Spey_Phantom's corner of solitude

[NARSES2]

Glad you sorted the marriage hiccups  I think we all have them in the run up to our nuptials. Mine was that I only found out two days before that I was slated to organise the wedding cars 

By the skin of my teeth I managed to sort a white Rolls Royce    I still see my ex Janet, and she still doesn't know that story as I think she'd still probably hit me 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #214

this is my last blog entry as an unmarried man, as im gonna do my "I do's" at the end of next week.
therefor, there will be little to no progress in the next few weeks.

the 1/72 EF128 is in the painting stage and is nearly finished, a realworld 1/144 Mig-23 also recieved a first layer of paint.
meanwhile, ive started another new project, a DACO/Skyline (ex-airfix) 1/144 Airbus A300, currently being converted to MRTT standard (MultiRole Tanker Transport). the start on the RAF A320 has been put on hold for a while.

lately ive been getting in the mood for East German themed builds and have already started on decal designs for both Realworld and WHIF project. in the realworld builds, ive designed decals for a Tupolev Tu-134A and im gonna start on Mig-21's soon. in terms of Whaf Ifs, im currently thinking of 1/144 Mig-25, 1/72 Yak-130 (as soon as the zvezda kit is available), 1/72 Mig-37, 1/144 Interflug Tu-144 (decals made some time ago) and maybe a 1/144 IL-62M based tanker (VC-10ski) when i get the kit.
also been thinking about Airbus H145M as a possible Mi-2 replacement in DDR Volksmarine service, im also planning a Sovietized Gepard-Class attack boat 

more soon....

[TheChronicOne]

Oh hey!! Congratulations, bud!!  All the best to you both.   

[NARSES2]

Yup, congratulations Nils, enjoy the day and best of luck to the pair of you 

[DogfighterZen]

Congratulations.

[Spey_Phantom]

before i start on the next blog entry, i want to thank everyone for the best wishes with my marriage.
it means a lot to me and the wife 

Blog Entry #215

after nearly 2 weeks of closure due to the wedding, the bench is back in bussiness 
ive started with the final paintwork on the Junkers EF128, should be finished soon. meanwhile, i also started paintwork on the Mig-23ML's camoflage. as for the Airbus A300-MRTT, ive started with the construction of the wings and fuselage, most of the windows have also been PSR'ed shut. the refueling boom is also nearly finished, just need to start on the underwing HDU pods.

meanwhile, plans for the next series of builds is underway. last week i got an Airbus A319 on the cheap at a rummage sale, and im thinking about converting it ,into a Maritime Patrol Aircraft. as for markings, im still choosing between a French Aeronavale or German Marineflieger version. im looking up what other conversions i need to do to build the A319-MPA.

the (previously secret) 747-8 project recieved a lot of attention at the wedding, people stating it was a brilliant idea and could be a commercial goldmine if offered as a commision build. although i agree its a good idea, i dont think its viable or justifies the costs to start it up.

regarding the wedding, it was huge success, people were having fun and everyone was happy. truely a day to remember.
there were some technical problems at the beginning of the festivities, but nothing that could be solved.
so far, married life is good, hopefully it stays this way 


more soon...

[NARSES2]

Glad the wedding went well Nils 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #216

another week of progress, and 2 current projects are nearly finished.
paintwork on the 1/144 Mig-23 and 1/72 Ju EF.128 are done, should start on decals tomorrow.
meanwhile, work on the Airbus A300-MRTT is on hold due to supply issues.
still to come is more work on decal designing, work was halted for a week or 2, as i was starting to get the new PC running (some issues havent been resolved yet, such as Win10 activation problems).

as the 2 projects are nearing completion, im looking to start 2 new ones. first up is a realworld 1/144 F-104C witch ive been meaning to get started on for over a month. the other i dont know yet, might be the RAF A320 CC.1 or a pair of B-2 Bombers (RW USAF and WHIF RAF version).
in 1/72 scale, there are a number of projects waiting in line, such as the last of the infamous SeaKings aswell as other plans. might start on a pair of Mig-21's, including a Dutch Mig-21F-13. in terms of helicopters, i have an EC145 ive started on a few years ago as a Luftwaffe SAR helo (UH-1D replacement) might look into getting that one back on the rails. also lots of Luft'46, Soviet and East-German themed models in the development stage 


more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #217

another week has passed, but movement has been slow this past week.
both the 1/144 Mig-23 and the 1/72 Junkers EF128 are both finished and the next series of builds is already underway.

the first is a realworld 1/144 F-104C Starfighter in USAF Vietnam colors (Revell kit with RetroKit conversion) for a vietnam GB over on KG144.
the second one is a 1/72 Italeri Mig-37 Ferret with various scratchbuilt modifications, including 2 enlarged weapons bays to replace the 2 smaller ones. im gonna add some weapons from a ICM soviet air-to-ground weapons set, thinking 2 KAB-500's would go good with it. but i am concidering putting this build on hold and start on a 1/72 YF-23 in USAF or RAF markings.

various other builds are also getting in line to start, ive been thinking of taking in a couple of 1/72 Mig-21MF's in between.
one will be a realword East German version, the other a WHIF, im thinking Belgian 

after a long time searching, ive finally found a 1/72 Gloster Javelin, got one last weekend at the Sanicole Airshow.
im planning to build this one as a Belgian Air Force version, ive been playing with the idea for a few years now.
at that same airshow, another old idea has sprung back into mind, a Morrocan AF Rafale, i have a few 1/144 versions in the stash so this could very will find its way to the bench. other ideas i have include a Cuban F-5E Tiger II and F/A-18C Hornet in 1/144, in 1/72 im planning a Cuban AS532 Cougar in SAR marking sand a 2-tone blue camoflage.

more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #218

Bench Activity is on the rise again, with more new projects on the way.

projects on the go are:

-1/72 F-23A Grey Ghost (now in the painting stage)
-1/72 MQ-1B Predator (Belgian Air Force)
-1/144 F-104C Starfighter (realworld, USAF, for KG144's Vietnam GB)
-1/144 Airbus A300-MRTT

Projects on hold:

-1/72 SeaKing Mk.48 (RW Belgian)
-1/72 Mig-37 Ferret
-1/72 Belgian Army HMMWV
-3 x 1/144 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets

as you can see, many ideas i had in the past are seeing the light of day. the F-23A is currently in the final stages of building, and the first coats of paint have already been applied and parts for the landinggear and weapons are awaiting the finishing touches. Last night, i also started on a smaller quick side project, an Italeri 1/72 MQ-1B Predator drone, to be painted in Belgian Air Force markings (serials, flags & roundels leftover from an Agusta A109 built earlier).  the F-104C and Airbus A300 are also slowly making progress.

meanwhile research has begun on the next 2 projects, also larger 1/72 models. after a long time working almost only in 1/144 scale, you start to appreciate the smaller scales making the larger scales seem easier. one of the next in line is the first of 2 Luft'46 larger projects, a Ju.232 (a swept wing, jet powered version of the Ju.288 bomber) and Arado Ar.434 (prop powered airliner, scale-o-rama of 1/48 Ar.234).
the other project being one of the East-German themed models im planning.

also, im looking into a number of future projects and experiments. the first is the fingernail decals experiment, i ordered a large number of these of of AliExpress as you can buy 50 sheets for the price of a humbrol enamel tin. they are cheap and easy to come buy and would make a nice collection of nose arts and markings.
another future project im looking at (budget and shelf space permitting) is a new Luft'46 airliner, a scale-o-rama of a 1/32 Me262 into a 1/72 jet or turboprop airliner (or 1/144, if 1/72 would be too big).

but the first thing im gonna do this morning is reorganise the workbench, as im always having problems opening those darn plastic drawers where i keep my painttins & decals. i need to get them place next to one another, instead of on top of each other. it also is in desperate need of a cleanup.


more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #219

i havent had much time to do some modelbuilding this week, due to other priorities and the wife being home with the flu, but i did manage to get a few things done.

first off, the 1/72 F-23A is as good as done, just needs one more coat of varnish, the 1/72 MQ-1B Predator was also finished earlier this week.

http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,44287.0.html

2 new projects are now being prepared on the bench this week, both 1/72 scale and Luft'46. first off is the Junkers Ju.487 (a jet powered, swept wing version of the Ju.188), the other is a Arado Ar.434 transport/airliner (scale-o-rama of a 1/48 Ar.234 with the Ju.188 wings and engines). the latter might be painted in Lufthansa markings.

other plans this week is decal designing for various current and future projects.
first plans are for a number of 1/144 scale Mig-21's and J-7's. in 1/72 i have plans for East-German L-39 serials, Lufthansa markings for the above mentioned Arado Ar.434 and a Belgian WHIF Mig-21MF.
decals for other WHIF projects, including a Thunderbird 6 tiger moth (using the newer Airfix kit) have also been designed.


more soon...

[Spey_Phantom]

ok, for some reason the entry vanished, so lets try again 

Blog Entry #220

there's been a change of plans on the bench this past week.
the 2 larger Luft'46 projects have been put on hold for a while longer. instead, work has now shifted to a 1/144 Airfield Diorama, replacing the older one that was lost in the move 2 years ago. this time, it will be built in a soviet style way, it will feature a new control tower, a hardened aircraft shelter, new scenery, a fuel bowser, civilian cars on a parking lot and personel figures.

other WHIF projects im gonna start building is a number of Mig-28's, a sovietized F-5E as seen in Top Gun, however, this one will have an upgrade, and will carry actual russian weaponry, thinking AA-8's or AA-11's on the wingtips, soviet style bombs & rocket launchers,....
2 are in the planning, Soviet and GDR versions, there might be a Cuban or 2-seat UB version in the future.

this morning, the bench got a well needed cleanup and reorganisation, making more space to build. moved a few drawers and tools arround to make it better to work on.


more soon...

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #221

making good progress the last few days, started on 2 1/144 F-5E Tiger II's, one build as a RW Swiss AF, the other as a WHIF Mig-28bis in Soviet markings.
also, last night i dusted off an old project that was cancelled due to faulty decals, a 1/144 Alpha Jet-A.
it was orriginally planned to be painted in a RW Oldenburg special scheme, but due to decay of the supplied decals, the project has been cancelled and the nearly finished model started gathering dust. now i dusted it off, removed the wings and have started repainting it in 2-tone green camo, similar to the East-German L-39C's. might give it Soviet markings and finish it as an agressor, perhaps armed with some soviet rocket launchers under the wings.

still being looked at, is the 1/144 Airfield Diorama, the foundation for the hangar has been set and the concrete floor has been painted, still needs its lines though before the hangar can be built arround it. im also gonna convert on of the MAN 630 trucks from Revell's bundeswehr vehicle set into a fuel bowser. designing of the control tower is as good as done, just need to figure out what details to add.

i also printed out some new decals last week for the following projects:

-1/72 Thunderbird 6 (using Airfix's new tiger moth)
-1/144 Mig-21MF (east German markings)
-1/144 F-15I Ra'am
-1/144 Tu-134A (East german AF)
-1/144 Airbus A320 (WHIF Flanders Airlines).

im gonna look at scratchbuilding 3 UPAZ-1 refueling pods for another future project, an Ilyushin IL-86TZ Refueling tanker, possibly in Cuban or Soviet AF colors. in 1/72, there are also a few thing in the planning, including the 2 larger Luft'46 projects that have been put on hold last week.


more soon...

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #222

slow activity on the bench this week, i did manage to finish 2 1/144 F-5's, one Swiss and one as a Mig-28 (pics to follow).
work will now resume on the Airbus A300-MRTT and Airfield Diorama. for the latter, the vehicles for the scenery were delivered last week, im still waiting for the arrival of the trees. right now, im working on the aircraft shelter. the front of the hangar has been cut and carved out of foam card, at the moment, im working on the interiour, that made of plasticard. the center-railing for the lighting has already been fitted (styrene rod) and im now looking at how to add detail to the interiour.

as for new projects, im doing research on 2 more '46 universe projects (aside from the larger Luft'46 projects). the first is a USAAF P-84A/B Thunderjet, the other is a navalised version of the Focke-Wulf Flitzer for the Kriegmarine (with folded wings). i have a large number of '46 themed aircraft in the stash, and not just Luftwaffe projects but also IJA/IJN and RAF/USAAF themed models. ive been meaning to get some of those built for a long time.

other projects that are due to be completed are a 1/144 F-104C Starfighter and maybe on of the 3 Super Hornets that are on hold.

as far as jobhunting goes, its going bad, really really bad 
had another failure this morning and im 100% sure im going to make a career switch, ive had it with the metalworks!


more soon....

[NARSES2]

Sorry to hear about the job search Nils. Hope it goes better in future