Jump to content

Listening to the Solstice


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Hoping for a weekend that feels like this:

 

A much-missed genius; I saw him live many times....

 

...and that particular track would be on my Desert Island Discs top ten list. One World [the album from which this song comes, for those who are not John Martyn fans] is indelibly linked to the Falklands War in my head; I bought it (pre-recorded tape - still, at least it wasn't 8-track) in early 1982 and it lived almost permanently on the tiny tape recorder we had in our cabin (4 Sub-Lieutenants sharing - one of whom is the current First Sea Lord).  We were so hi-tech in those days that we used to wedge the tape machine into the steel wash basin in our cabin, so that it acted as a kind of woofer.

 

I have a very clear memory of listening to Small Hours again and again the evening after the surrender as Fearless sailed round from San Carlos Water to Stanley; we had finally stood down from defence watches and were able to chill out when off watch for the first time in over 3 months.  Unsurprisingly, that track has taken me to a very happy place ever since.

 

Sorry.  Thread drift.

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
  • Like 12
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, TheBaron said:

That man seems to own a beer mine.

I had no idea....

I could sell you a map to one in Derbyshire. It's the water you see.

 

Just done a huge catch up and am suitably impressed by the build, and the level of humour contained within. 

If this one gets anywhere near the size of your last build we could be here until the middle of the next decade.

 

I'll even forgive your lack of appreciation of Mr Pratchetts work. 📚

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I could sell you a map to one in Derbyshire. It's the water you see.

Brilliant. 😁

4 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

If this one gets anywhere near the size of your last build we could be here until the middle of the next decade.

Hopefully this will be a slightly more modest undetaking Pete, though if somebody brings out a 1/24 Anson all hell could break loose.....

4 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I'll even forgive your lack of appreciation of Mr Pratchetts work.

It's awful I know: so many people revere him yet he leave me cold.

Saccheverel Sitwell, now there was a writer.

That nobody else I know has ever heard of these days.

Part of that ghastly gang of uber-snobs Osbert and Edith, yet his:

md370363230.jpg

is like spending an afternoon on acid going around the Tate Gallery and British Museum whilst eating a large bag of sherbert.

I would imagine.

8 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

I like Canada a lot!

The wife of a friend of mine is from some small town there that is unfeasibly far from everywhere. My friend says that everywhere you go in the area there are doughnuts.

8 hours ago, giemme said:

All that Milliput ..

:laugh: It's filled-in all my fingerprints so currently unable to open the biometric lock on my phone as a result....

7 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Sorry.  Thread drift.

Not at all Crisp.

Just deep and vivid reminiscence. :nodding:

I was halfway through my 'A'-Levels at the time and we were ushered in to the assembly hall to watch you all leaving Portsmouth on the lunchtime news.

 

There's some wonderful material on Mr. Martin in Rob Young's superb survey:

8248253.jpg

7 hours ago, Hamden said:

 

Your rebuild of the flap trays is superb engineering, don't envy you the clean up of the wing top surfaces though!

The Milliput seems to have worked for the nicely for the broad regions Roger, and just done a second pass with Humbrol filler on any blemishes. I'll post some more pics tomorrow if I get a chance to do some sanding.

 

I watched that new Spitfire documentary earlier: astoundingly beautifully filmed but weakly-scripted and edited. Pity.

 

 

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I watched that new Spitfire documentary earlier: astoundingly beautifully filmed but weakly-scripted and edited. Pity.

I saw this during the week with my oldest two lads, we all enjoyed it & to its credit it didn't grate too awfully on me at any point. I'm eternally grateful that it was made & by the obituaries we've seen this last year, only just in time too.

Steve.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, CedB said:

Map please...

Flat-earthers lie! :evil_laugh:

i5fui8n0rgi11.jpg

1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

I saw this during the week with my oldest two lads,

Watched it with my youngest too Steve. :thumbsup2:

 

He promptly dissasembled and started cleaning out the computer in the living room afterwards that we use as a media centre to play films, so still trying to gauge his reaction really.

 

Teenagers are such complex things....

 

Recent conversation my wife had with him:

Mrs B (for it is she) : 'What's that box sticking out from under your bed?'

Baron Minor: 'Oh, that's just my nail gun.'

Mrs B (with alarm): 'Your what?!'

Baron Minor: 'My nail-gun. I got it from Granny's house'

Mrs B (terse): 'What have you got it for?'

Baron Minor: 'Emergencies.'

:facepalm:

 

Should have finished with these photos yesterday but forgot:

43949644365_7e1ffa3828_c.jpg

Whilst the Milliput was hardening last evening I set-to building the flaps themselves. This time around I brazed the brass (bless you Miggers for that tip) so that the smaller sections would be easier to bend. I had to unbend, file, and re-bend a couple of times but in the end they fit snugly inside their respective trays:

30987752108_4ac9307db6_c.jpg

Here's the wings then after sanding down the Milliput flush with the camber:

44139457724_0f70a27292_c.jpg

Flush did I say? Lighting angles are everything aren't they when you turn the surface almost parallel to the incoming light:

30987752168_0f985fe4a9_c.jpg

Not bad for a first pass but still too much in the way of undulation in places. For those smaller areas needing further attention I switched to Humbrol filler. I like the way it cooks-off quicklyon small regions, allowing you to sand and add as required, plus as long as you offer it a nice rough surface to key against it stays put:

44810405282_440d99e21d_c.jpg

I certainly think that will do duty for a flat plywood wing now:

43949644595_30cef6677c_c.jpg

Let's bung them onto the fuselage to check the visuals:

44139457964_5a385770f7_c.jpg

At long last I've grown out of the ghastly habit of slathering primer over surfaces to check them for smoothness (what I like to refer to as the 'Brian Ferry in a Cashmere Sweater Sipping a Pink Gin Whilst Stroking a Leopard' index) and find the use of strong oblique light a real friend to the judgemental eye:

43949644665_edb1fc90c2_c.jpg

The nethers?

43049146350_e0183b85fb_c.jpg

Need to muck out the flap trays as you can see but otherwise those wing surfaces can now be considered ready for the next stage:

44810405372_f1159f993f_c.jpg

Such a pretty aircraft:

43949644885_2d6a382634_c.jpg

I haven't addressed the nacelles and cowls yet but there are two issues I need to come back to with regard to these, namely the ribbing being a little pronounced in places and their apexes at the rear (top & bottom) should reach a sharper point than that given on the moulding. 

 

Autumn equinoxe today of course and classic Keatsian sun and russet out the back garden this morning:

44139457834_148db65cc1_c.jpg

The storms during the week brought down a lot of the apples and pears so a sudden influx of fruit pies and crumbles is liable to cause acquaintances to question whether Count von Zeppelin is my personal trainer....

43949644475_f39552a543_c.jpg

Have a lovely Sunday all of you and catch you during the week.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 18
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, TheBaron said:

The wife of a friend of mine is from some small town there that is unfeasibly far from everywhere. My friend says that everywhere you go in the area there are doughnuts.

I have to admit, there were many doughnuts to be observed, but nothing had prepared me for the size of the blueberry pancakes, the addictiveness  maple syrup and the awesomeness of maple smoked bacon!

 

Great work on the wings there. BTW that last jpg didn't load as an embedded picture ...... not sure if thats a my end issue or your end? When I click the link it takes me to it ok.

 

Terry

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Terry1954 said:

that last jpg didn't load as an embedded picture ...... not sure if thats a my end issue or your end? When I click the link it takes me to it ok.

That should be there now Terry. That blasted autoposting interrupted the updating...

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work on the wings Tony, she's starting to look 'proper Anson' now :D 

Apples also falling here so Mrs B was busy making Chutney yesterday. Sadly her 'pie and crumble' skills have been overridden by her wish to take me to the grave as a skinny bloke - fat chance!

(Oooh, that's almost punny...)

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are these any help with the nacelles?

I forgot I took them

 

:(

P1130980.jpg

 

I know, tin wings and all but

P1130983.jpg

Seems a lot of ribbing on that one

In case of temptation...

P1130981.jpg

Lots of engine panels hiding behind Nellie

which might have come off this bit

P1130984.jpg

 

Oops sorry Tony, shall I expunge the record?

  • Like 6
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, CedB said:

 Sadly her 'pie and crumble' skills have been overridden by her wish to take me to the grave as a skinny bloke - fat chance!

(Oooh, that's almost punny...)

Whilst commiserating on the indulgence front Ced, it does of course mean that we get to relish your company for many decades to come - or indeed forever, should cybernetics allow us to live an infinitely-prolonged existence housed in a jar:

131189.jpg

No wonder Richard N. looks p-ed off.

'There will be no white pudding in the Whitehouse!'

7 hours ago, pheonix said:

 I could learn a lot about throwing from you!!

I would have been the one in the platoon banned from carrying the bag of grenades...

giphy.gif

Glad that you're enjoying progress here Mr. P. :thumbsup2:

1 hour ago, Hamden said:

 

Those wings look so much better now Great workmanship!

Thanks Roger.

I have to say that I'm mightily impressed by how that fine version of Milliput performs - it's like a rather dense porcelain and take a sand/polish beautifully.

39 minutes ago, perdu said:

Are these any help with the nacelles?

I forgot I took them

Well now, I'm most grateful that you remembered them Bill as those are superb shots!

 

That really helps with visualizing in three-dimensions that internal maze of parts behind the engine. Aside from those prominent oil tanks, the big task is going to be deciding what to build of that mechanical Book of Kells, in terms of pipework etc. and what to leave out. 🤔

 

At least Mr. Parkins has provided me with some excellent etch to render those big horseshoe shaped cooling vanes sticking out to starboard at the bottom: I must look up what they actually are so that I can feign a wholly spurious Solomon-like knowledge of their engineering function...

 

On top of everything else that's going-on I just got back into reading Tony Judt's massive and enthralling:

img285.jpg

...and astonished at the sheer level of my ignorance about even the recent past.

A few folk in Westminster could use reading it too it seems to me. No names, no pack drill &etc.

 

  • Like 9
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great work on the wings and flaps Tony. We have been having Pair  crumble as the solitary Pair tree we have was absolutely loaded this year. Been over the back on an old disused railway line getting loads of blackberries too and had blackberry crumbles with ice cream, truly scrummy.

 

All the best 

Chris 

Edited by bigbadbadge
Predictive text error
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/23/2018 at 10:06 PM, bigbadbadge said:

We have been having Pair  crumble as the solitary Pair tree we have was absolutely loaded this year.

Sounds great Chris! 

It does seem to have been an exceptionally fruity year doesn't it? I was going to mention:

On 9/23/2018 at 10:06 PM, bigbadbadge said:

loads of blackberries too

but then you beat me to it. 😁

About two weeks early in this neck of the woods and much sweeter than usual!

On 9/24/2018 at 9:36 AM, giemme said:

But are going going to add back some hint of ribbing or not? 

No ribbing Giorgio as these wing types were skinned with a wood laminate and then had a fabric covering doped on top of that. Only on photographs taken at really oblique sun-angles is there any significant visual evidence of such surface relief on the wings, and even then nowhere near the extremity displayed on the original kit moulding. I need to give the tailplanes the same treatment too as they have similar troughs in them.

 

Which reminds me.

 

Being The Man Who Stares at Ansons these days has benefits in that I spotted a shape issue with the tailplane that I would have overlooked previously:

44191547434_2733684292_c.jpg

I first noticed in one or two photographs that the tip of the kit tailplane looked far rounder than the sharper 'beak' shape on the actual aircraft, plus the 'plane chord gets progressively too narrow as it approaches the fuselage and the elevator comes up slightly short. I put an overlay together in Photoshop using the maintenance manual drawing to makes sure I was seeing these matters correctly:

29974416287_1bfd1094c7_b.jpg

Currently considering whether to file down the beak add some prosthetic bits of plastic to reshape the chord & elevator or whether to just build new tailplanes from scratch.

 

Whilst back there I had a look at the rudder too. Its shape looks good and there was no great need really to cut it off. So I cut it off:

44191547154_ed4422bd1e_c.jpg

Interested to note when gluing the rudder parts together subsequently that their profile wasn't exactly symmetrical on each side of the tail:

44911118641_f98189c997_c.jpg

Hangs a little lower to starboard (as one's tailor might observe...).

There was a similar issue on the starboard rudder of the Iron Chicken too previously so I'll correct this later here on the Anson with some shim in the same way.

 

I don't intend detailing the flap ribs again at this stage - I want to retain focus on getting the broad outlines of the aircraft corrected and in good order first before shifting attention to filling in the smaller regions. I noticed a tendency on the last build to get tunnel vision about such smaller regions - sometimes to the detriment of the larger structure - so wish to avoid that this time around. The salvaged metal necessaries have therefore gone into storage on a shelf over the bench for a few weeks:

44911118611_6a728d1d4e_c.jpg

As a mark of intent and igniting one's river-crossing structure I also had a lash at the starboard engine structure with a saw:

44191547284_20604264ef_c.jpg

Looks alarming as it always does when freshly cut but inspired by this shot:

44494912341_e36100d634_c.jpg&key=1d8827a

and with both Bill and Terry generously pitching-in with such excellent photographic references for those innards too, it's crying-out to be have some justice done.

Though looking at it in this current state:

44911118811_ddaea949cc_c.jpg

...there are a number of intesting technical problems to consider:

  • the way that the undercarriage mounting of the kit currently sticks right into the middle of where all the detailing needs to go.
  • trying to get a circular firewall inside an opening that's too small.
  • fixing a brass framework, oil tank and sundry plumbing around the firewall, not to mention the engine and exhaust.
  • the distinctly unpleasing thickness of those walls.

An uneasy feeling is growing at the back of my mind that this is going to involve vacforming panels and  a scratch-built undercarriage.

 

Don't gloat.

The wind'll change and your face'll stay like that. :winkgrin:

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 12
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎22‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 11:20, TheBaron said:

After a bit of a restorative lay-in this morning I was anxious to see how the flap trays had glued (I'm one of those unfortunate people who always imagine that the glued parts have shifted tectonically overnight, no matter how tightly you've clamped and taped them):

What do you mean imagine? Everybody knows they do!

 

Martian 👽

  • Like 1
  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

As a mark of intent and igniting one's river-crossing structure I also had a lash at the starboard engine structure with a saw:

44191547284_20604264ef_c.jpg

Thats what I like to see, a good bit of major surgery with a saw!

 

Great thread again Tony.

 

Terry

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...