Moments of Zen

[DogfighterZen]

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...

i meant harmed... but you got the point...

About the band, it was almost breaking up earlier this year, i'm not even sure if the name of the band is still the same because i left a few months ago but now the rest of the guys asked me to come back and try some new stuff. What we played was a bit of a mix, some will call it rock, others surely call it crap. There's a mix in our songs but the base is mostly rock'n'roll, with some funk, ska, a little bit of 90's punk rock and there's a few other genres too.
You can hear and see most of the stuff here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-K7t1TPO9UmjupIn4Bwx5Q
I write the lyrics, compose the voice lines, drum beats, synths for songs and sing. The song composition was something on which the whole band participated in, so there's a bit of everyone's ideas in every song. Tell me what you think of it.

Now, i'm a bit upset about the compressor situation, i've spoken to the owner of the shop and he said he ordered it from the import company which sells them nationwide, more than 2 weeks ago, paid for it but still it hasn't arrived yet... not sure what to think of this, seems like either he forgot to order it or the import company forgot him and he didn't call to see what's wrong... Not happy with this, at all, but i'll wait another week...

That said, i've got a lot to do that doesn't involve paint, so might as well do it and stop whining about the compressor, right? Right, let's get something done...

[TheChronicOne]

Yes, go get something done.      You're like me... sometimes when there's a certain part of the project I WANT to do it makes the rest of it lose a bit of luster.  I know the other stuff needs to be done but I wanted to do the other instead!!   

"... some will call it rock, others surely call it crap."




What do I think of the music? It think it rocks!! Not only did I not turn it off after 10 seconds but I enjoyed the entire thing!  That's my speed... checking out some of the rest, too.  I totally dig it! You and the rest are quite talented... Y'all could do damn well in the States with this stuff I guarantee it. The differing styles bodes well, too, people really like that stuff, I know I do. If everything you did sounded the same it wouldn't be nearly as appealing.  I point to Opeth as a band that has elements from so many different places in their stuff and that's one main draw. 

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks, Brad! Glad to know you like the tunes! We're still going, ended up finishing 2 of the 3 lyrics i had pending last night so new songs coming up soon! Now, i should probably be ashamed of not knowing Opeth, but i'll check it out later, tonight's rehearsal night, gotta hurry!

And to get me even more cheered up, the owner of my LHS called me today to tell me my presents have arrived!!



Now there's no excuse for slacking around... The compressor is ready, already tested it and was so surprised when i turned it on, the Aeolian Pixie is much louder than this one, and you get a 3 liter tank with a better engine... of course, it cost almost twice as much but i can even listen to music with this running! Now i just hope it lasts twice as long as the other one did...

[TheChronicOne]

Glorious.   

[DogfighterZen]

Well, the bench hasn't been as active as i wanted it to be but i've been doing some work on the Harrier, got about 60% of the decals on, only ones left to go are the smaller ones, of which i'll probably leave out quite a few.
Had to print on clear sheet for the first time to see if i could really print the stuff i needed and i managed to get it to work, although not perfect, i'm happy with the results.
Next prints will be done in a more careful manner because on this print, i probably didn't give the microscale decal film or maybe even the print itself, enough time to dry. And i almost screwed up big time when i applied too much decal softener and gave one of the decals a heavier stroke with the brush, it almost took off one the letters of a word but i realized what would happen just in time to prevent serious damage. I should be done with the decals tomorrow and then i'm finally starting on the landing gear and ordnance.
No other news for the other 2 projects on my bench as time for modelling has been very little  in the past weeks, let's see if after next Saturday's gig, i can have a bit more time to sit down and get some real work done.

[TheChronicOne]

You're on the down hill slide on the jump jet, that's good, I want some pics.    lol

[DogfighterZen]

You're on the down hill slide on the jump jet, that's good, I want some pics.    lol

Yeah, you can say that, and although 50 some small decals always put me off a bit but in the end i always prefer to have them on, although some are barely visible, i think it adds to the overall look. After those, another good gloss coat, followed by a wash with AK's panel liner and more gloss on top of that...
Sorry, there's still a bit to go but time is short so i'll wait to take pics when it's finished. Just have to finish my lunch and go to work, a lot to do this afternoon, Palm tree anti-weevil treatment day, another one of my exclusive tasks, injections and a good bath of an insecticide cocktail does the job but it's something i hate doing, it's such a poison going into the trees and some of it always get sprayed out into the atmosphere, but i have no other way of keeping the trees alive and my job depends on that...

[TheChronicOne]

Sounds interesting.. back in '09 the landscape company I worked for had a bunch of trees they planted out on the military base that were killed off completely by those weevils or some sort of wood beetle crap..

I know what you mean on them transfers!! I always start with the big ones first so the layout stays correct but I always get down to the teeny tiny ones and wind up leaving a bunch off... It's not that I couldn't do them, I just get lazy and want to be done with it. Sort of like some of the tiny dangly bits... sometimes they just don't go on. 

[DogfighterZen]

It is interesting but i'm always concerned and very careful about handling all the chemicals used in the process, i'm even more scared of those products than i am working 15m up on a tree with a rope and a chainsaw.
Well, i think that i'm starting to get the flow with the application of the decals/transfers... they are indeed transfers, i wonder why most call them decals?
I've adopted the method of cutting and soaking up the pairs that go on the same spot on opposite sides, makes it much faster, so much so, i'm done with the decals on the fuselage, only ones left are on the pylons and weapons, which are next to go.

[TheChronicOne]

That's how I do it, too, on the transfers. Speeds things up especially on stubborn ones that seem to want to stay on the backing paper for a longer time than normal.  Transfers v. decals?? I dunno! Maybe it's because the overall process could be called decalling? "Time to decal the plane with some transfers."  Hell, I dunno.       As far as I'm concerned they're almost interchangeable... they're both! It's a decal transfer or a transfer decal.   

Those chemicals... man, I know what you mean. In my experience I'm more worried about what I might get the stuff on... It's not so much "Man I'd rather not be breathing this" as much as "God, I hope I didn't just assassinate those ornamentals because of overspray!"   Heights and chainsaw.. well.... you already know how I feel about heights! Pure terrifying. 

[NARSES2]

they are indeed transfers, i wonder why most call them decals?

I still insist on calling them transfers and indeed am quite well known for it in the U.K. 

I think decals is the American word and has gradually become general usage. Not sure why, although the word transfers has/is used for various products which are definitely not intended for modelling. I can remember transfer "tattoos" as a kid, so maybe it's a more precise word ?

[TheChronicOne]

Iron-on transfers......   the kind you use an iron to move an image from a backing paper to a T-shirt are some. Other than decals for kits, that's what I think of next when I hear "transfer.'

[DogfighterZen]

That's how I do it, too, on the transfers. Speeds things up especially on stubborn ones that seem to want to stay on the backing paper for a longer time than normal.  Transfers v. decals?? I dunno! Maybe it's because the overall process could be called decalling? "Time to decal the plane with some transfers."  Hell, I dunno.       As far as I'm concerned they're almost interchangeable... they're both! It's a decal transfer or a transfer decal.   

Those chemicals... man, I know what you mean. In my experience I'm more worried about what I might get the stuff on... It's not so much "Man I'd rather not be breathing this" as much as "God, I hope I didn't just assassinate those ornamentals because of overspray!"   Heights and chainsaw.. well.... you already know how I feel about heights! Pure terrifying. 

You should consider masking the plant you don't want to overspray...
I've dipped more than the just 2 decals at once to save time and put them in a dry tray to let the water work without making the decals come off and mix up. This way it's almost non stop, just picking up the next decal which is ready and waiting.
Re the decals, now i'm very confused...

I still insist on calling them transfers and indeed am quite well known for it in the U.K. 

I think decals is the American word and has gradually become general usage. Not sure why, although the word transfers has/is used for various products which are definitely not intended for modelling. I can remember transfer "tattoos" as a kid, so maybe it's a more precise word ?

I'm know that you call them transfers, that's why i said most... 
I really don't care about the word used for the small things as long as i understand what it refers to. But it makes sense, probably just started showing up more and more on magazines so most people started using the "correct" term used by pros, but who cares, right?

Still regarding decals and the Harrier, finished transferring the remaining few on to the external tanks and landing gear doors.
Also assembled the Sniper and DJRP pods, rocket pods and Paveway IV bombs, also cut the landing gear off the sprues so all these are ready for paint.
Now, off to google some pics of each weapon for color reference...

[TheChronicOne]

Hey I'm going to try that setting the decals on the tray doing mutliple at a time. That way they aren't all swimming around in the water.  Good tip right there!

[DogfighterZen]

Hey I'm going to try that setting the decals on the tray doing mutliple at a time. That way they aren't all swimming around in the water.  Good tip right there!

i just cut the pairs, trios, quartets, or bigger ones, prepare 10 numbers and move on from that. Dip in water and pull them out just after a few seconds, leaving just the water that comes on the decal to soak up the backing paper and release the decal, it won't move out of place until you move it with a toothpick or whatever you do it with. If it dries up, one drop of water and it's good to go.