06/24 Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Me too, me too! It's good to be in such exulted company 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Gods yes, not just the Spitfires either, but the Hurricanes and the Defiants too... the upper cowling always needs filling and sanding, then somehow needs filling and sanding again later on, once the primer coat is on. However as noted above it is strangely comforting to know it isn't just me... thank you gents! Cheers, Stew 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 Wow, this has proved to be very cathartic. I will note, incidentally, that the AZ Spitfire? No visible seam. So point to it. That hedgehog is a cute little thing, love seeing it. Good job it can't talk because judging by that look it would have some choice words to say! Madeleine is a perfect lady! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 and work for a Dutch company. Wait, is it an airline? If it's the one I'm thinking of, their social media team is terrifyingly good, a story I heard about them at a conference offers a glimpse into a very Orwellian future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Wait, is it an airline? If it's the one I'm thinking of, their social media team is terrifyingly good, a story I heard about them at a conference offers a glimpse into a very Orwellian future. Big data is evrything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeW Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Wait, is it an airline? If it's the one I'm thinking of, their social media team is terrifyingly good, a story I heard about them at a conference offers a glimpse into a very Orwellian future. Good heavens - people are worried about a seam, whereas human tourism is dying - faster than the barrier Reef. No I don't work for KLM - and thank you to the French tax payer to keeping them alive - the oldest airline and all that. People who routinely fly business class for $12,000 from LAX to Europe have started avoiding KLMs nonstops and going via Paris or London instead, as in their words "Those 747s are getting very old". One wants an Airbus A380 these days to justify the cost. ( Right behind KLM are Qantas and South African in the oldest continually operating airlines ). Shame really, as Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is a lovely connection point. (Ask me how I know, but check with me before you connect in Rotterdam ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 28, 2015 Author Share Posted August 28, 2015 I was actually hugely disappointed that my rapidly-approaching flight to London WASN'T a 747. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Gods yes, not just the Spitfires either, but the Hurricanes and the Defiants too... the upper cowling always needs filling and sanding, then somehow needs filling and sanding again later on, once the primer coat is on. However as noted above it is strangely comforting to know it isn't just me... thank you gents! Cheers, Stew Another reason to like the ICM Spitfires - their (separate) upper nose cowlings are in one complete piece (side to side). As they are 1/48, they are probably not relevant here, however (apologies for the thread drift, but I do like the ICM Spit Mk. IX family . There are, of course, other somewhat related snags in those (early) kits, such as sink marks, but I'd rather deal with sink marks than seam lines, and, strangely, the hated ejector-pin marks.Also, the ICM Spits come with little Merlins, and I am a total sucker for kits with engines in 'em. Call it childish if you like, but it is one of my (many) apparently-ineradicable foibles. Cheers, Alex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 (edited) Big data is evrything Big Data will rule us all . Or already is in charge, in reality. Edited August 29, 2015 by AlexN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Good heavens - people are worried about a seam, whereas human tourism is dying - faster than the barrier Reef. True story -- one of my coworkers when I was in a call center had been a travel agent whose job had disappeared post-9/11. The poor woman (her dad, incidentally, was Dutch and had spent WWII in a Japanese internment camp in the DEI) invariably got all of our obscene callers, to the point where we strongly suspected it was a menu option. (As I think I've mentioned, ten years ago, I worked as a dispatcher for a same-day shipping firm, and once almost single-handedly delayed production of the Hummer 2.) Big data is evrything JUDSON: One day there will be more machines like this, thinking machines. MILLINGTON: Yes, but whose thoughts will they think? In any case. big day today.I began Operation MOOB OSCILLATOR, my first exercise since the surgery, with three miles in a depressing thirty-six minutes on the elliptical machine, wearing what my coworkers call my "sissy fists" (thanks, guys), two five-pound wrist weights. This is all part of my grand plan to not be the size of a house when I leave for England in two weeks(!!!), as it will be harder to hide from the authorities long enough to claim residency if I'm too big to conceal myself behind common household objects. My 1/72 Academy F-4J arrived at my office, and it looks a cracking kit, and I'm very excited. I suspect a few may be built by father and son in the next decade, regardless of the actual interest or participation level of the son: Oh right, the Spitfires. I applied some Tamiya putty to the seams -- I don't know why I always try and get cute and use something else -- and sanded them down. Bammo. I think Anil is right in his thread: trim down the IP, and the fuselage will close up with far fewer seam issues. Almost ready to prime anew, and then: paint! I have a wedding tomorrow for my cousin, who I love dearly, but he is increasingly becoming a caricature of all of the negative stereotypes people have about my erstwhile countrymen, and I fear if the conversation turns to Donald Trump, one of the other guests will beat me up. Perhaps I shall bring my sissy fists. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Good luck with the painting and exercise PC (From the oven that is Umbria) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Good luck with the painting and exercise PC (From the oven that is Umbria) Holy buckets, Ced! Italy doesn't get half hot. It's as bad as here in late July. Did you know that Perugia's sister city is Grand Rapids, Michigan? Did you know that when it comes to swapping delegations on taxpayer-funded friendship missions, Grand Rapids is coming out way ahead? (Grand Rapids is one of those parts of the USA that looks post-apocalyptic without the inconvenience of an actual apocalypse, sort of like Brixton in the 1980s as seen in Death Wish III, but with less greenery.) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Hmm..that's quite warm - especially if you're from the UK! Drink lots of water, Ced! Cheers, Alex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Thanks guys! Once again, having been promised 'balmy' (for English blokes) mid- to late-20s I am again roasting in mid-30s and the locals are saying 'Yes, it's the hottest August week we've had for years', only in broken English, obviously. I was discussing 'the damned heat' with another gentleman when his Aussie companion said 'You Brits, it's just warm'. She must be from the desert or something. Drink WATER? I have to admit to doing that a bit, although I usually follow WC Field's advice Apple maps is officially useless. Not only does the GPS seem to update more slowly than Google but the nice lady's attempts to say 'take the next exit for Fratta Todina / Monte Castello di Vibio' is a source of much amusement. Unlike driving around the one way system in Perugia THREE TIMES before she got the prompt for the exit right, and on time - it's a challenge, believe me. The final straw though was when I searched for 'model shops' and Apple maps suggested one in Norwich. Mind you, it is nice sitting on the terrace. I watched a chap plough a field from sort of H63 to H30... It was back to H71 (parched) in a couple of hours. I shall hopefully get used to the heat soon, and then freeze when I get home. Holidays abroad, who needs 'em. Oh, Mike, right. And PC of course for the upcoming BoB trip - excited! PC I'll PM you when I get back to the 'comfortable' English weather. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Ced, just told the wife where you are holidaying and she is very VERY jealous! Last week I came home to her showing me an Italian property for sale in the same area... It was a bargain and the area was just stunning... But I did need to give her a few reality checks, you know silly things like a deposit, affording a mortgage and jobs in the area! Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Thanks guys! Once again, having been promised 'balmy' (for English blokes) mid- to late-20s I am again roasting in mid-30s and the locals are saying 'Yes, it's the hottest August week we've had for years', only in broken English, obviously. I was discussing 'the damned heat' with another gentleman when his Aussie companion said 'You Brits, it's just warm'. She must be from the desert or something. Hi Ced, mid-30s sounds like music to my ears... We are now headed for the mid to upper 40s in October-November, and that is getting very un-fun... Just when you'll start freezing, you lucky man!!! Which is taking us ever so further away from Mr. P's Spitfires' seams... Seams on Spitfires? Isn't life a b...h? JR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 Which is taking us ever so further away from Mr. P's Spitfires' seams... Seams on Spitfires? Isn't life a b...h? Yeah! What's that crazy kid up to? Well, I did not get beaten up at the wedding by some uncompromising advocate of making America great again, although it went on rather long before I figured out I wasn't going to be getting cake any time soon and went home. Late last night I sprayed on some more primer, and... Still a seam on one! I've sanded it down. The third time will be, I trust, the charm. Apparently I'm now a co-host of the Vietnam GB as well, so I'll probably be building my next few kits for it after this...I encourage you all to join. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 Mrs. P has been (to my mind needlessly) extravagant today, "needing" running shoes (she can't muster up more than a casual saunter if I'm being generous, or a comical waddle if I'm feeling brutally honest) and more plants "to purify the air in the house". Google University is a terrible place. However, she did just buy me a needlessly expensive book, so. In any case, we're sorted on the sanding front and/or I stopped caring after try the third. I sprayed Modelmaster Sky Type S on Berry and Unwin's Spitfires, and since Leigh's Spitfire is listed as having "possibly Sky Blue", I dug out my bottle of Duck Egg Green, which is about the oldest bottle of paint I own, nearly ten years young. (I realize this is nothing to some of you, but that's nearly a third of my life. That bottle and I went through hell together.) I'm happy to report that although it took about five hundred coats to achieve satisfactory coverage, the paint still works. On the left, Duck's Egg Green (or Blue, I forget), on the right, Sky Type S. I think that works pretty well for Sky Blue, don't you? I've also managed to dislocate the thrice-damned PE radio mast on the AZ Spitfire for the thousandth time: But no matter. Underside's painted. I decided this aircraft probably had Sky wheel wells, because why not. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) That's the colour of (Humbrol Authentics enamel) Duck Egg Green that I brushed onto my 1/32 Revell Spitfire (with tastefully-recessed and possibly accurate rivets, as it happens) when I were a lad in the late 60s. Give or take the fact that the photo was taken using a digital camera, etc., etc. Sorry to hear that you didn't get any cake, what a swindle. Almost sounds as though it was a wasted evening... Cheese on toast*, Alex * To make up for the lack of cake, although cheesecake might have been more appropriate Edited August 31, 2015 by AlexN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 Sorry to hear that you didn't get any cake, what a swindle. Almost sounds as though it was a wasted evening... In fact, my dad, who I went to the wedding with (my dad's a bit of a Gary Cooper type, and when I asked if I was his plus one, he resolutely informed me that no, we were both on our own, each with a "minus one"), was so disappointed to not have gotten cake that he detoured on the way home and bought two cakes. So I got some cake after all. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexN Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) Excellent, as Davros would say Edited September 3, 2015 by AlexN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Woof, it's been a spell. As you can see, we've masked the undersides and sprayed the Dark Earth (Testors, as is my wont). I tried to vary the coat a bit to achieve...something, but I don't think it works or looks quite right. Fortunately the vagaries of the cell phone camera go a ways towards concealing the flaws in my painting. Hopefully we can mask and spray the Dark Green tomorrow night, and then we're close, so close. Twelve days to Albion's fair shores for me. God-damned Europeans, Take me back to beautiful England And the grey, damp filthiness of ages, And battered books and Fog rolling down behind the mountains, On the graveyards, and dead sea-captains. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Looking good PC. Even those of us not in England are looking forward to your arrival! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 Looking good PC. Even those of us not in England are looking forward to your arrival! I do normally try to say Britain vice England -- I love the whole and it's greater even than the not inconsiderable sum of its parts -- but given my itinerary, I felt the song apropos. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
06/24 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 I know, context is all. See you in two weeks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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