Narses2's Blog - or what I'm slowly making progress on

[NARSES2]

Bad news    I made a right pig's ear of her canopy 

I believe Kit has one of two to spare - or did have. 

I've two of the IBG Spitfire kits, the PR one and an early Mk I, and did check but the spare canopies don't fit. It would be just as much work to sort them out as fix my cock-up.

Interestingly the IBG Mk I has a "What if" as one of it's markings options. Apparently 14 Hurricanes and 1 Spitfire for testing purposes were on their way to Poland via Romania, the convoy left on 7th Sept. . Unfortunately on the 18th Sept under severe German pressure the Romanian's forbade any arms shipments to Poland via their ports therefore the shipment was offered to Turkey, who accepred.

IBG offer this Spitfire in RAF markings as one of their options and the "What If" is of it in Polish markings.

Interestingly they also mention the Polish purchase of Battles.

[PR19_Kit]

I believe Kit has one of two to spare - or did have. 

One or two? More like six or SEVEN!

Be happy to send you a couple Chris.

[NARSES2]

I believe Kit has one of two to spare - or did have. 

One or two? More like six or SEVEN!

Be happy to send you a couple Chris.

No I'm fine thanks Kit. I tried one from one of my IBG kits and it would be more trouble getting it to fit then it's worth.

I think I can just about save what I've done anyway, fingers crossed.

[Rick Lowe]

WRT the Interior Grey/Green I like the Model Master shade I have.

Which is very likely NO help at all, as I'm pretty sure they no longer exist; but I guess it's all grist for the mill, as it were.

[NARSES2]

WRT the Interior Grey/Green I like the Model Master shade I have.

I think we all get "used" to the paint we regularly use and thus that becomes the "correct" colour ? I'll stick to my usual mantra of "we all see colours differently" 

[NARSES2]

Just in case anyone noticed my absence yesterday.

The wonders of modern technology ❓

I switched broadband provider yesterday (from EE to BT - the fact they are the same company seems to have passed them by 😇). Anyway whilst I thought it would be a nightmare given my usual total inability to deal with anything tech wise other than an on/off switch, and sometimes they can be hard to find, it all went as sweet as a nut, basically set it'self up 👍

However, and there's always a however as far as IT is concerned, could I connect the printer to the new network ? Not a chance. The usual Help portals didn't even bother to mention such a trivial matter, I suppose they teach it in Year 5 at school nowadays ? Anyway after a fruitless 3 hours I was actually seriously considering buying a new printer, they are cheap enough (the ink cartridges can cost more), but I thought one more try. I'll treat it as a new printer. So after downloading the Epsom instruction manual, over 100 pages !, and finding the relevant pages, from page 77 on, I went through the process of setting up as new. Must admit I thought it would find a confliction between old/new networks, but it didn't, and after half an hour it was all set up again. 👍

I must admit I do sometimes think these "simple" things are sometimes deliberately made difficult by IT companies so that people do buy new products ? Anyway that's an "Old Fart's" view I suppose, but COME THE REVOLUTION (that's Trump print 😉).

BTW I shall be standing for the International Ludites Party at the forthcoming local elections 😇

[Rheged]

Well done, Chris!  Humanity 1 Technology 0

[Rick Lowe]

Well done, Chris!  Humanity 1 Technology 0

 

[frank2056]

Chris - you've discovered one of the secrets of IT - google it and see what the manual says.

IT Support Tier Breakdown

    Tier 0 (Self-Service): Automated tools, AI chatbots, and knowledge bases that allow users to resolve issues without creating a ticket.
    Tier 1 (Basic Help Desk): Frontline support for simple, high-volume issues like password resets or initial troubleshooting.
    Tier 2 (Technical Support): In-depth technical assistance for complex problems requiring advanced diagnostic skills, often handling OS or network issues.
    Tier 3 (Expert Support): Specialized support for infrastructure, code, or architecture-level issues. Includes IT engineers and developers.

there's also :
    Tier 4 (External Support): Support from third-party vendors (e.g., Microsoft, SaaS providers) to resolve issues outside the organization's control.

You're probably between 1 & 2. Even Tier 3 uses google for many requests - by that level, the skill is in knowing what to ask and how separate the wheat from the chaff quickly.

[PR19_Kit]

Except everyone nowadays is stuck with Tier 0 level of 'support', AI bots only.

Seemingly there are no human beings involved in 'Customer Service' anywhere these days! 

[NARSES2]

No modelling recently, IT (see above) and putting the UK Newsletter together. Hopefully back to the Spit' and my Operation Downfall builds next week, fingers crossed.

[NARSES2]

Touching all the wood going the Spitfire canopy isn't quite as bad as I thought. So maybe get the topside camouflage done this weekend ? Also got the Fw 187 primed, so I can now contemplate her intended rather tricky camouflage scheme.

I made a bit of a decision whilst sitting at the bench yesterday as well. I've decided that I just have to accept that my medical conditions, in so far as they affect my modelling abilities, aren't going to get any better, indeed they will deteriorate, and that rather than winding myself up by trying to achieve standards* I was able to only a couple of years ago I'll have to accept that I can't anymore. If I continue to do so then I'll end up no longer enjoying the hobby I love.

So, hopefully output will increase, enjoyment will continue and standards won't drop to far, Just don't look at my models undersides 

* They never matched a lot of the Groups anyway, but then those builds will continue to be an inspiration 

PS : - On a lighter note, It's Buffy's birthday today     Happy Birthday Buff'     

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[Rick Lowe]

SMG still looks very good.   

As everyone keeps saying, Chris - it's your model, and you only have to please you. 

[DogfighterZen]

As everyone keeps saying, Chris - it's your model, and you only have to please you. 

X2!

[NARSES2]

Little bit of progress    First coats of paint on the upper surface of the Spitfire and the lower surface of the Fw 187. Both will need a second coat, but that will be Monday hopefully.