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

[TheChronicOne]

Oh no!! WACK!  ()  I got this in the email today:

"Brad, they have hired a janitorial company to maintain the buildings. I really appreciate the work you have done for me, and I am hopeful we can work together again. What services do you offer so I can use you as a subcontractor again in the future?"

  Well there goes that thing! Up in smoke. No more trash gig. I'm not going to be too salty about it because it was a sweet deal while it lasted and things are often out of my control. At some point this will probably wreck my mood, but for now I'm not going to exacerbate the problem by including self-inflicted mental anguish to the dilemma. I've been enjoying my time off and now the "thrill of the hunt" is back when it comes to finding winter time money and that offers its own rewards. I have ideas already! Spring is fast approaching anyway so it's not the end of the world.

As far as projects: I've been busy with this crap and other things the last couple of days and not much has been done with the models. I did manage a bit of painting on the Klingon Turd of Prey, though!  I plan to be back at it tomorrow..  judging from how tedious it was just to paint a few panels I imagine it's going to take a couple days at least so I better get started. 

Sorry to hear that, mate, but I hope you'll be able to find something even better as you move on. As someone wrote to me: "When things are most uncertain, every opportunity is open"

Thanks!  That's how it always seems to go.... sometimes it takes awhile but something always comes along and usually its better than the last time. 

Another thing I think I'll do in addition to the crap I listed in my last post is learn how to get into more focused job search... uhhh... places... You know, the stuff that isn't listed in a newspaper, on craigslist, or on Facebook...     I just need to figure out where all the more lucrative listings are at... not those for "jobs" but those for contracts and stuff. I have all I need... I have insurance, my gov't numbers and crap, bank accounts, etc. so while I'm just a sole proprietor I can get in there and swim with the big boys. I want access to job listings for things like gov't contracts and stuff from big corporations and groups or whatever...   

[TheChronicOne]

That's a shame to hear Brad C.  But your attitude is great.  Stay positive and see what comes along.

Thanks!! I'm trying my best on that part.     This time is better than times in the past though where I've been straight up shafted, screwed over, and left to rot. This time around it was just simply the higher ups (way up there) are penny pinching. New property manager.....   she's probably trying to prove her worth by saving the millionaires she works for a couple hundred dollars a month. Neither the people I contract with nor myself can do a damn thing about it and it's not malicious so these facts are helping to alleviate the burn.     

Oh and check this out...  we're not normally eligible, but they extended unemployment to sole proprietor contractors and such so I can most likely get on that for awhile too.

[Rick Lowe]

Well, being able to get Govt assistance is a big help.

Might it be worth contacting one or more of the bigger firms and seeing if they're willing to put you on their books as a contact for jobs that aren't quite worth their while?
Word of mouth and outside contacts are very useful.

At least if you're pressure washing in the rain, you're going to be getting wet anyway, right? 

Glad things are better than they were last time and you're staying cheerful.
And hey, you can always vent here and get some sympathy! 

[reddfoxx]

My father-in-law mows during the summer, and pushes snow in winter.  Sounds like he gets everything by word of mouth.  Very busy in summer, of course, and unpredictable in winter.  He does residences but also apartment complexes, churches, etc.  He is "retired" so he doesn't completely depend on this, but it still brings in some of their income.  I know it's a lot of work and unpredictable in general.  Keep at it, keep your ears open, and good luck.

[TheChronicOne]

Cheers! I'll figure something out eventually. I'm trying not to force things because it leads to frustration but I have to get something figured out by next Winter. That gives me a good deal of time to solve the problem but then again I'm feeling extremely lazy right now....       I haven't had to advertise or fight for jobs in years so I'm not exactly geared up for it. Hell, I was turning down jobs left and right due to the fact that I was overwhelmed and refuse to hire anyone (tired of getting burned, people, in general, are @$%%&^#$ lazy and I don't mean the type of lazy I'm feeling, I mean the type of lazy that has people rather sitting on the couch than making decent money, now that's some lazy slob bullshit right there but I'm digressing... ).  I guess I could say I got complacent.   BUT ANNNNNNYWAAAAY...  Summer will take care of itself at least so I'm happy I don't have to find year round stuff, just stuff for over the winter. Silver lining! 

[TheChronicOne]

It's a bit of a blur as far as what is new info and what is old but recently I've been painting the panels on the wings of the Klingon BoP for the captured GB. Some of the new brushes I bought a while back from the place Chris recommended are coming in handy. My ability to paint better is helping, too. I've learned and practiced a lot over the last 5 years. BUT STILL.........   this stuff is so damn tiny. One neat thing is that I was able to use a tooth pick (cocktail stick, I guess, if you chop one end off  ) to help clean the grooves out.



Long way to go still with the panels and some need touching up. Not to mention literally the rest of the stuff needing painting with tiny brushes. Good thing for the extension.

F-16 has had a fair amount of more masking applied. Distracted by all sorts of things right now but it really doesn't have much masking and painting work left before I can hit detail and touch up and get on with decals.

737 has progressed.... the bottom is now painted in grey and I just need to mask off the pertinent sections and then do the rest in NMF.

[TheChronicOne]

Ain't had much to say lately, really. Feeling a bit in a rut with the trash contract gone and starting to feel annoyed about the whole situation. I decided to channel my annoyance into motivation and took a few trips out to the shopping center and.... lo and behold, it was messed up pretty bad. So, I took pictures of the utter ridiculous state of things, noted that it was on a Friday and that I would NEVER have allowed the place to look this bad heading into the most important days of the week, and shot off a couple emails to the owner of the company I sub contracted with and.......       sat for a couple days. I started to get frustrated again with no word back and basically gave up on the idea at that point. But, like when I landed the contract, the very next day after I gave up on it I hear word back and turns out the people used the photos I took to lodge a complaint of their own with the property management company.

Turns out they (the big landscaping company up in Oklahoma City that I sub contract with) are as UNimpressed with the new property manager as I was (I actually ran into, and thus met, her a few months back) but even -she- up and said that the people they had hired, without a single regard to my situation or with negotion in mind, were pissing her off royally with the shoddy service they were providing. At this point, my contact person at the landscaping co. started to negotiate for re-initiation of returning me to what I had been doing flawlessly for years. Also, with a mindset of getting me/us a raise. I hadn't really broadcasted it but for well over a year I had been going out there 6-7 days a week. I only am paid for 4. I was voluntarily working for free on my days off to keep the place clean......  I let that fact slip about 5 months ago when we (me and my contact) were discussing the fact that a new property manager had come along.

This is crucial to some of my frustration. First, this new property manager comes along....  a very rude, uppity person.... like... no decorum what so ever when we met.. BUT ANYWAY..... she comes along and without even trying to negotiate rips my job out from under me even with the fact that ZERO complaints or problems had ever occurred under my tenure and the fact that I worked for free, without even mentioning it (until I did by accident,) and now the new people they hired are totally screwing it up before within DAYS of them being hired.  I'm losing my point here but I think I was getting at what had me so baffled and growing increasingly upset here....  Without a second thought, this new bi.... person pulls the rug out from under. I have suspicions on WHY but it has nothing to do with job performance and I'll leave it at that. But.... like I said.... new property manager comes a long and replaces a person that had worked for years with a 100% flawless record and voluntarily worked for free on off days with a whole janitorial service that that can't even get the job done, with multiple employees, and has already screwed it all up less than a month in. 

See for yourself, just a couple of the pictures I took that Friday afternoon:

 

All my long winded explanation aside, the short story is that this is GOOD news all of a sudden. Me going out there and busting the "new guys" totally screwing up and taking pictures of it all has me back in the running to re-acquire the contract. Not only that, but at a substantial raise because of new duties and the fact that my contractor said we should be charging for all the free work I've done. Problem is, it's not guaranteed yet... BUT STILL... just having HOPE for this thing and the fact that I've gotten myself back into the running is some damn good news. Tomorrow I submit a bid for what I'd charge to do what I had been doing along with the new duties so..... at that point it becomes a wait game again.

I had to get that off my mind I think. Pretty interesting, too, if you like hastily written short stories about non-fictional work drama. 


In other news... my lack of building hardly ANYTHING up until about a month ago has me rusty and I've messed up my latest build as a result. I'm using old transfers on my F-16/T-38 kitbash. I normally, by default, coat all the markings with Microset liquid decal film but completely spaced it this time and one very important decals splintered into a dozen pieces. I fought back for over an hour and at one point nearly had all the pieces lined up and looking good but one little piece went bad and a chain reaction occurred and I just couldn't manage it. I'm hoping someone around here has some replacements to send along (I could buy some, but I can't justify spending money on this hobby right now). If not, I can paint it and use some letter decals to fix it. I'll give it a couple days to see what happens then go from there.


Long winded crap... I don't blame you for not reading it, so here's an interesting video I saw recently. A couple tanks pull and An-124 out of frozen ground after an engine explosion and runway overshoot after landing. Engine fragments severed vital systems and the thing couldn't properly slow down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3WTmUNtnAo&feature=emb_logo

Here's the story about it, if interested:

https://fearoflanding.com/accidents/an-124-runway-overrun/

On that note, Sylvia Wrigley's blog is a nice place to visit so check out the other posts, old and new on there.


For me? I think I'll start a Boeing 727-100 tomorrow. I have the kit. I have the decals. It'll have the old-school USPS markings.

[PR19_Kit]

here's an interesting video I saw recently. A couple tanks pull and An-124 out of frozen ground after an engine explosion and runway overshoot after landing. Engine fragments severed vital systems and the thing couldn't properly slow down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3WTmUNtnAo&feature=emb_logo

Here's the story about it, if interested:

https://fearoflanding.com/accidents/an-124-runway-overrun/

Tolmachevo! I've been there, once anyway. It's a big place.

Fancy getting the Army to haul your aeroplane out of the mud? RESULT! 

Good to hear your back with a chance for that job again Brad.

[NARSES2]

Does you good to vent your feelings Brad. Hope it all goes well for you.

... person pulls the rug out from under. I have suspicions on WHY but it has nothing to do with job performance and I'll leave it at that.

I could hazard a couple of guesses as well, but I won't.

[DogfighterZen]

Good luck with that job, i hope you get it back. 

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks, y'all!!


Hell yeah, result..... I was pretty impressed with that short video.... wow.... such a massive thing... and... all sorts of science and engineering coming together for one hell of a spectacle.

As for the job...... well, I wrote a nice little letter detailing what I propose to do and for how much and also spent some time explaining why it's a good idea to have me back in that position.... along with a new money figure for it all. All this in the hopes that that information will accompany the dollar figure being passed along to the new property manager. At this point all I can do is sit and wait. To be honest, I don't expect this to work out but at least I'm trying so.... you know.... valiant effort and all that. In an ideal scenario this new property manager washes out and the NEW new property manager (hypothetical here, this is what-if! lmao) would see the value here. I just plain don't like this new property manager and I don't think she likes me, either, thus my apprehension. BUT... who knows? 

This is probably very unprofessional of me to be blabbing about some of this stuff but oh well... I don't really care at this point.  I mean, hell, my guy up in OKC lead off with some of the same when he said he wasn't impressed with her (in so many words) so I figured at that point if the big shots can talk about it, so can the small fry. That's not a good excuse, however... but uhhh....  hell, I'm not perfect. I try to be professional but at the end of the day I am who I am.

AHEM...    OK...      Model stuff. I'm going to try to paint some more on the Klingon BoP. This is proving tedious and motivation is low but the deadline is fast approaching. My hope is that once I'm out of painting the tiny panels that the rest will become much funner and help me get motivated. I've decided that on the bottom of the wings I will paint all those panels the same color and use a sharpie to do it.     That will help matters but even that is pretty tedious. Easier than painting though... I did 6 of the panels up top with blue Sharpie marker and it worked out alright. IT's not black so I'm not worried about fading and even if it does fade it will be perfectly fine.

I want to start my 727 but I need to do a little bit to the other two airliners I'm working on. I've made some decent progress with them lately so I should build upon that momentum to get some more done on them. Even if it's just a little bit... if I can progress the builds some I'll be happy!

No luck so far on finding new (free) transfers for my Valon so tomorrow if I still haven't found any I'm just going to get on with painting the yellow stripe and do it "manually." 

[Rick Lowe]

The start of Good News for the job front anyway, so let's hope there's good progress.
As far as confidentiality, did you sign an agreement? Yeah, there's a 'professional attitude' and all, but you need to vent.
And how likely is it that she'd be interested in trawling the web to find anything you've written? It probably wouldn't alter her attitude anyway.

Careful with the using a sharpie thing. I detailed a shuttle with one, then brushed on a clear coat and spent the next 5-10 minutes sopping up all the black runs...
There again, it was a wet brush coat, and YMMV with the pen itself anyway. Just a cautionary tale.

[TheChronicOne]

Right on!! I appreciate the warning! It'll work out alright, as I use rattle can clear and I've used this method 5-6 times in the past with no issues. In fact, I used sharpies and even colored pencils on the LAST Star Trek ship I did, now that I think about it....    Tiny detail "painting" seems to be a "thing" on Trek models whereas other than nav lights or what not there's not a lot of uses for them on airplanes but ever so often using a marker has proven to be a really useful trick to help solve pesky problems.


No agreement signed and I'm not worried about her seeing anything... in fact, I know she won't... but... regardless, it's not professional of me to speak about this person behind their back without affording her the opportunity to defend herself. That said, I guarantee she's talking bigshit about ME behind MY back so... honestly...  well...  for that and various other reasons I don't quite care in this instance. I reserve the right to be petty from time to time.     BUT, at the end of the day, it's not professional of me and I think it's important that I admit that. This is a special circumstance, in a way, so I'm rolling with the punches as such but I need to be honest about my own shortcomings and not pretend like I'm not a flawed person. Not only that, I want it to be known that I DON'T behave like this in 99% of the rest of the time and people that know me can rest easy knowing that I'm not going around running my mouth behind their back. It's wrong, I know it's wrong, but ever so often it's nice to fight fire with fire. Like you said.... I need to vent... it's helped to get all this crap off my chest and it's all part and parcel in my daily motivations of which my hobby time is certainly affect so I use that flimsy excuse to blab about it.   

[reddfoxx]

Everyone needs a place to rant; highly unlikely she would look here, and it's interesting to hear about.  Glad there's some hope.

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks!!  Hell yeah, it's like... work drama.      Even though I haven't worked with other employees for years now and do everything solo, it's ironic that this type of drama finds me still.       There's really no escaping it I guess. Damned ol' soap opera. 

One great thing about this place is that it IS a good place to vent and we're a community rather than just a stage people slap pictures of their finished work on. Of course, we're focused on building and the stuff associated it but we're a community and it's nice that we don't pretend not to be. People here are comfortable discussing their lives, even though it's a publicly viewable forum, because everyone else is receptive. It's one thing to know a persons works, it's another to know that person.