From Failure to Failure

[Gorby]

On 19/04/2018 at 03:50, Procopius said:

Does anyone know anything about British history in the middle ages? I'm looking for book recommendations. My knowledge of British history is very hazy prior to George I

Although it isn't about historical events as such, I would recommend 'Medieval Lives' by Terry Jones (of Python fame). It pretty much turned my ideas about that period on its head – not so much the 'dark ages' after all. It concentrates more on the stuff that most history books leave out – the lives of ordinary (and some not so ordinary) people of the time.

I found it a very interesting, informative and entertaining read. £2.45 second-hand, it was a bargain as well.

[charlie_c67]

On 20/04/2018 at 16:30, Procopius said:

 

 

Sadly, it's a way to often problem that afflicts modern thinking, trying to judge actions in the past with modern morals and ethics. Particularly it seems in Western culture. Whilst some of the acts committed by these people were inherently wrong in our eyes (thinking of people like Cecil Rhodes here) they were a product of their time and acted as such. This doesn't condone their actions, it merely serves as a reminder that they believed what they were doing was for the greater good. Sometimes.

 

A better way to look at these events would be to remind people why they did what they did and the thinking and circumstances surrounding it, whilst explaining why we don't do these things anymore. I also finding interesting that whilst people talk about removing statues of Rhodes, the confederate generals et al (again, not saying their actions were right) these same people don't seem to think that the same should apply to those from ancient civilisations, such as the Pharoahs, Caesars, Aztecs etc who did the same if not worse. I find myself wondering why...

 

I'll stop now! 

 

Edit: For some reasons, the relevant quote has removed itself from my post. Not sure why... 

Edited April 22, 2018 by charlie_c67

[Learstang]

I've just had a butcher's at your finished Bisley, PC - lovely (oxymoron?) Bisley! I am sorry to hear about your non-modellistic travails. Always remember that the children do eventually grow up and move out. I suppose I was moved to check in on this thread as I'm currently turning my brains into gelatin listening to EVERY version of 'Werewolves of London' ever recorded, written by Chicago's very own late, great Warren Zevon, whose quote adorns all my posts on this august site. I hate to sound like the crabby old man that I am, but today's music is rubbish, and I do so miss Mr. Zevon and his literate, darkly humorous music.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

Edited April 22, 2018 by Learstang
Additional peals of wisdom added.

[TheBaron]

On 19/04/2018 at 3:50 AM, Procopius said:

 

Does anyone know anything about British history in the middle ages? I'm looking for book recommendations.

PC: the following two would be good jumping-off points as general surveys on which to base further reading into particular areas of interest:

 

 

Michael Woods' BBC series In Search of the Dark Ages from the late 70s was iirc most watchable, there are a number of episodes up on the tube:

If it's for the citizenship exam, you'll also need:

Hth,

Tony

 

 

 

[Procopius]

10 hours ago, TheBaron said:

 

 

 

Looks like it was a stressful time.

[Stew Dapple]

1 hour ago, Procopius said:

Looks like it was a stressful time.

 

"What's happening for Christ's sake, I can't see a damn thing, bloody Dark Ages!"

[Max Headroom]

48 minutes ago, Stew Dapple said:

 

"What's happening for Christ's sake, I can't see a damn thing, bloody Dark Ages!"

Don’t worry. The Age of Enlightenment will be along in about 800 years.......

 

Trevor

[Beard]

2 minutes ago, Max Headroom said:

Don’t worry. The Age of Enlightenment will be along in about 800 years.......

 

Trevor

From now?

[Procopius]

Sorry for the continuing pauses in the build; in addition to battling depression (although is it really a fight if you always lose?) and incredibly limited spare time this past week, Winston and Mrs P both came down with gastrointestinal complaints, or as Winston said to me, echoing the fervent sentiments of our entire house, "I don't wanna poop anymore." He burned through an entire box of "training pants" (toddler-sized diapers) in a day, which is not an insignificant expense for us, as these things cost as much as the MX missile.

 

Long story short, I lost a day of work and ten years off my life (and may have been sick the whole week, but I didn't notice, because I'm not a malingering whiner*). 

 

20180428_072833 by Edward IX, on Flickr 

 

He slept like this for two hours on Saturday morning, which was sweet, but I had a lot to do. 

 

My mother in law is here now, though, and everyone is happy to see her, not least of all me, because she has about 48 hours before her grandchildren bore her, and I was able to sneak off and get TWO HOURS to myself in the grotto. Two hours! Before I had children, not only did I have lots of money, I also thought nothing of modelling for twice that long on a weeknight. Why, I wouldn't even have to choose between modelling or reading the magnificent Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror; I'd be able to do both. But here I am, suffering for my art, and for all of you. That's love, chum.

 

So anyway, I got the little things in the backs of the engines assembled, and even managed to find one that I'd lost two weeks ago, which is hugely impressive given that I was for once wearing my mask (I just discovered I'm part of the last intake at my work to be eligible for the now-discontinued pension plan) and thus couldn't wear my glasses, and also because my workbench is a mess right now.

 

20180429_172051 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

I gave the assembled engines a coat of AK EXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTREEEEEME!!!!1! Metal Polished Aluminium.

 

20180429_173047 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

Then went over them with a brown acrylic wash and painted the teats black.

 

20180429_212112 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

Then I used Mr Surfacer 1500 and sprayed the cowls and their impedimenta for a primer coat:

 

20180429_212049 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

Then I sprayed the inner ring of the cowls Polished Aluminium (and did a drive by on the landing gear and wheel hubs, too), masked it, and sprayed the outer ring portion Alclad Pale Burnt Metal, with intent to go over it later and gussy it up some.

 

20180429_221113 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

I also painted the back of the engine bay RAF interior green or whatever we call it, and tried to use some of it on the inside of the cowls, but had thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner and it did terrible things that you'll never see, so why worry about it?

 

Lastly I added the bracing struts to the SBS engines using 0.4mm silver brass wire, which I'll trim once the glue dries.

 

20180429_221918 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

Or, you know, in six months, when I have spare time again.

 

 

 

 

 

* Yes I am. 

 

 

[Stew Dapple]

Welcome back mate

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

* We all are

[CedB]

Wow PC, that's great progress for two hours - nice jobs

 

Hoping you get more modelling time soon...

[AdrianMF]

Edward, nice work on the engines and things. Parenthood does get better. Honest. Or maybe one just gets used to not being in control of one's life. Hang on in there.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[perdu]

Hey PC, that's a nice quiet, charming little kid.

 

Where'd ya find it and where'd you dump Winnie?

Not too close to the ditch I hope or they'll find him...

 

 

No mate sorry, just couldn't resist

He does look like a nice kid, maybe the struggle begins to pay off..

 

I love the engine work, as a retired mechanic it does me good to see a finely worked engine

Two is a magnificent bonus

 

Great work PC, rock on dear boy

😀

[Max Headroom]

Hang on in there PC. Mojo meltdown is common and will pass. Even when I don’t ‘feel in the mood’ for “gluing silly little bits of plastic together” ©️ Mrs Headroom, I still think about how and what I’m going to build next!

 

As for parenthood, there’s no manual I’m afraid, you learn on the job. 

 

Good work on the engines btw!

 

Trevor

[Learstang]

In that state, the larval PC looks quite cute and harmless. Excellent work on the engines! I've lately been going wild painting all my collector rings and sundry with Model Master Burnt Iron, which to my tired old eyes looks quite good for burnty, brassy thingies. Was that Tuchman book you mention the one about the awful 14th century? I was trying to think of the name of the book where she details that horrible century for Europe. The Black Death, the Hundred Year's War - fun times!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[Tomoshenko]

Nice work PC. Six weeks, six months, six years...it's always worth the wait for your threads.

[Killingholme]

On 4/19/2018 at 3:50 AM, Procopius said:

Does anyone know anything about British history in the middle ages? I'm looking for book recommendations. My knowledge of British history is very hazy prior to George I.

Don't get too hung up on 'British' histories. Medieval England, and arguably the whole of the British Isles was profoundly European during this period. Forget modern notions of 'state'. Without getting all post-modern about it, some of the great narratives of English history tell you rather more about the time they were written than they do about medieval civilisation. Not to mention they are rather difficult to plough through. This is the sort of leather-bound history that might secure you a career in the civil service, but it doesn't feel terribly relevant today.

 

To that end, I'd recommend a book that is more historiography than history. Delogu, "Introduction to Medieval History". https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/introduction-to-medieval-history-9780715630792/

 

In a similar vein, but perhaps more overtly 'academic' is Bull's "Thinking Medieval" which is a damned expensive thing to buy in hardback, but seems to be quite reasonably priced as an e-book https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9781403912947

 

Or get hold of a good edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and a reader for the same.  If nothing else, you'll have a laugh!

 

Will

Edited April 30, 2018 by Killingholme

[Killingholme]

Just remembered about the the OUP "Very Short Introductions" series. Lifesavers.

 

John Gillingham and Ralph A. Griffiths "Medieval Britain: A Very Short Introduction"

 

https://global.oup.com/academic/product/medieval-britain-a-very-short-introduction-9780192854025?prevSortField=1&sortField=1&start=100&resultsPerPage=100&type=listing&subjectcode1=1793239|AHU00010&prevNumResPerPage=100&lang=en&cc=us

 

Heavily abridged Oxford Illustrated History, but for $12, can't go wrong!

Edited April 30, 2018 by Killingholme

[Space Ranger]

On 18/04/2018 at 21:50, Procopius said:

Does anyone know anything about British history in the middle ages? I'm looking for book recommendations. My knowledge of British history is very hazy prior to George I.

All I know about British history in the Middle Ages is this:

 

"Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

                                                                                                                 — Dennis

Edited April 30, 2018 by Space Ranger
Clarification.

[perdu]

You could always try fiction, swords and shield walls a la Bernard Cornwell for the times of King Alfred

Fiction but with a healthy respect for the underlying history, The Last Kingdom series

 

Worth a punt maybe

[Procopius]

7 hours ago, Learstang said:

Was that Tuchman book you mention the one about the awful 14th century? I was trying to think of the name of the book where she details that horrible century for Europe. The Black Death, the Hundred Year's War - fun times!

It is! Subsequent inquiries reveal it's not highly-regarded by medievalists, putting it possibly on a par with Stephen Ambrose (lovely writing, not the best history, but less plagiarism, one trusts), but there's not much I can do about that right now except enjoy the prose. 

 

6 hours ago, Tomoshenko said:

Nice work PC. Six weeks, six months, six years...it's always worth the wait for your threads.

 

5 hours ago, Killingholme said:

Or get hold of a good edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and a reader for the same.  If nothing else, you'll have a laugh!

I read it about twenty years ago for school. I mostly recall being impressed that "fart" was in general use six hundred years  ago. 

 

And up the wyndowe dide he hastily,
And out his ers he putteth pryvely
Over the buttok, to the haunche-bon;
And therwith spak this clerk, this Absolon,
"Spek, sweete bryd, I noot nat where thou art."

This Nicholas anon leet fle a fart,
As greet as it had been a thonder-dent...

 

5 hours ago, Killingholme said:

Don't get too hung up on 'British' histories. Medieval England, and arguably the whole of the British Isles was profoundly European during this period. Forget modern notions of 'state'. Without getting all post-modern about it, some of the great narratives of English history tell you rather more about the time they were written than they do about medieval civilisation. Not to mention they are rather difficult to plough through. This is the sort of leather-bound history that might secure you a career in the civil service, but it doesn't feel terribly relevant today.

 

Are you referring to the problems of Whig history, etc, or something else? 

 

I appreciate that the medieval world was pretty complex and that few things were confined solely to the British isles, but I'm not sure that my interest or educational level rises to needing primers on the historiography of the period, how archaeology is helping us understand it, the trouble with sources, etc. Since I've at this point accepted I'll never be a historian or anything more than a fat and rather boring suburban dad, I generally try to find a decent narrative history that gives me a broad overview and allows me to zero in on subjects of particular interest for future reading. EDIT: The middle ages were not well-covered in school for me, so this is almost all untrodden territory. Almost anything I know, I learned from reading Gibbon. 

 

5 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

"Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony."

                                                                                                                 — Dennis

I'm with Arthur on this one.

[Procopius]

A little more progress this evening:

 

Cowls painted Dark Earth.

 

20180430_214852 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

And parts of the landing gear on:

 

20180430_215530 by Edward IX, on Flickr

 

I also put the little doohickies on the props. Pretty close now! Just need to do the gunpack, the rest of the MLG, pretty up the tires, and the cowl undersides, then assemble. 

 

 

[Stew Dapple]

You know the black/white divided underside might not have been particularly useful for camouflage (and I know that was not the intention) but it certainly does look nice (and I know that was not the intention either)

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[Learstang]

What exactly was the intention, other than the obvious one to make things difficult for us modellers?

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[CedB]

Nice job PC, nearly there...

Very nice black and white undersides, very dapper