Spey_Phantom's corner of solitude

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #88


no activity this week, but i hope to get started on new stuff soon.
im curretnly making up a list of decals that needs to be designed for certain builds, in the whiff list there is the Turkish AF F-15 Strike Eagle, Managuan Air Force F/A-18C, Belgian Airbus A400M (1/144 version)...

last weekend at Hobbytime, i bought a mistercraft 1/72 F-84G Thunderjet, mostly cause it said it had Belgian decals inside, witch it hadnt and more then half the decals were missing :/
so i decided to put the aircraft in the "WW2 1946" to-do pile, and convert it into a P-84A/B (planning on getting a P-47M canopy to replace the kit's framed F-48G canopy).
as for color scheme, im thinking either bare-metal or olive top/grey underside in USAAF markings (based at Duxford, december 1946).
i really want to slim that '46 stash, but i regret i didnt buy that Brengun 1/72 C2 Wasserfal missile kit at hobbytime 
but after reading a review of the boxing, its a good thing i didnt buy it, because 13 euro's for something that small, and with only 1 missile, seems kinda steep to me, i can scratchbuild them cheaper.

the East-German decals i got at the show, im planning to use those on a number of 1/72 projects, including a DDR-LSK Mig-37 Ferret and Mi-28 Havoc 
looking at that 1/144 P-38J Lighning i bought, im still thingking of painting it in either Euro-green, or bare-metal in red bull markings (RW). the revell 1/144 EE Lighning i got there is going to be built OOB in RSAF markings, although im also thinking of going RW RAF (as the kit is to rare to be whiffed, but i will be building a 1/72 lighning whiff in the future).

but first, i think im gonna start with a RW Tornado GR.1 in desert storm markings (Mig Eater).




more soon....

[Captain Canada]

Congrats on the job Nils....hope it went well !

PS-Arrow ?

[Spey_Phantom]

Congrats on the job Nils....hope it went well !

PS-Arrow ?

Thanks, the job is only a temporary contract, it was expected to end yesterday, but the contract has been extended to wednesday.
after 16 months at home, it feels good to get some work, even if it was only temporary.

as for the Arrow, its still on ice, but i plan to get going at it again soon. im planning on adding some external weapons, maybe some AIM-9B's and AIM-7 Sparrows  
as for the color scheme, im planning on changing it from SEA-camo to 2-tone bare metal 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #89


no physical activity on the work bench this last week, but i have been busy in terms on designing the next batch of decals, first came RW project ive been needing to do for some time, a Belgian Police SA330 Puma in 1/144 scale.

in terms of whiffing, i finally settled on a next project 
in front of me, i have a Zvezda 1/72 Mil Mi-28A Havoc, and a TOM 1/72 East-German decalset.

decals: http://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=191401

im thinking the DDR-NVA would have ordered these somewhere in 2014/15 to replace its ageing Mi-24 Hind-D's and Hind-F's at some point.
as for camo, im thinking the sand & light olive camo with underside light grey, just like the Hinds.
the original plan was to have a Ka-50 in these markings, but  think an Mi-28 would be better and more plausible.

staying in a German mood, ive also been looking at other projects i started some time ago, such as a West-German Army EC-145 (as a SAR UH-1D replacement) and the Belgian CF-105 Arrow. these builds might be revived very soon.


Job wise, everything is going smoothly, but all good things must come to an end, tommorrow or wednesday will be my last day there, it was expected as it was only a temporary intermjob. but at least i had some work done, and after 18 months at home it felt good to finally have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. but i will be looking out for something more permanent now. i dont really like short-term interms jobs, as they dont really get me out of the unemployment situation and dont give any real jobsecurity. sure i heve work, but after a few weeks or months im out of a job again. but for now, it really got me motivated to go jobhunting again, this time with a bit more experience under my belt.


more soon........

[Captain Canada]

Good stuff Nils. I know it's a pain going from job-to-job, but as you say, every little bit of experince will help !

[Spey_Phantom]

Good stuff Nils. I know it's a pain going from job-to-job, but as you say, every little bit of experince will help !

i know, but there is some conselation, the chances are the contract might be extended again 

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #90


been stuck at home last thursday, after my interim contract ended, with a case of a stomach flu 
i was planning on going to the Belgian Air Force Days last saturday, but that flu put that plan down the drain (including the money i payed for the tickets  ).

so as i said, the interim job ended, they decided to let me go. but as i went to pick up my stuff, the boss couldnt help but make a smart alleck comment on my unemployment situation ("you like staying at home, dont you?"). he's lucky i kept my cool, and i didnt smack his head onto his desk! 

and if things werent bad enough, my GF's stuck at home this week with a overstrained muscle in her back, quite painfull from what i heared, gonna try and visit her tomorrow to see how she's doing 
the only good news i heared today, is that im getting a gennerous tax refund 


but anyway, back to the bench 

the 1/72 Mil Mi-28 is making good progress, the main assembly is completed and ready for painting. i still need to put together the weaponsload. im going for the light tan/green East-German Hind-E camo, with GDR markings.
the 1/72 CF-105 is also back in the game, should look into that one later tonight.

there's also a new stashload expected to arrive in the next 2 days, including revell's new 1/144 Airbus A400M (might get a second one on a later date). im gonna start on the 1/72 version very soon, as soon as the bench is clear of the current projects + the Sea Kings & NH90's.
im also planning on a What-If Belgian Air Force SeaKing, an upgraded Mk.48A, as there were plans in the 90's to aquire a 6th machine (would have possibly been an Ex-RAF HAR.3, modified to the same Mk48 standard).
might put it in a all-green land forced camo, or a splintered version of the standard tan/green camo with red nose & tail, or a special anniversary paintjob.

as for 1/144, i have a few realworld and what-ifs in line. i still have an extra A320, so i might make that into a French MPA aircraft to replace the Dassault Atlantique II's.


more soon.....

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #91


i just finished refurbishing an old Revell 1/144 NH90, i still have a second one on the shelf that can use a similar repair and upgrade job 
work on the 1/72 Mi-28 is also progressing at a good pace, should be finished shortly.
meanwhile, im going to take a look at designing some decals for future projects, including 1/144 Belgian AF A400M, Belgian Police Sa330 Puma (RW), Turkish AF F-15TK Strike Eagle, Managuan AF F/A-18C, Argentine Navy F4U Corsair (RW),.....
in 1/72, i still need to look what projects need decals 

as for future projects, i really (desperatly) need to finish those 1/72 Sea Kings so i have room for other projects.
im thinking of stopping building aircraft for a while, and start building some of the ships i have here in the stash.

as for stash, the number of kits here is starting to spiral out of control, i might need to start thinking about selling some of them.
i am going to get some more big cardboard boxes and store another number of long term projects on the attic.
this afternoon or early evening, im gonna take a look in the current stash and see what to build next and what to store (or sell).

after the successfull tests od Revells paint remover, im gonna use the product on all aircraft curretnly in line to be restored/repaired.
i got an old Academy 1/144 F-111 Aardvark that really needs a repair, and im thinking of repainting it into a RAAF aircraft (RW).


more soon....

[Captain Canada]

Some more of your ships would be nice to see Nils !

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #92


not much activity on the bench the past week due to personal and more important things (such as jobhunting) and the same goes for the next few days.
but there has been some activity in terms of restoration of some older builds.
on the restorationline are a 1/144 F-111F and a pair of 1/144 Eurofighter Typhoons. the F-111 will be realworld, while the Typhoons will be whiffs, most likely including a West-Ukraine Air Force version. as for the other typhoon, i dont know yet, might go with Malta or Scotland (flying ex-RAF tranche 1 aircraft)

there are also plans on future newbuild whiff typhoons, including an RAF desert pink version (single seater with Storm Shadow missiles).
as for 1/72, i havent had much time to continue on the Mi-28 and CF-105, but work is going to resume soon, possibly over the weekend.
there are so many builds planned, but so little space on the bench & shelves 
the next few days i have to much on the to-do list that i have very little time for modeling work.
first, im gonna look into getting those SeaKings and that Mi-28 done as fast as possible, so i can begin on new projects.


more soon......

[Captain Canada]

Look forward to seeing the refurbs. Those little Typhoon kits are beautiful !

[Spey_Phantom]

Blog Entry #93


Paintwork on the Mil Mi-28 is almost done, the camo has been applied, all thats left to paint is the underside (very light blue) and the various antennae. after that its applying a coat of gloss-clear (for smooth decal surface) and a few more bits and bobs.

ive been looking into the stash for future projects, ive got 5 1/144 Eurofighter Typhoons (2 single- and 3 twin seaters) 3 of witch im going to build RW OOB, 2 others (2 twin-seaters) will be whiffs (i bought them for the Taurus and Storm Shadow weapons), im thinking a Desert Storm version and the other is yet to be determined. ive got 2 pre-build blank typhoons on the sideline, im thinking Western Ukraine and maybe a Slovakian AF fighter.

in 1/144, there are also 3 real world Tornado's (a Desert Storm GR1, a tigermeet ECR and a German Navy version) waiting in line.
also an  Italian F-104S-ASA.
still looking at the 1/72 range, im also going to look into continuing the Belgian CF-105 Arrow. a Belgian Spitfire Mk.1 is also on the line (changing from spares sourced decals to those from Airfix's early Hurricane Mk.1).

there's a also that pair of 1/72 SeaKings that need to get done, preferably sooner then later 
these are 2 commision builds and they really take up a lot of space on the workbench, might put those on the high-priority list.


on a personal note:

Jobhunting is not going as planned, my new counciler asked me to send out sollicitation letters to 10 different local metal companies in 1 week, witch is impossible as there arent even that many in the whole province anymore. they are either all in financial debt, going out of bussiness or moving to Eastern-Europe. im lucky to have found 4 or 5 so far 
the man is out of his mind, this isnt 1985 anymore, when you had hundereds of metal companies in the region.


more soon....

[Spey_Phantom]

EXTRA NEWSFLASH

as of yesterday afternoon, i have become an uncle for the 5th time 
my younger brother's girlfriend gave birth to they're second child, Lucas.

im going to visit them at the hospital this afternoon,
after the Belgian Modelers membersday (witch is only 5 minutes away from the hospital) 

[NARSES2]

Well done mate, especially combing two things at once 

[Captain Canada]

Congrats Uncle Nils !

I don't think I've ever seen the 2 seat 144th scale bird...I'll have to ask my LHS guy. Love that little kit.

Now, on with the Sea King and on with the Arrow !