SleeperService

Sorry for being so late for the T-34 GB, but 3 days ago I just have received a large parcel of Ukrainian UM 1/72 AFV kits including (among others) also the T-34 and SU-100.

Could I join the pack still?

Cheers

Michael

Thank you for the kind messages back in August.

You’re a great bunch and BM is superb. Thank you Mike.

Absolutely the best community on the Internet.

Two months have flown by. Another short stay in hospital. Then my wife and stepdaughter did amazing work packing books for study, inspiration, to help my own writing, masses of medication.

Clearance letters for vast quantities of very valuable clotting medication arrived just 3 days prior to departure.

a380’s on the two Long hauls. 
Perhaps the civil aviation modellers and staff here can tell me why the older A380 was far more comfortable than the newer one?

Cheap seats on both, but utterly agonising on the second one. I have a fracture in my right elbow and Spinal work that cannot be effectively addressed in my remaining practical working lifespan (unless I win the lottery or crowdfunded *a lot*) in Australia, so in many ways, this was a civilian medevac.

These Osteo issues are regular NHS work here. 
I have never been so happy to hear British trains and be drenched by British rain, to breathe in the cool air, full of Carbon Monoxide or not.

Suit  and symbolic yellow tie provided for the hearings by the lovely people at Haemophilia ACT.
My first new nice pair of shoes in 13 years provided by careful saving.

Entire flight paid for myself by extremely mindfully collecting 90,000 Virgin Velocity points over an 8 year period and $85 in cash.

Quite proud of my tenacity there !
 

Currently in London recovering from the long haul.

Off to the hearings on Monday. Fleetwood house. I’ll be the portly chap in charcoal suit, tan Oxford style Hush puppies 👞 and a yellow toe, in a wheelchair sometimes, walking stick other times.

We had to concentrate on books and medication (30Kg of books). 

Thetefore, sadly, not *one* single kit, paintbrush, knife, pot of paint here with me 😢.

I tried to bring some vintage Shuco clockwork cars to refurbish, but they have apparently been posted back to Australia, in the same box as my old computers. ‘Too many batteries’ apparently. All dead as dodos; I just wanted to keep the moulded shells to try and re-cell. If anyone has any ancient PowerBook 500 series batteries, please let me know. I need to get data off of those machines. Only place my Masters degree and one old book I started in 1991 (transferred from Amiga) exist.

Oxford  next to meet a valued good friend, then the midlands to pick up the trusty Volvo 920 Estate.

The AA wouldn’t insure it as they say it’s too old and a ‘Classic’. A classic car company rep almost died Laughing when I tried to insure my life beloved brick through them

as a classic. Still don’t know where to go to get it insured. Got to get it done very fast.

Flew through its test after years of inactivity. Winscteen wipers, a battery, handbrake adjustment. Job done.

They don’t make them

like that anymore (stop sniggering you at the back, it may be ugly but I love it).

Im off North of the border to live near Dunoon for a bit after the hearings. Would love to hear from nearby Britmodellers. Any advice on good local GP’s most welcome.

I’ll be mainly reading and writing and having my body repaired bit by bit, but a Britmodeller is a Britmodeller.

Nothing. To. Build. Alone, A bit skint 😔 
 

If anyone has anything unwanted in 1/72, let me know. I will buy or send swaps. I mainly like aircraft pre 1970. Above all 1930’s to 1960’s.  I like submarines and WWII Arctic Convoy ship is too.

Vac form, resin, plastic, any old thing. Unwanted paints, brushes, scalpels etc also welcome.

I’ll be as skint as a skint thing until late November, so all unwanted/second hand stuff welcome and will be lovingly built.

Look after yourselves. Keep muddling.  Can’t wait to get to Dunoon 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⛰.

All the best

TonyT

Hello friends 👋 

It has been some time. I hope that you are all well, or at the very least getting along fairly tolerably well.

I have missed you all.

I think maybe most of my followers/friends here know that my recent almost annual attempts to get back into modelling, into regular posts, have not worked. 

Short spell of normality: silence.

The Internet is a place where one’s data and words are harvested and used in the strangest and most mystical ways, therefore I was previously reluctant to explain a lot.

However, now a person involved in what is being referred to as the largest scandal in NHS history, I have waived my rights to privacy via my lawyers, for the class action. This was my choice. I’m no spring chicken any more, there aren’t that many of us old bleeders left (I’m not swearing here), so I feel fine writing about it here.

Around 40 years ago, along with around 2500 or so other Haemophiliacs, other recipients of blood based products; I copped for a couple of very nasty infections. Ones that can kill and have killed many.

I’m one of the U.K. ‘survivors’.

I have been sort of ‘stuck’ in Australia. Following what was intended to be a far shorter trip; my health, related to my Haemophilia and liver infection declined and I ended up stuck here.

There are far worse places to be stuck. I have been very kindly looked after, especially following my move to the lovely and friendly, very civilised city of Canberra. The capital city.

A couple of years ago the U.K. government finally opened an inquiry into the way so many became infected by blood products. Shortly after that I asked a U.K. lawyer to represent me in the class action currently underway.

Writing a witness statement spanning almost 40 years has been a harrowing and demanding task. At over 10,000 words, thanks to the help of my kind and supportive wife, to the help and support of some members of Britmodeller past and present, to a wonderful team of lawyers and a wonderful team of Haemophilia and liver nurses, doctors, support workers, counsellors and a superb GP, the support and help of my home MP in Argyll in Scotland and more; I am almost there. Also with many thanks to the support and kind words of an old academic friend of mine; Prof. Danny Dorling, currently of Oxford University.

Reading thought provoking books by Danny and others, researching all kinds of things, from conflict history to geopolitics and social geography (I’m a geographer by the way, it probably shows 😉), Audiobooks, encouraging emails and text messages have kept me (fairly 😉 ) sane and determined.

I went on a kind of targeted chemo/anti viral medication last November and that appeared to be the point at which my get up and go for model making, for most leisure pursuits, got up and went.

However, it appears to be working 😊.

Moreover, I saved enough Virgin Velocity points (92,000) make the journey to the U.K. in a few weeks time, at the end of October.

This will be in time to attend a few days of Inquiry hearings in London, ponder whatever the B word throws at us on Haloween and to enjoy Guy Fawkes night too.

In model making terms, I appear to have branched out into restoring old die cast and tin plate toys; trains, aeroplanes, automobiles, motorcycles and so on. My plastic modelling interests have really narrowed down to ‘Golden Age’ aviation and most things from the 1920’s to the 1950’s.

I also appear to have acquired a piano, another guitar and number of classic cars in need of a little love and attention; all British or European, although my Australian built 1973 Ford Cortina Mk III with a 200 cubic inch engine and three speed manual gearbox doesn’t quite fit the classifications. The others are Audi, Rover, Mercedes. SAAB, Volvo, Peugeot, Simca and so on.

I will need a few quite large shipping containers and an old barn to move this lot to the U.K., hopefully Scotland, and keep them

safe, protected from the elements.

Should anyone wish to meet up for a chat, cup of tea and so on; I will be in London the last week of October, Oxford the first week

of November, then Birmingham, then Glasgow and Argyll.

Please send a message if interested, it would be lovely to meet up with anyone.

I hope to more carefully heed the advice of a friend from my last attempt, and slowly ease myself back into some model making and sharing of experiences; rejoining the good people on this great forum again.

Have a great weekend

TonyT

Hello, I managed to buy a resin AEW kit on Ebay. I don't know who the manufacturer is...the box says it's from Iceland. Nick

Hello, I managed to buy a resin AEW kit on Ebay. I don't know who the manufacturer is...the box says it's from Iceland. Nick

Just a quick heads-up - we have started a Panzer III STGB thread in the GB section. If you are interested in taking part you can sign up here. 

Hello everyone,

Just a quickie.

After my quick toe back in the water here on Britmodeller a few weeks ago, I unfortunately went AWOL again.

As life, the universe and everything would have it; just a few days later I was put on what should be a very long term course of chemotherapy.

I didn’t know that chemo could be administered by tablet, but it can.

My late first wife had it administered by drip (many drips) evey two weeks or so.

I know that there are many here on Britmodeller on chemo, and many that will know a lot more about these ‘targeted chemo’ pills than I do.

One thing that I do now know is; by crikey they’re powerful.

Theyve absolutely knocked me for six; I have an even more profound respect for those here (everywhere) that have been on these for years.

Imagine the worst, mist diabolical hangover you’ve ever had, multiply it a few times, add a bit of a feeling of rampant glandular fever and a smattering of galloping hepatitis into it and that just about sums up the mornings.

Anyway, enough whinging. Suffice to say, I’m starting to get used to it now. A big shock after it really kicked in after day 14 or so, but now the shock value is diminishing.

Righto. It’s already 2019 here in Canberra.

Mrs. Tiger had to fly to Auckland four days ago as her mum, my mother-in-law, was found in the kitchen. She has had a stoke.

I’m pleased to report that this 93 year old lady is currently really very strong and stable. Trying to get out of bed and denying that she’s had a stroke. They don’t make them like this anymore. Scottish ancestry 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍.

Mrs. T arrived home just a few hours ago. The delayed flight touched down at 11.59pm, last year.

🤔🕛 

We had coffee in a Thermos (expertly made by yours truly) to see in the new year, in a very deserted airport.

Quite fun really. 

Safely home, we will hopefully now sleep for the next day and a half. I’m sure that this will be the hope of many a new year reveller, albeit based in needs for recuperation stemming from altogether more traditional forms of annual celebration 🥴 🍻🍾 🍺👍.

I just wanted to wish all Britmodellers a very happy new year 🥳 🎈🎉!!

I do hope to make an appearance or two, perhaps a bit of the old ‘modelling in bed with a tray’. The latter having nothing to do with anything related to Marianne Faithful or interesting Swedish ‘art house’ movies; but more along the lines of a thirty pence Revell Brewster Buffalo, tube glue and a pot of Airfix Silver Fox G8.

Happy modelling Britmodeller folks, have a lovely 2019, thanks for being you, thanks to Mike et al for this great forum 🥂 .

TonyT

In two weeks from today - on 15th December - the Pz.IV Single Type Group Build starts!

Hope to see you there!

Kind regards,

Stix

Hello everyone and a belated happy new year! 

I hope to be lurking around on fantastic BM again. A mere 505 notifications to catch up on  !

Yours truly still a bit 'blurgh' so if I'm type slow with replies, my apologies .

Thoroughly looking forward to catching up.

All my 'thread WIP's' are packed in boxes, so I may have to start something new. I only have three resin kits with me, so it looks like being one of those.

I've not completed a resin one yet (he said, as if he has actually completed any I/m in the last decade  ), so it'll be fun trying (I hope).

Happy modelling and here's to 2017 thoroughly kicking 2016 into oblivion for good!

All the best

The Frostie Muncher (thanks for that Miggers ) 🐯 

Wishing all fellow BritModellers a very happy Christmas  !

I didn't compete a model this year, but got quite close with four; two LaGG 3 an I-16 and a UTI-4.

It was fun trying and great BM friends made the year very special, a lot more fun and really helped with modelling encouragement and advice  

.

Everything is packed now ready for a change in location South, to Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory.

The move happens on the 27th.

Happy Christmas, eat, drink, be merry and I hope Santa has put something special in your sock! 

All the best

TonyT 🐯 

I feel a little bad that there have been no updates on any of my threads  . I wish to apologise for this.

A week of hospital visits; physio, scans, x rays has for some reason completely scuppered my mojo. 

Whinging isn't big or  clever, so I won't indulge in it. Well. I might, a bit.

The main thing that's deflating my balloon is the lack of a diagnosis or plan of action. They have found a lump of just under 1cm in size in my liver, but beyond that aren't giving me any useful information. 

This is after some 2-3 months of completely unrelated spinal stuff, so all in all, I just wish it would all beggar off and I could get up and about and dance a jig!  .

Oh well; why not have a moan, it's an 'activity' isn't it?

In other news I bought a fairly hard to find Revell Focke-Wulf FW-200 Condor (passenger) from an Evilbayer in the US. Huge postage costs.

It was sent thoughtfully packaged in:

An old brown envelope.

No bubble wrap, no card,just a flipping envelope. Much crushing.

As a result I have a one nicely broken and warped fuselage half, one just warped:

Examination of the rather 'not straight' lines of the bottom fuselage edge is interesting  :

As are these cracks:

This plane is to be done in a silver finish, so it will take a lot of work to rectify this to a good standard.

I messaged the seller and he said in reply "the mail office must have been rough with it".

Grrrrrr! Well a bit of bubble wrap or cardboard usually helps doesn't it you pikelet  !

Ah well.

In other evilbay news a Matchbox kit of a Phantom from the UK has gone missing. Indeed, it is now a 'Phantom kit'. No tracking was provided, even though I paid for it.

I could go off evilbay, I really could.

Oh, and I finally said goodbye to the Volvo I paid $4800 for 18 months ago:  :

A nice scrap merchant took it away for me on his truck:

How grateful I was of the $40 he gave me for the car. Less than the price of one tyre. . You see, I get the feeling it hasn't been an uplifting week overall  ?

Tomorrow is the Halloween parade here in Manly and it's usually quite a good shebang. Being a 'pommie barsteward' I don't really 'do' Haloween, but Mrs T. and my stepdaughter have got me more enthused in this strangeness over the years.

I usually take part and throw (yes, throw) sweets at the children lining the street, normally dressed as a vampire or some such.

I won't be able to do that this year, but I hope to occupy a stool at my favourite local haunt 'Celtic Corner', indulge in a cool Guinness or three and take some film and/or photos.  .

Lots of classic cars and motorcycles usually take part .

Therefore, tomorrow's 'status update' may be a little more cheerful.

Marvin signing off.

Thanks for indulging  

TonyT

MRI Scan Tuesday no modelling for awhile

It's annoyingly difficult to find decals for Cold War-era RAAF types.

When doing late night modelling a clock is recommended

Repeat after me: I don't need another P-38 model.

Would anyone going to Telford like to grab an MB5 for me?

I've got one build left in my stash.

Humbrol rattle can white taste's awful!

Well the AS results are in: A in physics, B's in biology, chemistry and history

S-Model kits suck the big one!

Surprised no-one has written a book of FAA erotica entitled 'Fifty Shades of Extra Dark Sea Grey'...

Surprised no-one has written a book of FAA erotica entitled 'Fifty Shades of Extra Dark Sea Grey'...

Trying to work up enthusiasm to do my late expenses.

Supposed to be covering an event for work, ended up having a long chat with a Scottish lawyer instead. Professional!

Supposed to be covering an event for work, ended up having a long chat with a Scottish lawyer instead. Professional!