Gondor's Grumblings

[Gondor]

I've got the kits, just need the time.

Now, that does sound familiar, having said much the same on numerous occasions myself! 

What is this rare and precious commodity  "spare time"  and where might one acquire it?

  Since I retired  I've been continually occupied;  initially moving house then completely redecorating it  and quelling a jungle of unkempt bramble into a garden that Madame Rheged  (a former research botanist) finds satisfactory.  Then there's volunteering as a National Trust  guide, adult education lecturing in basic meteorology, teaching map work and knot tying to the local Scouts, Hereford Cathedral volunteering  and a considerable number  of  village social events.  I'm not complaining at all as it's been tremendous fun (apart from some of the redecorating)  but a good dollop of spare time occasionally would be extremely useful!

I think you need to get your eyes checked, there was no mention of "spare time" until you uttered that pairing of words. Everyone has plenty of time, and you have cited a long list of things that you do with that time. Spare time is simply unallocated time, which I am sure Madam Rheged will happily allocate for you if you mention that you have any unallocated time, much like there being no such thing as spare bacon, no such thing, as it is simply uncooked bacon that has not been allocated to a meal or snack yet.

Gondor

[Rheged]

I've got the kits, just need the time.

Now, that does sound familiar, having said much the same on numerous occasions myself! 

What is this rare and precious commodity  "spare time"  and where might one acquire it?

  Since I retired  I've been continually occupied;  initially moving house then completely redecorating it  and quelling a jungle of unkempt bramble into a garden that Madame Rheged  (a former research botanist) finds satisfactory.  Then there's volunteering as a National Trust  guide, adult education lecturing in basic meteorology, teaching map work and knot tying to the local Scouts, Hereford Cathedral volunteering  and a considerable number  of  village social events.  I'm not complaining at all as it's been tremendous fun (apart from some of the redecorating)  but a good dollop of spare time occasionally would be extremely useful!

I think you need to get your eyes checked, there was no mention of "spare time" until you uttered that pairing of words. Everyone has plenty of time, and you have cited a long list of things that you do with that time. Spare time is simply unallocated time, which I am sure Madam Rheged will happily allocate for you if you mention that you have any unallocated time, much like there being no such thing as spare bacon, no such thing, as it is simply uncooked bacon that has not been allocated to a meal or snack yet.

Gondor

A perfectly reasoned response, which I accept completely.  I particularly appreciate  the illustration involving the concept of unallocated bacon!

[kerick]

I'm getting hungry now. It is close to lunch time. A time which has been allocated to lunch. Works perfectly. 

[Gondor]

Back to modelling, which is something that I am starting to do since last weekend when I was starting to be afflicted by depression. I should take some photographs to show that there has been some progress made with one of the current builds.
With regards to my mistakenly buying a 1/48 F-16F mistakenly thinking it was a 1/72 example, all is not lost. I can use it as a guide to ensure that I add various lumps and bumps to a 1/72 model for which bits are on their way towards me. Decals need to be bought, but that is not a rush due to work not having commenced yet on building what they would need to go onto.

Gondor

[Gondor]

With regard to my post yesterday about the 1/48 F-16F, I once actually sought a 1/48 scale version of a kit I had bought, as some of the instructions for decal placement were missing. The kit was a 1/72 F110A, very difficult to get hold of as it was kitted by Hasegawa, who do interesting boxings for a short time, then never to be seen again, so absolutely no chance to find a second copy or to get spares. Fortunately, the decals were pantographed, so the numbers were the same in both scales. I believe that I gave the 1/48 kit to the F-4 SIG leader some time ago.

Royal Mail are being a bit silly again. I received notification on Friday that a couple of parcels would be delivered to me today between 10:37 and 14:37. After 15:00 hours, I received an update for one of the parcels, to be delivered between 18:03 and 19:30. 20:30 arrived, and so did the one parcel. I did ask about the other one, but that might have reached Edinburgh via a different van and so missed the van that arrived this evening, or at that time, night, despite the sunshine. Hopefully, the second parcel arrives tomorrow, not going to hold my breath though.

Gondor

[McColm]

With regard to my post yesterday about the 1/48 F-16F, I once actually sought a 1/48 scale version of a kit I had bought, as some of the instructions for decal placement were missing. The kit was a 1/72 F110A, very difficult to get hold of as it was kitted by Hasegawa, who do interesting boxings for a short time, then never to be seen again, so absolutely no chance to find a second copy or to get spares. Fortunately, the decals were pantographed, so the numbers were the same in both scales. I believe that I gave the 1/48 kit to the F-4 SIG leader some time ago.

Royal Mail are being a bit silly again. I received notification on Friday that a couple of parcels would be delivered to me today between 10:37 and 14:37. After 15:00 hours, I received an update for one of the parcels, to be delivered between 18:03 and 19:30. 20:30 arrived, and so did the one parcel. I did ask about the other one, but that might have reached Edinburgh via a different van and so missed the van that arrived this evening, or at that time, night, despite the sunshine. Hopefully, the second parcel arrives tomorrow, not going to hold my breath though.

Gondor

I never knew that Royal Mail made deliveries in the evenings.

[Gondor]

With regard to my post yesterday about the 1/48 F-16F, I once actually sought a 1/48 scale version of a kit I had bought, as some of the instructions for decal placement were missing. The kit was a 1/72 F110A, very difficult to get hold of as it was kitted by Hasegawa, who do interesting boxings for a short time, then never to be seen again, so absolutely no chance to find a second copy or to get spares. Fortunately, the decals were pantographed, so the numbers were the same in both scales. I believe that I gave the 1/48 kit to the F-4 SIG leader some time ago.

Royal Mail are being a bit silly again. I received notification on Friday that a couple of parcels would be delivered to me today between 10:37 and 14:37. After 15:00 hours, I received an update for one of the parcels, to be delivered between 18:03 and 19:30. 20:30 arrived, and so did the one parcel. I did ask about the other one, but that might have reached Edinburgh via a different van and so missed the van that arrived this evening, or at that time, night, despite the sunshine. Hopefully, the second parcel arrives tomorrow, not going to hold my breath though.

Gondor

I never knew that Royal Mail made deliveries in the evenings.

It's more for Parcels rather than letter-type post. It's also dependent on where you are and which hub the parcel is going through.

Gondor

[NARSES2]

Royal Mail Parcel Force deliver on a Sunday round my way, and that did take me by surprise.

[Rick Lowe]

Royal Mail Parcel Force deliver on a Sunday round my way, and that did take me by surprise.

No such thing as a 'weekend' in the Brave New Corporate World...

[DogfighterZen]

Air-Graphics does the spine and the conformal tanks. I believe that they also do some decals for the Singapore version, and that there are decals for the E/F available somewhere. When looking at pictures, I get the feeling that the base of the single-seat fin is thicker than earlier versions, but I could be wrong.

Gondor

The F-16E's fin base is indeed thicker than any other F-16 fin base. The angled front portion is wider and has a bit of a curve on the top, up to where it meets the fin itself. I had to dig through so many web stores and ebay ads to find the Hasegawa 1/72 F-16E, which is the only kit ever to have that fin base, and found one after  a couple of years... after i bought the first, i found a second one at a cheaper price... And i was also able to find the Hase 1/48 F-16E, which has also never been released again...
The 1/72 F-16F is a different story, never managed to find one.
Seems like the reason for which there are no other kits or conversion sets of these Vipers is probably the fact that there's only one user of these versions and the scheme is the same for all aircraft, only changing serial numbers, making it a niche subject, much like the XL or similar prototypes. Maybe they'll do it sometime in the future but it's been over 10 years since they've first released it.

[Gondor]

I got home to a letter from the Housing Association that supposedly look after the flat I live in.

It is the worst-written letter I have ever received from someone not under the age of five!

It starts

Dear


Just that! No Sir, No Madam, not even a Sir/Madam, which I would have expected.

My English teacher would be spinning in her grave if she could read it. It's a good job she is dead, so she can't do that!

Planning on meeting the author, or at least the person whose name is on the letter, when I get home from work tomorrow. They had better be in or I will be wanting to talk to their superior, and the one above them if they are not available either.

I will not go into the details of the letter; suffice to say that they simply responded to a complaint without any knowledge of the situation or by performing any research, which I have done for them and will present in printed photographic format.

Gondor

[Gondor]

The 1/72 F-16F is a different story, never managed to find one.

There is one on the UK eBay at the moment, including postage, it's three figures before the decimal point, so I will spend my money on after-market parts to make my own. 

Gondor