Pellsons Perceivings

zenrat · June 02, 2021, 04:39:53 AM

Keep on keeping on mate.

Pellson · June 07, 2021, 12:27:23 PM

Finally permanently home from hospital and pretty damned tired too. I'm awfully behind when it comes to modelling and that is a bit painful as I, before I had to go in again, had spread modelling stuff over too much of the common areas at home. Not good for the long term relationship between mrs P and the hobby..

On the other hand, there's not much useful I can contribute with at home while having a bloody tube sticking out of my chest, so I will probably be left to my own devices, maybe giving me a chance to at least tidy up a bit. If the weather isn't too good for staying indoors.

Looking at the news on telly, I can see that Europe is reopening - if you are vaccinated. Me, not being able to take any jabs for medical reasons, I'm basically locked up in my home country for an indefinite future. Not cool.
Ah well. We'll see what the future brings.

Gondor · June 07, 2021, 01:07:39 PM

That's good news that your staying home rather than shuttling back and forth to the hospital.

Gondor

kerick · June 07, 2021, 08:24:21 PM

I agree with Gondor. You'll recover better at home than a germ infested hospital anyway. Maybe this is a chance to prioritize your projects.

zenrat · June 08, 2021, 04:56:48 AM

Good news mate.

NARSES2 · June 08, 2021, 05:52:37 AM

Glad you've got out of hospital and returned to the comfort of your own home

Rheged · June 08, 2021, 09:53:07 AM

Delighted to hear you are home! You may be physically restricted at present, but mentally you are free to roam...........cue the Moody Blues number "Thinking is the best way to travel"

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=thinking+is+the+best+way+to+travel&&view=detail&mid=42C2EFE396F7EFC590D142C2EFE396F7EFC590D1&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Dthinking%2Bis%2Bthe%2Bbest%2Bway%2Bto%2Btravel%26FORM%3DHDRSC3

....and you have the virtual company of fellow Whiffers (always assuming that this actually counts as a good thing)

kerick · June 08, 2021, 09:55:53 AM

We'll probably just get him into trouble......

Pellson · June 09, 2021, 02:47:13 PM

And the summer continues. You know, up here in the nordics, the summer, in particular June, is a somewhat religiously sacred period. We're living in awful weather, cold and darkness for some eight months a year and then, in May, nature explodes and in June, it's greener than anywhere else in the world. Even Irishmen I know say so. So it's lovely. And I'm enjoying immensely being able to wander about in all this green and lush landscape.

Also, I drive the Defender wherever I go these days. Always with the drivers side window fully down and the skylight open to let in the warm air. Driving it is a bit like driving a motorcycle in that aspect. You get all the scents. But differing from the bike, you don't get the bugs in your mouth.
Also, Defenders not being that common over here, people stare a lot. Children point and yank parents arms in awe, and people generally seem to appreciate the oddity. As a further bonus, my Defender looking a bit rugged (as they do) with protections and stuff, it's so easy finding room to manoeuvre in the traffic. I just pop the flasher and turn the wheel, and almost without exception, there's suddenly space for me. Do that in your average Passat..
Finally, lane dividers and stuff that actually will form a hindrance for normal cars are just a minor bump for me, allowing me u-turns where no one else can, much to other drivers envy. And my amusement. I went to pick up my 14 yo after her exams today and did an awful and definitely unlawful u-turn over an elevated plantation (just grass and empty earth now - I'm under no circumstances ever destroying or damaging anything) in standstill traffic, and my lass promptly got a text from a friend being stuck two cars behind in a very nice Volvo. "That's cheating!" Good fun!

Modelling wise, I bought an unspecified lot of 2nd hand decals before the last hospital tour. When it arrived, it turned out to be almost two lbs worth of mixed decals! Today, I finally got the last items sorted and stored properly in my decal assortment. Lots of useful stuff for my Cold War RAF/FAA interest, but also quite some American decals from WW2 to the early 70-ies. I won't be using much of the latter, so anyone needing anything - let me know. I would be delighted to help out.

Also, I finally took some time to glance through the latest Chris Gibson book, "Typhoon to Typhoon", and while not really reading properly, it was fun to see all the possible whif ideas in it as well as how well some of my already more or less executed ideas would have fitted in the strategies applied in from the 60-ies and forward. Maybe I'll get to finish up the ECM pods I slapped together almost two weeks ago, then being able to finish the two Super Hunters and the Tornado contender. The lust is there.

Now - sleep. Tomorrow - blood samples and Friday - doctors appointments and X-rays to see how bad the infection is now. Hopefully it's healed enough for them to take out that drain hose that's sticking out of my chest to my endless irritation, but if not, I'm more than willing to keep it in rather than having a new bloom-up of infection in some internal organ. Enough of that already.

Happy modelling, all. And I seriously need inspiration, so please post your efforts. Preferably postwar strike aircraft intended for WW3 in the European theatre. If I may choose..

PR19_Kit · June 09, 2021, 03:55:33 PM

Quote from: Pellson on June 09, 2021, 02:47:13 PM

Finally, lane dividers and stuff that actually will form a hindrance for normal cars are just a minor bump for me, allowing me u-turns where no one else can, much to other drivers envy. And my amusement. I went to pick up my 14 yo after her exams today and did an awful and definitely unlawful u-turn over an elevated plantation (just grass and empty earth now - I'm under no circumstances ever destroying or damaging anything) in standstill traffic, and my lass promptly got a text from a friend being stuck two cars behind in a very nice Volvo. "That's cheating!" Good fun!

Hehehe, magic stuff.

When I worked in the motor industry in the 60s we had a 12 seater Defender Estate (although they weren't called Defenders back then...) we used as a mobile lab. I'd often go directly home in it from the test track and drive it into work the next day. On one occasion it had snowed like CRAZY and pretty well blocked the dual carriageway leading south to Oxford. After sitting at the end of the jam for 5 mins or so I thought 'The hell with this!', engaged 4WD and drove down the rather wide central reservation for about 4-5 miles until I'd passed the jacknifed truck that caused the jam, and carried on to work.

The looks on the faces of the other drivers were priceless!

Pellson · June 09, 2021, 10:51:55 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on June 09, 2021, 03:55:33 PM
Quote from: Pellson on June 09, 2021, 02:47:13 PM

Finally, lane dividers and stuff that actually will form a hindrance for normal cars are just a minor bump for me, allowing me u-turns where no one else can, much to other drivers envy. And my amusement. I went to pick up my 14 yo after her exams today and did an awful and definitely unlawful u-turn over an elevated plantation (just grass and empty earth now - I'm under no circumstances ever destroying or damaging anything) in standstill traffic, and my lass promptly got a text from a friend being stuck two cars behind in a very nice Volvo. "That's cheating!" Good fun!

Hehehe, magic stuff.

When I worked in the motor industry in the 60s we had a 12 seater Defender Estate (although they weren't called Defenders back then...) we used as a mobile lab. I'd often go directly home in it from the test track and drive it into work the next day. On one occasion it had snowed like CRAZY and pretty well blocked the dual carriageway leading south to Oxford. After sitting at the end of the jam for 5 mins or so I thought 'The hell with this!', engaged 4WD and drove down the rather wide central reservation for about 4-5 miles until I'd passed the jacknifed truck that caused the jam, and carried on to work.

The looks on the faces of the other drivers were priceless!

I might or might not on occasion, have sneaked off the motorway at an impressively long accident related standstill, and driven a few metres through terrain to reach a parallel minor road, circumventing the entire thing. And a BMW X5 might or might not have gotten badly stuck trying to follow me, necessating a pull-out by the police, who, given the opportunity, couldn't resist issuing fines for terrain driving to the X5's driver..

How do I know this if I didn't stick around to tug out the X5, you might ask? There might have been a news team reporting about it on local radio..

PR19_Kit · June 09, 2021, 11:44:42 PM

Quote from: Pellson on June 09, 2021, 10:51:55 PM

How do I know this if I didn't stick around to tug out the X5, you might ask? There might have been a news team reporting about it on local radio..

Hehehehe, LOVE it!

Rheged · June 10, 2021, 01:47:11 AM

Having once owned a half share in a series 1 Landrover (early 1970's, whilst at university) I can appreciate your use of your vehicle's off road abilities. One of my friends from uni. referred to the Landrover having "Infinite Inevitability Drive".........It may get there very slowly, but get you there it ALWAYS would; wherever "there" happened to be!

Incidentally, the chap I shared the vehicle with bought out my share when I left Lancaster.......he now lives in Dorset and tells me his 16 year old grand daughter learned to drive the thing , round one of his fields, about 4 years ago. His view is that with reasonable maintenance (any competent blacksmith will do) a Landrover will go on for ever .

Jeremy Clarkson once referred to the X5 as "the BMW posing pouch" in a review of its cross country abilities compared with an old Landrover.

PR19_Kit · June 10, 2021, 01:59:07 AM

Quote from: Rheged on June 10, 2021, 01:47:11 AM

Jeremy Clarkson once referred to the X5 as "the BMW posing pouch" in a review of its cross country abilities compared with an old Landrover.

Posing is right. Their drivers seem to think that I'd like their engine, be it diesel or petrol, be installed in the boot or luggage compartment of whatever car I happen to be driving, as they come up SO close all I can see in the mirror are those bloody twin kidney grilles!

It gives me great pleasure (specially when I'm in my V6 Signum....) to leave them for DEAD when the road clears!

zenrat · June 10, 2021, 03:16:44 AM

Anyone who tries to traverse anything more rugged than an unsealed road in an X5 (or many of the other modern German or Japanese SUVs) is an idiot. A profile which seems to fit a lot of their drivers.
I sit behind them in traffic and wonder why they have less ground clearance than the Holden Commodore I used to drive.

That Commmodore (nose remodelled with the rear end of a Mitsubishi Magna), and the Hilux that replaced it (front bumper held on with fencing wire), were brilliant in traffic because being beaten up and never washed the drivers of shiny cars were scared of them and let me in. The Hilux, being a cab-chassis with an aluminium tray also had the advantage of having lots of sharp edges around the back.
My current 17 year old Mazda Tribute (yes, Japanese SUV but I know it's and my limits) is still far too presentable despite it's filthiness.