Angus Tura

Another DNF. I'm sorry for it. Too much work. Here he is so far. Unusually nothing much has gone wrong...its just not finished. I have made a bit of an error with the sheath for the bayonet. I thought it a bit odd that the top of it is thicker than the bottom but supposed that it was right. Only after undercoating the satchel on his left hip did I notice the hole there into which the thicker part goes. That is, only the thin bit should be sticking out from under the satchel. Annoying! I had added a brass pin to the bayonet sheath to locate it on the skirt of his tunic, and

Hi. So a day (and a week) late, here is the first coat of khaki drill in oils. The paint is still glossy but I think this'll look OK when that's dried a bit. The deepest of shadows and outlining is still to do: I find that too difficult till this first go is dry. So, another delay is waiting for this layer to dry. The pale patch on his satchel is some of the highlight colour to test when its dry. Alan

Ah me. That was one wasted day! I very carefully mixed up some, I thought, khaki drill with oil colours and painted it on the helmet cover...and it looks woeful: It's far too light and it's a struggle to cover the basecoat with it. The joy as well as the problem with oils, of course, is the drying time. So, I've taken it off and try again tomorrow: The right eye, incidentally, is in mid repair. The iris was a bit too big and it looked pretty weird in some views. There is an underlying problem of lack of symmetry in the sculpt of the eye. I've painted i

So, I forwent last weeks blitzbuild to concentrate on this whereupon work went mental on Monday and for the rest of the week. So, as usual, I'm struggling to complete. This was some progress on the base. It's magic-sculp. It's dearer than Das putty but it does handle better and it isn't porous. On-line it's very easy to find references on the Hadendoa weapons by Googling "Mahdist weapons". The shields were hippopotamus skin, whackily enough. This one is two layers of 10 thou. plasticard with a magic-sculp boss and stretched sprue edge. It just needs texture adding with Mr.

Please add me in. Many many possibles. Alan

Please add me in. I have a couple of things I wanted to try in the current "anything but injection" build but I'd be starting too late now to have any chance of finishing. I really do hope you get this one through, Alan

Great work. Couldn't you just call the undercoat faded RLM02? Where did you get the gallbladder forceps? Do not incriminate yourself by answering that question on line! Alan

Great stuff. I have never seen this kit. It looks great. Top build. Alan

Adrian, I feel your pain, and Steve. I've abandoned also. For the same reasons. Life and other groupbuilds. See you in August. Planning starting now! Alan

'Evening all. I am here to tell you that the best laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley, and leave us nought but grief and pain for promised joy. All I've got done is this crappy undercoat on his face. The best laid schemes of the dread Mrs.Tura, on the other hand rarely fail to come to fruition. I have replaced the mat on the son and heir's trampoline. I don't know if you've ever done this. It is a lot less fun, literally, than watching paint dry (on 1/72 scale people). It took about four hours and I was a really quite peaky at the end of it.

I was determined not to do this blitzbuild because if I use the time this weekend on this chap from the Africa GB, I might actually finish a groupbuild on time; but I do love blitzbuilds. I wondered, having got away with a one-piece model last time, I might try this diabolical liberty this time: That is to say paint a figure: you might recognise the figure from last August's Blitzbuild. Please let me know if this is on, Enzo. Alan (breathless!)

There is clearly some sort of weird astrological conjunction here, which must be a good bunfight-omen. Alan

I did not know that. 13 is my lucky number. I had it for an exam number a lot of years ago, to my horror. But I passed. Alan

Please put me down for this, Adam. Round the Horne, Armpit Theatre, "Moby Duck": Williams: "Avast! avast!" Horne: "A vast what?" Williams: "I dunno, but its pretty big." Alan

Certainly up for this, Tony and Pat. As Don Vito would say, a man who does not spend time with his 54mm roman figures, is not a real man! Alan