Gomez's blitherings - Temp halt in proceedings 🥸 27 Dec 🎅🏻

[WardWorks]

Sorry ? Not 'arf as sorry as I am ! 😲🤬🤫

Anyhoo, the Armoured car only needs its decals and dirtification now, its looking showroom floor fresh atmo - ugh !



It was going to get its rather obese gun barrel amputated and replaced too, but I've run out of the replacement barrels, so it'll keep its existing barrel for the moment, I'll paint that monstrosity sooner or later 😖🤫

The shipyards will re-open on a limited basis next year, but not much brass will be involved, mainly cos I can barely see it on the frets, let alone get it onto the lil beggars where its meant to go, so it'll be brass replacement catapults and bigger radar matrixes and crane jibs only. I'm afeared my days of fully brassing 700th ships are long gone (Norfolk's still coming along slowly, her catapult has disappeared and been replaced by an 8 barrel 2 pounder pop-pom (luckily there was a spare one of them on her sprues) so she will be finished as she was on the Bismark breakout and chase in May of 1941. 🤔🤓

I have inoperable cataracts in both my eyes, plus irreparable damage in my right eye (from birth), so the 700ths will join the 72nd Aircraft as occasional diversions between 35th military vehicle projects. Sorry, but that's life for ya, no point in fighting or complaining about it, it is what it is. Life has always been a very unsympathetic and horribly dispassionate teacher. 🤓

Enough philosophising, I'm off to sit in the sun and read a book. Can't get near the desk, glue and paint fumes are big no-no's to my flu damaged sinuses and lungs - dammit ! 🤬 Maybe not though, there IS something I can do modelling wise, just doesn't involve styrene (mwah ha haaar ! 😈)

Best
G of wheezes and sneezes 🤧🤒

[WardWorks]

Oops ! Forgot to post Norfolk's Pics 😳

Here's where she's at thus far All main and secondary armament is aboard and painted, as is her (unpainted as yet) crane



Her catapult has been landed ashore and replaced with an 8 barrel pom pom gun on the "bandstand" where the catapult was originally mounted, as per her May 1941 configuration.



The above photo shows why some say the Aoshima County Class Cruisers are better than Trumpeter's ... Trumpy's, for all the rave reviews, lack the stack piping, fore and aft of each stack, 😖 Aoshima's have the piping as part of the kit. Aoshima's Countys are cheaper too ! 😎 Horses for courses I guess !

Cheers from the plague ridden 🤒🤧
Gomez 😉🙃

[JCON]

Looks good considering it spent time in sick bay and quarantine...

[Dukemaddog]

These are all amazing work man. I am also sorry to hear about the cateracts. Adapt and overcome I guess. I still pray for you.

Norfolk looks great! I never knew she had a pom-pom AA gun in the middle there. I might have to get one and make it that way as well. I also love the Warspite; I need to get one someday. I can only hope mine looks as great as yours when I'm done.

[WardWorks]

@ Joe:- The ship hasn't been in Quarantine or sick bay, its the builder that suffered those indignities ! 🤧🤯

@ Duke :- As soon as I get my hands on a Trumpeter Warspite and their recently areleased HMS Belfast 1942, plus Flyhawk's recent HMS Ajax, my Brassed Airfix kits of all 3 are destined for the scrapyard, I'm ignoring anything in a scale that ain't 700th. The Airfix warship kits are all 600th, and with Trumpy finally getting round to their long threatened 700th Belfast 42 and Flyhawk letting Ajax out, there's no need to consider Airfix ships, every warship Airfix ever did is now available in 700th, in styrene or resin.

Best
Gomez of sniffles 🤧

[Dukemaddog]

I think it's kinda sad to see such great models scrapped, but I also fully understand why you're doing it. I'll be looking forward to seeing the newer ships done.

[WardWorks]

Its not quite as obvious as it might seem actually.. more on that later... 😈

Bad day today, slowly convalescing, but bad news from my eye specialist, more on that later too...

Looks like 35th will be the go for some time yet (was wondering why I was having trouble interpreting the instructions for the intracacies of the bases and smaller bits of Norfolk's tripod masts) 😖 oh well...

At least I can see the bits still to go on the armoured car and get 'em onto it, decal it and get it weathered and onto the shelf, unsure what I'll follow that with though... 🤔 to be continued when my thoughts are less shattered...🤯

Best
A somewhat dispirited ☹️
Gomez 😉🙃

[JCON]

Sorry buddy!!! Praying!!!

[WardWorks]

Cheers Joe 👍

My plans re ships ain't happening I'm afraid. the shipyards won't be re-opening.☹️ The answer to that in two words is Macular Degeneration, I cannot see the little bits😳, I'll keep trying to get Norfolk finished, she only needs her masts and some of her boats (the kit gives the full list of boats, most of which were landed ashore at the outbreak of war in the refit in which she lost her catapult) luckily the kit also has the various sizes of Carley floats, which went aboard to replace the boats. As I stated before I'm trying to finish her as she was in May of 41, during the Bismark chase/sinking. I might also try to get my Dorsetshire finished (just a repaint) as she was at the same time period, it was Dorsetshire that sailed up parallel to the blazing wreck that was Bismark and put torpedo after torpedo into her. None exploded, their magnetic warheads failed, they're all still in the wreck of Bismark, as shown in both the Bob Ballard and James Cameron docos on Bismark.🤓

I have yet to decide what my next kit will be, I'm going to decal and weather the armoured car next, I might just decide to build the Tamiya reissue of the same kit with the Lynx turret atop it, as outlined towards the bottom of the previous page

Best
Gomez recovering and feeling a bit better today 😉🙃

[JCON]

Glad you are feeling a bit better!!!

[WardWorks]

That makes two of us... I'm the world's most impatient patient 🤬

I'm totally sick of being sick 😖 It'll be a while again before I can use paint or glue without coughing, unfortunately, so Norfolk's on a sl-o-o-w backburner, which leaves the 72nd FW190 and 109 E to be finished, think I can add a couple more 72nds to those before I get too bored with them, I do have an Italeri He-111 somewhere around which needs building (latest issue with a pretty full decal sheet for Battle of Britain jobs, sans swastikas unfortunately, so I'll have to grab a sheet full of Swastikas to fully complete it, no way will I do a WW2 Luftwaffe job without a swastika on its tail, I'm not apologising for (or trying to erase or rewrite), history ! 😈

There's a couple of 72nd Me -110 's (Hobby boss/Eduard and Revell (ex Monogram) and 410's(Finemolds) lying about the place too - wonder how many of them I can find/get dun before I fall asleep at the lack of challenge ? 🤔 There's also a rather large span Messerschmitt about too (Italeri 323 "Gigant") I KNOW where that one is ! Its atop my wardrobe, its box size alone meant it went up there to keep it safe til I get to building it ! 😎

That lot should kee me out of harm's way for a month or two before boredom sets in ! 🥱

Best
G 😉🙃

[JCON]

Sounds like a good diversion...

[WardWorks]

Feeling a tad better again today, might attempt to brush paint the splinter camo on the 109 and the 190 and whilst I'm at it, I might try brushing the internal areas and bits of the He-111, not forgetting the wheel wells, no glue to be used, my sinuses and throat won't take the fumes yet (do NOT ask me how I know that ! 😖😈🤢)

From now on, all mine will be strictly OOB, its easier that way, I might change colour schemes and markings (from aftermarket decal sheets) if it amuses me to so do, and the 35ths will cop brass engine deck grilles and replacement gun barrels (whilst my stock of gun barrels lasts) I've always preferred OOB modelling for various reasons (some blatantly ovious some not) 😈 It suits me to go that way, so that's what I'm doing. It'll be 35th Armour and 72nd Aircraft mainly, Don't much care for 48th Armour or Aircraft. Ships of any kind in any scale are pretty much out of the question I'm afraid, again for various reasons. 😎


Compliments of the season to all ! 🎅🏻

Regards
G of knowing the way forward for moi 😉🙃

[JCON]

Having a plan and working it!!! I like it!!!

[WardWorks]

Let's see how long this one lasts... 😈

I know I'm mine own worst enemy ! 😖

Best
G 😉🙃

[WardWorks]

Well, I did get a tad more done than I thunk I would.. 🤔



As can be seen, the 109 E has its full camo (airbrushed the lighter two colours, brushed the dk green) and its canopy, whilst the He-111 has had a lot more dun than merely getting its internals painted, I remembered a bottle of "Rockit" non allergenic model glue I had stashed away somewhere about the place, I did eventually find it and it still worked. so .... ummm... I... errrr 🤫 I'm still fine and non burning sinuses or other ill effects so good one ! 😎

Not doing anything tomorrow, its a Sunday, so I'm having a rest

Compliments of the season 🎅🏻
Gomez 😉🙃

[Dukemaddog]

Well done so far despite the adversities. You are an inspiration to those with a lack of mojo for various reasons. Take care of yourself and Merry Christmas.


I'd ask you to send all your incomplete ships to me to finish but aside from the postage cost, I doubt they'd survive the passage.

Looking forward to seeing more of these, keep going man.

[WardWorks]

Postage cost would be minimal actually...🥱🤫

The only unfinished one is Norfolk , she ain't going nowhere - all the rest are unbuilt. I do intend finishing Norfolk and building the rest if possible (in slow backburner style !) and possibly rigging them with stretched sprue, Brass railings are out, but (depending upon size and fiddly-ness) I may try to replace Catapults and Crane Jibs with brass, it'll depend on the complexity of the folding of the brass and the clarity of the instructions for the brass bits, as well as the stiffness of the brass (railings are generally very thin and all to easily mangled if your eyesight is poor. Not too fussed, railings, particularly around the edges of main decks, seem to have been an "in port" thing, as soon as the ship left port, down they came and safety lines were rigged along the superstructure. There's a pic of the aft/stern area of Bismark, taken from aboard Prinz Eugen as the pair left Norway at the start of the breakout, which clearly shows crewmen lowering the maindeck railings as the ship sails along. 🤓

There's four ships in the post headed my way atmo, all 700th, Flyhawk's Ajax and Iron Duke, Trumpy's Alaska and Belfast 1942, to which I'll probably add Flyhawk's Hood and Prince of Wales (May 1941 boxing (Bismark Chase/Sinking) I should be Ok with them, I'll just avoid brassing them.😳🤯

Re Iron Duke, Airfix's kit is as she was post WW1, when she was a training ship, Flyhawk's is correct as she was at Jutland in 1916. Neither can be finished as any of her 6 sister ships, because none were at all similar from the main deck up, even the mast configurations wrre different !😖 After the first of the class was built, the rest were modified during their construction to solve problems with sea keeping and gunnery aiming etc; identified during the first in the classes sea trials - the rest were modified as other problems arose during the classes lifetime. No two in the class were ever visually similar, Closest to Iron Duke at any period was Emperor of India

Best
G of Naval Knowledge (that you won't get from Wikipedia) 🤔🙃

Compliments of the season to All 🎅🏻

[Dukemaddog]

Great information. I love watching your threads because of the incredible knowledge I pick up from you each time. Thank you for all that information.

[WardWorks]

No problem, its like pretending your second Airfix Suffolk is Norfolk, whilst both were County class, they were and remained different in appearance throughout their lives. 🤓

Suffolk was a member of the Cumberland group of the County class, there were only two ships in that group, (Cumberland/Suffolk) Both had a cross deck catapult amidships, and a large box style hanger aft, just ahead of X turret and a cut down poop deck, Suffolk's deck was considerably lower than ther rest at the stern as was Cumberland's, The deck dropped to the height of the sternwalk floor level just aft of Y turret barbette, those were the main external differences, their Bridge structures differed from the rest as well. (at the time of the Bismark chase, Suffolk had a single 20mm on each corner of her hanger the sternmost pair were in tubs, the others weren't at the time. Cumberland was the Heavy Cruiser steaming fast towards the River Plate estuary in 1939 at the time of the Graf Spee fight, to replace the heavily damaged Exeter, which had withdrawn, owing to the damage, Cumberland didn't get there in time, bur as it turned out, it didn't matter, every British flagged merchantman in the area was sending signals in clear, using Cumberland's callsign, which fooled the Graf Spee's crew into thinking she was a lot closer than she was.🤓

Norfolk was a member of (from memory) the Kent or London groups. London herself spent most of the war being modernised into what the County class would have become, ending up with two wider stacks and City class style superstructure, there was an Article in the old Airfix mag on converting Suffolk to London, using a Suffolk kit, plastic card (to rebuild the aft hull back up to normal deck level) and a lot of parts from a Belfast kit. I did consider doing the same with Trumpy's Kent and Belfast kits, but that's beyond me now, even though the rebuilding of the aft hull wouldn't be needed. I'll just build Trumpy's Belfast as Belfast (another two ship (Modified City class Belfast/Edinborough) class.🤔

Anhoo, I'm clearing my desk off atmo, had enough of it the way it is, its too big,😖 so I'm downsizing it but leaving the structure the way it is, more on that sooner or later, once I sort out the final config and location of where its going and what I'm going to do with it, I won't be dismantling it ! its 15 feet long with a 5 ft return on the RH end, 2 ft wide all the way. 😎 More on that when I've got the final config sorted and work out what I'm doing with it (the re-purposing bit ! ) 

Best
Gomez 😉🙃