Spey_Phantom's corner of solitude

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #304

slow progress and airbrush problems this past week, 3 out of 5 1/144 warbirds (the 3 in US Navy colors) have recieved a first coat of white paint on the bottom. the2 Fleet Air Arm birds will recieve paint later.
in also started a little small 1/144 project, something for the holiday season, you will see that one soon 

i havent done much building, ive mostly been making (ongoing) changes to the workspace. its getting claustrophobic and im running out of room, mostly as it now serves a second purpose as a storage room.
ive decided to minimalise the workbench, using only the tools i need. everything in the bench drawers that is not being used, and likely never t obe used, is going into the bin. the last few sessions ive been having problems with my 2 airbrush guns, so this afternoon, i spent over an hour to repair and clean them again.

meanwhile things are getting better, today i was able to into town after 2 months of lockdown and my boss called today with the news that i can get back to work after newyears 

things are finally starting to look up after nearly 9 months of misery, restrictions and lockdowns.
however, christmas as we know it (like in most countries) will not be the case, and we will be celebrating the holidays at home amongst ourselves.


more soon....

[NARSES2]

Blog Entry #304

meanwhile things are getting better, today i was able to into town after 2 months of lockdown and my boss called today with the news that i can get back to work after newyears 

Good to hear 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #305

first new blog entry of the new year, and the first one in nearly a month.
the workbench has been going slow this past month, with holidays and other tasks taking priority.
of the 5 Revell 1/144 realworld warbirds, 3 are nearly done (US Navy Corsair, Wildcat and Dauntless), they just need to have the tires painted and decals placed on. 2 more (Royal Navy Corsair Mk.II and Martlet Mk.IV) are in line to be airbrushed some other time.

i also restarted work on 2 Luft46 projects. the 1/72 Ju.192 Schnellbomber-TL as had its interiour done and fuselage halves mated. i also started work on making the engine nacelles. the other project is the 1/144 Junkers Amerikabomber, the wings are done and fuselage and tail are aslo fitted. i still need to figure out what the paintscheme will be. might use the late-44 camo scheme seen on most Luftwaffe bombers in 44/45.

right now, im making room for the next series of projects. the first is a Belgian Airbus A400M in 1/144 scale.
im also revisiting the shelf of shame and saved a 1/72 Humvee, which will be built in WHIF Belgian Army markings.
im also looking at a Belgian Army S-300 Surface to Air missile system. other Belgian project expected to be researched are the AS332 Super Puma and the H665 Tiger-MRH.

in 1/144 scale WHIF's, im currently making a list of all the 1/144 WW2 aircraft i have, and im going to build them in series, right now im at 50 projects, both WHIF and Realworld. im also planning some moders stuff in 1/72 and 1/144 aswell.

one of the biggest challenges for this year, is the (partial) sacrifice of the mancave. with the baby turning 1 year old in 2 weeks time, my wife wants him to have his own room. since our moving plans are getting delayed due to the Covid pandemic, and the lack of affordable rental homes, in the short term im planning to move parts of my workspace (the workbench, library and painting setup) to the master-bedroom and the baby's bed to the mancave. the models on the shelves and boxed kits stash would will remain in that room until we find a bigger home (with a bigger mancave and more rooms, were looking for something with at least 3 bedrooms). im still working out the details and feasability of the mancave move.

im still stuck  at home, its been a month since my boss last called to restart work after newyears, work must still be slow due to the pandemic.

more soon....

[Old Wombat]

I'm amazed you find any time for modelling with a youngster in the house!

Be careful over the next 12 months, it's not called the "Terrible Twos" for nothing!


Good luck with the search for a new home - may you find a good, well built, large home for a low price soon - and, hopefully, your employment will soon return to normal or better!

[Spey_Phantom]

I'm amazed you find any time for modelling with a youngster in the house!

that easy, when he takes his afternoon nap, i have a good 1.5 to 2 hours to get something done 

Blog Entry #306

making progress on various smaller projects as i now enter the last days on the bench in its current state.
i have made more progress on the Area 88 Air Base diorama, the rough construction of the buildings are done, now comes the detailing.

right now, as of today, i have put everything on hold. as i am starting to clear out the stash and workbench in anticipation of moving parts of the mancave to the master bedroom.

our son has turned 1 year old as of last week, and my wife wants him to sleep in his own room. since our house is only a small 2-bedroom house, i have decided (with a heavy hart) to give up parts of the mancave and partially turn it into a bedroom. this is only a temporary solution until we can find a bigger house (thats affordable but not an outlived dump).

the stash and shelves of finished models will remain where they are. but workstations, library and airbrush setup are moving to the master bedroom. in a move im calling Mancave 3.1. for one im sad that im losing my happy place, but on the other hand im happy that im gonna have some privacy for me and the missus. also the TV in the bedroom makes up for something i didnt have in the original mancave. i still need to figure out how to make the shelves babyproof.

more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #307

last week, i moved the workbenches from the (previously known as) mancave to the main bedroom.
took all day, but in the end, it was for a good cause.

today, i finally got back at it, with an airbrush session on a 1/144 SAAB Viggen, F4U Corsair Mk.II and Martlet MK.IV.
ive also restarted work on the 1/144 Area 88 Airbase Diorama.

looking at whats up next in my WW2 series of builds, im looking to dust of the Tu95 i have converted into a German Amerikabomber. assembly is done for most part, i just need to get started on painting. im also looking into starting the next series of 1/144 WHIF Warbirds. in the next series, im planning more Belgian aircraft, allong with a number of Dutch, Polish, Israeli aircraft and many more. the first up in the planning, are a Curtiss Hawk 81A (P-40B) and a requesitioned DC-3 in Belgian Aeronautique Militaire colors. for the Netherlands Military Aviation, im looking at Bf109e (interned), Bf110 (interned), P-38C and a Hurricane Mk1 or Spitfire Mk.I. im also looking into building a number of Austrian aircraft aswell, such as a Bf109e, Ju-52 and/or Hs126.

more soon....

[NARSES2]

looking at whats up next in my WW2 series of builds, im looking to dust of the Tu95 i have converted into a German Amerikabomber. assembly is done for most part, i just need to get started on painting.

That sounds interesting

[TheChronicOne]

I'm a little late here but I'm going to agree.... that sounds quite intriguing and I implore you to get it done. 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #308

making good progress lately, as the bench is now slowly but surely clearing up.
last week, i finished my second 1/144 SAAB Viggen, a week before that i also finished the 1/144 FAA Corsair and Martlet. right now im working on 2 1/144 T-38D Super Talons (in-between projects, 2-seat conversions of F-20 Tigersharks).

this morning i started clearing up the workbench to make room for the next project to be started/continued.
3 1/144 Jaguars (realworld Indian, French and RAF versions) will be taken out of the fridge and get finished.
meanwhile, 2 new WHIF projects are being prepared, a 1/72 F-35A Lightning II in Belgian markings and a 1/72 Focke Wulf Fw190A in Dutch colors.

i got the inspiration on the latter after seeing a screenshot of a War Thunder or IL2 mod/skin, but unfortunatly i cant seem to find it anymore. im gonna use a Revell 1/72 FW190A kit, in combination with FlevoDecals and Esci decalsheets i have. the colors will be the 3-tone camo (tan, green and brown) of the Fokker D.XXI. paints have already been ordered as i didnt have the right colors in stock.

more soon...

[NARSES2]

Like the idea of the Fw 190 in those pre-War Dutch colours 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #309

little progress this past week. still cleaning up the bench with finishing half-completed started projects.
but i also started 1 new project, and im back in 1/72 for a change.

im currently modifying a Revell Fw190A into a Fokker D.XXIV. i started by changing the colors on the inside, to match those of the D.XXI, but the green i used was too dark, so i painted it over and changed it into sky green/grey.
at first i was planning on building it OOB, but now i started making modifications. i just sanded down the blisters on the engine cowling, to make it look like a Gnome-Rhône 14N engine instead of a BMW801. i also added to gun barrels on the guns on the wing. im gonna cut some parts of the landinggear doors to kinda make it look backdated. im also thinking of a telescope aiming retacle. i would also (in the backstory) replace the German guns with 2 FN Brownings .303's and 2 FN Browning 13.7mm cannons.

modeling time will be drasticly reduced as of monday. as today was called back to my previous employer and after a year of sitting unemployed at home, i signed my contract and im going back to work.

more soon....

[TheChronicOne]

Hooray!!!! That sounds like good news to me!

[NARSES2]

Good to hear you are back at work Nils 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #310

its been a while since the last blog entry, so here's an update.

i have finished my 1/72 Fokker D.XXIV last week, and earlier this week i finished my 1/100 Mickey MAUS tank (april fools build). i still need to clean up the bench after those 2 builds, and i still have a number of unfinished builds to choose from to finish next.

as for the next new project, im currently stuck in a block. im gonna check my notes to see what to build next (everytime i get an idea, i write it down in a notebook).

one of the future projects im looking at in the notebook are a 1/144 Dutch C-130J-30 (which wil likely become realworld shortly) and C-17A (there was a proposal a few years ago). in 1/72 i have a Belgian Bf109G that im still trying to work out.
i think i might go on a short realworld sabatical, it always helps me when i try to figure out new WHIF projects.
might even take up a few 1/144 WW WHIF's from the list, or a few Area 88 builds. althought im getting eager to finish that Area 88 airbase diorama that i started earlier this year.


more soon...

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #311

its been a month since i last posted an update, reason is that i was stuck in a creative block for a while.
today, i thought i would break that block and just started 2 new small, cheap and simple builds, just to get the creativce juices flowing again. i started 2 Area 88 themed builds, both MiG-21PF's from the original Manga (also got later model MiG-21MF and/or MiG-21bis planned). one in standard desert sand scheme from the Anti-goverment forces, the other is a custom painted version flown by Project 4 pilot Gary MacBurn.

im also looking at getting back on the Area 88 base diorama, which has been gathering dust for a while due to lack of resources and im having problems designing the radar antenna and water towers for the control tower and main building. in 1/72, my Luft46 Schnellbomber TL is on hold again, reason is that im stuck on a design flaw with the tailsection im trying to correct.

more soon....