Grumpy Old Modeller

Welcome to Mike's World

Am I nearly here yet?

If you are an assiduous visitor, my apologies - you may have noticed that it's been a while since I posted anything. I nearly had a couple of things ready almost three weeks ago, but didn't quite have them done before going on holiday; never mind, I was only planning to be away a week, but then the earth decided to get its revenge on air travel and yet another plan didn't survive contact with the enemy. Still, we are returned, and trying to play catch-up using among other things a Seafang and a Sukhoi 10, and this Saturday I'm planning to go to the Newark museum where they're holding a V-Foece gathering. Having spent a non-flying year after I came back from 2 TAF with a Valiant squadron at Marham - it was one of our signallers, Jack Kendrick, who christened it "El Adem with grass" - who knows if I'll meet anyone from 148?

(later, in another part of the forest....) Sadly, while there were others from 148 who signed in during the day on Saturday while I was there, they were all on the squadron after I had left (to fail the Meteor course, but that's another sad story). Still, I was heartened to see the memory of the Valiant being kept alive, and there's a website whose address I'll put up here just as soon as I can find the jacket I was wearing on Saturday. It is widely rumoured, by the way, that the Airfix kit may not now appear until next year; but I note that a decal sheet for the type has just popped up on the "New Arrivals" page of Hannants' shiny new website. Maybe there's the opportunity for another TSR.2 in the meanwhile, and time to get a campaign for a B.2 conversion well under way.

Achtung, Tucano!

At Duxford's opening display for 2010, there were small groups of apparently bereft modellers - it's always a good place to meet fellow addicts, and there's a long-standing jest about a peripatetic IPMS Branch that only comes to life at these displays - unable to find their familiar source of yellow bags, filled by pre-ordered goodies. Hannants were unable to mount their customary presence; Mr Models, a frequent supporter of model shows, was there but somehow didn't take on the "Gathering Room" role. We can only hope that normal service will be resumed in time for Flying Legends, though this year I shall only be there on the Sunday; there's a powerful counter-attraction up the road at Ely on the same weekend, though thankfully the artistes that I really want to see - in fact would cross many roads for - will be appearing on the Saturday. There are rumours of a DB-engined 109 and a pair of replica 190s for Duxford; please let them be there on the Sunday!

As for last weekend's show, it was a reasonable opening day, and I liked the two 1940-camouflaged Tucanos; I just failed, by two minutes, to get to the flightline walk, all my own fault.but I attach a picture kindly sent me by long-time modelling colleague Keith Sherwood, who was there on the Saturday. No doubt a decal sheet will appear in due course, and I'm glad to see that the sky undersides look right, but those code letters look very white. There will now by another short intermission while I go off to watch Harriers in the dusk, volcanic activity permitting; more, I hope, next month.

Time, and too many/not enough hours

Suddenly it's a month since I got back from Washington and as so often my good intententions of updating the site regularly are in tatters. I have put a brief account of parts of the trip in the Wanderings page, and I'll hope to add to it shortly. Since then I've been to the Salisbury and Coventry IPMS shows, and with the What If? SIG having a table at the second I tried to get a couple of models ready for it; I suppose one out of two wasn't bad, but there do seem to have been a lot of Mondays in the last week or two. And I've completed and despatched my penultimate Sector Scan for Young Gary Hatcher, which in the end came out more or less the way I'd intended after a certain amount of rewriting followed by rewriting, and liitle editing and then rewriting; and my last one, picking up the theme of my first, is on the stocks.

And I went to the de H Moth club day at Halton; again this year neither Puss nor Fox were available so that I could claim the full set, but I had my first ride in a Miles aircraft. I remember when I was about eleven wanting a Gemini more than anything in the world, but that was another year when Santa didn't come up to scratch; the twin wasn't there this year but I did get up in the Messenger shown, with a flight over my own village and house as a bonus; and I was given ten minutes or so driving it myself, and trying to be very delicate. It's always a good day, and the club's chosen and very apposite charities do benefit; and it's fun spotting the type hogs. The Tigers are very popular, and there appeared to be quite a few teenagers getiing the wind in their hair this year.

Wanderings - travels of an itinerant modeller

Ramblings - random thoughts from the insomniac hours