What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

Tuesday 10th August 2021

The fish tail Commander has undergone a new paint scheme after some PSR imperfections were found.
The gunship has had a clean up where I missed some filler/puty and had to sand it down .The same anthracite matt 09 Revell paint is on both models.
The Grey Whale or Mk8 ASW now has the nose radome from the Airfix Westland Lynx Mk1.
The next job is detailing the cockpits and adding the canopies. I aim to copy the folding rotors as they do look good but I wouldn't glue them as I know that they will break off when attached to the stack.
Hopefully on Monday I will get my sick pay so I can add the decals. I will probably get another 1/72 Sikorsky HH-3E and a MH-53E.

[McColm]

Wednesday 11th  August 2021

ChoiceLet DSS has arranged  three viewings of what they have termed 'studio rooms '. All three so far have been terrace houses. The first one was near Wicks in Fraser Road Erith,  I know the area very well as I used to work at Batt Cables in the gatehouse. However the room was on the first floor of a very narrow but steep staircase,  lovely room but the estate agent could have tidied it up and cleaned the toilet before viewings and staggered the viewing times. The stairs put me in hospital the first time,  so I had to decline.
The second place was near the Hadley Road Industrial Estate and not too far from where I used to work before being admitted to hospital. This time two rooms on the ground floor,  first one had a damp problem and the rear one slightly better but still had a damp musty atmosphere. Another no.
The third one was this morning in Plumstead,  lovely area but a box room. Open the door,  three steps and there's the rear door to the overgrown garden.  Okay if you are a student. No place for the stash or the slimmest of mattresses. Another no, with the problem of a crowd of potential tenants in tow.
Is it really that hard to find a double room with a ensuite,  single bed on the ground floor that accepts DSS within Greenwich?
Meanwhile back to the builds, all three helicopters have been painted in Revell no.9 anthracite, l have glued the cockpit canopies on and also painted them in anthracite as well. My thinking is that they would be flown at night ,so to mask out the night sight goggles the cockpit canopy glazing would be tinted.
Note to self,  paint the cockpit first before fitting it.
The cockpit canopy glazing isn't the best of fits, tail rotors and fiddly parts to fit next.
I have seen the new Morgan CXT which is a Morgan Plus Four for off road driving and yes they are going to build them. So a potential whiff, if I can find the kit model to kitbash.
Another surprise is the An-74T is going to be built in Canada,  so a few whiffs could be built.

[McColm]

Monday 16th August 2021

The day started off with fire alarms going off and me having to walk down seven flights of stairs. Fortunately for me I was on my way to viewing a room in Thamesmead.  The agent had problems trying to open the front door and I was told the room was up on the third floor. Lovely room,  pity the windows weren't double glazed or that the handles were broken off. Another no no, as the staircase was so steep.
On my return there was three parcels for me and a sign saying lifts out of order. Seven flights of stairs with plenty of rests inbetween.
One parcel contained the Airfix 1/72 Sikorsky HH-53C Super Jolly Green Giant which without too much work being done transforms into a tilt rotor with parts from the V-22 Osprey. Several dry fittings have taken place and it looks quite natural.
I think this time I will paint the landing gear first before gluing the wheels on, at present it's not a tail sitter although another set of landing gear may need the to be added at a later time. All the parts so far fit well, a bit of flash had to be trimmed.
On the Westland Commanders,  the red and blue roundels decals have been applied and some of the rotors have been painted.
In another box was a four piece microwave cooking set, so I will be able to use it for frying bacon,  baked potatoes,  omelette maker and double egg poacher. A slightly smaller box had the Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle and sticker book. The castle lights up and flickers. I can't say that I like the bronze colour moulded plastic look, I might change that with a bit of paint. It's tiny about the size of a credit card at the base.
Soda bread is very yummy, I didn't think that I would like it at first but it's almost gone.

[McColm]

Tuesday 17th August 2021

Another parcel arrived with the Italeri 1/72 Merlin HAS.1 ,that's the one with the interior detailed ASW suite. I'm thinking 'Crows Nest' AEW platform.
With this kit I also got the 1/72 Italeri MH-47E , I have already made a mistake with the right side rear window,  I cut it too big but stuck some clear package plastic to fill the gap. I have glued on the large fuel tanks. I'm hoping that the deflated EMI Searchwater radar from Freightdog will hide this mistake.
The Airfix HH-53C has now got the 1/72 ESCI/ERTL Boeing PV-22A Osprey parts glued in place. At the rear under the new tail lurks the Airfix Sea King AEW radome,  at the front as a counterweight is an old one pound coin which doubles up as a search radar. The rear loading ramp is glued shut. Work on the cockpit is under way and the project has a new name the 'Westland Pegasus '. The rotor blades have been trimmed down slightly and painted mat black.

[McColm]

Thursday 19th August 2021

I have been working on the 1/72 Italeri Boeing MH-47E and I have added the radome from the Italeri EH-101 Merlin HAS.1 kit,  placed under the chin. I didn't use the new holes for the landing gear, as they were a little bit big so the original holes were used. I have managed to twist the interior at the rear which means that the rear right side landing gear doesn't touch the ground and all the others do. Could be a great set up for the maintenance crew to work on. I have glued the loading ramp closed and added two of the goldfish bowl windows to the rear right side fuselage. I made the hole too big for the original glazing part.
I think that I will paint it first,  add the decals and then glue the fiddly aerials on afterwards.
The easy to assemble without any instructions mop set arrived, good job I have assembled Mach2 kits. Well it fits and it works! I know that Staycity supply mops and hoovers but  when I move out I will have my own.
Another parcel arrived this time it was the Hogwarts Castle 3D puzzle, I got mine cheap but I know that they can be expensive. There's also two other sets that can be added; the Great Hall and the Astronomy Tower. Also in the set is Diagon Alley which is slightly bigger in size and Hogwarts Express set.
Maybe I can use some of the Metcalfe kits to create my own Diagon Alley along with the Superquick range.
I have another hospital appointment in September,  this time it's my eyes they are testing.

[McColm]

Monday 23rd August 2021

I'm pleased how the 1/72 Italeri Boeing Chinook 'Eclair' has turned out, it's not 100% but with the Revell light grey paint it looks weathered in places and I have used most of my Royal Navy decals on it. I just need to paint the tyres and add the aerials. The engine exhaust pipes need painting as well plus the cockpit canopy glazing.
Meanwhile on the 1/72 Westland Commodore has had more Sikorsky HH-53C parts added to it. I have repositioned the main rotors so that they look stowed, they have been shortened, as I have added the tail rotor from the HH-53C kit as well.
Not forgetting the 1/72 Westland Pegasus which has some cockpit details added and the rear loading ramp deflectors/stabilizers-fins thingys. More PSR is needed before the paint stage.

I have a viewing arranged by my Temporary Housing team on Friday,  it's a self contained flat up on the fourth floor of a 1960s block of flats. The flats look like they once were owned by the Council in Plumstead which is part of Royal Greenwich. It's got a lift apparently. I'm not the only person who is interested, I just need to convince the Landlord that I am suitable, then wait for his decision. At last the council has listened to me and consulted with my doctor for the accommodation I require. I haven't given up on getting a bungalow as there's one advertised in Abbey Wood. I'll ask my doctor if I qualify for PIP payments or the Hospital on my next appointment.

[NARSES2]

I have a viewing arranged by my Temporary Housing team on Friday,  it's a self contained flat up on the fourth floor of a 1960s block of flats. The flats look like they once were owned by the Council in Plumstead which is part of Royal Greenwich. It's got a lift apparently.

Be a little careful lift's of that age have a nasty habit of being out of action more often than they are working. So make sure you can tackle the stairs.

[McColm]

I have a viewing arranged by my Temporary Housing team on Friday,  it's a self contained flat up on the fourth floor of a 1960s block of flats. The flats look like they once were owned by the Council in Plumstead which is part of Royal Greenwich. It's got a lift apparently.

Be a little careful lift's of that age have a nasty habit of being out of action more often than they are working. So make sure you can tackle the stairs.

Thanks for your advice 

[McColm]

Wednesday 25th August 2021

Well the responses on Facebook to my 1/72 Italeri Boeing MH-47E Chinook in it's new paint scheme and new role as an AEW helicopter has gone down a storm. I have to admit there's a few gaps where I have added the longer range fuel tanks but as the photo shows they can't be seen. My paint brush technique looks as though there's some weathering on the model.
I think that the modeling community will be scratching their heads when I reveal the Westland Commodore 'honey I shrunk the CH-53' and the Pegasus,  it looks like the Osprey but it's slightly longer.

[McColm]

Sunday 29th August 2021

Another night of not sleeping properly got me thinking of the bizjets that Mach2 has in it's range. The Lockheed
C-1140 Jetstar,  Gates C-21 Learjet and the Dassault HU-25 Falcon-20. Each having Whiffing potential.
The French have been using the Falcon-20  for maritime surveillance operations, so in theory it could get the arrestor hook added similar to the Freightdog 1/72 Hawker Siddeley HS 125 COD or go for an AEW platform with either the Eeryie or E-2 Hawkeye rotodome.
I'm still trying to find kit reviews for these builds which brings me onto the de Haviland Comet 4C. There's several kits on the market,  the cheapest although not technically a Comet is the Airfix BAe/HS Nimrod. Which I know from past experience isn't compatible with the Mach2 sud Caravelle.
The Caravelle being slightly cheaper than the Comet model leads me to a kitbash with the HS Nimrod MR.1.
The rear and the wings would be replaced and it would look like the Grumman Nimrod AEW with the Hawkeye rotodome and Nimrod AEW.3 rear tail cone plus vertical tail .
Another radical build would be a four engined turbofaned version of the Breguet Br1150 Atlantic,  although the engines from the Jetstar fitted to the rear might be better.
It's a lot of work to make a decent kit from Mach2,  even straight out of the box. Plus I will have to put all these ideas on hold for now. September looks like a month of hospital appointments and check ups. My body is a lot stronger than when I was discharged back in June but there's still a long way to go. I'm thinking about getting an exercise bike, nothing flash just to strengthen my leg muscles and lose a bit of weight around my tummy.
Sundays are lazy days,  catching up on the sleep.

[McColm]

Monday 30th August 2021

The flat that I looked at on Friday was lovely and it has a brand new lift installed in the block. The  couple who are renting it out have been very thorough. Bank statements,  credit checks, references and work details.
Meanwhile back to the current builds.
The Sea Chinook aka Eclair now has the cockpit canopy glued in place and the main aerial added. I glued on some of the Airfix Westland Sea King AEW lumps and bumps. The fiddly rotor blades are glued on to the heads ,I will leave them to harden overnight.
Pegasus also has it's glazed cockpit canopy glued in place,  with its drop fuel tanks. I've removed the AEW radome and added the Mk5 radome to the upper fuselage. There's no tail sitting, even without the pound coin radar. I will be adding the machine guns from the MH-47E to it.
The Commodore is now a NOTAR helicopter, it has it's original tail cut down and the two stabilizers from the Ka-58 stealth helicopter fitted downwards on the tail so they don't interfere with the main rotor blades. These are in the stored formation. I'm thinking of using the Longbow sight fixed to the main rotor head.
A few more ideas include Royal Mail decals on a Sea King and my version of the S-61R. Perhaps a ASW version of the Chinook. I think a Super Puma in FAA colours would look great.

[McColm]

Thursday 2nd September 2021

I'm still waiting for the outcome of my viewing of a one bedroom self contained flat in the Plumstead area of Southeast London.
In the meantime I have painted the 1/72 Westland Commodore in acrylic dark grey and used the torpedo racks from the Commander builds. (These have been stripped of essential parts and scrapped).
I'm running out of paint so that PSR on the Pegasus build will keep me busy and the two other kits Merlin 1/72, 1/144 Be-200.
For the Merlin I'm thinking 'Crowsnest' with the side door open as for the Be-200 it looks tiny in comparison.

[McColm]

Friday 3rd December 2021

I have just been informed that I am the successful candidate for moving into a one bedroom self contained flat in S E London I have to vacate Staycity Deptford Bridge by Wednesday night.
I don't have any credits on my mobile phone but I can accept calls. I might get the keys over the weekend and sign the tenancy agreement.
I have asked for details of how to apply for a Universal credit Budget Loan to cover the costs of moving which would be great if it's paid in straight away.
I will still attend my hospital appointment on Tuesday and it looks like I will be reunited with my stash some day soon.
I still can't believe it!

[NARSES2]

Congratulations 

[Nick]

Excellent news. 
Hope all goes well with the move.