What's on the workbench!

[kitbasher]

Top banana 

[McColm]

Top banana 

There's always a catch in the small print b*gger. I have turned this offer down my 28 weeks of sick pay runs out at the end of October and I won't be able to afford the extra charges as my benefits decrease over time.
I'm hoping that my Kidney check up on Tuesday goes okay so I won't need to go back on Wednesday.
Some things aren't meant to be this easy.

[McColm]

Saturday 4th September 2021

I'll be staying where I am for now in sunny Deptford Bridge,  Royal Greenwich.  Just waiting for some acrylic paints to arrive.
I did the maths and I wouldn't be able to pay the rent when my sick pay allowance gets stopped in October , then the bills on top plus Council tax and when I return to work I'm on monthly pay. So I best start saving.
Anyway this gave me a chance to clear way some rubbish and pack my new stash. I will be starting on the Hogwarts Castle 3D jigsaw puzzle.
If I don't have to attend the Wednesday hospital appointment then I can go to the RAF museum in Hendon,  I haven't been back since the modelling show where I met up with fellow Whiffers and I displayed my Vietnam Lockheed Neptune ( it was a whiff with turboprop engines and an extended weapons bay). Some chap swore that he had flown in my 1/72 scale model.

[NARSES2]

That's a B, hope your luck changes soon

[McColm]

That's a B, hope your luck changes soon

Thanks 

[McColm]

Tuesday 7th September 2021

I spent two hours at King's College Hospital in the Renal Kidney Injury Department. Blood test , blood pressure and urine sample. Apparently my kidneys are functioning just fine according to their graphics.
That hill although not particularly steep is a challenge in this hot weather, and I got the chance to ride on one of the Boris Buses,  there and back.
My copy of American Secret Projects Bombers and Anti-Submarine Aircraft arrived today. In some of the pictures you can't half wonder if they copied some of the Breguet or Fairey designs as they look very similar. I'm impressed by the tandem seater  F-111B original concept model . Although the Americans were impressed by the Avro Vulcan as they tried building their own version,  especially the Short Sperrin.
There's plenty of Whiffing potential to keep me busy for ages.

[NARSES2]

I spent two hours at King's College Hospital in the Renal Kidney Injury Department. Blood test , blood pressure and urine sample. Apparently my kidneys are functioning just fine according to their graphics.

Good to hear  Spent a few hours in King's myself, but I think Great Ormond St is my personal record holder from way back when. 

[McColm]

Thursday 9th September 2021

I had a viewing of a studio flat planned but that was cancelled just as I was walking down the path to the front door.  Welling and Sidcup look lovely from the 51 bus heading towards Orpington.
I have started on the 3D jigsaw puzzle of Hogwarts Castle. It's a good job I have made Mach2 model kits as the instructions are as complicated as they are. Fortunately I took loads of photos of the 1/24 model on the soundstage at Leavesden Studios and I am using these as a reference.
It's a fiddly puzzle that will need white PVA or card glue as some of the parts aren't a good fit and the white from the printed sheets comes through so some weathering will need to be done once it's finished.
I have watched some videos on YouTube, the American version has the ground sheet plus all the kits relating to Hogwarts Castle. The British version doesn't,  these being sold individually.
The scale is close to N gauge but don't quote me on that. It will look better with some 00gauge track running around it. I'm still looking for a candidate Hall Class locomotive that I can paint red and add a few new name plates.

[NARSES2]

Welling/Sidcup are certainly one of the better parts of SE London for sure

[McColm]

Sunday 12th September 2021

Asphalt 8 has updated its online racing game,  I keep getting black screens or frozen races. So I have deleted it and I went back to Real Racing 3. I did hear about gamers losing their cars when they rejoined the game but mine have been kept.
The 3D jigsaw puzzle of Hogwarts Castle is coming together, one side is alot better in conjunction than the other. Still some card adhesive will come in handy.
Inbetween my break times I am reading the American Secret Projects book 4. Bombers,  attack and anti-submarine aircraft 1945- 1974.  I must say that the ASW section is very short, it mainly deals with flying boats with one or two mentions of the Lockheed P-3 Orion,  Neptune and Martin Mercator. The Grumman Guardian and Tracker, plus the Lockheed S-3A. 18 pages.
A possible 4 x radial engines on the Neptune or PS-1/SS-1 flying boat.
There could be grounds for an Alternative History topic of Whatif the Americans had gone on a spending spree in Britain. They had bought the Canberra, so it would make sense to buy a few more aircraft.

[McColm]

Monday 13th September 2021

After a viewing of yet another Studio room in sunny Greenwich,  lovely sized room but those stairs were far too steep for me. Plumstead high street did provide a Pound Shop for some relief and after a ten minute search I found a bottle of white PVA glue but no wet 'n' dry paper.
I have set about gluing the 3D jigsaw puzzle buildings of Hogwarts Castle to firm them up,from different angles it looks as though subsidence has set in.
Whilst that is drying, I worked on the 1/144 Be-200 amphibious flying boat. I have decided that this will be a gear up using the stand provided in the kit.

[McColm]

Friday 17th September 2021

I have posted some photos of my build of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter  3D jigsaw puzzle Hogwarts Castle on Facebook. Captain Canada has been chatting with me about the size of the model metric 45.5 x 32.5 x 32.5cms or 17.9 x 12.8 x 12.8 inches. 197 pieces. There shouldn't be any pieces left over if you follow the instructions.
I have relocated one of the foot bridges as it doesn't fit where it's supposed to be and added Puff the magic Dragon or is it the Horntail (Norberta) to one of the towers.
I have found a piece of scenic  textured plastic that can be used to represent the lake and a miniature giant squid on eBay. I have ordered some stickers to cover some of the gaps due to subsidence, well it's a bunch of old buildings battered by the North Atlantic winds. I have some acrylic paints on order as well, so a bit of weathering can be done. A few Christmas tree lights might work but that's a future project.
The 1/144 Be-200 doesn't look out of place against it!

[McColm]

Monday 20th September 2021

I feel knackered after spending nearly three hours at King's College hospital,  Denmark Hill having my eyes tested again. I was surprised that my left eye couldn't read any of the last three lines  on the test board,  but with those small circles the letters were really clear.
The optical nerves haven't been damaged which is a good sign. I was given some eye drops for my right eye and a second appointment is scheduled for next week.
The specialist says that I can buy a cheap pair of glasses and wait until my sight gets worse or buy an expensive pair and wait until my sight gets worse. I think that I will wait until I have my next appointment and get the results.
I have put some official Harry Potter stickers on my Hogwarts Castle 3D jigsaw puzzle model to hide a few defects. I'm saving the toilet roll and kitchen towel cardboard tubes to build my own version, at least there won't be any gaps in this build! I'll use cork to represent the rocks and buy some textured papers for the buildings.
My five Star Arts & Crafts Premium acrylic  paint set arrived with a part started 1/72 Hobbycraft V-22 Osprey assault aircraft with USMarines decals.
Straight out of the box build and change the decals for those in the Italeri EH-101 Merlin HAS.1. Fitting the  deflated AEW radome under the rear twin tail fins.
The Bristol Superfreighter with the Osprey wings and engines would make a great kitbash project.

[McColm]

Thursday 23rd September 2021

Anyone dependant on the British benefits system should know if you are getting sick pay your Universal credit allowance will be decreased. As every  pound you earn your Universal credit allowance is reduced by 63p. Plus the Government wants it's Emergency Covid-19 allowance back.
I can see why the extra £20 makes all the difference, I don't know how long I will be on sick leave but my final sick pay payment will be in November. After that I will get my full Universal credit allowance,  not much fun after all my bills are paid but hey ho I get to read the topics on this site.
The 1/72 Airfix Fairey Rotodyne is almost finished, why is it that one side fits and the other doesn't?
The painting stage is next.
I have been watching a few videos of the American Foreign Aircraft Test Facility at the North Base of Edwards Air Force,  on the boarders of Area 51, close to Hyundai testing ground.
It seems to me that the Fairey Rotodyne would have been an ideal aircraft to test there.
I wonder if I swapped over the decals from the Airfix kit to the Hobbycraft,  would anyone notice?
Back to tidying up the Hogwarts Castle 3D jigsaw puzzle, not my best work. Been thinking about a scratch built version based around an actual Castle in 00gauge/4mm.
My body gets tired very quickly, progress is incredibly slow. Four months since I left hospital back in June. The world has changed!

[kerick]

The medical world moves at its own slow pace. Slightly faster than lawyers.