Spey_Phantom's corner of solitude

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #274

very slow progress to start the year and progress is going slowly but surely.
the 1/72 Sea King was finished before yearend and i even managed to start and finish a 1/144 SA330 Puma (converted to an H215 Super Puma variant) in a matter of days. next on the  bench to be finished are 2 1/144 Chengdu F-7MG Aggressors (in New Flanders and Russian Air Force markings) and a 1/72 F-16A MLU Tigermeet '09.

meanwhile research on the next big project has started, a pair of Civilian models in 1/144 and 1/72. in 1/144 im looking at a Tupolev Tu204-100 in Belgian Sabena colors. in 1/72 im looking at various options, including an bush-airliner converted Canadair CL-415 or a Nord Noratlas in either TNT Express or Citybird Cargo markings.

meanwhile, as of last thursday i am back at work, but i asked to be home every wednesday afternoon to do housework. before newyears my wife was in hospital and was perscribed bedrest and isnt allowed to be any heavy lifting, housework or other demanding chores. so now im taking it all on me for the next 4 weeks (until the expected birth).


more soon.....

[NARSES2]

meanwhile, as of last thursday i am back at work, but i asked to be home every wednesday afternoon to do housework. before newyears my wife was in hospital and was perscribed bedrest and isnt allowed to be any heavy lifting, housework or other demanding chores. so now im taking it all on me for the next 4 weeks (until the expected birth).


more soon.....

Well done sir 

[zenrat]

Goodonya mate.   
.

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #275

this will most likely be my last blog entry pre-fatherhood, as we are preparing for the happy arrival.
my wife will be going into hospital next Tuesday the 28th to lead the baby in  .

now workbench related, not much activity has been going on lately, except for some smaller in-between work on 2 1/144 F-7MG's and a single 1/144 F-86 Sabre (realworld).

ive also dusted off an old plan for a 1/144 German WW2 escort carrier, DKM Alexander von Monts. using the 1/700 kit of the Graf Zeppelin as a template and an old book on the ship. for the airwing im thinking 3 Bf.109T's or Fw190T's in the markings of TJG16 "Osterkamp" (Träger Jagd Geswader) and a Ju87C torpedobomber.

succes of this build might even result in a plan (or motivation) for a, yet unnamed, Soviet escort carrier, equiped with Po-2 biplanes and La-5 or I-16 fighters.

that pretty much sums up  the plans i have for now, but all major work will be halted until after the wife and baby are back home by then.


more soon...

[Old Wombat]

Savour the experience, there's nothing in the world quite like the birth of a child.

[NARSES2]

Best of luck to the pair of you Nils 

[DogfighterZen]

Wishes of all the best to the 3 of you from the south of Portugal

[Leading Observer]

Savour the experience, there's nothing in the world quite like the birth of a child.

Agreed. My Fathers advice was to quote the old mountaineering motto: Don't look down

Best wishes

[Captain Canada]

Blog Entry #273b
after many years on the bench, the Neverending Sstory.........euh....beast of burden........SEA KING!, is finished  !!!

I would have thought I'd get an alert or something, with the dozens of times I've bugged you about. Just remember, a Nils, without a Sea King pert way built, cannot exist !



Looks great. One of the best Sea King ( if not the best ) ever, and you nailed it !

[Captain Canada]

Best wishes in becoming parents ! I'd recommend it to any one. Just try and take it slow and enjoy every moment you can. They grow up way too fast !

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #276


as of yesterday afternoon, i am back home in quarantine due to the Covid-19 outbreak, wich resulted in a temporary shut down of my workplace. not knowing how long this is gonna take, im gonna use the time to clean the workspace, get some modelbuilding and housework done and spend some quality time with my family.

one of the biggest projects on the go at the moment is the 1/144 DKM Alexander Von Monts, a german WW2 escort carrier for the In the Navy GB. the most attention is going to the hull and parts below the deck at the moment, im about to start PSR work on the gaps. as for the airwing, im going with a mix of Bf109T-1, Fw.109T-2 and Ju-87C-5's, as set in end 1943.
im still going to need to do more research and redesign on the island superstructure, still to be built.

other projects on the bench in 1/144 are 2 Chengdu F-7MG's (long term), Gripen upgrade prototype & a RW F-86F Sabre. on the long-term shelf are a 1/144 F/A-18E and F-16AM (both WHIF).

in the near future, when these projects have moved along, im going to continue on more Area 88 themed models and im playing with the idea of a airbase diorama once space clears up, depending if space is available. also, im looking at some pre-started Luft'46 builds in both 1/144 and 1/72, i should revisit those too someday.

i have also lately been taking time to rediscover myself, facing with some personal identity issues (wich im not gonna get into yet until i figured things out myself) and stress problems related to being a new father, hense why no new blog entry has been posted in over 2 months. my son, Flynn, is now almost 8 weeks old and things are going quite well, however we are a bit worried with the whole Covid19 crisis, he havent had his vaccines yet (delayed due to the partial lockdown of the child services centre), so he has to stay indoors for as much as possible as he has no real immunity developed yet.

my advice for now is, stay safe, stay healthy and, if possible, stay indoors.

more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #277

its day 14 in the lockdown, yesterday was the worst, being in the worst mood ive been in in months.
i had to find a way to out my frustration after yet another airshow i was planning to go with my family (Sanicole Airshow in September) was cancelled due to that friggin covid-19  , pretty much ruïning my entire years plans.
screaming out into a pillow helps (i dont want to take it out on the people i love), but you loose your voice for the rest of the day and keeps you in a very bad mood. just recieved a call this morning that im going to be at home for another week.

anyway, back to the bench....

work on the 1/144 DKM Alexander Von Monts is progressing smoothly, i hit some setbacks but only minor. major airbrushing work is done, rest is all with handbrushing. most work is now going into the island superstructure, followed by the aircraft and crews.

other project are still on hold until the carrier is done, its a big project and i want it completed before the Navy GB deadline.


more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #278

with pretty much all major events planned for this year, my calender is wide open, wich means more bench time.

work on the DKM Wiesbaden (formerly known as Alexander Von Monts) is nearly done, the ship itsself is now about 99% completed, just need to add liferafts, deck personel and aircraft. for the airwing, it will consist of Fw190T-1 & T-5's (navalised Fw190A and D) and Ju-87C-5. i might add a Me262T to it.

for future builds, im looking back at 1/72 scale, with the long awaited Khemedi MiG-21MF and im also looking into an Indian Air Force Su-47MKI Firkin-C. but these are long-term builds, as priority will now go to finishing whats on the bench right now.

im about to enter my 4th week of the corona-lockdown and im starting to run out of idea's.
ive already cleared and cleaned out the workspace as i had a hard time finding my tools. later i will do another stash reorginisation.

more soon...

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #279

its day 28 in lockdown and the madness is starting to set in, im slowly getting frustrated that i cant go into town or even take daytrips with my family.

anyways, the workbench is the only thing keeping me sane at this moment, the 1/144 DKM Wiesbaden is slowly nearing completion, the airwings is nearly done, liferafts are being painted and the personel has been painted. should be done in a few more sessions.

before starting anything new, i need to clear out some in-progress builds, i will either finish them or scrap them for parts for other builds. the 2 1/144 Chengdu F-7MG's will be finished up as aggressors, one will be Russian, the other will be decals in the colors of a "yet to be assigned" civilian contractor. the 1/144 Gripen Upgrade & improvement prototype will propably be scrapped and lessons learned used on other Gripen kits. there are also several smaller projects on the fridge, might look into those aswell.

other projects next in line are the long overdue start of the 1/72 Khemedi MiG-21MF Fishbed and im also restarting some 1/144 Area 88 projects. these include a Mirage F1C, AV-8 Harrier, A-10 Thunderbolt, F-14A tomcat, several A-4's and F-4's....
im also playing with the idea for a diorama, but i dont have an idea on how the layout will be.

more soon...

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #280

its day 35 in lockdown and im still waiting for the press conference from the government later tonight to hear what changes or regulations will be winded down or eased up. but this is not the place to discuss that 
in the mean time, im stuck at home for yet another week (got the call from work this morning).

back to the bench:

the 1/144 DKM Wiesbaden is nearing completion, its about 95% finished, it just needs one more aircraft and the crews added to the deck. the last plane, a Focke-Wulf FW.190D-3Tr, is currently under assembly. the build should be completed in a few more days.

next then is the completion of a few builds that have been gathering dust on the bench, these are 2 1/144 Chengdu F-7MG's and a 1/72 F-16AM (realworld). next up is a number of new Area 88 builds, including a Mirage F1 and an A-10 Thunderbolt.

i also have a few civilian airliners in the planning aswell, including a Vickers VC10 and Irkut MC21. i dont know what airliners are going to operate them, but for the VC-10, im thinking Scandinavian Airways or PanAM 


more soon...