Luft46's Blog

I’m now up to the second PSR stage on the main body of the sub after closing it up. I added in a pipe for a little extra detail visible from the open hatch, probably more for my benefit than anyone else. I’ve also started on refining the casting lines on the trailer covers and have already snapped the first one, fit as usual was in part the cause and some hamfistedness on my part.

And a visitor from a while back.

More work has been done on the Biber recently. The kit definitely shows its short run nature in how much fettling is needed. Nothing fits together without work.

It’s been nearly a month since I finished the Wurzberg and I haven’t been entirely idle though various personal stuff has interfered with modelling time although this also includes hot steamy weather.

I’ve started on these two kits in 1.72 from Special Hobby/Special Navy. Both are limited run so need more than the usual amount of fettling. So far things are going well. The sub is nearly ready to close up but the seat and instrument panel both needed trimming.

I am going with doing this as a diorama based on a photo I have from the book Suicide Squads by Richard O’Neil one of my all time favourite military books.

I’ve finished the 1.144 Wurzberg in the paint scheme requested by my wife.

I’ve gotta say this was a difficult kit mostly caused by its size. It’s just too small to comfortably work on. There are a couple of very small parts that are missing and one construction piece that was amended so that it looks ok. I don’t think very many people could tell this. I think this is just too complex a model to render in such a small scale.

Once I’m back working a new job my present to myself will be the new 1.35 version that came out late last year. Now that I am looking forward to.

I finished this last Friday and the modelling mojo has definitely vanished. I had a go at the Takom V2 Meillerwagen kit on the weekend but managed to make a couple of stupid mistakes so that’s gone back to the box for another day.

I’m off to Hobbyco in the city today so maybe I’ll get some inspiration or at least a kit there.

Like many Australians I model in a shed or garage which is subject to the effects of our climate. At the moment that’s meant many days are not suitable for modelling.

I’ve managed some more work on the 1.144 radar but with small parts it’s been a bit of a slog. My wife wanted the brass to be left unpainted so I’ve complimented that with gun metal for the resin parts.

That’s unfortunately highlighted a few sanding errors so it will take a little longer while that gets sorted and yes I broke off one of the support arms also.

The FW Ta 183 is stalled in this weather awaiting a Goldilocks day when I can paint.

And lastly the scene of Antageddon is now restored.I managed to break my big perspex sheet which has been replaced by two smaller sheets that will allow more storage space.

Regular readers will know I spent last year doing a regular weekly Sunday night update which will not continue this year.

About a week ago I had a massive ant infestation that covered many of my old models in both ants and their eggs which was truly horrible. I’ve nuked them and below are the results – this was towards the end of the destruction when the eggs were gone and so were many of the ants –

And some of the dead –

In between time I have gone back to doing some of the 1/144 Wurzberg radar – I now have a sanctioned colour scheme of the resin parts in gunmetal grey and the brass to be left in brass.

Like most brass kits it’s just a matter of following the instructions carefully and taking your time. It’s quite small as you can see below. The other thing is to use a sharp new blade and change it regularly.

And lastly the primer plus Italian late war grey is now on the FwTa 283. The only problem is that the Tamiya primer I put down first is VERY close in colour to the Vallejo version of this grey. I’m sure I’ve sprayed it all and any colour variation will just have to stay.

I was intending to airbrush the upper green on today but it’s way too moist for that after the rain which hasn’t left yet.

I’ve been following a number of recent posts on various parts of the Interwebs about Modelling and it’s mental health benefits of which I soundly agree with. I’ve even seen a post pointing out some of the potential mental health issues around excessive competitiveness, anger management (think models hitting walls etc) and stashes leading to hoarding etc.

One thing that I haven’t seen directly mentioned is that how you feel when you sit down to a modelling session. For me this is often indicative of my mental health. If I can’t relax enough to even start something then I’m probably not in a good place. I can sometimes get around this by choosing something simple like a bit of sanding to get me into a more zen like state but sometimes even that is not possible.

I try not to force it and go and do something else and come back another day and sometimes this can go on for a while. Clearing the desk and starting something new can help but the feeling of failure as another kit goes to the Shelf of Doom can be counter productive. As my partner says “Remember it’s a hobby” and then she laughs as it’s not always just that.

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WordPress sent me a summary for the year a week back telling me how many people looked at this mess occasionally – in my case the below was not my reaction – it was around 15 which was higher than I thought it would be.

Actually it isn’t but that’s the last of the weekly blog updates. This was a one year project to see whether I could actually do this. Seems I could but I’d like to go back to doing my updates on a less regular basis with a little less pressure.

Most people do a year end analysis of what they did modelling wise with all the kits they finished and a listing of the almosts. I only finished a single kit this year but worked on many others. The kit finished was this old Academy fuel truck with some additions that I started work on many years ago.

The above is not a great photo but I was happy enough with the kit. If you scroll back over the last year you will see what I worked on – I’m too lazy to do this tonight.

Currently the Fw Ta283 is going quite well and is almost up to needing some primer. I was hoping to get to that but it still needed a tiny bit of primer and just a little more seam scribing. I’ve even got as far as selecting an easy paint scheme of Italian green over grey – the instructions have the FS codes so I just need to work out the appropriate Vallejo colours to maybe paint it in the New Year. Any help on this is welcome.

Above are the three tools I mostly use for scribing from left to right – a scalpel – a tool I got many years ago and a Dispae tool I got this year.

Whilst I was poking around in my cupboards I noticed I had a slight ant problem – I’m not a big fan of insecticides but given they have colonised where some of my old kits are stored it’s now war and Antrid has been put down today. In a few days hopefully it will be over and I can start the cleanup. This is the first time in 30 years this has been a problem.

It’s been a busy year with lots of personal stuff including my two children’s weddings, turning a significant age, and a six week overseas holiday and some work issues so in spite of that I squeezed in some good modelling time.

No New Year resolutions but maybe a hope for a quieter year and more modelling time.

After nearly a week of feeling crook I’m slowly recovering. The Ta 283 is finally closed up and I’m up to the second PSR cycle. I took a bit more care than usual in alignment and my first PSR cycle so hopefully it will not be too long till I add the wings and tailplanes/ramjets.

The front wheel strut support came loose so I’m leaving that off for the moment. The main strut is slightly off kilter so will need straightening later.

And a Perrons tree frog. These guys only come out when we get a fair bit of rain.

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This was my progress on Saturday. It’s almost ready to close up except for my AMS it would have been. Sunday I was not well so this has lain dormant since then.

I still need to fix up the headrest area and fiddle with the main wheel struts. These are problematic trying to get them even so the wheels sit partly in the wheel wells with correct spread and facing forward.I thought I’d lost one strut trying to fit it in but the RLM02 strut had disappeared into the RLM02 wheel well instead. Just a few swear words accompanied that experience.

Hopefully more this week.

So I’m running very late. Personal job stuff has interfered along with hot weather.

The fuselage is still apart and nothing much to report.