The new front door was fitted yesterday and it looks very good and the difference it makes to the house astonished me. The house is much warmer and quieter with a huge reduction in noise from the street outside. I now wish we had done this years ago because it is surprising how much noise and cold air was coming into the house via the leaky old door. It is also very secure and given the various incidents over the last ten years it is much needed. No.1 son is looking at buying a video door bell for the front door for extra security and it will also keep an eye on the cars parked outside as well. I would put a photo up but with our house number emblazoned on the small glass insert in a lovely shade of blue, best not to.

BW would have won any bet we made about not buying kits as the Breda 65 aircraft and the replacement canopy for the SM 79 arrived yesterday.

I dug out the SM 79 from the stash for a quick out of the box build on Monday and started working on it. I then discovered the glass canopy was missing so I ordered an aftermarket replacement. During my search for the canopy replacement I discovered the Breda 65 advertised as a new kit re-issue. The very kit I have wanted for years but no longer in production and the old kits are very expensive but there it was, a new one. I promptly ordered it and it was delivered into my eager hands. I have a vacuform kit in the stash which I intend to build but happier now as I can build this first and prepare for the vacuform build, a model form I have never made.

I like WW2 Italian aircraft and this has delighted me no end. I intend to buy some aftermarket decals and some figures for the kit as I hope to build it as a North African diorama circa 1940 - 41. In the meantime I am painting and tidying up some unfinished kits and figures and I started on the following kit...

One negative from the door replacement is the impact upon the cats with Sherlock once again very anxious and Maisie similarly affected. Both extremely skittish, unsettled and Maisie wandered the house yesterday evening howling and wailing, unusual behaviour for her. This work and visits from Jerry has upset them all although we now prevent Jerry entering the house. Poor little beasties. A good excuse for me to stay indoors looking after them and avoid going out in this damp miserable weather. I have been looking at trips out for later this year including a couple of air museums here in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Suffolk as well as plans to travel down to Essex. It's time I saw some of these aircraft in the 'flesh'!

TTFN.

 

Calling this 95% completed as I need to finish the weathering and add a camouflage netting to the back before adding it to the diorama.

I stopped when I did this morning after knocking over a pot of paint, all over the desk top and my T shirt. After a clean up operation I decided to leave everything alone until tomorrow.

It has been shelved for now with other recent builds and it might be that I add the Rolls Royce Armoured Car to the diorama with the Chevy although I also have another recent build I might add instead.

A very lazy weekend watching darts on the TV, reading and modelling as I realised how tired work and illness has left me plus the discomfort of age, wear and tear. More of the same this week although we finally get our new front door this week. Just a few hours of disruption...I hope! Now to consider what my next build will be...

TTFN.

 Well that was certainly a dicey walk with icy pavements and an equally icy wind blowing! Even with aid of a walking stick it was slippery under foot and I made the mistake of thinking I could get some shopping in as well. Not one of my best ideas but home safe and well. 

Some more progress on the LRDG Chevy build but needy cats demanding immediate attention put a stop to that. I was up at 5 this morning so able to make a little more progress.

I have two excellent reference books for this build and about the LRDG generally...

There was a 'docu' drama on TV recently about the SAS in the desert but I gave it a miss having read some of the added dramatics used to spice up the story. I was given an old cardboard shelf unit at work and I have finally shelved some of the aircraft builds.

Some need repairs after the cats and the move to a safe place resulted in breakages and missing parts. Sherlock and Mindy have already investigated the new unit! Time to put my feet up with a well earned coffee and a good book as I have no further plans to venture outside today.

TTFN.

 Finally arrived at my days off and I also have some annual leave days as well. We received a message from managers saying use them or lose them although there was the offer of exchanging those days for pay instead. I prefer to have the time off and a complete break altogether from work. An early night and up late this morning after a much needed good nights sleep following two sleepless nights. The latter I think is a result of the pressure to hand over my caseload, do the day to day work and prepare for an earlier than expected transition to my new role. But not my problem for the next several days.

Inevitably a day off means...

I have been working on this kit and progress so far from this morning and a few hours last weekend. I bought a diorama base to display the kit on and hope to paint that once the kit is built, painted and weathered. I shall add cat litter as rocks / stones plus some suitable gravel I find outside, all airbrushed and  a reasonable facsimile of a desert scene. I also bought some figures for a planned future build of a 1/48 scale Pfalz E 1 monoplane in the stash and I decided I would like to really do justice to this kit. The photo etched metal parts will be added to the rigging and the two figures added to a small diorama.

The quick build I started last week has been nearly completed apart from the decals...

Brush painted and currently on a trailer, a tiny kit and fun to build as a break from more complex difficult kits. 

I plan to continue the slow approach to redecorating and weather permitting, some tidying up of the garden but otherwise some much needed R & R. 

TTFN.

 The first proper short week at work and the less said, the better although I will be very glad to start my new role in four weeks time. 

This morning after a sleepless night (connected to the above!) I made a start on a very quick out of the box build just for a change from the military vehicles and North African campaign.

An old Messerschmitt Me 163 kit with few parts and basic details but I hope to do it justice with the painting. A very cheap kit that has sat in the stash for a year and to free up some storage space. The wings are dry fitted as I have some sanding and clean up to do before the brush painting.

Yes, he's back and not really interested in food, just company and a warm spot so I closed the inner door to keep the cats separated and allowed him to kip beside me. He had a croaky meow this morning and we also applied some flea stuff. If he is popping in we don't him bringing any extra visitors with him. He might magically meet a vet one day and have the snip because his owner doesn't seem too bothered about this and I worry this is a case of 'benign' neglect but, minus his appendages he might avoid fights with the various local cats including our own. 

Many of the recent builds are temporarily shelved for now until the decorating is completed and this can then be moved into a permanent place. Otherwise, a damp grey day and the outside world is calling me.

TTFN.

 A quick update as I am enjoying this current build and dipping into the history.

The head and pike aren't glued into place as work goes on with attaching the last few pieces and painting. I cut the base into paving stones and applied the first colours and once dried, I will clear coat and then paint further with oils. Great fun and although an easy build, the painting takes great care and consideration. This has whet my appetite for historical single figure builds. Back to the cold remedies and wrapping up warm.

TTFN.

 As with many others this has not been a good start to the new year as this will be my third week of illness and I would admit to being baffled by it but for the last two years of crazy pandemic measures. It is odd because I worked this week and felt slightly better but by yesterday I was again experiencing symptoms of a head cold with earache and sinus problems plus a great lassitude. I count myself lucky in that I had only the one jab and have refused any such since but I have never known so many people suffering with nastier than usual colds and flu. Cold remedies, Olbas oil and Vicks vapour rub plus plenty of fluids and rest should help and some fresh air as I recommence my daily walks. From next week I will be working the three days a week and a much better work / life balance.

I have started work on a model figure, a pikeman from the English Civil War as I wanted to try something different and more colourful than my usual armour and aircraft. In my teens I was an avid reader of books about the ECW and I also painted small metal figures representing that era, albeit very badly painted. I studied this period in depth at university and it is many years since I have looked at the subject. This figure  was bought last year for a cheap price and I also bought a couple of books about the period including the Nine Years War in Ireland during the late sixteenth century. That book is yet still to arrive.

I realised last night that despite the 'orrible leurgy I was glad to get home and make a start on this build, at least for half an hour. For me a good sign as this is more important to me than the paid work I do and indicates I am already moving towards full retirement mode at a future date. Managerialism is creeping in more and more and is very much at odds with a professional caring approach to working with damaged people. Yes, some managerialism is required but the move is very much to resources, units, costs, measured outcomes and if the poor buggers don't fit, discharge them. Alongside that is the increasing admin demands to show we have done the work and protected the organisation against future blame and claims. I guess I am just a grumpy old bugger past my prime in the bright shiny eyes of the young, vibrant progressive youngsters now coming in. It has also been a sad week as I am discharging or transferring my caseload of patients and some I have worked with for over four years and the next three weeks will see more of this. My new role is more traditionally nursing in aspect but I am looking forward to that but when I eventually leave that post I will be replaced by a Band 4 assistant practitioner who will be much cheaper than me. We are already seeing it happen in other teams and I guess it is one way to keep costs down. Strange how the fifth wheel well paid jobs that have zero contact with patients proliferate and add zero value to patient care, always at higher bands?

Hopefully if you do have any contact with the "envy of the world" this coming week it is only by reading about it. Take care and stay warm.

TTFN.

 Awakened this morning to a crying sound outside the bedroom door and found Jerry stuck whilst Mindy refused to let him escape. Pouring with rain outside so he had snuck in, eaten and eventually found a spot to kip in. Very friendly but later on a huge scrap broke out between him and the ladies as Mindy had again cornered him, not a wise thing to do as he is a big cat. I scooped him up and deposited him outside in the garden as it had stopped raining. Sherlock won't return to the house whilst Jerry is around so when the weather is good he won't be admitted to our house as I do not want Sherlock frightened in his own home.

The above was from yesterday as I realised I had little of note to say and still felt unwell with the bloody cough. Today I feel much better, no cough and more energy so fingers crossed this leurgy has finally gone. 

I decided to work on my recent unfinished projects and the two dioramas involving the Italian models are having the finishing touches added to them. The car for a North African diorama which will need further figures added to it and the mule and gun in a Russian front diorama which will require me to model mud! I have other started but unfinished kits stored away requiring my attention and this coming month will be a good time to attend to them as and when I have completed the decorating and moved another smaller shelf unit back to display them. Happily, the week after next I will have more time for this. 

Mindy can never sit still for a photo when she is facing the camera and below is as good as it gets!

New Years eve I stayed up with the TV on for the cats as the fireworks upset the moggies and I kept them company. Half a bottle of beer consumed as I had very little desire for alcohol and I am heartily glad to see the back of the last year but I do wonder what the coming year will bring.

Otherwise a good start to 2023 and I wish you all a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

TTFN.