What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

Wednesday 8th April 2026

It's been the hottest day so far for 2026 in Canary Wharf London,  I used Thames Link from Charlton Station to Greenwich Station and then caught the DLR to Canary Wharf Station. Its the first time that I have used Greenwich Station, the DLR platforms are at the far end of Platform 1,so there's no need to exit the Rail Station and walk around to the DLR Station, there's also a walkway to connect the two platforms. No barriers at either end but they do inspect your tickets.
The remaining floors requested that the heating be turned off and the A/C whacked up,they will be asking for the heating to be turned on next week at work! It's reasonably quiet at the reception desk. I have been doing a lot of research online for future projects as Rails of Sheffield have a sale on. I can afford a few 00 gauge buildings but the locomotives are still pricey even with a 30% discount on some models .So a few more Dapol/Kitmaster plastic model kits will get motorised. They also sell plastic model aircraft and they to have been marked down in price.
B&Q offer a cut-to-measure service on wooden boards so when I have enough funds I can crack on with my 00/ho gauge model railway layout, well its bound to change as I add more track and the two levels will suit it with the Main Station on the base level.

These pay-as-you-go bikes are a nuisance, just dumped everywhere when the rider is finished with it usually after the first 30 minutes of free time. Why not just lean them against a lamppost so that they are out of the way for pedestrians to walk on the pavement instead of an assault course!
Rant over.

[McColm]

Wednesday 15th April 2026

It's looking like there's an extension to the building that I'm working at this month,  it was due to close on the 29th but I have been given an extra shift for Thursday. Through the grapevine not all of the floors are vacant which means that security will be needed until the end May.

I've had a brainstorming idea for the current GB, now knowing that the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engines were a bit temperamental in the early stages and the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasps were fitted to the B-29D. The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 are fitted on the 1/72 Douglas DC-6B but could be exchanged for those on the Revell Avro Shackleton AEW.2 along with the wings  (Avro Taunton here we come!). The engines will be fitted to the B-29 AEW.1.

[McColm]

Saturday 18th April 206

Not a great start to the day my Galaxy A3 Tablet has managed to detach itself from the back plate and the ribbon won't stay in place, so I'm using the TEMU tablet and adding the apps. What a-to-do to open up your existing account email. The Chinese won't accept my Outlook account but fortunately they have accepted my Gmail and Yahoo. As to my photos they are backed up on the Amazon Prime app and I may have to open another account on flikr.
Royal Mail has sent me a text message saying that my parcels should arrive between 0900-1100am it's now 12:16, still no show.

[McColm]

Sunday 19th April 2026

The 1/72 Williams Brothers Curtiss C-46 Commando and the Revell Boeing B-17G are on the workbench. The wings and vertical tail fin have been changed.
The Academy 1/72 Boeing KB-9P Tanker remains in its box all the parts seem to be there along with the Revell 1/24 Jaguar E-Type Cabriolet plus paint and glue.

Watch out for next week's tube and bus strikes starting on Tuesday. The Elizabeth Line, DLR , trams and London Overground will still run as normal. It's only the bus routes in East London that's on strike.

Just getting used to the TEMU tablet as it's Chinese some of the Google settings don't work but I can get around that.

[McColm]

Thursday 23rd April 2026

An odd start to the morning, the 486 bus was only going as far as Charlton Station so I caught a train to Lewisham Station and then the DLR to Canary Wharf. Then a short walk to work, one of those days when you can't see the rest of the building as it's covered by low clouds.
Charlton Football Club had a home match yesterday and the traffic was terrible. The Revell
 Fw-200 Condor arrived and I have ordered the 1/72 Revell Bv222 Wiking flying boat.
Two separate boxes of "spares and repairs"  plus the NC-121K, Li-2NB, Dakota Glider and and some filler should be arriving tomorrow.

[McColm]

Saturday 25th April 2026

Waking up at 3am every morning regardless if I'm working or not is now my usual routine, whereas before I would have destroyed my builds I'm happy to tinker with them. This includes the 1/72 Douglas Skymaster GR1 which as of this morning has the radome taken from the Revell Avro Shackleton AEW2 and the glass bomb aimer round window from the spare parts box. I've also rather bodged the cockpit area from the Amodel Li-2NB using strips of plastic to straighten the bond to the remaining parts of the C-47 Gremlin.The new nose guns are off the Airfix Avro Lancaster B.2.

I should be getting a large delivery of parcels today. I'll update this blog later on.

Two boxes of what I thought were incomplete kits all in 1/72 scale: Frog Avro Shackleton MR.3, Hasegawa Mitsubishi Mu-2S and Jeep, Eastern Express Hansa Brandenburg W29 floatplane, WK Models Heinkel He 70F , Revell Avro Lancaster B.III Dambusters not forgetting the 1/144 Revell
AV-8B Harrier.
The Lancaster and Shackleton parts will be used in the GB 'Operation Downfall '.

[McColm]

Sunday 26th April 2026

I was watching the runners pass by my kitchen window which overlooks the A406 South Circular road Stoneliegh roundabout to Charlton Station and tried to add the Lancaster wings to the C-46 but failed.
I've somehow wrecked the Revell Fw-200 Condor, it's one of the early releases so it's in the bin.
I'm pleased with the Douglas Gremlin GR1 and the Avro Tauton GR1, the Revell Bv222 will be arriving on Thursday. Six Rolls-Royce Griffon engines should be enough power.

[McColm]

Thursday 30th April 2026

It's always sad when I lose a site, this time it's to Canary Wharf Security who will look after it until the last tenant moves out in July.
 The Revell 1/72 Bholm & Voss Bv222 model kit has arrived this morning, I wasn't aware that you can make alternative variations as it states on the instruction sheet that some of the parts are blanked out. Mine comes with the American captured V5 Norway 1945 and Luftaffe Mediterranean Sea 1942. I think that the first release was just Luftaffe units.
I will be making changes to the model, as for the Douglas DC-4E the Heller will be a DC-6E triple tail fin using the parts from the two Avro Shackleton kits.
Primer and masking tape are next on my shopping list.
The AMT Dodge Viper RT/10 1/25 kit arrived yesterday, I never knew that the instructions for the engine was separate from the rest of the assembly. Naturally this will be a right hand drive car.
Today will be a relaxing day, just feeling tired, blue sky and a light breeze.

[McColm]

Friday 1st May 2026

For the first time ever I have stuck to the plan to build my version of the Douglas DC-4E maritime attack bomber using the 1/72 Heller Humbrol DC-6B kit and the 1942 line drawing of the C-54 bomber.
To make an accurate model it means shortening the fuselage and wings but my cutting skills aren't very good when sawing curved pieces of plastic. A longer saw is needed, vice / clamp and a steady hand.
The Heller Humbrol kit has a few gaps in the cockpit and wing assembly, a little bit of sanding is also required before gluing.
As to the remote controlled gun turrets well I've put them where I think they should go, I have used several reference books for this and it looks right compared to the Avro Shackleton MR.1 and Canadair CP-107 Argus ( another build idea for the Mach2 Bristol Britainnia).
Maybe we could do a Korean War GB if approved.
I haven't given up on the Williams Brothers Curtiss C-46 project, back to the drawing board. Just have to try and remember how I did it before with the other one.

[McColm]

Saturday 9th May 2026

It's been an odd sort of week recharging my batteries from a months work. Researching and double-checking dates for the current GB, trying to find out how I built previous builds and getting it completely wrong.
Fifteen suggestions for the 2026/2027 season, then refining them, fourteen should be enough. Going back to my roots of maritime patrol aircraft, wow the prices for the model kits have increased and yet there's been no new or updated.
Agreed that the Avro Shackleton with Airfix and Revell but they still haven't released the MR.1. The Lockheed Neptune is still the same. There's the Italian job with the Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic but no dedicated ATL 2 ( there's a conversion set). Airfix BAe Nimrod with the same faults as before and the elusive Lockheed P-3C Orion which makes a decent model but requires a bit of filler.
The Boeing P-8 in 1/72 scale is still out of my price range for the moment, still waiting for a conversion set. There was one in 1/144 scale not too sure if it's still available.
My skills in using vacformed kits needs improving chucking milliput filler to cover my mistakes isn't the solution, still got two kits on my radar to buy so my version of the Avro Tudor might still be a contender.
Boeing's version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules is doable. I will need to get hold of the C-130A and Wright R3350 engines. Got a photo of one of my earliest attempts using the Rolls-Royce Griffon engines.
 A few more ideas for the Operation Downfall Group Build.

[McColm]

Wednesday 13th May 2026

Got call in to cover 50 Great Malborough Street London W1 at 6am. No chance as the shift starts at 7am and it's the other side of town. To make matters worse Paliment Square and the surrounding roads were shut making the journey by bus a magical mystery tour. The bus stopped at Piccadilly Circus so a walk up Regents Street only to be met by four ambulances, apparently a member of staff had a cardiac arrest, I strolled in at 09:45am.
After an hour and with the help from the Police a strecher with the patient was put in one of the ambulances and sent off to Saint Thomas's Hospital.
The regular security officer was in hospital with his wife who was having heart problems.
 We even had a hail storm in the afternoon.
Calm is now the order of the afternoon/evening. Still the battle awaits of getting home.
Just had a update, the member of staff has undergone surgery and is recovering from being placed in a medical induced coma.
Just having a flashback to when this happened to me.

[McColm]

Friday 15th May 2026

One of my first models on this site was the 1/72 Mach2 Martin  Mariner and now many years later I have bought the Academy kit which comes with the landing gear.
Likewise the Heller Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star, this time I will be using  some of the parts from the RVHP NC-121K Warning Star, however I won't be using the Rolls-Royce Griffon engines as I did the last time but they will be different to those provided in the kit.
Then we come to the Hawkrod, the what could have been the Nimrod's savior. Although the initial price was expensive it turned out cheaper than what the final cost came to. I did try and build the Nimrod with the AN/APY-1 radar as used on the Boeing E-3A, didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to. I think that I still have the resin vertical tail fin somewhere.
 There's still quite a lot of unfinished builds to get on with, going to need some more racking or a chance to use the hammer drill for something more permanent.

I did another 'big shop' online and for once they got the items correct although I did have to give the driver directions. He said that he couldn't find Charlton Station. Oh no they haven't moved it again! I could understand if it was on casters or one of those pop-up stations but I don't think so, yes it's the road works, they are putting in new cycle lanes along the A206. Just happens to be the section of road that's prone to flooding due to the poor drainage!

The Hogwarts Castle Hotel will be getting some new parts as I have found another 3D printed model kit online at a bargain price and now that Hornby has released a TT train set for a price that I can afford, it's a goods train but I can buy the carriages and locomotive separately as and when needed.

[McColm]

Saturday 18th May 2026

After brunch consisting of two lamb chops with salad and boiled potatoes the Milliput filler has been applied to the 1/72 Shorts Windermere MR.1 and the Boeing Silvertown AEW & C. Sanding of the Avro Tauton got me thinking about building my version of the Lockheed
 EC-121P the anti-submarine warfare platform flown by the US Navy.
Kit suggested that I use the panier from the BAe Nimrod and now that I have the Forma Plane Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR.1 in the stash, I can use this when the Heller Lockheed Warning Star model kit arrives. I've used the MAD boom on the Shorts Windermere flying boat.
 Sanding continues on the Dapol/Kitmaster DP1/DP2:Deltic.
 I've started to watch the TV series Citadel on Amazon Prime. Espionage, not quite sure who are the good guys are but there's definitely a plot in place.

[McColm]

Sunday 17th May 2026

It's been an odd sort of a day. I woke up at 5am and did a lot of sanding on the former 1/72 Revell Bv222 V5 renamed the Shorts Windermere MR.1 flying boat.
There's a guy on eBay that sells the conversion sets for the various Wiking models that entered service. I'm very pleased with how this build is progressing l
Thanks again to Dave who sent me some information on the paint schemes for Operation Downfall and roundels.
Sanding on the 1/72 Boeing Silvertown AEW & C has led to a new tail wheel being glued on as the other one broke off.
 I finished off the lamb chops and the leftovers from the salad, I'm on series two of the Citadel.
I fell asleep and woke up at 4pm. A bit of reading 'The Air Staff and AEW' by Chris Gibson, it's odd that Denis Healey didn't buy any of the secondhand Lockheed EC-121 Warning Stars during his trip to the USA.

[McColm]

Monday 18th May 2026

The last words of my senior contracts manager were 'there's no work for you in May '. So I was surprised when I received a phone call from the schedule department that I will be working the last eight days of May 19-22 and 26-29 at Great Marlborough Street in the London's Westend.
The Postman has delivered the Airfix BAe Nimrod, three rattle cans of Humbrol acrylic grey primer and the Wizarding World 428 pieces Hogwarts Castle, ( the great hall, astronomy tower greenhouses and the mat). All brand new and never been used.

It's a case of tools down and tackle the ironing, polish shoes and get things ready for tomorrow. Good job that I did the shopping last week. Just have to rearrange the deliveries for the weekend.

It seems to me that the Revell 1/72 Bv222 V5 was meant to be whiffed with the parts that I have added, just wish that they all could be like that. Primer and then paint with the fiddley aerials.