Moments of Zen

[kerick]

Keep your feet under you when using that chain saw! Last thing you want to do is to trip and/or fall while holding one of those!
Got to keep those fingers in place for model building!

[DogfighterZen]

Better you than me! Get me on anything above a step ladder and I lose it. Severe fear of heights.  Also, some of the nuttiest people I've ever seen were tree trimmers. LOL 

I think there's a a pattern in some of the more involved trades I've been involved with; being floor covering and mowing the grass... it's hard to get much closer to the ground than that.   

Thank you, i take the nutty bit as a compliment...
Fortunately, i don't have a problem with heights, all the bmx years took care of that. I've been working in landscaping and outdoors spaces maintenance for around 17 years now, with a few brief ventures in the middle as a furniture carpenter and a few other professions, just don't ask me about the Hostel receptionist thing, too many drunk and high kids... 
I also like to do normal ground level gardening, but this is much more fun, it's a bit like rock-climbing, which is a lot of fun.
The guys in my gardening crew are 2, 19/21 year old kids who've been working with me for only 4 months now, they have no experience with this kind of work and there's been very little time for me to properly teach them how to, so these tasks are up to me, which i enjoy much more than desk work.
Anyway, this has been a good how-to session for them as they've been watching and learning, and the chainsaw and climbing basics have been achieved by both so next time i'm sending them up the ladder to practice at a lower height.
BTW, this tree and 2 more like it, are being cut down to 1,70m height and the stumps are to become statue bases, my boss says it's too much rubbish from the leaves. The rest of the trees in that area are just being pruned and cleaned up.

Keep your feet under you when using that chain saw! Last thing you want to do is to trip and/or fall while holding one of those!
Got to keep those fingers in place for model building!

Yup, will do, mate!
Two of my rules with most tools - Only use when firmly secured and/or balanced and always cut and swing away from any and all body parts!   
All this type of work has to be done safely, using a chainsaw is dangerous enough on the ground, so 10m up on a tree branch can be a bit more of a challenge.

Regarding modelling, i've finally decided what to do with the F-16, and it will involve new wings stolen from another fighter. The YF-23 has also been outlined, although i still have to decide if i should go ahead with some of the ideas, and what they will require to get done, but overall, this is very positive as my new compressor should be here soon and i feel the Mojo coming alive again.
I've also managed to sort out the Photobucket issue, and in a few days i'm buying a real camera, my iphone 3GS has suffered enough and it's showing, i can't get anything in focus for a decent pic.

[kerick]

My old phone just won't focus that last little bit anymore. Screen is acting crazy too so maybe it's time for a new one.

I would love to get my hands on one of those 1/72 YF-23 kits. I want to build a photo recon version with an extended forward fuselage.

[TheChronicOne]

Good to know about your peons getting their feet wet.    I hear boss on the leaves... I've always had tons of them fall on my property which is a decent sized lot for being in the city. Less now, because we lost 4-5 legacy pecan trees to the two hottest years on record around here (2011 and 2012....weeks and weeks with temps far above 100 every .. single...day... ).  Had to have people come cut down the trees because the city was getting pissy about it. 

Also good on the phone and compressor.. I know you wanted that fancy one (compressor) but hey.. new wares is new wares!!  I sympathize on priorities, though. I've hit a wall with my business. I thought more people would have me coming to get rid of leaves but the email inbox and phone are full of cobwebs. I've mowed like 3 lawns over the last 5 weeks.  Yikes!  I can't wait for Spring so I can start buying model stuff again.  I have quite a bit of new work from new customers but nothing starts until around April.

[DogfighterZen]

My old phone just won't focus that last little bit anymore. Screen is acting crazy too so maybe it's time for a new one.

I would love to get my hands on one of those 1/72 YF-23 kits. I want to build a photo recon version with an extended forward fuselage.

I know what you mean, it took me quite a while looking around for a good deal on these YF-23 kits, people take advantage of it being OOP, but i can see why the molds were discontinued. There are lots of sink marks on the control surfaces and even a molding defect on the top of the fuselage, right behind the canopy. I have the Dragon, Tamiya, Testors and Revell kits, the last 3 are the same Italeri molds, and the oldest is the Revell from 1992. For some reason, it's the worst kit, it looks as if Tamiya and Testors tried to clean up or fix the molds as the defects are nowhere to be found on their kits, which came out after the Revell.
That recon version would be a different idea from all the other YF-23 builds i've seen, i'll keep an eye out for a good deal for you as i already have plans for all the kits i've bought.
The one i'm starting now will be a what-if, imagine that PAV-1 got a few mods after the USAF chose the YF-23 in the ATF competition. The prototypes would be used for implementation of the changes needed for production models.
The F-16 will be a mix of the U with the W...

Good to know about your peons getting their feet wet.    I hear boss on the leaves... I've always had tons of them fall on my property which is a decent sized lot for being in the city. Less now, because we lost 4-5 legacy pecan trees to the two hottest years on record around here (2011 and 2012....weeks and weeks with temps far above 100 every .. single...day... ).  Had to have people come cut down the trees because the city was getting pissy about it. 

Also good on the phone and compressor.. I know you wanted that fancy one (compressor) but hey.. new wares is new wares!!  I sympathize on priorities, though. I've hit a wall with my business. I thought more people would have me coming to get rid of leaves but the email inbox and phone are full of cobwebs. I've mowed like 3 lawns over the last 5 weeks.  Yikes!  I can't wait for Spring so I can start buying model stuff again.  I have quite a bit of new work from new customers but nothing starts until around April.

Sorry to hear about the lack of work, no doubt that winter stops most gardeners from working and making a living, which sucks.
Re the compressor, i just couldn't spend 400€ on the hobby right now, when my car needs some new parts and a good checkup, and there are a bunch of other priorities starting with the household and family. But it's just been put on hold for a few months, i will buy one of those silent compressors  as soon as the bank account settles back to normality after the spending... er, festive season.

[TheChronicOne]

Tis the season for being broke as a joke. LOL

Oh well, you won't have that funny guilty feeling going on if you handle "business" first then wait on the sweet wares.  Peace of mind is worth it.  I know a couple times I jumped on some ebay stuff instead of putting money into my truck or ...lawn stuff... or whatever... then I'd feel guilty about it like a kid skipping work to play video games. lol  That feeling SUUUUUUUCKS. 

[kerick]

Tis the season for being broke as a joke. LOL

Oh well, you won't have that funny guilty feeling going on if you handle "business" first then wait on the sweet wares.  Peace of mind is worth it.  I know a couple times I jumped on some ebay stuff instead of putting money into my truck or ...lawn stuff... or whatever... then I'd feel guilty about it like a kid skipping work to play video games. lol  That feeling SUUUUUUUCKS.

I take it you live in an area without snow? All the landscapers around here will switch to snow plowing soon.

[TheChronicOne]

Tis the season for being broke as a joke. LOL

Oh well, you won't have that funny guilty feeling going on if you handle "business" first then wait on the sweet wares.  Peace of mind is worth it.  I know a couple times I jumped on some ebay stuff instead of putting money into my truck or ...lawn stuff... or whatever... then I'd feel guilty about it like a kid skipping work to play video games. lol  That feeling SUUUUUUUCKS.

I take it you live in an area without snow? All the landscapers around here will switch to snow plowing soon.

You got it. SW Oklahoma. It does snow to the point where something like that is needed but it's never more than 4-5 times (days) a season if that. Could well be one or two or none.  I do have one arrangement with someone to take care of it all season long but so far no one else will bite on that OR the leaf stuff.  I might get some "emergency" calls ,though, so that's good, but yeah it just doesn't happen enough to make into something solid.

[zenrat]

I'm scared of my chainsaw.  Which I reckon is probably a good thing as it means I take extreme care when I use it.

...Regarding modelling, i've finally decided what to do with the F-16, and it will involve new wings stolen from another fighter...

I vote wings from a Spitfire?  One with four cannons obviously. 

[DogfighterZen]

I'm scared of my chainsaw.  Which I reckon is probably a good thing as it means I take extreme care when I use it.

That's the way to do it, always be aware of the danger. No fooling around with this type of tools.

...Regarding modelling, i've finally decided what to do with the F-16, and it will involve new wings stolen from another fighter...

I vote wings from a Spitfire?  One with four cannons obviously. 

I'm leaning more toward Corsair's wings... with the four cannons, obviously!
Seriously now, it'll be my first time cutting up a brand new kit for parts donation, one of the oldest members of my stash, the Revell box of the Italeri F-22 Raptor. I've had this in mind for a very long time since i saw a profile that's been shared a few times on here of the Block 70 F-16IN by lantinian, although mine will have it's differences. The YF-23 is also getting some wing surgery but that will be a different story...

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, after more than 2weeks with no physical modelling done, i've finally took the F-16 project to plastic. Had to build up the courage to cut off the Raptor's wings cause i didn't wanna ruin the rest of the fuselage, but it's done, i've got wings for the Viper, and the rest of the kit can be stored for future projects!
I've also been testing out the new wing design for the YF-23, all done with paper templates attached with tape just to get an idea of how things look with each different layout.
This means i'm on the go again, i've been a bit bummed since my compressor started having problems, right when i was about to start the scheme on the Portuguese marines' Harrier.
I should have the compressor i ordered at my LHS delivered next week so that one too will get picked up again so i'll be printing decals soon.
On other modelling related news, today i'm getting a camera, nothing fancy, just a cheap point-and-shoot, probably a Canon Ixus175. It should be enough for my needs as i don't intend on becoming a photographer, just a bit of upgrade for my modelling pics, and i believe that  this camera is enough. Maybe someday i feel the need to have a DSLR, but not for now.

[DogfighterZen]

Not much going on around here, just some plastic cutting up for testing purposes...



I'm just waiting for the season to end to be able to have some quality time for modeling...

[TheChronicOne]

He's a mad man!!!  Dismembering all these planes and such. 

[DogfighterZen]

He's a mad man!!!  Dismembering all these planes and such. 

C'mon, it's for a good cause! And so far, only one kit and an old credit card have been armed in this process... and the kit is not a rare or extinct species so it's not a big offense!

And i'm going to have a bit more time for modelling than i expected cause i had 3 songs with unfinished lyrics to get ready for a gig on January 14th... that just wouldn't be possible so those 3 have been put on hold and older songs were chosen to fill the gap.

Still no compressor... which is starting to be a bit annoying cause the owner of the shop said it would take 3-5 days and it's almost been a month...
If i'd ordered it from a shop in the north of the country, it surely would've been here for a couple of weeks now...  I try to support my LHS but every time i order something there, it takes ages to arrive and always at a higher price than i could get it somewhere else... it's just not working anymore... I'm gonna stop by tomorrow to speak to the owner about the compressor, if it's still a long wait, i'll have to cancel that order and buy one from the other shop. Bet it'll be here in 2 days max after i place the order online.

[TheChronicOne]

He's a mad man!!!  Dismembering all these planes and such. 

C'mon, it's for a good cause! And so far, only one kit and an old credit card have been armed in this process... and the kit is not a rare or extinct species so it's not a big offense!

And i'm going to have a bit more time for modelling than i expected cause i had 3 songs with unfinished lyrics to get ready for a gig on January 14th... that just wouldn't be possible so those 3 have been put on hold and older songs were chosen to fill the gap.

Still no compressor... which is starting to be a bit annoying cause the owner of the shop said it would take 3-5 days and it's almost been a month...
If i'd ordered it from a shop in the north of the country, it surely would've been here for a couple of weeks now...  I try to support my LHS but every time i order something there, it takes ages to arrive and always at a higher price than i could get it somewhere else... it's just not working anymore... I'm gonna stop by tomorrow to speak to the owner about the compressor, if it's still a long wait, i'll have to cancel that order and buy one from the other shop. Bet it'll be here in 2 days max after i place the order online.

Sweet about more hobby time! That's killer though, you write and perform music and stuff? Rock band and all 'at or whatever?  Nice, dude! What type of music do you do?

Good points about the smaller guys shops and stuff... I sometimes have the same conflict of supporting the local small guys, or just going for the more efficient route. It's no wonder the planet is being consumed by Wal Marts, Costcos, and Hobby Lobbys. 

I can see the frustration.. It's much easier to "wait" when you have a full schedule and tons of things to do but when free time develops it's a different story.  Somewhat different situation but same problem: I made an arrangement with a fella to buy one of my mowers. He was supposed to have me paid off by April 1st, 2016. Excuses after excuses and I let it slide about 8 months (original agreement was solidified in February).  Well, November hits and I'm broke so I got PISSED and demanded my money. I got it, but there was a big kerflfuffle first. Point being... well.. I already said the point: It's easy to let things slide until when you really WANT or need it then the ridiculous wait suddenly becomes much more problematic.

No worries on the mamed kits.. . .