 30th September 2020

The retro 1/24 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud V project has had its rear decking and side panels fitted.  It just needs sanding  and then staining. I did use a combination of lollipop sticks and a wooden coffee/tea stirrer,  I just need to find a suitable tail gate or scratch build one.
I came across a 1/72 Mach2 sud Caravelle that I had started to build  and added the Cammett BAe Nimrod AEW.3 conversion set to it. This now has the T-tail from an old Airfix Avro Vulcan B.2 and quad engines from a 1/100 IL 62 passenger airliner. I will probably use the plastic canopy from the said Airfix kit and BAe Nimrod MR.1 landing gear.
The 1/96 Bristol Britannia has now got the wings and engines from another 1/96 kit namely a HP Victor which I found whilst clearing out one of my cardboard boxes of spare parts.
I also found a 1/72 Frog A.W. Whitley Mk.VII started transport version. I have changed the engine cowlings which came off a Grumman Tracker which I have changed the engines to Rolls-Royce Griffons.
I have uncovered my 1/72 Martin Marina twin turbofaned amphibious flying boat  ASW Mk1. The paint scheme seems to be a dark olive colour without any decals but it does have a pair of ESM pods fitted to the wingtips. It's my first ever almost completed build.
The tail section of the 1/72 Boeing XB-88 Barbarossa has been glued together,  just deciding on which gun barrels to use. I have found an extra set of propeller blades and this will have contra-rotating propellers
As the Revell/Monogram RB-36H is looking more like the Convair YB-60,  I shall name it the Peacehaven  RB.1.

[McColm]

Thursday 1st October 2020

During the tidying up of my room I have come across a kit that I bought from a fellow  whiffer the 1/24 Monogram  Mercedes 450 Rally  Kit 2109.
The previous owner had gone for the 450 SL two door convertible with detachable roof and had sprayed the bodywork black,  with the detachable roof gloss black.
All I have done is to glue the front wheels back on. I will research this model for the interior colours.
The lollipop sticks have come in handy again as they have formed a tail gate for the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. This is looking more like a two door convertible with an open trunk. I will pinch the spotlights from the Mercedes kit and add some more details from the Mini One. I might cut off the windscreen and have a pair of semicircular windows instead.

[McColm]

Saturday 3rd October 2020

Whilst tidying up my room I have come to the conclusion that I have too many odd parts and the pest control people want to fumigate the house. I have enough kits in the stash to keep me going for the next decade especially at the  pace I build them . Most of my started builds will be stripped of essential resin parts. There's a few signs of bed bugs which doesn't help, 
I can always go back and recreate my Whiffs by reading my blog and suggestions in the topics.  I shall be keeping about six started builds that I know I can finish.
Some parts of the UK are already on lockdown as the second wave of the virus spreads,  so stay safe and take care.

[McColm]

Saturday 3rd October 2020

Builds that I have kept,  having started the 1/72 Revell/Monogram RB-36H and the B-52G these will remain. So will my first ever aircraft Whiff the Mach2 Martin Marina-twin turbofaned engines. The Mach2 AW Argosy as it is almost finished. The Airfix Bristol Superfreighter gunship,  1/24 Mercedes 450 SL and Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud V projects,  1/72 Avro Celestial,  1/72 Breguet Br1250 with the Airfix Vickers Valiant wings,  and both Mach2 Martin SeaMasters one with the old Airfix Avro Vulcan B.2 wing and the other with the Revell/Matchbox HP Victor K2 wing. I've also kept the 1/200 partially built Boeing SST with the 1/144 Airfix/Revell  BAC Concorde parts.  My started  1/72 3D Andover AEW is already boxed up,  so too is the 1/100 scale Convair 880. All my vacform kits are boxed up .
The started Revell Breguet Br1150 Atlantic is another one kept.
No doubt I will find the box marked 'long term storage 'in due course.
My bedroom has an alcove,  I think this had a door to it at one point,  I use to house my stash. I know underneath it are 4 plastic crates,  they will be sorted out  and ' I wonder where that went ' expression will be used alot.

[McColm]

Monday 5th October 2020

I keep finding kits that have fallen down the backs of furniture and I'm sorting out the parts that I have kept.
I can't help thinking if the Tornado had been cancelled,  would the RAF still be flying the Phantom until the Eurofighter Typhoon had come into service?
Another what if idea is the scenario that Britain supplied modern aircraft to the Russians during the Labour government.
The Russian Navy would have definitely got the Harrier,  probably the GR.1.
The Belfast,  Argosy and Herald exported as well. A Russian Nimrod now there's a project worth building.
I still have a load of car kits to build,  plus the ones that still need to be finished. We will see.

[McColm]

Wednesday 7th October 2020
My room is beginning to look empty and I have found four packing crates full of kits without their boxes. A mixture of 1/24 cars, 1/72 vacform and 1/72 Aircraft.  I must have forgotten that I had them otherwise I wouldn't have bought more.
For the kits still in their original boxes I have the following;
1/72 scale
Airfix Rockwell B-1B
Trumpeter  Tupolev Tu-95MS Bear-H
Airfix BAC Concorde
Airfix BAC TRS-2 with resin parts (fuselage and wings)
AMT/ERTL Northrop X/YB-35 Flying Wing
Testors Northrop B-2 Spirit
Roden Fairchild C-123B Provider
Revell DC-4
Italeri Short Sunderland Mk.III
Revell Lockheed P2V-7 Neptune
Airfix Avro Lancaster B.II
Ace Combat Su-47 Berkut "Grabacr "
Italeri EF-111A  Raven
Italeri MH-53E Sea Dragon
Hasegawa EA-18G Growler
Airfix  Mig-29A Fulcrum
Hasegawa Grumman EA-6B Prowler
Airfix Handley Page Victor B.MK2(BS)
Zvezda Mil Mi-26 Halo
ArtModels Yak-141/41 and Yak-36
Lindberg  Schwimmwagen and Kettenkrad
Italeri RF-4C/E Photo Phantom
Matchbox Phantom FG1/FGR2
MPM Vickers Wellington Mk.IV with "R-1830 Engines "
Revell Mig-29UB Fulcrum
Revell Tornado GR.I
Italeri Spitfire Mk9
Airfix Meteor III
Fujimi TA-4J/F Skyhawk
Revell Eurofighter Typhoon RAF
Sword BAC Lightning T.Mk4
Heller AMD Mirage IVA
Airfix Tornado F.3
Zvezda  Kamov KA-52 Alligator
Airfix Golden Hind 1578

Vacform 1/72
Bristol Britannia
de haviland comet 4C
HS/BAe Nimrod MR.1/MR.2

1/144
Revell Boeing 747 SCA & Space Shuttle
Revell 737-800
Revell Grumman E-2C Hawkeye
Zvezda A-90
Hasegawa YS-11
Lockheed Martin  Sea Shadow
MiniCraft B-52G
Trumpeter USNavy LCAC

1/200
Revell Boeing SST
Testors Lockheed C-141B Starlifter
Playfix  IL-62

1/48
Tamiya A-10A Thunderbolt II

1/43
Airfix World Rally Cars
Heller Jaguar XJS

1/25 and 1/24
Lindberg Super-Snap Chrysler Atlantic
Revell Volkswagen T3 'camper'
Italeri RangeRover 3 door Police car
MiniCraft Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II
Hasegawa Jaguar XJ-S V12
Revell Volkswagen T1 samba bus
Lotus Esprit
Hasegawa Volkswagen  Type 2 Micro Bus (1963) with 23 windows
Lindberg 1931 Bugatti Royal Victoria
Aoshima Subru Legacy GT/B spec
Revell '76 Ford Torino 

[McColm]

Thursday 8th October 2020

At last I can get my bedroom back and my desk is free from clutter,  one more day and I can get back to do some Whiffing over the weekend.
I managed to find some resin parts from a 1/24 or 1/25 Classic Batmobile with the twin clear canopy. This fits the Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud so the windscreen frame can be removed.
I did find the resin AWACS stand for the Lockheed EC-121 test aircraft and a rotodome from the Heller Boeing E-3A/C Sentry,  as I have already altered the appearance of the Convair RB-36H Peacemaker by adding the  Boeing B-52G wings this could be the E-60 Peacehaven ,meanwhile on the Boeing Barbarossa I have found enough propellers to create a contra-rotating version and I also found a pair of B-52D engines. I might change the name to Bone Shaker. This would have been a very loud aircraft on take off.
Another find was an aftermarket reconnaissance camera pod for the Airfix HP Victor,  I think it came from a private seller on eBay,  limited casting.
As you know I have been trying to create my own ATL 98 without much success,  the remaining parts of my vacform Convair Tradewind look as though they might fit the Revell DC-4.
I have found a pair of floats for the Airfix Bristol Superfreighter Gunship,  but I seem to have removed the cockpit hump. I might be thinking of forward guns in the nose with the new cockpit above.

[McColm]

Sunday 10th October 2020

I didn't get to do any whiffery over the weekend  as I started on painting my room. Since plugging the holes and spraying the bed bugs have disappeared. Which is a good sign.
For those of you that have Facebook you would have seen photos of what I am now working on, I know turning the wings upside down on the desktop An-124 Ruslan might not be politically correct but you have to admit it does look like a STOL or very large flying boat and it's got a few likes. Feel free to add them on this site,  I appreciate your feedback.
My Facebook page is: Steven James McColm and I am wearing my Royal Auxiliary Air Force uniform,  standing next to the unit sign.
The 1/24 scale Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II may not be in the same class as Kits' but there's something retro about it. With the windscreen removed it reminds me of the Bentleys that raced around Brooklands. Maybe a leather strap on the bonnet/hood and a supercharger on the front.
As parts of the United Kingdom are on lockdown it's only a matter of time before London goes the same way. I've been chatting to an old school friend on Messenger who works for GSK and she says that a vaccine should be ready for trials by the end of the year but and this is a big but we have another two years of the Covid virus before the majority of the UK is vaccinated.
I know reports of other countries having a vaccine are circulating and that's good news but none of them have come forward and said that it works or it's available for mass distribution. My prayers go out to all those people who have been affected by this virus,  those who have lost loved ones,  those who have been infected and those who have caught it for the second time.
The community spirit and support is overwhelming,  I try and have a walk around Woolwich in the evenings and I am surprised how many people stop me and have a chat.I even met the grandson of Mad Franky Fraser. Another character,  ex Royal Marine who has fallen on hard times and living on the streets around the Greenwich area. Don't give up,  there's help  available in the unlikely places.
Yes we all lose are mojo but we can look back on photos of past builds or projects and be motivated,  I thank all of you,  wherever you are. So please take care and stay safe we will get through this.
Well that's a weight off my shoulders and smell of fresh paint,  I know that the label says that it doesn't have any odours but I can still smell it. 😷

[TheChronicOne]

Same to you.......   and I agree about looking back on old projects. It really does give a nice boost and gets the creative side flowing again. It's fun and makes ya want to get back to work building.

[McColm]

Wednesday 14th October 2020

I waited all day for the pest control people to turn up and fumigate the house,  no show but will be here tomorrow. No whiffery but a chance to scroll back through the archives for inspiration. It's amazing how much stuff I have accumulated in a four year period.  I put it all in the back yard as my room isn't big enough to put it all in the middle so they can get to the skirting boards.
On a plus side my manager has given me this week as paid leave,  so I can pay my rent and some bills on Monday,  then get back to work as most of my colleagues are using up their annual leave before Christmas.
So the plan is renew my S.I.A. licence through the company,  get a copy of my birth certificate through Somerset House  ( didn't find it when I was tidying up), buy a new heavy duty single bed,  buy storage boxes and label them.  Renew my passport expired in 1997 (well I can't go anywhere due to Covid 19) , change the address on my driving licence. Get out more,  new wardrobe-sales have started.
On the Whiffery side some of my started builds have been damaged,  I have enough spare parts to rebuild or recycle and oddly enough some kits in the long term storage boxes which I thought I didn't have,  have turned up.
My vacform collection has also grown,  it will be just improvement sets for now on. Definitely getting some 00gauge track and a controller,  It's time to use my woodworking skills in building free standing shelves.
We will see what 2021 has to offer.

[Captain Canada]

EE5182E8-E80D-4102-A862-2BD947282715 by Todd Pomerleau, on Flickr

1E8512D9-FED5-43D5-BE02-9A904291AEDC by Todd Pomerleau, on Flickr

E4F3239A-9CC8-442E-B20E-027527FFA6EC by Todd Pomerleau, on Flickr

C0A5B280-22C5-4AA4-8BB5-F2F056DFD109 by Todd Pomerleau, on Flickr