My thoughts and what's on the workbench.

[McColm]

Wednesday 21st June 2023

The surveyor from Royal Greenwich Council came round yesterday to take some photos of my bathroom and kitchen.  I was told that the bathroom had been fitted out recently, I told him about the shoddy workmanship.
The kitchen fittings are 15 years old so I might be able to get some new units, just waiting for the results to arrive.
I have been on various websites and I can redecorate but also buy new kitchen units plus a new bathroom suite.
I'll have to wait until I get my strength back, it will be sanding down the bathroom door where the new paint dried with bits of dust in it. Resealing the seams around the bath panel and adding a toilet roll holder. Mirrors and a towel rail. A few hooks as well. Some shelves or a small cabinet.
 Back on the bench and the Rolls-Royce Phantom Menace has had a few extra parts added from my spare parts boxes. Ebay seems to sell a lot of die-cast and model kits of the Jaguar XJ220 in 1/24 scale which will come in handy as the windscreen has a large crack in it so a replacement is needed.
I have found some sandpaper and I have been sanding down the 1/72 Avro Super Lincoln AEW.1. I will be changing the propellers for the Hamilton four bladed ones.
 I have also decided to go back to my original plan for the Lockheed Neptune and add the engines from a Avro Shackleton. The four engined variant isn't new ,this goes back to the 1950s  CL-353 was proposed back in 1956. L-198 : P2V fitted with turboprop engines,  1950. Not built.
What is interesting when reading the book American Secret Projects: Bombers,  Attack And  Anti-submarine Aircraft 1945 to 1975 in the Projects Summary section is reference to a turbofan-powered replacement for the Lockheed P-3  back in 1967.
So the HS. Nimrod MR.1 might have made it into the US Navy earlier if the conditions were correct.

[McColm]

Wednesday 22nd June 2023

I tidied up my workbench and it looks a bit bare. The 1/24 white Ford Capri Mk2 Ghia V8 now has a hood/bonnet taken from a Ford Mustang, I'm not sure which model but it seems to fit in the open position,  so does the hood/bonnet from a Jaguar Mk2 on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Menace. Yes it needs to be lengthened but it seems to fit.
As for the 1/72 Lockheed Neptune,  the fuselage hasn't been changed. Some of the parts from the Eastern Express Avro Shackleton MR.3 fit but I will be buying two new kits, probably three now I know where to get the Alleycat MR.1 conversion set from although the Mk2 is a better fit.

[McColm]

Friday  23rd June 2023

I'm assembling my last full kit from my original stash. The decals,paint and box are missing from my many moves over the years. The model kit is the Airfix 1/72 RNLI Severn Class Lifeboat. I haven't been following the instructions as printed but small sub-assembles, nothing painted. I have glued the stand on, built up the Hull and deck just added the seats..

Further reading of the book Origins and Evolution Boeing B-47 & B-52 , got me thinking about kitbashing the Hasegawa B-47E with the wings off the Vickers Valiant or even the Avro Vulcan, a cheap H.P. Victor. I have kept the wings from the B-58 so I can dry fit them when I buy a B-47.
There's a line drawing that looks as if the Blackburn Beverley has been fitted with the wings and engines from a B-52 although I'm going to have to use 1/144 scale for this kitbash..

[PR19_Kit]

I'm assembling my last full kit from my original stash. The decals,paint and box are missing from my many moves over the years. The model kit is the Airfix 1/72 RNLI Severn Class Lifeboat. I haven't been following the instructions as printed but small sub-assembles, nothing painted. I have glued the stand on, built up the Hull and deck just added the seats..

That's a bear of a kit to build if you don't follow the instructions.

The way they designed the interior of the main cabin is complex in the extreme and trying to add things out of sequence is fraught with difficulty.

Don't ask me how I know this.................

[McColm]

Saturday 24th June 2023

The Airfix RNLI Lifeboat is one of those builds where there's a lot of internal detailing but you can't see it through the windows. On one hand the internal structure is there to hold the roof and sides together. I still need to buy putty/filler and a heavy gun. RAF launch or RN coastal gun boat .
Why can't they group the numbers together instead of them being spread all over the place, a couple of the smaller pieces have pinged across my hobby room into the dark recesses.
I found a roll of masking tape and a few pieces from other aircraft kits, I'll have a go at making some moulds,  seen a starter kit on eBay for a reasonable price plus I need a great deal of propellers to complete some of my started builds. Landing gear is next on the list.
 It appears that quite a lot of the Dapol/Kitmaster locomotives kits can be powered by Lima trains so the Deltic will be running around my layout, maybe I can use the Schools Class and buy some Hogwarts Express name plates.

Since I'm running into a lot of problems with the RNLI Severn build,  I'm thinking  hydrofoil  and  buy another one that I can spend a bit more time with getting it right.

[McColm]

Sunday 24th June 2023

More tinkering and rummaging around in the 'why did I keep these parts?' Spares box has revealed a windscreen for my Rolls-Royce Phantom Menace so it now has an open sun roof.
On the Lockheed Nepton (a kitbash using Neptune and Shackleton parts) the vertical tail fin is lacking the tail rudder. Fortunately for me I have the vertical tail fin from the Matchbox PB4Y-2 Privateer which is a good fit.
Further progress has been made on the Airfix RNLI Lifeboat, that's until my hobby room became unbearable to work in, too hot.

[McColm]

Tuesday 27th June 2023

Work has stopped on the workbench as I wait for three deliveries to arrive this week. Which has led me to my version of reverse engineering. I had a go at building the Dapol Kitmaster Deltic 00/ho plastic model kit which in all honesty didn't turn out that well so I thought that if I can buy a Class 55 locomotive either the Lima or Hornby model and change it back to something that resembles the original Deltic. This means buying another kit and some paint plus decals. Yes the fuel tanks aren't the same and the two ends will need changing but there had to be an inbetweener that had the original Deltic parts and the Class 55 as it evolved into.

[McColm]

Friday 30th June 2023

The 1/72 Frog Avro Shackleton MR.3 kit arrived today and the upper wings are now glued in place on the Lockheed Neptune. Whilst they were drying I walked to my nearest Hobbycraft shop. They have a small selection of model aircraft and various vehicles,  paint, glue plus filler/-putty. I after stocking up on supplies and having a wonder around the store. It's a pleasant walk I stopped twice for a breather, lots of benches to sit down.
I managed to put up a temporary flyscreen on my balcony door, the door closes shut this time. So I will get some double-sided tape later next month
 My sleeping seems to have improved, I only get up once during the night.

[McColm]

Saturday 8th July 2023

With the success of the 1/72 Douglas Sea Dakota MR.2A,  I think the North Star the DC-4 fitted with Rolls-Royce engines flown by the Canadians is next on the build list. The engines been changed to the Rolls-Royce Griffons.
I tried this with the Heller DC-6B but it didn't work out the way I planned it.
The DC-4 is either the Mach2 or the Revell kits,  the DC-5 had the wings above the fuselage and twin tail fins. There is a model kit but this is expensive.
Another C-47 Skytrain is a better option but a full kitbash.
The fleet is slowly coming together as there's nothing left in the stash only spare parts. So a sorting out and lists of leftover parts.
I can have a go at making resin parts, probably a bit crude to start with until I refine my technique.
Other than that,  everything is PSR or awaiting primer.

[McColm]

Monday 10th July 2023

I have been watching the arrival of the President of the USA to Britain, over the weekend there was a dress rehearsal for Nighthawk 1 and 2.I always thought that there was three Presidential helicopters these were escorted by a Police helicopter and two Chinnooks at RAF Northolt. The Chinnooks carried the Presidents aids over to Windsor Castle where Joe met Charlie for a parade on the lawn. They must have taken down the signs ' don't walk on the grass '.Judging by all the shouting the British Army still doesn't know how to march forward in a straight line.
Back on the workbench,  the Ford Capri has regained the original hood/bonnet still in the open position. A new windscreen from another vehicle and a new roof. There was never a Capri panel van but if there was I'm building one.
I'm loosing my concentration building the Airfix RNLI Lifeboat and I have seen a RAF Launch for sale,  although incomplete there's enough parts for a decommissioned version to be built.
There's a few cheaper Airfix 1/144 D.H. Comet 4s which could come in handy for the Group Build especially now I have the beginners resin epoxy set.
As to making turboprops, a few moulds from the Boeing-ATL 98 build should solve this problem , square peg in a round hole. Hopefully I can use these engines on the Lockheed Constellation.

[McColm]

Thursday 13th July 2023

I came across an online game called Chrome Valley Customs. The basic plot is to build a car from a choice of parts and play some games to earn credits along the way to buy the parts.
This is going to help me with a few future whiffs and my current Austin FX-4 Ute Monster Truck. As there seems to be more American model car kits than British ones in 1/24 scale.
The Airfix Severn Class Lifeboat is coming along well,  I think it's me which is why most of my builds end up looking wonky, either that or the floor isn't level.
I think that I'm ready to experiment with producing some resin parts, mostly aircraft propellers and turboprop engines.

[McColm]

Friday 14th July 2023

It's been raining all day in Charlton Southeast London, last night I broke out the plasticine and had a go at making a mould, then followed the instructions. I think more plasticine and some lego bricks are in order. It says leave for 24 hours to set.
 The 1/72 BAe Vulcan MRA.4 has crashed and broken it's landing gear, all is not lost as I have a stand for it, so after a couple of rattle cans I will fix it to the wooden stand. The Bristol Olympia could be fitted to the Vulcan sort of piggyback.
Meanwhile in the box marked 'don't throw it away as it might be handy one day', I have found a chassis for the 1/24 Triumph Broadsword three door hatchback of the Triumph TR7 which didn't go into production over here in the UK. Not too sure if there was an aftermarket kit or Crayford Motors ever built one. The interior that I have been using fits so it might have been the original piece from the Revell Easy Build kit. Just have to paint the door cards, I also found some alloys they look Roverish .So PSR and paint.

[McColm]

Monday 17th July 2023

I know where I went wrong with my attempt to produce some aircraft propellers from using my basic epoxy resin set. I didn't have the silicone mould realeasing spray and the consistency was wrong.
So a marker pen and more play doh /plasticine plus the silicone spray will be bought.
As to the Airfix Severn Class Lifeboat,  the handrails have been painted white and the glazing black,  the flying bridge has the clear plastic.
The SJMc Visitant BR.1 has had it's first sanding session. I still feel a bit tired from my visit to the food bank.
Leads of ideas on how to upgrade radial engines to turboprops ,maybe I can have a go at silicone moulding.

[NARSES2]

As long as you have an idea of what went wrong then progress is being made 

[McColm]

Tuesday 18th July 2023

Two online racing games the Asphalt 9 which doesn't load after the recent update and Real Racing 3 which won't open, this also had an update on the 17th July.
So it's back to Asphalt 8, starting from scratch.  Custom Valley Chrome is now been deleted from my apps as too much time is spent acquiring the credits for each vehicle.
I  had a day cleaning my flat,  so no whiffery. This meant that an idea for the Lockheed Starliner. The straight-winged Constellation. By using an Academy B-29 bomber a Super G.
The plan is to build the B-29 but not fit the upper turrets,  then cut the Super G to fit over the fuselage. A decision to keep the Constellation tail fins as the two kits aren't compatible at the rear.
I might try the vacform kit first, I know that the Constellation wings fit on the C-97.