What's on the workbench!

[Rick Lowe]

Glad things are improving for you - but please don't rush it. Slow and steady.
Stay safe and get well soon! 

[McColm]

Glad things are improving for you - but please don't rush it. Slow and steady.
Stay safe and get well soon! 

I didn't read your message until today ,so you could say that I have pushed my boundaries a bit too far. I walked 1.4 miles yesterday to post the mobile phone that didn't work. Then carried a bit of shopping back to where I am staying hence the 1.4 miles if only I could find a newsagents that allowed me to pay cash to top up my Oyster Card then I could have taken the bus on the return journey. My soles of my feet were a little bit sore and my legs did ache a bit.
There's a few stiff muscles this morning especially in my arms and hips and it was raining yesterday in Greenwich,  London SE10.
Too much too soon,  I think you'd be correct,  as it was only three weeks ago that I could barely walk and needed assistance to get around.
I'm not a Super Soldier but when my mind is determined to do something the body obeyed with consequences to follow the next day.
I shall be having a lazy weekend, cracking on with the Ka-58 and Westland Sea King Commando interior which might be altered slightly or removed depending on how much I can see when the side door is opened.

[McColm]

Tuesday 22nd  June 2021

I"ve been steam broccoli in the microwave using a glass measuring jug and the results are good. I also cooked sliced mushrooms and baked potatoes as I haven't gotten around to using the over complicated hob.
I managed to walk to the local Tesco's store only to find that some of the shelves were empty of household items, the prices seemed a lot cheaper than the local co-op store but the variety wasn't as good.
I caught a headline that said 'the M.O.D. are going to fit catapults to the new aircraft carriers ". Which made me think,  due to Armed Forces cutbacks the crew will be armed with catapults to defend the carriers. Enemy aircraft will have to fly a lot closer for the crew to hit them!
But then again if they are fitting catapults then fixed wing aircraft can take off.
I think I still have my 1/72 Matchbox BAe Hawk-200 and T-45 Goshawk in the stash.  It wouldn't be that difficult to convert a Boeing F-18 into something the Fleet Air Arm would fly. I think the Sea Eagle has already been covered but I always put a twist on my builds so that's another possibility.
I did have the Revell TXF F-111A and B set in the stash,  it's probably in the Airfix 1/72 BAC TSR-2 kit as my plan was to convert this into a side-by-side  aircraft, it would mean widening the rear fuselage slightly but this could taper off.
The cockpit from the BAC TSR-2 would have been kitbashed onto the front of a North American RA-5C. With a different nose that could have fooled a lot of people or a merger between the two companies.
There's a photo on my Facebook Page and on Flicker of a 1/72 RA-5C with the wings from a 1/200 B-2 stealth bomber. I'm not too sure if I still got that started build but I dear say that I can build it again.
An F-14 with the wings from a RA-5C might work,  as I have some resin BAC TSR-2 parts that I can use on the spare fuselage.

[PR19_Kit]

I caught a headline that said 'the M.O.D. are going to fit catapults to the new aircraft carriers ".

That keeps on popping up.

The QEIIs were built with the 'foundations' for the EMALS catapults in place under the deck, and the ski jump plonked on top.

If they want to use catapults (and why would they when neither the RAF nor the FAA have any suitable aircraft?) they'd have to take the ski jump off, and then they won't be able to fly off their F-35Bs with a full payload.

[Rheged]

I caught a headline that said 'the M.O.D. are going to fit catapults to the new aircraft carriers ".

I read this comment and had a surreal medieval moment,  imagining a battery of ballistae, mangonels and trebuchets  along each side of the flight deck.

http://medievallifestyle.com/siege-engines/

[zenrat]

Imagine a trebuchet flinging aircraft up into the sky...

[NARSES2]

Imagine a trebuchet flinging aircraft up into the sky...

Would work for depth charges 

[McColm]

Wasn't there plans for a mix of Bs and Cs for the new aircraft carriers,  unless the Eurofighter Typhoon is having trials on the carriers without any modifications.

[PR19_Kit]

The MoD changed their mind over the aircraft types as often as they changed their socks!

They switched back and forth between VSTOL and conventional versions at least three times, but I've not read that they ever considered a mix of types.

It would have been very difficult to operate both types off the carriers as the ski jump and the catapults are in the same place. I guess they could have had a narrow ski jump on one side and a catapult on the other, but that'd be pretty complicated.

[NARSES2]

It would have been very difficult to operate both types off the carriers as the ski jump and the catapults are in the same place. I guess they could have had a narrow ski jump on one side and a catapult on the other, but that'd be pretty complicated.

But think of all the money the MOD could have wasted in trying to get it to work before abandoning it ?  Classic MOD basically.

[PR19_Kit]

One of our Vice-Presidents flew over here 3-4 times for discussions at MoD Bath and Bristol over the catapult (or not...) and they had me bird-dog him every trip as he wouldn't drive on the left! Madness!

[McColm]

Wednesday 30th June 2021

It appears that the 1/72 Lindberg 71141 HH-3E Jolly Green Giant is better suited to the Airfix Westland Sea King HC.4 parts than the Revell H-144 Sikorsky HH-3E.
My mind is thinking of using the AEW parts either from BlackDog conversion resin set or a Revell  or Airfix kit . I hope Freightdog still sell the deflated radome as this might be cheaper and looks a lot better than the inflated radome.
Progress so far is to scrape away the location marks on both interior fuselages. I'm going to need to invest in a metal file to get a straight edge or emery files from the Pound Shop.
The Airfix cockpit has been adapted to fit and so has the cargo deck.

Part 2
Further whiffery and the addition of the Handy Craft Saw from Manwah both the main door plus my new side door have been removed. The steps fit on the left hand side and the sliding door almost fits. Yes it could be filed to the contour of the right sponsor but I don't have a circular file to hand. The front landing gear has been glued on to the left side. Both sponsors are glued in place and so are the windows. I added the goldfish bowl windows at the rear from the Airfix kit,  the tail stabilizer is also from the Airfix kit and so will be the tail rotor. The air intake filter needs some puty/filler to keep it in place when both fuselage halves are glued together which will be after the interior is painted.
I might need the rear tail wheel to prevent a tail sitter as there's a slight gap between the loading ramp and cargo floor. I will probably use the Lindberg cockpit wall to hide this and glue the loading ramp with the GPMG.
The rotor blades will be stored which should stop them from snapping off. Frustrating times ahead adding all those aerials,  lumps and bumps.

[McColm]

Sunday 4th July 2021
I think one of the reasons why the Sikorsky HH-3 helicopter wasn't bought in the vast numbers as the Sea King was that it was slightly longer than the Sea King even though it could alight on the water as it shared the same V shaped underside. I don't know if the tail could be folded just like the Sea King but they shared the same engines but not the range.  The HH-3 range was slightly less than the Sea King,  but it made up for the short fall with fuel tanks and the telescopic inflight refuelling probe.
Another thing I have noticed on this Lindberg model is the nose wheel landing gear is higher than the main landing gear. I might have to lower this or replace it with the rear tail wheel from the Airfix kit.
I have painted the inside of the two fuselage halves and glued them together,  with the rotor stack engines and air intake filter from the Airfix kit. I also glued the head light section from the Airfix kit as well to hide the joints. The loading ramp is glued shut.
The clear plastic side door from the Airfix kit has been modified as the telescopic inflight refuelling probe gets in the way. The stairs on the other side have been glued into place. I didn't add the cargo seats as they can't be seen.

[McColm]

Monday 5th July 2021

The Lindberg kit now has the Airfix Westland Lynx Mk8 nose and sits lower to the ground. I will add the stores to the sponsors.
I have been reunited with the 1/72 Boeing EV-22A Osprey. The main landing gear has been broken and there's a crack in the glazed canopy. The EMI Searchwater radar radome has been cut down to size,  reglued on the underside of the rear loading ramp.

I went to Kennington Job Centre Plus for a Universal Credit meeting and met a very nice lady who was very helpful. I have my first new patient check up tomorrow with my new GP tomorrow.

[Pellson]

Good news, and more good news!