Quiet Mike

Mines a SMLE. Unfortunately I've never fired one, this is a piece of furniture now. (there must be a lbs of steel rode welded into the cut barrel) I've just taken a couple of phone snaps of it's current role as man cave Objet d'art. The MkIII* by Mike, on Flickr The MkIII* by Mike, on Flickr The MkIII* by Mike, on Flickr

What a curve ball to end your build thread Ed! @Hook I hope you're back up on a bike soon! You realise how vulnerable you are when something like that happens. If all non cycling motorists knew this feeling, I think the roads would be far safer for everyone! From a from an increasingly militant middle aged cyclist who occasionally wears lycra, but mostly wears wool, and occasionally a MkIII* Winchester Barracks by Mike, on Flickr

A splash of Vallejo acrylic duralium on Tamiya X1 black. I'm not very confident how tough the paint is, so I'll leave it a while and get a coat of varnish on before I mask it to paint the top hull. Silver duralumin on the hill bottom by Mike, on Flickr I'm struggling to nail down the exact colour scheme. I think I am painting the hull and tail surfaces in ivory. also the underside of the wings. Top of the wings in yellow, and the engine pylon in black. I love that splash of colour, although I'm not sure when they had their top wings painted yellow. Also the wing upper surfaces and tail seem to be painted much a darker sea grey at some point, and the engine and wing pylon painted the same as the hull, just covered in oily exhaust from the diesels. Is there a diffinitive guide out there? I can't find one on google. Do18E Aeolus D-ABYM by Mike, on Flickr Reference shots by Mike, on Flickr Do18E Aeolus D-ABYM by Mike, on Flickr Plus, the closest we get to flying boats now here on the Solent. It's always impressive seeing a swan come into to land of course! But here is Skye doing her best to work out that discretion is the better part of valour, while I wonder if Dorniers ever visited here. Paddle along Weston Shore with the mutt by Mike, on Flickr Paddle along Weston Shore with the mutt by Mike, on Flickr And the charity shop gods smiled on me on the way back. That's me sorted for Christmas! Silver duralumin on the hill bottom by Mike, on Flickr

That Sea Hurricane box art is great. And really looking forward to seeing what you can do with the Nimrod Chris!

Will follow with interest Roger! As you know mine is pretty near the top of the stash as well.

I got back into modelling just as the Wingnut Wings bubble burst 😭 My favourite era of aviation by far, but a number of factors stopped me getting their kits. Main being I felt I lacked the experience to do them justice. And a few years later that still applies! But I'm getting there slowly ... Also I've never had that much disposable income to invest in these quality kits. I'm just hoping that when I feel like I've got the necessary skills they are still available, and not eye wateringly expensive. 🤞

Amazing buid, simply stunning.

We are back at the workbench! It's been a while ... Some of you have followed the enjoyable little J Type diversion, which dad was thrilled with! I'm glad to be back onto plastic and acrylics though. Nothing really noteworthy other than some primer being applied over that glorious 70s lime green plastic. I need to double check before I go further but I think the underneath of the hull, and the undersides of the wings surfaces are a silver of some sort. The hull a pale grey. Back on it! by Mike, on Flickr Back on it! by Mike, on Flickr Last night Mrs Quiet Mike has joined her best mate for a cruise holiday for 2 weeks. I'm hoping this means I get to spend a bit more time at the bench! (I'd like to add, Susie doesn't stop me modelling in the slightest. Her own 'vice' is crochet, which strangley can only be done while on the sofa in front of the TV doing an impression of a couch potato ... We both try to keep each other in check with these sedentary hobbies. If I mention she spends too much time getting square eyes she reminds me that I'm currently wearing an optivisor.) Anyway, I'm the cook in the house, but I only make an effort when I'm cooking for others. If it's just me, I can't be bothered and just eat toast or cornflakes. All this time saved can be spent on the bench! I might even get this build finished before she comes back

Excellent build, glad it got to the finish line, despite being overshadowed by domestic trials and tribulations.

Happy Birthday Dad. ❤️ Thanks mum for the pics of the unwrapping 👍 Happy birthday Dad ❤️ by Mike, on Flickr Happy birthday Dad ❤️ by Mike, on Flickr

Great pics Johnny. Another who has never been to Telford before here, I plan to remedy that next year, it looks amazing!

Hello and welcome! The 8C is such an awesome car, good luck with your build.

Fanstastic effort, makes me want to build another now!

How I picture Grandad Harry in my head. This shot taken by my uncle Terry, somewhen in the early '80s I guess? Possibly late '70s. He would have been 65 in 1983. That's an Aston Villa badge in the windscreen, the old Brummie was a diehard fan all his life. I often wonder if he chose to work for the local timber yard solely because their trucks were painted claret and blue. Grandad Harry and his Lorry by Mike, on Flickr

Just back from an enjoyable couple of days cycle touring the Ypres Salient, using Varlet Farm as our base of ops. (Recommended B&B, not far from Tyne Cot.) First time back since 2018 so it was long overdue, I've missed battlefield touring here. We took in the new Passchendaele museum at Zonnebeke, which I loved, and also an old favourite, the Hooge Crater Museum. Add plenty of cafes and bars for coffee/beer pit stops and you've got the perfect holiday! Ypres Salient Tour by Mike, on Flickr Ypres Salient Tour by Mike, on Flickr And look what we found in one of our favourte bars, the 12 Apostles, in Ypres! Ypres Salient Tour by Mike, on Flickr Have a flick through the album if your interested in our travels, but now onto the matter in hand 👇 Corgi and Dinky J Types Lowmans Bakery Vans finished by Mike, on Flickr Thought I'd better get a few shots of of these before they hit the post and wing their way over to the Olds in time for Dads birthday. (Well, the Dinky at least, I'll keep hold of the Corgi Test Bed for the minute, even though it's the better finished of the two.) Corgi and Dinky J Types Lowmans Bakery Vans finished by Mike, on Flickr Corgi and Dinky J Types Lowmans Bakery Vans finished by Mike, on Flickr Corgi and Dinky J Types Lowmans Bakery Vans finished by Mike, on Flickr It's not perfect, you can see the flaws in the paint, but overall I'm happy with it. The print on the box isn't stable and has worn on the edges very quickly, but it doesn't offend me as much as I thought. And the Corgi ... Obviously I've let standards drop here and I haven't pushed the boat out and made a matching blue Corgi box to compliment it. Corgi and Dinky J Types Lowmans Bakery Vans finished by Mike, on Flickr Corgi and Dinky J Types Lowmans Bakery Vans finished by Mike, on Flickr It's been a fun little diversion. If I stumble across any (very) cheap 'Dinky 260' I'll definitely consider snapping them up and making a couple more.

Zombie Kurt 🤘 Colours looking great 👍

👍 I had it done after child No2, after some persuading with the doctor who thought at 31 I was too young. The op itself was a walk in the park. I think I was done in under 15 mins. The swelling afterwards was interesting! (But nothing on the double hernia in the summer 😂) But I was back on a bike just over week later. 😳 🚴‍♂️ My local hospital had a backlog of patients wanting the op, so some genius thought why not try and break the record for the number of snips done on one day ... It was like a factory line! I think I was No62 out of 96. Having the local rag come in to take photos in the waiting room of the big event was slightly surreal 📸

Having just caught up quickly on the last month of posts in my tea break, this emotional roller coaster has left me feeling a bit like a punch bag, and my heart goes out to you Edward. Others have given better advice and guidence than I ever could so I'll just say I hope you start getting some silver linings on those clouds soon. (Maybe now a good time to book in for the snip? ✂️ 😳) P-40 is looking marvelous though, despite these distractions!

Great intro Mike! I read about this only yesterday 😂 After the US joined the war in April, they wanted to get their own flying corps underway, and had flying schools set up in several US colleges. Unfortunately although they had the manpower, their fledgling aircraft industry was not up to the job, and many could see it would be some considersble time before it was up and running properly. Many were keen to get stuck in and hopped over the border to Canada to enlist and train there. It wasn't until the following Summer that American squadrons started appearing on the Western Front. (Arch Whitehouse, Kings of the Sky(?))

I recently picked up an old 1983 Star Wars (Return of the Jedi) Panini sticker album from a local charity shop for a 50p. It wasn't even half filled with the stickers, but my god it was like a time machine for me, I was instantly 10 years old again and remembering the thrill of getting a pack of stickers from the local newsagent! Strange how some objects, sights, sounds and even smells, catch you unexpectedly and take you back. Priceless.

I'm pretty happy with how the glue has set on this thing Chris. In fact I noticed it had been glued previously! Not sure why, it wasn't restored? I think the rivet may have just given out. I was fairly generous with the glue as well! And I'm not sure a 72 year old is going to play too roughly with it anyway ... 🤞😆 Thanks for the positive feedback chaps! The box was always on the cards I think, it just made sense as an easy way to package the little thing up. Of course, it got a little more involved!

No half bad, this could work! Test run box, not half bad! by Mike, on Flickr Just a few tweaks to the design and I think we're there. I've done one flap end upside down. I just used what I had to hand for this test run - a Lidl luxury cracker box and a thin smear of PVA 😲

It was very strangle, I thought a tiny fibre was stuck in the varnish, which would be easy to remove with a 00 paintbrush. Actually is was the enamel paint that had sagged. It's annoying as I know it's there, but I doubt my dad will spot it, it's minor.

I did have a minor issue when I used the hobbycraft acrylic gloss sealent I'd used for the transfers, as a gloss varnish on the J Type. (It was too hand, and convenient.) It reacted with the enamel paint in places, which surprised me. I've had to do a couple fo repairs but think I've got away with it.

Thanks Keith and Bill. I'm hoping my dad is equally pleased! Matt, I've done exactly that with epoxy, seems to have done the job. Right, next up, a box! This has taken more time than I expected! Altering the J Type illustration to a Lowmans van was tricky. I've not tested this template yet, it may need further adjustments. I'm going to paste it onto something like an old cereal box, as we can't print onto card here. Test draft of the box by Mike, on Flickr