What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

Thursday 19th October 2023

This morning I was sorting through my paperwork, it's amazing what you accumulate. I've sorted it out into the revenant piles. I've also managed to download the car & motorbike racing app Asphalt 8, it's changed. They've added a brake pedal on the tilt-steering mode, and enhanced the graphics. Once again I'm starting from scratch but now that I know how the game is played, I'll save up the credits that I have won and only buy the vehicles needed to get through to the next round. I'm planning to get a new tablet amongst other household items.

PSR continues until my hands start aching, time to put the kettle on for a cuppa and watch the TV series Yellowstone which I have to admit sends me to sleep.
My Eye appointment at King's College Hospital has been cancelled due next week and they have a new app MyChat . Other than that it's a case of deleting old emails on my tablet.

[NARSES2]

Thursday 19th October 2023

This morning I was sorting through my paperwork, it's amazing what you accumulate. I've sorted it out into the revenant piles.

Tell me about it. I never graduated to a "paperless office" and have always worked on the basis that the moment you decide you no longer need something and throw it out you will find you have a desperate need for it    My excuse is that there'll be enough for my funeral pyre 

[scooter]

Thursday 19th October 2023

This morning I was sorting through my paperwork, it's amazing what you accumulate. I've sorted it out into the revenant piles.

Tell me about it. I never graduated to a "paperless office" and have always worked on the basis that the moment you decide you no longer need something and throw it out you will find you have a desperate need for it    My excuse is that there'll be enough for my funeral pyre 

"Paperless offices" generally aren't.  Right as I was leaving the Air Guard, the Air Force was making a push for digital tech publications, instead of paper, and the guy my squadron hired as the full time maintenance super shredded all the paper TOs I, as TO librarian, kept and maintained.  One of the biggest problems with digital tech pubs is that they need to be on IT devices, which need to be authorized on the Air Force networks...which remove such devices after about two weeks of not being connected.  Plus there's that whole "electromagnetic pulse" thing.

While my current job isn't paperless, I've done a number on paring down the amount of paper I have to file so that instead of using four drawers of a 42" wide lateral filing cabinet per fiscal year - two for travel itineraries, and two for reimbursement payments - I've gotten it down to one drawer each.

[McColm]

Tuesday 24th October 2023

The only problem I have with taking a nap in the afternoon is that I usually wake up at 3am in the morning. Which means that I'm thinking of future whiffery.
Rareplanes produced the 1/72 vacform kit of the Lockheed Constellation SuperG/ EC-121 Warning Star.This could be the basis for the Starliner conversion usually a plastic B-29 kit for the wings preferably the Academy model as I can add my own engines to make a turboprop version.
I did try this in plastic but there's a very wide hole to plug on the Heller/ Airfix Constellation where the wing section should go, plus loads of filler. Then there's the problem as the two model kits aren't compatible which means cutting either side of the B-29's wings.
 So using the vacform Connie with strengthening dividers inside, this should in theory fit over the B-29. Whilst the upper curve fits, the lower part towards the rear will need to be reshaped ending up with the single vertical tail fin and rear tail guns.
The undercarriage from the B-29 will be used and so will the bomb bay doors, if not then this reverts back to being an airliner/freighter although I still have the resin AEW parts. This combined with a flying boom might be possible.

I received the Wiltshire Farm Foods brochure, the prices seem reasonable and there's a few packages that I would like to try out. Most of the meals need to be microwaved there are a few exceptions, oddly enough I received a phone call from Oakland Foods and they too are sending me a brochure.
The insect world is trying to invade my flat, first it was the spiders, then ladybirds , bees and now butterflies.

[McColm]

Friday 27th October 2023

I can't remember where I saw the link for the food bank at Charlton Athletic Football stadium. My subscription for Paramount plus has gone through but it won't let me watch any films or programmes which is the same for the Now app. So as UKTv is free and shares the site with Yesterday it's back to watching Bangers and Cash Restorations.
I've ordered two rattle cans of acrylic grey primer and some masking tape plus a magnetic fly/insect screen for the kitchen.
 If you have Bluetooth connection you can print photos from your mobile phone, tablet or laptop to your printer, so that's another item to buy which means that I can print my own decals.

[McColm]

Monday 30th October 2023

As I was leaving for my Universal Credit meeting with my Work Coach two parcels arrived; masking tape and primer.
If you need to get a referral for the Food Voucher for the Trussell Trust, your local jobcentre can do this for you. You'll need to ring the phone number so that they can send you a text message for the verification code at your local Trussell Trust Food Bank.
If you need any help with filling in the UC50 Capability for Work questionnaire please get in touch with the Welfare Assessment Team ASAP, just fill out their own form online and they will get back to you, in a few days just in time for the form to arrive by post.
I've got a few standing orders to set up, otherwise it's masking up time. As for the GB build that won't start until mid November, got to clear some space on the workbench.

[McColm]

Tuesday 31st October 2023

 There seems to be enough secondhand Avro Shackleton kits either spares & repairs or incomplete for me to finish a few of my larger projects. I will be stockpiling kits for my 00/ho model railway layout which will depict some of the places that I have stayed in before moving to Charlton Southeast London.
Having watched a few episodes of 'Big Names and small trains ' on Channel 4 presented by Pete Waterman, I've been impressed by Eddie Izzards' layout and Jools Holland. Mine won't be as there's but I'm determined to have more than one level which will eventually be linked together.
I'm a bit worn out from yesterday, washing up the dishes and maybe some cleaning. No I'll put up the flyscreen in the kitchen.

[McColm]

Saturday 4th November 2023

I've been cooking this week and managed to make Shepherds Pie which always seems to taste better the next day. Apart from the odd firework going off last weekend, I must have missed Halloween but as November the 5th is on Sunday the skies will be lit up.
 On the workbench I managed to prize apart the four wheeled carriages so I could paint the outside and inside in the house colours of Hogwarts Castle (block colours, red,yellow, green and blue).I've got a small goods wagon that could act as the parcel van. Whilst browsing the Internet I found a red Hall Class locomotive for sale. I've come up with an idea that will include a Castle with a platform on the inside of the tunnel entrance that runs along the back wall.
Lately I have been waking up at 4am in the mornings and going to bed at 8pm without waking up during the night. I get to watch the sunrise which seems to take longer than the sunset.
I tried to put up the flyscreen in the kitchen,  but the trim plastic won't play ball a bit of hot water should soften the plastic so it fits.
 Over the weekend I will attempt to write my CV,I haven't written one for about 25-30 years, I should be able to find a template on the Internet and download it. Got the assessment form to fill in as well, which should be good fun. I hope that my handwriting has improved!

[McColm]

Monday 6th November 2023

This week is reserved for all the things I should have done over the weekend, instead of painting the small carriages, working on the 1/72 Academy Boeing B-377 jet AEW and watching a car show on Channel 4,plus Britain's luxury train journeys.
Once again the residents of Charlton Southeast London put on a spectacular fireworks display over the weekend.
More home cooking and a sport of light reading, my sleeping was interrupted due to the heat from the flats below perhaps a couple of rugs might help or a humidifier.
I'm still waiting for a few parcels to arrive, so I might start using the rattle cans of primer to fill in any gaps.

Fleet update

I  now have two 1/72 Academy Boeing C-97 based AEWs, the Interrogator has the rotodome (spintop) from the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye kit and the Cygnet has the E-3 rotodome on the resin base from the RVHP Lockheed EC-121K.
The Shorts Sea Lion has the searchlight and wingtip fuel tank from the Hasegawa Lockheed Neptune MR.Mk1 conversion set. The WHALE MR.1 has a pair of tail fins from the Revell Shackleton AEW.2 on its wingtips, the triple tail fins from the Lockheed Constellation have been removed leaving the middle fin behind on which the M.A.D. boom is attached to.
The Avro-Lockheed Sea Turtle MR.1 has been painted sooty black but will need a second coat. The Rolls-Royce Phantom Menace has had a layer of primer and the underneath of the Electronic Buzzard ECR.2 has also been sprayed with primer.
Feeling a bit sleepy after all this, I might have a nap.

[McColm]

Thursday 9th November 2023

I bought a XGODY Model:N01 made in China tablet at what I thought was a bargain price on eBay. Turns out that it's great for playing games and watching films but it is limited under Chinese legislation to the basic Google restrictions which means that its not a replacement for my Samsung tablet. Although it uses the C USB cable for charging which seems to be faster, the battery doesn't last as long as it says in the publicity videos. It has better sound and picture quality, but for everyday usage I still have to test it out.
I know that it is child proof as the swipe action takes ages to open but a series of taps with my finger and the threat of being returned lets me in.
 The autumn sunshine and showers has reached Charlton Southeast London, no doubt preparations are being made for Remembrance Day.
In my time spent in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force 1986-1997 and this would have meant staying at RAF Uxbridge from Wednesday to Sunday, practicing marching up and down the stairs for Royal Albert Hall for the Saturday performance. If I was fortunate the Saturday morning would be the Lord Mayor's Show, then a dash across town to the Royal Albert Hall, lunch and the afternoon rehearsal. They have changed the format since then. The evening performance had the Royal family in attendance. A mixture of the two shows is what you watch on the telly. Afterwards back to RAF Uxbridge,  the debrief, bed. An early start to the Wellington Barracks, bacon rolls and tea. I don't know why the Regimental Sargent Major picked me out to march Royal Air Force from the Barracks to the Cenotaph, I mean apart from the crowd and the camera crews plus the 12 million people watching at home, no pressure!
For me, I never had a wet parade, cold and chilly but no rain. Many years later I got the chance of being an escort for St Dunstans' Charity for the War Blind, I did this for four years. I haven't yet been able to attend the parade as an onlooker in the crowd but there was a year when I marched with had lunch in the Civil Service Club the Territorial Army wearing my medals and Royal Auxiliary Air Force tie.I had lunch in the Civil service club.
 Back on the workbench, the Airfix 1/72 BAe Harrier GR.7/9 looks tiny compared with my other builds. I can build the rear end and add the Sea Harrier II cockpit when it arrives.

[NARSES2]

Dad always used to take me to the Parade at the Cenotaph when I was a nipper. Even then I understood the poignancy of it.

[McColm]

Having been on parade at the Cenotaph and part of the muster, the sea of people is huge. Apart from the jovial banter, hip flasks the understanding of why you are there does hit home when the chimes of Big Ben rings out, then silence.

[McColm]

Thursday 16th November 2023

I'm still waiting for the 1/72 Airfix BAe Sea Harrier FA.2 model kit to arrive. The Airfix 1/72 Lockheed F-35B will now go towards the Jaguar kitbash and when I can get my hands on the Buccaneer kit (s). I still think that the de Havilland Sea Vixen should be a donor for one of the Buccaneers.
Meanwhile on the workbench there's plenty of sanding to be getting along with.
More forms to fill in from my Universal Credit Work Coach.
 Last night I had a bout of insomnia I ended up playing some online games and browsing the Internet. So the British Army are considering using fixed wing aircraft for close air support, seems like a few whiffing possibilities. Should have kept a few of the Harriers in long-term storage or the Jaguar. So what about the Buccaneer, they could do the job in Whiffland.
 So the push to get my long-term builds finished is still on for 2024,I'll try to limit the stash to one new kit per month or spares. The spares parts are being depleted which means that the empty boxes need filling up again.

Well a change of plan for the Airfix Lockheed F-35B, it now has the wings from a F-16XL, the Airfix  BAe T.10 Harrier has now got the wings from the
F-35B.
The Lockheed Starlight Express MR.1 now has four underwing pylons, a beefed up nose wheel landing gear and nose wheel doors.
I had a bowl of baked beans and I'm feeling rather tired, time for a nap.

[McColm]

Wednesday 22nd November 2023

 The last dribbs of Humbrol grey acrylic primer from the two rattle cans was used up yesterday on the Harrier Hawk,  Marsh Harrier, Eagle Harrier,  F-35XL and Mcdonnell-Grumman Panther (Harrier).
Painting has begun using acrylic paint on the fixed-wing V/STOLs. Not quite the famous five as I'm running out of glue but most of the main parts can be accessed.
A restock of glue and filler next week and this will do until after the Christmas holidays. The goal next year will be to finish all of my started builds, putting aside money for 00 gauge train layout. A couple of folding tables should suffice for a double track oval.
As my strength is slowly getting back, a baseboard seems feasible, although at a later stage this will be extended when funds become available.

[McColm]

Thursday 23rd November 2023

I have received a letter from my former security company saying that as I haven't renewed my security licence due to my medical condition I therefore can't work for them until it is renewed therefore my employment with them has ended although their payroll department does have a copy of my recent sick note.
Well I have an appointment with my Universal Credit Work Coach on the 4th December, so I can ask the relevant questions if I need to sign on the dole.
Looks like I will have to amend my CV.