Angus Tura

Blinking flip, MJ! How dare you! Yup the Vandyke brown is the redder bit. I'm very sorry that the "build a nice kit GB" seems not to be getting there. I thought that was a winner and was looking forward to a Tamiya F-35. This is not going to get there, and I don't want to rush it, and there'll be an MSS show next year...so, I'm cancelling now. The basis of the gold lace is done but it takes forever to dry and is really fragile till it's properly cured/dried: another reason not to rush. The pink stripes are finished and the road on the base is largely done. The horses harness is all undercoated. Thanks very much @JOCKNEY and @Mjwomack for this good excuse to do something I wanted to do anyway! See you in KUTA. Thanks for looking Alan

This reminds me of my Mum. Not for any bad reason but because it reminds me of two of her favourite phrases: 1. That girl's going to catch her death of cold. 2. You do not get many of those to the pound, son. Alan

I think you mean chacun à son goût. "Le Francais..." looks like a hit, not to tempt fate. Daube Provencale, Croque Madame, Poule au Pot....... Talking of Poule au Pot, Have you tried to buy a boiling fowl recently? I used to get them often at Uni but have been unable to find one to feed a current Poule au Pot obsession. They taste great and are dirt cheap but they are as tough as old boots. In my latest search I have discovered that the problem is that they're not called boiling fowl anymore, but seem to be called "Hard Chicken". Many South Asian places in Leeds have them and I'm planning to get one in the next few weeks. I will report back but I don't know where. It will be after the Briochefight has ended but I don't know if it will keep till the Noël Blitzenbuild. Is there a foodie forum? Angus Alain Tura.

Apologies. I forgot about this. The horse has been converted to be more Arabic. My horse chum, @geoff m, a more than averagely infrequent Britmodeller, told me however that I had missed the "Prophet's Mark". This is a divot-like mark that all Arab Horses have, seemingly. It is supposed to be where the Prophet marked the Arab Horse with his thumb. All very fascinating! Alan

Good morning. Thanks Adrian. My old professor put a quote from Michael Faraday over all of our desks: "work, finish, publish". You are very kind but also probably a bit premature. Here is some light (dragoon) relief from the white-knuckle-ride that is the 2026 Bunfight. The blue is W&N Prussian Blue over Humbrol H25 x 5: 1 x H33. Currently it's like glass but nothing that a couple of coats of matt varnish won't fix. The horse is painted two-tone á la this advice by Eugene Leliepvre in ancient Historex catalogues: It's all undercoated Revell 84 before W&N Raw Umber upper, and Vandyke Brown lower surfaces both highlighted with Naples Yellow. It still needs feet, mane and tail and deeper shadows. It's already satin-sort-of-finish which is good. Vote soon, vote often! Thanks for looking. Alan

Vite! Vite! I voted. Looking good so far, at this early stage. Legion Etranger agogo. Le Angus

@vppelt68 Hello. I only just saw this. Please put me down for Haiti/Domenica. Alan

Hello all. Building of this chap is finally done. Before that, here s a small aside. I like to try to have figures in a bit of context and for this one I wanted a bit of Yorkshire context: This is a stepped milestone, which is seemingly characteristic of East Yorkshire. This would tell you where you were, then, and also make it easier to get back on your horse. They are thought to be 18th and early 19th century (https://www.yorkshiremilestones.co.uk/). I photographed this one just a bit east of York. There in a metal plate over the carved inscription on the other side but I think they were originally just of stone. Each of the risers and steps is 30cm which is to say a handy 1cm in 1/30-Historex-Scale. The milestone is of 30thou covered in Magic-sculp. The inscription is marked into semi-cured putty and then neatened up and the serifs added after it was completely cured. The figure has had his hat re-shaped and then the gaps all filled with the Magic-sculp before using the same to build up his hair, collar and gold-lace on the shell jacket. The ornament on the sabretache has been built up sequentially with the same putty letting each bit cure completely before any adjoining parts. Some of it has been painted with Humbrol No.1 which serves to fix it and glue it a bit more securely to the plastic than it does itself. The buttons on his shoulder straps are CMR 0.8mm rivets. The horse's mane and tail have been Magic-sculpted also. His right hand is still separate for painting, or at least separate so that I don't smash it up while painting something else! Base and painting, or at least priming start tomorrow. Thanks for looking. Alan

Photos definitely working! That's a very nicely painted and presented model. Alan

I'm on my hols in Portugal, and can't see them either. Angus, very bitter, Tura.

According to this, https://phobia.fandom.com/wiki/Aftiphobia, Adrian you, and I should say I, are suffering from aftiphobia. How much attention one should pay to a website calling itself "Phobia-Fandom", one has to question. I couldn't do any of this without a magnifier but I can only go on hols with 2.5x and at home I've got a 4.5x magnifier. It's too heavy, and I should say precious, to fly with. I've started building up the ornament for his sabretache with putty and with the 2.5x this is the smallest I can get it: The hat has been a problem. I should have just eyeballed it but I read somewhere that these shakos were 11" high and 11" across the top. I first of all just carved down the Historex one and the shape looked good but it was too low and too narrow so I tried building up the top with 40 thou. but then carving that back went all wrong. It's been filled in and I'll have another go with wet-and-dry at getting the curve up the sides right. Otherwise this has gone well, not least because of a wet day yesterday keeping me in the house. The construction is all done and I'm left with detailing and puttying/hair &c. making. His knees have been moved to overcome the splaying-out of his thighs and the left leg has been made more straight. His tummy has been separated from his chest and his "shoulders separated and then re-assembled with 20 thou shims to make him turning left and with his left shoulder higher. His left arm is a straight Historex one with fingers separated and moved about a bit. The right arm has had a new hand chopped about a bit to hold one of the reins. The other rein will be loose. That hand has been pegged into the forearm to let it come off till final assembly. The reins are the trusty tomato puree-tube. Thanks for looking. Alan

Given their reputation, @Enzo the Magnificent, I think they'd be unlikely to make it through the bunfight: captain's pick? Alan

Hello. The building of this has paused a little for some detaily-stuff. Here is the plan. and the last bit of harness being the halter rein. Then multiple bits of head/face. I wanted to use the head in the kit for maximum Historesquefulness. He is one a very few old heads they did and he's a little chubby and worrisomely like Elvis Presley, who, as far as I know was never in the 13th light dragoons. So, he's been cleaned up and whiskers removed leaving two basic ears. They've been drilled out in a u-shape pointing forwards and his chin and lower lip have been moved to open his mouth. Then putty to build up his nose, chin, helix and anthelix of ear. Then Mr.Surfacer 1500 and his tap set, as we say in Scotland, with more putty. He needs more smoothing out when i get home to the 4.5x magnifying glass. Thanks for looking. Alan

Cartainly up for this, Col. Alan

You are not wrong. They do not like it up 'em.