Thorvics'Blog

[Thorvic]

Progress  First remembered to put away the recently completed builds into box and then finished off the spraying of the primer on the Puma. I was then finally able to get round to masking the white belly on the phantom and give the rest of the model a coat of the Tamiya fine grey primer. I can now spray and varnish the nose cone and then the metallic's around the jet pipes before masking off for the Extra Dark Sea grey. I prefer to do the nose cone now as its easier to mask the join line and once sealed in masking its a handy area to use for picking up when spraying.

Didn't get too much else done as masterchef had moved back to Wednesday night at 8pm and once the primer was sprayed there was nothing I could really work on for the night.
However it does give me something to work with for the next couple of nights and the weekend. I can get the areas sprayed and masked on the Phantom, then get on with painting the detail bits on the Phantom and the Puma ahead of airbrushing the main colours at the weekend if all goes well 

Already got a couple more builds lined up to follow, but I really must look at a project build or two for SMW as had quite a bit of inspirational material published recently to tempt us the trouble is deciding what added to that we have the recent kit releases to tempt us as well such as the Mirage 4000, the F-35B (which is due to fly off HMS QE later in the year !!) and the helewan Ha300 is due out by the end of the month too.

[Thorvic]

Not a bad weekend, managed to get the prep work done and actually airbrushed both the Phantom and the Puma over the course of the 2 days/3 evenings, now just a bit of touching up and detail painting before that lovely decaling exercise - Yes the Phantom is an Early K from the Evaluation & testing flight so has full stencils  , but the Puma should be OK 

Managed to get some other household bits & pieces sorted out and had a visit to the relocated Halifax Modellers World yesterday before spending the rest of the Afternoon waiting for Duncan to make it to Sowerby Bridge on foot from Manchester along the Canal !!!

[Thorvic]

Progressing with the Decaling on the Puma, just need to finish off the detail bits painting and fit them 

Phantom will follow, for some reason I seem to be putting off the Phantom decals, I wonder if its the stenciling that subconsciously putting us off 

Realised that I was supposed to paint a hanger queen when I was spraying at the weekend, so will have to try that again over this Easter period 

Was almost good yesterday, noticed the Valom DH-91 Albatross has now been released and was about to pick one up off eBay but then managed to stop myself as remembered I have way more kits than I need in the stash and what the hell would I do with it anyway, as not me era or theme so was able to move on, unfortunately one of the suggestions that popped up happened to be the Italeri HOS-4 (H-19B) kit, so tried a cheeky bid and won, so that's another potential whirlwind for the stash.

On to real life issues and I have now ordered a new garden shed as the old shed and Garage being nearer to 60 yrs old the wooden structures having been battered in recent years by the frequent strong storms especially the easterlies which blow for days. In the process of arranging a replacement concrete garage but as the sheds are connected to this structure I need a new shed to put the gardening tools and other items whilst the garage is replaced. So this week will be prepping a fresh base for the new shed and starting the process to empty the sheds and garage before they are demolished. So the next weeks will be spent emptying the garage & sheds, runs to the HWRC (tip) and consolidating what to keep.

[NARSES2]

So this week will be prepping a fresh base for the new shed and starting the process to empty the sheds and garage before they are demolished. So the next weeks will be spent emptying the garage & sheds, runs to the HWRC (tip) and consolidating what to keep.

Best of luck with that mate. Always seems to take a minimum of twice as long as you allowed for !

[Thorvic]

Well the weather sort of buggered things up this weekend, I managed to clear the area for the new shed but need to level it, on Saturday the wind proved to be too gusty and from the East to get that done nor could I start on emptying the shed. I did have a look in the garage to get started but the realised I had best leave that till I have the new shed so I can keep the tools I need and send the rest to the local tip.

Modelling wise I received the new Atlantic Model HMS Ark Royal so that's a 70s Ark to go into my Carrier collection  .

I am now part way through the stencil decaling of my 2nd Airfix Phantom, this is another early one and real, being one of the pair to do sea trials on Eagle from Boscome Down and it will be in the hot to trot  cat launch configuration. 

I have also done the decals on the hanger queen I found and painted last week, it should have been ready but couldn't decide on the weapons fit so have only just painted those so should be able to add those and get some photos done to reveal it later in the week   

[Rheged]

Well the weather sort of buggered things up this weekend, I managed to clear the area for the new shed but need to level it, on Saturday the wind proved to be too gusty and from the East to get that done nor could I start on emptying the shed. I did have a look in the garage to get started but the realised I had best leave that till I have the new shed so I can keep the tools I need and send the rest to the local tip.

I assume that a sensible gentleman such as yourself will be donating potentially usable tools etc  to charity. I gave a lot of my late father's tools to a charity that refurbishes them and passes them to voluntary groups both in the UK and the Third World. They were extremely grateful!!    They are delighted to receive almost anything, and are usually happy to collect.

[Thorvic]

It's actually the other detritus that's gathered up in the garage over the years where I haven't been arsed moving it to the tip.

Unfortunately the weather has been completely poo-poo (with an english accent) the last couple of evenings with heavy rain so will have to hope the next couple of nights improve so I can get on with the job. I also need to level off the ground for the new shed due on Tuesday so I will have somewhere to store the gardening tools. and some bits kept in the existing sheds.

Nothing done model wise either which is a shame and I think I may have to miss Cosford on Sunday at this rate too as I will need to play catch up on the clear out. as about to order the new garage now funding is arranged so I will need to clear some of the crap out so they can do a survey 

[Thorvic]

Well a so so weekend, with neighbours on Friday, got the shed base done on Saturday in the rain and ended up with a cold so Sunday despite being a nice day and the Cosford show I was just not fit to drive down and do the show. I didn't have the concentration to do the Phantom stencils and with the nose being primed and loaded, spraying was not an option  . I did however manage to work on an Italeri H-19B and start on converting it to a Westland Whirlwind HAS7 by modifying the grill, creating a torpedo trough and deepening the belly around it, so it wasn't a complete loss.

The new shed arrives tomorrow and also due to get the survey for the replacement Garage so the building will go on a back burner these next few weeks as I put the gardening stuff into the shed along with some of my storage boxes and the rest of the gash in the garage and old wooden sheds get emptied before the Garage gets demolished !!!. So a chaotic month or so ahead until the garage gets built !!!!

[Thorvic]

Well work progresses on clearing the garage, the sheds have been done and the garage is half empty, so this weekend whilst the SIGs are at Perth for the Scottish Nationals I will be off to the tip with yet more gash to dispose of as they all have to be cleared by this time next week ! . Need to sort out an area indoors to store some items for a couple of weeks as the new shed is now full with the relevant gardening tools and the spare wood is in a pile covered by a tarp so its old builds and kits that need to be boxed up and put away safe and the shelf units dismantled.

The only trouble is I have not touched anything in the workshop for a couple of weeks, I have had the chance too as the weathers been too wet to do stuff in the garage but the mojo won't let me till this task is completed. What's worse is have the week off between the old garage removal and the installation of the new one, but rather than thinking on what I can build I'm seriously looking at shutting down the workshop and focus on doing a spring clean across the house and sorting out the stash and boxing it up during that week instead 

It really needs to be done and I'll have to do it sooner or later and so might as well be now, I can use the new garage as space overflow whilst I get the house sorted out. It sadly means however no major build projects over the summer or for SMW and kit purchases will have to be on a low key as the paint and tools and materials will be for 1/1 household use rather than modelling. Thankfully not many if any must buy kits scheduled for this year, those that I did want or carried over from last year have now been procured and the next stuff is not really due till the end of the year anyway.

Posts and updates on here will therefore probably drop off quite a bit, I'll still be checking in but the focus this summer is on the house for now 

[NARSES2]

As you say Geoff, sometimes the real world stuff has to take precedence. I've got some stuff around the house that I must get done sometime in the next month or so, although it will probably wait until I come back from the annual trip North to see the family. Which strangely always seems to happen at the same time as the Northern Show 

[PR19_Kit]

Which strangely always seems to happen at the same time as the Northern Show 

Many of my work trips suffered the same (in)convenience.

My Secretary entitled such trips 'Creative Scheduling' and they had a 'CS' sticker on our calendars. Such events were NOT movable! 

[Thorvic]

Just had OGL stay over on his trip to Perth for the Scottish nationals, so whilst I'm not there in person the models will be. Ironically the reason I couldn't go in the first place with no cover at work due to Jury Service is now no longer a factor due to his case ending early and no longer being required but now I'm committed to have the garage replaced so whilst the gang are wandering round the Hall at Perth I will be boxing stuff up or scrapping it to stay on schedule so its ready come Thursday/Friday.

Nice to talk shop and discuss ideas although I can't really run with any for the time being, I didn't even have any wish list to look out for either, although with Martin & Joe both interested in the similar subject matter at the moment they would know what would tempt me if they didn't actually want it for themselves.

[Thorvic]

Success, I managed to clear the Garage and the sheds this weekend, anything left will go in the skip come Thursday. Demolition of the old wooden Garage is set to commence at 07:30, when they will dismantle the structures, clear off the base do any repairs and then skim a new layer of concrete over the top to create the new foundation.
Friday its the car's turn with a service & MOT leaving me free to make the most of next weeks fine weather until the new garage gets erected a week on Friday which will mean moving some of the stuff back into the garage next weekend which should be fun.
Hopefully next week I may be able to get some modelling done, although I will have to get to grips with the garden amongst over chores, so it may only be a case of a tidy up of the work room instead. in fact I will finish off what's on the bench first and then clean up and use the rest of May for a long overdue spring clean as I can now use the garage to store decent items I can empty rooms to give them a thorough clean and possibly a touch up.
Don't worry about the mojo, I'm down in Dorset in June for a weeks Holiday so will be visiting the Helicopter Museum, Yeovilton FAA Museum and Bovington Tank Museum as well as the local model shops, so will be brimming with inspiration after that 

[The Wooksta!]

Check your PMs!

[Thorvic]

Well the old garage was demolished and skipped along with the sheds, the base proved to be too uneven and broken for skimming so it had to come out and a full new base laid. A week later that turned up at 06:50am and started to unload and assemble the concrete garage (Yes I was really popular with the neighbours especially when the transportable forklift started chugging away unloading the lorry, blocking the road and making a deep throaty exhaust note as it ran  ). Now chuffed I have a nice new dry garage, already loaded up the boxed up kits and models and will be adding more in there as the weeks go on and I start on clearing out the house for cleaning and decorating.

The bad news is the modelling itself is on the back burner I did get a smidgen done but it will be a while before I can sit down at the workbench and devote hours to builds, but I have probably done a little too much of that over the years so its probably time to redress the balance somewhat by focusing on house and garden for a change. I did get a little bit done on one of my builds that's ready to be painted but that will have to wait.

The good news is that space vacated by the old shed, can once the rubble has been leveled out could be used for another Shed that I may be able to make use of later in the year