Chronic's Research and Aeronautics Project (C.R.A.P.)

[scooter]

My ex-father-in-law got me into cigars.  After the divorce, it pretty much dropped off to nothing.

[TheChronicOne]

Another smoke free day yesterday. 2 of the last 3 days were smoke free.... but not back to back. Back to back days would be better, but anyway!!! I'll take what I can get right now!

Plans... hmmm... well...  If I somehow have any energry left after working 12-13 hours It'll be back to the Helo. It's really the only one I've even looked at in two weeks and seems to be the easiest of my projects so I'll just get back to it and see what happens afterward.

That's about it. I'm in full work mode and taking advantage of finally being rid of the Sciatica after years. I just can't convince myself to come inside. There's so much work to be done outside. The time will come when it's too hot to be out there and then I'll have plenty of time for models. For now, I'm using every scrap of daylight I can get my hands on to be outside. Medium term goals is to have things nice and neat for Independence Day and I'll sit outside and grill and stuff. Haven't been able to in years. I have it made, here. We always have a huge fire works display in the park a block North of here and I have the best seat in the house.

[NARSES2]

Mum and dad were both chain smokers and some of my first memories were of them coughing their guts out first thing in the morning. I can't even hold an un-lit one. Never had trouble holding a pint glass though 

That's about it. I'm in full work mode and taking advantage of finally being rid of the Sciatica after years.

Good to hear mate 

[kitnut617]

I'm one of the few people of my generation who's never smoked......

You and me both, not even one drag, ever. But then I was always aware of my asthma triggering off at the slightest hint, so maybe that stopped me.

We've got a lot in common, I've never touched the things either. My pocket money went on fixing my bicycle or buying plastic kits instead  -- 

[TheChronicOne]

Wow.... March 18th was the last time I worked on any model stuff. It's April 6th now. While totally unplanned, I do believe this is the longest "down time" I've had since I picked back up in June 2016. 

Anyway... I finally found some time so I've spent it furthering my helicopter build. I can't even remember if I made a thread for it yet or not but I don't think so. Perhaps this will be one that I just spring on everyone like a surprise.     So, engine exhausts were glued on and I cleaned up all the Hellfire missiles so they can be primed. I really need to address nose weight and cockpit stuff soon or I might find myself painted into a corner.

I considered tinkering with my AT-28D but it's been too long since I last worked on it and I'd rather start back with it being the first project instead of the last.

That's about it, I guess. I'm pretty much stalled. Gunship is just sitting there.......  737 is just sitting there.......   far in the back the 707 is still just sitting there.....     

[TheChronicOne]

Piece of equipment is broken down and while I imagine I could fix it in less than an hour and get back to work, it's going to be very hot today for this time of year (low and mid 90's), so these combined are an excuse to not do any lawns today. So, I'm going to run a few errands after picking up garbage then come home and sit around all day and work on models. I've pulled a bunch muscles and stuff down in my nether regions and it's been bothering me for for weeks now. I can't get it healed up because every time I turn around I'm using the same muscle group for housr on end. Constantly leaning over and standing back up picking up trash and then the whole pivot/lean/repeat action associate with weedeating means this stuff has no chance to heal. So... going to try not to move much today and see if I can get it feeling better. Since the goal is to move as little as possible, this would seem perfect for sitting at the bench... 


Gunship... has me rather pissed off. The fitment is so bad that I have no choice in some areas but to slather copious amounts of filler all over the damn place then sand it back. This means I'm going to have to re-scribe some things. Main area for this is the cargo door. I nearly had to use dynamite to get it into the proper shape to even fit into the fuselage at all and even then the fitment was pure trash. It sounds like I'm being harsh here, because I am. There's not much excuse for something like this to be so wildly out of spec. Problem lies in the door itself, not so much the space for it on the fuselage. ANYWAY... since this area is the most problematic right now, I think I'll try to address it and get it out of the way if I can.

T-28 is close to being primed I think. Before I do that, however, I'll go over it and make sure there's nothing needs to be filled or adjusted first. 

Super Cobra... I'm not sure. I think I'm ready to prime/paint the Hellfires and the rails they go onto. I think I need to figure out nose weight...   etc. 

737 ....   I just need to do some fine-tuning on the nose fairing I made then I can do a light sand on the whole thing then prime it, I think. Could be the last time!! That would be nice. Can't wait to see it with some appliance white going on!  Of course, after that, it's "Welcome to masking hell" to get the multiple shades of grey and NMF on the bottom half.

Not sure how much will get done, but, at least I have some sort of a plan. 

[TheChronicOne]

I actually managed to get quite a bit done!! 

So... on the gunship, I slather a ton of filler all about the gap around the cargo door. I'll sand it down later and then scribe the lines back (or not.....  at "scale" they may not be visible anyway, this is 1/144 after all... ).  Then, I got back to gluing the engines onto the wings. Good Lord!!      This is some shithouse fitment, man, I swear. And, I guarantee, I didn't flub the directions or anything, either... 







What isn't immediately apparent are the substantial STEPS on some of them. In the order of 1mm or more. Picture don't do this justice. This stuff fits together like arse. 

(I'll Tamiya putty all this crap some other day, it's cool, It's a problem but it's solveable)


After that, I got back to work on the Nomad. Just body work this time. Last round I glued the engine and cowling on and it didn't match up too well with the fuselage. I fixed that. Also, I had to cut out the Fennec model nose intake thing then patch it. Then I had to match it up with the cowling intake.....  working on that now. It's going well. At last, I put some more putty on it. Should sand on it once more and be done I hope.

Uhhh.....  737!  Yeah buddy... I did a little more refinement work on the nose fairing then checked over the whole thing and sanded it a bit... then primed it all!



I tried to get some of the crap in the background, too, for interest. Any how.... hopefully this is the END of priming and sanding and all that. If everything looks nice, I'll spray it in appliance white epoxy.

Last, I've been working more on my helicopter. I primered up all the missiles and rails, the rocket thingies and all the interior parts. I've also been working on the main body fitment. It's mostly alright, but the "chin" was short-shot which creates a hell of a gap. I'll have to cram something in there. I've clipped out parts to put together later, and other minor things. Then I glued the rotor base and the engine compartment together:


Word.

So there we have it! Other than the 'started in name only' 707, I've done something on all the builds, I think. 

[NARSES2]

Not sure how much will get done, but, at least I have some sort of a plan. 

It's good to have a plan 

[PR19_Kit]

Not sure how much will get done, but, at least I have some sort of a plan. 

It's good to have a plan 

.....even if things don't conform to it.

[TheChronicOne]

I have to have one. I find myself nearly lost if I don't and then the anxiety and confusion in my mind over how to proceed bogs me down to the point where I either lose a substantial chunk of time ruminating and fretting over it or give up entirely. 

This is why I really like my early morning "plan and update" times because the act of typing it out and getting it all straight in my mind sure makes it easier later. Found out that all this is part and partial the anxiety and mild ADD stuff I have. I mean... I plan out every aspect of my day, with little variation. When my plan becomes interrupted or intruded upon it's very upsetting sometimes. Thought I was being a bit obsessive, turns out it's just par for the course.       Of course, dare I say, that going into anything with a plan is generally a good idea for EVERYONE.  Things don't usually seem to work quite as well for me when I say, "oh, I'll just figure it all out later and roll with it... " 

I do not like surprises. Most surprises are bad. Things like a tire that suddenly springs a rapid leak or people that call you up to inform you that in 20 minutes you will be out in the 100 degree weather helping move their solid wood bedroom set (oh and it's not even disassembled yet to fit through the door, because if they're not going to give you the courtesy of fair warning, why the hell would they do anything else to streamline?).  Of course, no prior knowledge of this exists nor did anyone even ask if it would be alright. I could go on. 
     
         

[NARSES2]

I have to have one. I find myself nearly lost if I don't

Same with me. Although once I have a plan to work around it doesn't bother me if I need to change things/amend it. I just like to start with one. Years of work I suppose, where plans were necessary.

[TheChronicOne]

Yes!!!! That's it exactly!  If nothing else, it serves as a basic framework.

So, on this note... plans for later (after work, which I have no clue how long is going to last. I'm creeping at the slowest pace I can recall in all the time I've been doing lawns  ) are to try to work on the Helicopter some more. Last time around I became flustered about the fitment of a few things but I figure out what the problem is. I think now I need to paint all the cockpit stuff so I can eventually glue it in with the end goal of placing some weight in the nose. Can't do much beyond that. Just a few things like paint the Hellfires and maybe glue on the lil midget wings to the fuselage halves.

Going to have a look at the 737 and see if the finish looks alright. If so...  I might just go ahead and put the appliance white on it so it can dry up real nice.

So:  Start painting interior jive on helicopter, glue on midget wings, start painting missiles.

        Inspect 737 fuselage.

If I get those two done, I'll feel pretty good. After that, who knows... might even play some video games or something. 

[DogfighterZen]

I have to have one. I find myself nearly lost if I don't

Same with me. Although once I have a plan to work around it doesn't bother me if I need to change things/amend it. I just like to start with one. Years of work I suppose, where plans were necessary.

Same here, it has to be that way or else i'll just have to waste useful time attributing priorities so i can start working.

[Rheged]

Not sure how much will get done, but, at least I have some sort of a plan. 

It's good to have a plan 

.....even if things don't conform to it.

I was always told "No plan ever survives first contact with the opposition"  I tend to work to a VAGUE NOTION rather than a DEFINITE PLAN.

[TheChronicOne]

Good god, I find that alarmingly true with the lawn business stuff right now. I'm almost certain I'm operating at a loss as far as the last couple of weeks is concerned. I'm just glad everything is going to hell now instead of in August when it's 108 degrees. 

I fondly remember a time when I used to be able to contribute to the stash thread....