The Good Start of a New Year!
A Mess of Doings!
Well, I can't say I don't have a lot to keep me occupied at the moment. In fact, it's a rather long list of project at the moment, which pleases me. 😊...Let's get the usual out the way first though - yes, I'm STILL struggling to get the attic man-cave tidied up. It's a job that's rather like painting the Fourth Road bridge, just when you think you are getting close to completion you have to start again!
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| Above: A new arrival that will definitely help with the clearing up of all the bits I actually want to keep is this Granell cupboard. My wife got hold of this as her school was getting rid of it, but it's removable storage trays are ideal for the hobbyist. I had to disassemble then reassemble it to get it up to the attic. It's built like a tank! |
This is because of the annual 'put away the Christmas decorations and wrapping paper' influx of junk I get after the Festive season. 😖
Actual Projects - There's Quite a Few!
Housekeeping aside I am actually surrounded with a good few piles of Christmas present models which are now in the 'to do' pile...
But, more immediately I already have a little selection of jobs that I have started or are about to start on my workbench, so let's take a look at those...
Blast From The Past!
So first up on the conveyer belt comes a bit of a oldie. And crazily enough this is the second time I have had to do this kind of repair on one of my 3D printed models! It is, of course, one of the pair of GROOT figurines that I made for my daughters a couple of Christmases ago, this one is my youngest's which has bizarrely broken in exactly the same place.
Once again and accidental drop has sheered off one of the very flimsy arms. You know, I remember thinking when I made these that the arms looked a bit brittle and thought about mounting the whole model on a base of some sort, but didn't. Ooops.
On the bright side, having repaired Kayleigh's I know exactly the best way to mend Stacey's Groot! Oh, boy! 😏
Blast From the Even Paster Past...
Repairs are at the top of the list on the workbench as I uncovered one of my old ornaments while clearing up my man cave. It's a wonderful little wooden model of the space shape from the TINTIN story 'Destination Moon'.
This is one of my favourite Tintin books and the model dates back to late 1980s when my then wife and I went on a holiday to Belgium. We visited the COMIC ART MUSEUM while in Brussels and I was just able to afford this rocket from the gift shop. Sadly, it has had some rough treatment in all the moves I have made since and needs a complete refurbishment to return it to it's former glory.
LEGO Project is Go!
The first of my Christmas presents that I decided to have a go at is the one I was given by my youngest daughter, Stace. It's the wonderful Indiana Jones Fighter Chase set...
This construction set depicts a scene from - my favourite Indiana Jones movie - 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. A sensational ripping yarn that pairs Harrison Ford with the legendary Sean Connery who plays his father, Henry Jones Senior.
It's my first even go at making one of these themed LEGO sets and I have to admit to being a bit nervous as I have heard how complicated they can be, seeing as you presume they are for kids (when everyone knows it's not really kids who are buying these kits)! 😏
Anyway, work is underway and I'm videoing my progress with this one... And from what I've done so far. boy is it going to be a long video (in fact, I will have to do it in two parts documenting first the car build and then the plane in separate videos).
Yet Another Repair Job... A loco!
As jobs go, this shouldn't be a biggy but it needed doing. My N Gauge Japanese xxx diesel loco has a few small parts that have fallen off - like the front hand-rails - and refused to be easily put back on.
This has necessitated a more intensive workbench session as I work out not only how to fix the parts back on, but also how I can ensure that they don't easily fall off again! Honestly, they didn't take but the lightest of handling to pop off the model and as this is my favourite model train I don't want this happening every time I get it out for a run.
My First and Possibly Last Scale Model Kit (?)
Nostalgia is a tiny bit of a theme in this workbench journal it seems as I picked up this scale model kit despite the fact that I know I will have problems with it because of fond memories!
While this may not have been exactly the first plastic model I ever made as a kid (I've forgotten what that might have been - probably an Airfix, maybe), this model is - however - the first model I can remember making.
Although now packaged as being made by ARC Models it's actually a re-boxing of a vintage FROG kit. For those who haven't heard of FROG (long defunct now), this manufacturer was right at the bottom of the 1960/1970s pecking order as far as desirable kit makes was concerned. The general rule was - back then - that if you couldn't buy a Airfix kit then you bought a Revell kit, and if you couldn't buy a Revell kit THEN - and only then - would you resort to a FROG kit! 😆
Anyway, although I have more or less given up on scale model now - because of teh crazy hand - I couldn't resist grabbing this kit when I saw it advertised. I just want to see how a vintage 1970s kit stand up to how I remember them being. Also, I have warm and squishy feelings as I can remember exactly where I bought this, it was in - of all places - an old fashioned hardware store round the corner from where I lived. Quite why a hardware store had plastic kits I have no idea, but they were all of the FROG brand and they were cheap!
I'm going to build and paint this OOB - as they say - with no clever custom jobs or fancy painting (I'll be lucky if I can pull off a simple paint scheme TBH). So fingers crossed - maybe a bad choice in expressions given my problems - that I can do a OK job of this!
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