"You could clean up in here"

As a sort of addendum to the Flanker posting, I felt compelled to add this article, a story which I'm sure is familiar to fellow modellers.

There are often times whilst in the grip of your latest project when the hours fly past, the trash level increases and cramp in your neck muscles from not looking up gets too much to ignore. I may even be a bit unshaven and red-eyed. It is usually at this point, whilst in full modelling flood (frenzy may not be too strong a word) that the door opens and in comes my wife. I know she's there, I can hear her thinking, and I know what she's going to say. 'You know, you could clean up in here'. A moment later, 'Shall I bring the Hoover in?' This well-meaning remark is never well received, usually being met with a growl and bared teeth. 'Is this a bad time?' With tweezers and cyano poised and an annoying itch on my nose, a grunt is all I can manage. 'I'll come back later'. She reverses from the room. Don't get me wrong, after a hard day at the office, my wife's company is the only kind I can stand. Let's put it down to timing.

The point is, enthusiasm takes many forms. When I began work on the 'Flanker' I was moved to give my work room the long awaited make-over it deserved, and a good clean up. Unfortunately, my wife won't get to see the new look until I'm up to my armpits in the usual modelling detritus. Life goes on.

How does your Falcon fly?

On my 'Exciting year' posting, I was part way through building the early Hasegawa F-16. Well, I'm pleased to say that this project is now complete. Before it goes off to its new home, here are a few photos.

It was not the easiest build, but certainly a very reasonable one. A little rough around the edges, perhaps, but it did have the basics - parts were a fair fit, the detail was ok and the overall shape was good. If you've got those things, you have potential. And I'm happy to share the results.

Outflanked!

A few postings ago - well quite a few, actually - I was going on about certain loft insulation in the form of kits. One of mine took the form of the Academy Su 27 in 1/48 scale. I think I mentioned that it was a shame to build it with some of the inferior parts that came with it - it deserved better.


Just to show you my desire to build this kit wasn't just an idle jest, here are some photos of parts I recently acquired. Namely, a set of Aires afterburner cans, an Eduard Colour Etch detail set and two sets of decals; 'Flankers on patrol' and a full stencil set.

So keen was I to make a start that I gave my to-do list a makeover and began it that very night. I was quite justified to wait for the extra parts; a quick look at the kit parts compared to the photo-etched parts show the enormous gulf between the two. To illustrate, here's a photo showing both the Academy and Eduard cockpit instructions. Need I say more?

I will have more on this project soon. Is it going well? Oh yes!

Great Goose

This is something I've been getting to for a while now, and since I'm finally there it's time to share the photos.


As you can see, it's the Grumman Goose by Signifier in 1/48 scale. An unusual and interesting subject. But is it just like a Classic Airframe kit with a few extra resin bits? The answer to that is a definite no! There are a lot of resin parts, all beautifully rendered. The cockpit is possibly the best I've seen - and I've seen a lot of cockpits. I'll post more photos when that part is ready to be fitted. The surface detail is right up there with Tamiya and Hasegawa, and it has superb rivet detail and good texture.


The kit contains markings for four countries - the USA, UK, France and Japan. Work has already begun. The fuselage is fitted together as an aid to test-fitting the resin cockpit and cabin parts. So, painting is next. I predict a minimum of a week's work on that alone. I'll let you know.