Knightflyer's flights of fancy and mental musings

[Knightflyer]

Okay, as I've made a return to modelling after a brief hiatus I'd been intending to put some musings on here. I'll make a proper start shortly, but an incident today got me thinking.....

Is it time to stop buying models off the internet when you go to the Post Office to collect a couple of parcels and the post-woman behind the counter sees you and reaches straight for the correct parcel on the fairly full shelf behind her and doesn't ask for I.D. either!  (remembering of course that these are ONLY the parcels that get returned to the Post Office!

[RAFF-35]

Hahaha, that's when you know you have a slight problem

[zenrat]

Only if you are also on first name terms with the person who delivers your parcels.

[NARSES2]

My local Post Office know me very well. Indeed the lady has even asked my advice on a suitable starter kit for her youngest 

[Knightflyer]

Only if you are also on first name terms with the person who delivers your parcels.

My local Post Office know me very well. Indeed the lady has even asked my advice on a suitable starter kit for her youngest  

Well as I don't qualify on either of the above counts I obviously haven't got a problem. I can stop with the therapy!  

...... and more importantly ...... carry on buying!  

[Knightflyer]

Firstly A little back-filling

So 30th November 2015, the day the mojo died, or at least put away until after Christmas
The problem was it didn't return as such, it just made a few weak attempts at resurrection

I had 6 kits left unfinished when I shutdown for Christmas (modelling workbench = dining room table = big family Christmas = You can put that lot away for starters!)
The six kits (real-world builds) remain at present unfinished, with a little progress made on a couple of them

To try and re-float the mojo I turned once again to the life-enhancing art of Whiffery, and the Hawker Tempest Mk.II - 134 Squadron, SEAC http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,42443.msg734179/topicseen.html#new I recently posted is the first kit to be completed since that dark, dark day last year.

Things are picking up though, the weekend was fairly good for modelling, even after giving up time for gardening, walking the dog, watching a 2-hour film and heaven-forbid going out with the missus on Saturday night!

So along with Tempest posted yesterday morning I managed to complete another model that had been worked upon occasionally since April. This one went beyond my normal comfort-zone of alternative markings and dabbled in the dark arts of kit-bashing... so coming soon to a post near you, the Antersley Aviation AN-2/6 Curlew

So to finish,
Lessons learned No. 476 – If taking a kit on holiday with you, remember to ensure all the pieces come back as well!

[NARSES2]

Good to hear the mojo has returned  Sometimes a break is good for it. I normally have a break post Telford for some reason ?

[Knightflyer]

Well it wasn't a bad weekend as far as modelling went, managed to work on and off on three different kits

Swift - real world 79 squadron, but my mind did wander to the idea that what if Swift's had been as successful an aircraft as the Hunter, would we see a FRADU based Swift possibly (is the IN THE NAVY build still open???)

Hurricane - real world 111 squadron, but this early Hurricane did get me thinking of tranferring my 1/144 League of Nations Hurricane up to 1/72 scale (the fact that I've also just obtained three more of the early Mk.1s might also have something to do with the realisation of that idea

Bearcat - okay, whiff-time, this was the kit that went on holiday with me and came back without it's canopy. I'm now going to build another Bearcat to replace this one in the original whiff idea, but that's left me to develop an idea for a canopy-less Bearcat......watch this space 

[NARSES2]

Well it wasn't a bad weekend as far as modelling went, managed to work on and off on three different kits

Swift - real world 79 squadron, but my mind did wander to the idea that what if Swift's had been as successful an aircraft as the Hunter, would we see a FRADU based Swift possibly (is the IN THE NAVY build still open???)

Yup, In The Navy GB is still open. Plenty of time

[Dizzyfugu]

A Swift with a hook and in RN colors should look very sexy! 

[Knightflyer]

Well that was another good weekend as far as modelling went, managed to work on and off on two different kits and get to a model show - my first of the year! 

Bearcat 1 - okay, so the whiff continues. The cockpit-less Bearcat (BearBAT) is complete except for decals, waiting until I get to the same stage with Bearcat 2 (which will chronologically be the earlier aircraft) and then will varnish, decal and 'launch' both together.

Bearcat 2 - This is what Bearcat 1 was going to be, until it left it's canopy on holiday in Cornwall!  So this model has been constructed rapidly and should hopefully be completed soon (definitely before the end of month / end of the In the Navy GB deadline)

Thoughts continue of attempting a Hawk 200, Swift and even a Sea Hawk possibly in the next 29 days, the real-world builds can wait! 

[Captain Canada]

Nice read thanks for sharing your thoughts here. I'm in a bit of a funk right now myself, but enough about me I'll save that for my own blog 

The builds sound interesting. I'd love it if Italeri would do a Hawk 200. I'd imagine it would be quite popular if they modded the kit to go either way no ?

[Knightflyer]

So it was my wife's birthday this Saturday, and funnily enough the day didn't involve any modelling  However Sunday dawned and apart from mowing the lawns the garden and gardening weather was ignored and a fairly good day's modelling ensued


Bearcat 1 - The cockpit-less Bearcat (BearBAT) is complete including the decals and varnish. The hard part is uploading the photos and getting the bits of the backstory that are in my head into one coherent story on 'paper'
the start of the build thread http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42563.0.html

Bearcat 2 -  So this model is now complete having been constructed rapidly (6 modelling 'days') The build is here http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42560.msg736285.html#msg736285

Hawk 200 - So this is started, and now looks like an aircraft (Whatever you might think of Matchbox's 'trenches')  The start of the build (not much to see yet) is here http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42561.0.html

Sea Hawk - Well I'm mad enough to start another one, but as I don't go into heavy modification or complete chopping or changing (can't think who I might mean!  ) I should complete this in the next 22 days ....possibly
The start of the build (also not not much to see yet either) is here http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42562.0.html

Thoughts still continue of attempting a Swift but it'll take a bit more building than a 'simple' Airfix Sea Hawk and Matchbox Hawk 200. One potential colour scheme is too similar to the Hawk 200 and the other alternative require a large area of white paint, something I'm not really that good at. Anyway, I'll see where I am next week

[Knightflyer]

So another weekend of very little modelling activity, but as it was my son's birthday and he and I spent Friday and Saturday in Cologne/Bonn I can't really complain!

He's a plane-spotter, so he spent most of Friday at the airport whilst I took the bus to Bonn "fur Bonn?" "Ja!" "Danke, Bitte!" which just about used up my repertoire of German words!

Most of the aircraft there were GermanWings, which at least made a difference from RyanAir!

As I've posted elsewhere, the most interesting plane we saw was this



I did manage some modelling on the Sunday night. The Bearcats are finished (thank-you for the positive remarks regarding the BearBAT  ) so I spent a small amount of time on the Hawk 200 and the Sea Hawk. As they are progressing steadily I might just attempt the Swift I've been musing over for the 'In the Navy' build also

[Knightflyer]

Hello again

Well I didn't realise it'd been so long since I last posted on here (no muttering 'wot a relief' at the back there!)


So quick update since August, I've had a family holiday near Paris. The wife, daughter and son-in-law went to Disneyland Paris, whereas I made my way to the Musée de l'air et de l'espaceat Le Bourget Airport which is WELL worth a visit, I will try and get some photos posted.

I've also since then managed one of my 'hermitage' weekends (family in-joke) and got to the Yorkshire Air Museum at  Elvington and Aeroventure at Doncaster, ,again I'll try and get some picture ups


So modelling, a brief review methinks - I've got 5 kits on the go at the moment, having just finished a real-world OOB Airfix Swift

Griffon and BAe Hawk - real world builds, started on the mid October last year, and been stalled since mid December

1/144 Wessex and Hawker Osprey - again real world builds, started at the end of November and stalled since mid-December (family Christmas dinner requiring the same table that I model on have got a lot to answer for!  )



So modelling stalled until the advent of the 'In the Navy' build which re-lit my mojo (do mojo's relight?) when I managed to produce four models, which were moderately well received, the Sea-Hawk probably would've created a slightly bigger ripple if I'd done the back-story, so my own fault there....something else to do!

So plans at present :- revisit the stalled real world builds, it would be nice to see them completed in under a year (two days left to go on the first two!) and then perhaps a couple more kits for the 'The Old Kit Build' seeing as an awful lot of my kits qualify!



Present build of course is the Novo Sea Fury, which can be found here
http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,42907.msg744090/topicseen.html#msg744090