Amazingly, Santa Didn't Bring Me a Lump of Coal This Year!
What Santa Brought Me...
I actually feel a bit bad as this is definitely showing off plus it kinda gives the impression that presents are what Christmas is all about. SO, I should start by saying that the BEST thing about this Christmas was that my girls (wife and daughters) all got together to spend some quality time together as a family over the holiday period.
My wife - Sharon - is a teacher so she worked extra hard leading up to the holiday so that she wasn't having to do marking and paperwork instead of enjoying the Christmas break with me. And my daughters - despite having better things to do than spend time with their old Dad - have gone out their way to come round to see the old man!
Today we have our traditional 'Second Christmas' meal and THIS is the best present! 😍
OK, that said.... 😉
What Santa Brought Me Part Deux!
My family must have had a bit of a conflab about what to get me this year as there is definitely a theme going on. Either that or they are fed up of me moaning on about how I'm having problems returning to mainstream model making after my strokes!
In any case, it was really nice that they picked up that I'm slowly turning to pre-painted 'easy build' kits to get my model-making fix now. So...
From the wife I got a really lovely looking laser cut globe. I remember when we went on holiday to Wales this summer we saw a load of these type of models in a shop and I mentioned that I'd love to have a go at something like this. So she must have filed that away. 😁
The main attraction of these sort of wooden models is they are interactive and - in this case - the cogs rotate the globe. It also lights up - which is something that interests me a lot as I want to start illuminating some of my models using LED bulbs.
From my youngest daughter - she of Zombie Army 4 Team Beaty fame - and her boyfriend I received a very novel Indiana Jones themed LEGO set!
I've been looking at LEGO brick type models for a while as a means of getting round my issues and - indeed - I'd already bought an Airfix Quick Build Ford Mustang kit which partially uses the Lego connectors. This set me to thinking that this sort of 'brick' construction kits might open up an new line of model making for me.
I was exceptionally pleased with the particular theme of this Lego model as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is my favourite Jones movie. Sean Connery was brilliant in this and the little Lego figure of Professor Jones made me chuckle! 😆
My eldest daughter - again - went in a different direction and gave my a lovely little 'DIY Doll House' model. This will seem a little strange as a gift for an old guy, but I have been interested in the idea of building little Japanese architectural vignettes for quite a while (I've been an avid watcher of the HMS2 YouTube Channel and their 'Showa Era Japanese Apartment Build').
I've been wondering how to get a start in this form of model making but didn't have a clue where to start, so this little kit is a great introduction. (Related to this is that I fancied having a go at making a 'Book Nook' model which uses similar techniques.)
On top of all this - as if the above were not more than enough - I also received several gift vouchers for other other family members. I was very grateful for these as I have never ending 'wish lists' on both Amazon and STEAM!
From STEAM I plumped for a game I'd been after for some time but was waiting for the price to drop of for a sale. Forza 4 was at the top of my list due to the fact that it's central location for the racing is the city of Edinburgh!
The game downloaded I was very pleased to find that it runs like a dream on my ASUS gaming laptop (even though it is a low end spec)...
AND FINALLY! 😏
My Amazon vouchers added up to quite a hefty sum! And so, I was able to go a bit mad and buys some more brick models that I had been looking at. I should mention that I had already received a cracking COBI brick model for my birthday (which is on Christmas Eve) in the for a an 'Apocalypse Now' style US Patrol Boat...
This is an absolute cracker of a model in 1/35 scale, so is pretty big. This is one of the up sides of brick models as compared to traditional plastic models - bang for your buck! As traditional models have shot up in price - even for the smaller 1/72 scale sized kits - for about the same price you can get a 1/48 or 1/35 scale brick model, which seems great value for me.
Now I know model making purists will say that brick models are just 'kids toys' (oh, the irony) and say that traditional kits are a 'grown up hobby' but I love the cartoony caricature style of the design of the brick model, particularly the COBI brand ones. (Although LEGO does do similar types of sets they are more noticeably brick built, whereas COBI compromises with a lot more custom parts which ultimately make the models look a little less like LEGO.)
Anyway, my Amazon vouchers netted me the following...
I hadn't mean to get two aircraft, I wanted to get an aircraft and a tank, but in the end I couldn't resist either of these two being as they are two of my favourite military aircraft of all time. (Also, the tank I was after was sold out.)
And finally, finally, LOL... A bit of a less exciting purchase from my gift money was a piece of software to help me out with my model railway hobby. ANYRAIL 6 is a track layout planning application that allows me to experiment with different arrangements of track in order to design my perfect layout.
I had been using the free version, but this was limited to 50 pieces of track and it's amazing how quickly you utilise 50 pieces of track when you start getting into more complex arrangements! SO I took advantage of having a bit of spare cash - for a change - and bout the full licenced version of the software...
And that's it - aside from a mountain of chocolate - Christmas gifts were a huge haul this year and I am very, very grateful to my brilliant family for being so generous and thoughtful. In particular, the fact that everyone bought me a slightly differing take on the theme of 'models' was terrific as that's the way I want to go in 2024. I'm o longer just a military model making geek!
But, again, I should end with being clear about what's been best about this Christmas. And that has been that everyone has come together to enjoy the holiday with family visits... That was the BEST present of all!
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAVE A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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