Gondor's Grumblings

[Gondor]

Haveing seen Chris start a couple of topics for this years One Week Group Build I thought I had better come up with an idea for something to build that week, seeing that I have taken tat week off work as a holiday. After a short time I remembered an idea I had a while ago which should work well. The build will follow my usual thoughts about the group build, KISS.

Keep
It
Stupidly
Simple

Which this one will be. It's one of the more recent Airfix kits, the colour scheme is simple, Overall metal, and the rest of the paints will mainly be acrylic so will dry quickly. Decals may be a slight problem but I am hopeing that I have enough roundels of the correct size for what I need. No real squadron markings and just a serial to be added and as it's a trainer, maybe trainer markings. We shall see 

Gondor

[Pellson]

Keep
It
Stupidly
Simple

My main life rule as an engineer! 

[scooter]

Keep
It
Stupidly
Simple

My main life rule as an engineer! 

That was my mantra for 14 years as a signal pog

[Rheged]

Keep
It
Stupidly
Simple

My main life rule as an engineer! 

Annoying pedant mode engaged

Even in medieval times, the philosopher William of Occam had a similar rule.   "Occam's Razor"  (put simply)   states that  the simplest explanation is preferable to one that is more complex. Simple theories are easier to verify. Simple solutions are easier to execute.   It's also known as the Parsimony Principle.

Disengage annoying pedant mode

[Gondor]

Correlation is NOT Causality though I have a Manager who thinks that it is 

Anyway, I decided to buy a couple of Hasegawa Ju88's in 1/72 scale because I found some decals by a company called OWL Decals which depict a Ju-88C-6 Nightfighter armed with four Wgr.42 rockets, two under each wing. Now I tend to like the unusual or out of the ordinary where aircraft are concerned and this fitted the idea perfectly. FW190's and Bf109's and Bf110's carrying those rockets are to be expected from time to time, but a Ju88 

My plans for the upcomming One Week Group Build have changed slightly. While looking for my Hasagawa F-35 in the loft today I found a kit that will provide unit markings for my proposed group build entry. The F-35 might get entered into the Group Build as well, single colour camouflage and closed weapons bays makes for a very simple kit build and we like simple, most of the time, and where kits are concerned.

Really pleased with the new upgrade sets that Thorvic pointed me towards. More pictures of them tomorrow as they will get a shot of primer to help the parts stand out. White resin on a white resin background does not show detail very well so a shot of grey primer tomorrow makes a lot of sence to me, will even help me see where each peice is too 
The downside to the HMS Devonshire upgrade set is that it needs the Atlantic Models etch set for that ship to complete the upgrade. Such items as the railings and the helicopter rotor blades are too fine to do in resin at 1/600 scale.

Gondor

[Gondor]

The pictures of the upgrade sets are in the thread Holdin' out for a Hero which may become ageneral ship modelling thread for me if I build more ships as there are a few in the stash, just not as many as aircraft 

Talking of which, I got notification from Hannants that the A & A models kit of British Aerospace Hawk 200 reg ZJ201 is in stock and as I had it on backorder I went and bought it

Gondor

[NARSES2]

Talking of which, I got notification from Hannants that the A & A models kit of British Aerospace Hawk 200 reg ZJ201 is in stock and as I had it on backorder I went and bought it

Gondor

Be interested to know what the kits like when you get it as I've always like the look of the Hawk 200

[Gondor]

Talking of which, I got notification from Hannants that the A & A models kit of British Aerospace Hawk 200 reg ZJ201 is in stock and as I had it on backorder I went and bought it

Gondor

Be interested to know what the kits like when you get it as I've always like the look of the Hawk 200

I realised that it was by A & A models and as I have one of their Maulers I am not sure if it's going to be better than the Matchbox kit, should be though 

Gondor

[NARSES2]

Yup I've built one of their Maulers and have another which is why I asked. They are buildable but I hope they have improved given the years that have passed.

[The Wooksta!]

The Mauler was by Siga, A&A may have acquired the moulds.

[Gondor]

It looks decent enough of the Scalemates web site as they have a picture of the sprues and other parts. As Lee said, it's a new mould and the Mauler was by Siga which get's me thinking of Sonic the Hedgehog, but that was Saga 

Gondor

[Gondor]

Progress is relativly swift with the One Week Group Build, I just hope I can keep the pace up. While working on both the Gnat and F-35 I have been tinkering with a 1/600 Wessex HAR.3. That will get painted and I shall look at the etch for the rotors for it as well. I will probably get the filler out at some point as on my Ikara Leander there is a bit of a gap between the Ikara launcher and tunnel and the rest of the superstructure which needs to be addressed, but we shall see. One thing that I was looking for and found just befor adding to the blog was my Humbrol Paint guides. They are old but really useful when trying to match paint numbers such as greys for the F-35. That reminds me, I should dig out the decals that I am adding to the kit to make it a whiff.

Gondor

[Gondor]

So I haven't posted much for the last three months, but I needed the break for various reasons.

All of us are not getting any younger, and as the saying goes, "Old age dosen't come by itself". Well out of the last three weeks I have been at work for two and a bit days. I am due back to work on Tuesday next week and am going to have to cancel the dentist appointment I have for Monday because I have been off work with a respiratory infection and the two don't go together very well, I can't very well wear a face mask for the dentist to do a check up can I?
The thing is, it might be covid. It fits some of the symptoms, sore throat to begin with, lack of breath and coughing. Going to go back to the Dr's on Monday, wearing a face mask, and seeing what they think.
I want to go back to work, I'm getting so bored at home that I even created a spreadsheet for how much household energy I have used over the last three and a bit years, with the first three years being on a fixed price contract. I then worked out the average cost per month in both types of fuel I use at the price I was paying per unit and then from that worked out how many units per month that was. Once I had got that far I was able to work out the average monthly cost at the current price I should be spending. I worked it out at £90 per month for all my home energy as opposed to the £125 I was being asked to pay by the company.

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

I worked it out at £90 per month for all my home energy as opposed to the £125 I was being asked to pay by the company.

Yeah, funny that, isn't it?

My lot did pretty much the same, or tried to, by suggesting that my monthly direct debit should be over £200 until I pointed out that I was at that point some £650 in credit to them and they weren't having a PENNY more until that came down nearer to £100 or so. Either that or they could pay me back £500 and my DD would be something like £110 in future.

They chose the latter path. 

[Gondor]

Yeah, funny that, isn't it?

My lot did pretty much the same, or tried to, by suggesting that my monthly direct debit should be over £200 until I pointed out that I was at that point some £650 in credit to them and they weren't having a PENNY more until that came down nearer to £100 or so. Either that or they could pay me back £500 and my DD would be something like £110 in future.

They chose the latter path. 

Congratulations on getting such a sum from them, normally it's harder to get money from a big company than getting blood out of a stone.

At the end of my contract I was only £200 in credit, so untill things stabalise a bit, the prices will change at the beginning of next month due to a change in the cap on prices changeing, they will get what I pay them which is £75 for the next payment at the start of October.

Also thinking that the chest infection I have had might have been covid and that the breathlessness could be long-covid related.

Modelling wise things have been slow. The only real progress until just befor I started feeling ill was a Ship 



I am building a second of the Leander kits OOB other than being cleaned up etc, where as Dido is getting the full works. 3D printed conversion/upgrade, etch brass detail set and scratch building for other parts that need it such as the wings to the bridge where the kit plastic scales to a scale foot thick bulwark around it 
Recently decided to repair one of the two part built TSR2's I have, the box with them fell on the floor and broke the undercarriage leg of one and the piviot for the wheels on the other. One of them will be Maritime Strike armed with Martel's and an under fuselage fuel tank, while the other will be a reconnaissance aircraft.

Gondor