What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

Thursday 5th February 2026

It's been an odd sort of day, feeling tired so I polished my new leather shoes, afterwards I tried clearing up the hobby room but it still looks untidy and I found a few pieces for the C-130s.
After a snack and a short nap I watched The Final Reckoning part 2,it must have been good as I didn't fall asleep.
Silver Games Submarine Attack is now an independent online game with the same adverts as before but with a few online battles to gain credits.
 As to Asphalt 8 Airborne I now have 54 cars and four motorbikes, still trying to find a good drift car for the various stages whilst resetting the sensitivity settings.
 The bus route 472 has been replaced by the Super Loop SL11.I will be trying this out over the next few weeks.

[NARSES2]

The bus route 472 has been replaced by the Super Loop SL11.I will be trying this out over the next few weeks.

The Super Loop system is a good one    as long as one of the reduced number of stops is where you want to go 

[McColm]

The bus route 472 has been replaced by the Super Loop SL11.I will be trying this out over the next few weeks.

The Super Loop system is a good one    as long as one of the reduced number of stops is where you want to go 

The cushist job has to go to the bus drivers of the bike-bus for those cyclists wanting to go through the Silvertown Tunnel. Yes you put your bike on the bus provided and it takes you through the tunnel,  I haven't seen anyone use it yet.

[Captain Canada]

Sounds like a relaxing day !

[McColm]

Saturday 7th February 2026

As you may know by now I have returned to the online game Asphalt 8 Airborne,  under the name Pluckley Brit 101. Its not the first time that I have owned cars in this game which are whiffs referred by Fan Spirits based on real world vehicles or prototypes that never made it onto the showroom forecourts .
The DMC 12 EV whilst the neon lights look great at night you really wouldn't drive it during the daytime. Another car is the Gangster Vegas  Ramona based on the Ford Mustang 2005 with a body kit from a Nissan Skyline or that family of cars. A future whiff.
Just waiting for payday so a lazy weekend doing the laundry.

[McColm]

Sunday 8th February 2026

I have been reading a few chapters from the book American Secret Projects 3, U.S. Airlifters since 1962 written by George Cox and Craig Kaston,  I've stumbled on a few whiffs that I have built only to find that someone else had the same or similar idea which means that I will have to build them and then compare them.
The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules features a lot and even has a chapter dedicated to Future Projects, de Havilland Canada proposed a twin turbofan version using the Rolls-Royce RB 419 which was a modified Spey 202. The engines could be fitted with a propeller. Pratt & Whitney came up with an alternative which was later developed for the C-17 , unfortunately for de Havilland Canada due to the lack of funding the project was terminated. A future whiff for me  under  'Competition for the Hercules Twin '.
The 1987 Advanced Technology Tactical Transport under the control of the Defence Advanced Projects Research Agency (DARPA) has an interesting proposal from Boeing which resembles the SJMc Harlequin twin-boom twin-fin, twin-engined. The Boeing design has four turbofans fitted above the wings with eight-lifting engines and the tail-boom fitted to the top of the vertical tail fins, probably went into the development of the YC-14.
 Someone did build the Revell Airbus A400M Grizzly with turbofan engines, but there's a line drawing of the AN-70 with a pair of turbofan engines aka AN-112KC. I'm not too sure if there's an  AN-70 model kit but Revell do the 1/72 and 1/144 kits for the Atlas.
The Boeing 747 is another aircraft mentioned,  I could build a V-tailed example for the Space Shuttle SCA, something that Rockwell looked into but never converted one to test their theory.
 As for the SJMc Campbelltown, (based on the Avro York ), the Northrop Grumman Greyhound 21. A pair of turbofan engines and what looks like the wings from the Lockheed S-3A Viking. I'm thinking about using the Boeing V-22 Osprey as I could use the tail fins and landing gear.
I now know what to do with the 1/100 VEB H.S. Trident as it could get the USNAVY decals and paint scheme similar to the proposed Boeing 727M C.O.D.
I have enough large cardboard boxes to form spray booths, just need to acquire the necessary rattle cans and decals.
The push is to get as many builds finished this year so I can clear some space for the model train layout. Buildings and platforms, now I know what lighting is available and how to fit it for a beginner (idiot proof in my case), I can concentrate on the rolling stock. The former Airfix now Dapol/Kitmaster plastic kits will help alongside Metcalfe and Superquick cardboard kits. If I manage to get my hands on a cheap colour printer for my Chrome Book laptop I shall be able to print my own shop fronts and name plates.

[McColm]

Tuesday 10th February 2026

Yesterday I was working the late shift at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria aka BBVA One Canada Square, Canary Wharf. The 13:00 to 20:00. It was incredibly quiet at the bank but the seats at reception aren't very comfortable, so I woke up with a sore back.
Kingdom Services Group, have finally made a decision and are honouring my previous contract with Trigon Security Limited which entitles me to receive 28 days paid leave from the 1st January until the 31st December instead of the 22 days, there's no guarantee of a 40 hour week as I don't have a permanent site at the moment, just covering holidays,  appointments and sick leave or security officers who don't show up for work on the sites that I have been trained on.
I'm on revision training tomorrow up at Great Marlborough Street, off Regent Street in the Westend of London, then back on Friday and next week.
I didn't get to try out the new Super Loop bus route instead I caught the 132 bus from the Millennium Park East to Shooters Hill Road Kidbrooke, its extremely quick but the next bus stop is on the other side of the busy road, fortunately the traffic was light and I caught the SL4 to Canada Square, I took a different route on the way home. Three buses within an hour and only paid one fare.
I've been on eBay looking for spare parts for the 1/24 and 1/25 model car builds, there's some good bargains. More Ford 1965 Mustangs to buy and where did all the Chrysler PT Cruiser model kits go?

[McColm]

Wednesday 11th February 2026

I went for a days training at the Freshwater Group site in Great Marlborough Street, near Oxford Circus Underground Station in London and met the regular security officer. He spoilt me with tea, biscuits and even a bowl of soup for lunch, then the Contracts Manager and the Regional Manager turned up for a site visit. I might be getting a new uniform which actually fits and there's a possibility of a permanent site close to the Bank of England which is run by BUPA, I will wait and see what happens or if something else comes available.
Great Marlborough Street has the department store Liberties and the stage door for the London Paladium, there's also a large Marks & Spencer store but the Mens department is undergoing refurbishment, with the PSP gaming offices.
The security officer has to remain at the reception desk for most of the day apart from toilet breaks, I have found out that the boss of the fifth floor pays for the security officer's lunch every Tuesday!
I'm back on Friday and the working week, there is the opportunity for weekend work due to ongoing refurbishment of the offices.

[zenrat]

Good that they are honouring your contract.
 
Great Marlborough St.  That's a nice corner of London.
We used to regularly visit Ain't Nothin' But.  A blues bar in Kingly St.  Beer, good food, and great music.

[McColm]

Good that they are honouring your contract.
 
Great Marlborough St.  That's a nice corner of London.
We used to regularly visit Ain't Nothin' But.  A blues bar in Kingly St.  Beer, good food, and great music.

Thanks 

[McColm]

Yesterday was Friday the 13th of February 2026 and I was flying solo manning the reception desk,  although there's an idiots guide for what to do it doesn't cover every occasion. So I had to rely on my 35 years plus corporate security experience to get me through the day. The staff work Monday to Friday and they still don't know the building's quarks.
Towards the end of my shift I delivered the post and packages that hadn't been collected even though I had sent emails and been chatting with them online. It was as though the regular security officer never did this as part of his duties although he probably did it on the occasional weekend on overtime. He also has a sack barrow l so I didn't need to lift the heavy stuff!
Due to the rain on the way home the traffic seemed to be at a crawl and the bus was packed, I had a Chinese takeaway from the Dragon & Phoenix. This usually is enough for two days but I ate it all.
I did order a 1/72 North American RA-5C Vigilante model kit online and intend to covert it into my version of the A-5A either stock or a whiff in RAF colours.

[McColm]

It's Sunday the 15th of February 2026, it's been raining for most of the day so I decided to make my version of chicken stew in a pot. Instead of tomato puree I have used tomato ketchup. After an hour and a half the chicken is very tender almost shredded. Well that's next week's lunch sorted.
The rain has momentarily stopped to allow a rainbow to be seen from the kitchen window. Got the shirts to iron but I will do them this evening. I've turned my mattress sideways and I'm sleeping a lot better, I've got my eye on one of the bedframes from IKEA. Still haven't been to my local store but March seems a good time to take a look.

[McColm]

I'm on holiday until the 1st March,  the five days working at  the Freshwater Group, 50 Great Marlborough Street , Soho, London included a free lunch bought for me by one of the floors. The Italians are good at making super cars,fashion and now sandwiches. Normally there's a couple of slices of ham with two slices of bread, mustard is an option but this one had about 20 layers of ham in Italian bread. It took me about a couple of hours to eat it all. Soho has been decorated with Chinese lanterns and horse statutes as its the year of the horse ( I was born in 1966).

Most of the kits that I have ordered have arrived. The Italeri 1/72 Tornado F.3 which I was going to be the donor kit for the BAC Retaliator FRA.1 using the 1/72 Hasegawa RA-5C. The Tornado is slightly shorter than the Vigilante but the RA-5C wings will fit. The flattening of the 'hump' isn't as easy as I thought it would be but having read a few pages of the book American Secret Projects Fighters and Interceptors 1945-1978 written by Tony Buttler, it's a likely candidate for another kitbash.
Those of you who thought my idea of a V/STOL F-15B was a bit radical , if Republic or North American had their way it would have entered service earlier than expected for the USNAVY and USAF . There's a design that looks very similar to the de Havilland Sea Vixen, another future build.
As for a four radial engined Fairchild C-119, this too was a concept and not one of my ideas. Although the C-123 Provider with a twin-boom twin-fin layout and T56 turboprop engines could be a great project not quite original to the blueprints as mentioned in the book American Secret Projects 2 U.S. Airlifters 1941 to 1961.
It's not all relaxing as I have a hospital appointment on Wednesday for my eye test/checkup.

An oddity has occurred I regularly pay my council tax by direct debit but this month they didn't take any payment out,  I went online to pay but I wasn't to do this as a message came back 'unauthorised entry '. I will have to check my account details for March.

[NARSES2]

An oddity has occurred I regularly pay my council tax by direct debit but this month they didn't take any payment out,  I went online to pay but I wasn't to do this as a message came back 'unauthorised entry '. I will have to check my account details for March.

Council Tax if paid by direct debit is taken over 10 rather than 12 months. Don't ask, I've no idea why. But it means you get Feb and March "free". Call it a bonus 

If you want to confirm that then look at your council tax bill and it will/should say that. Also take the total bill and divide by 12 and 10 and compare to DD just to settle your mind 

[McColm]

An oddity has occurred I regularly pay my council tax by direct debit but this month they didn't take any payment out,  I went online to pay but I wasn't to do this as a message came back 'unauthorised entry '. I will have to check my account details for March.

Council Tax if paid by direct debit is taken over 10 rather than 12 months. Don't ask, I've no idea why. But it means you get Feb and March "free". Call it a bonus 

If you want to confirm that then look at your council tax bill and it will/should say that. Also take the total bill and divide by 12 and 10 and compare to DD just to settle your mind 

Thanks for the information