Steel Penguins braying

[Old Wombat]

so i will be hopefully, modelling, watching some stuff on DVD and youtube and generally being not working. 

This is how I would like to be living my life! 

[Rick Lowe]

so i will be hopefully, modelling, watching some stuff on DVD and youtube and generally being not working. 

This is how I would like to be living my life! 

I have similar plans for when (if) I retire... 3 years to go... 
And yes, I'm well aware that Life and Family will have Other Plans... 

[kerick]

so i will be hopefully, modelling, watching some stuff on DVD and youtube and generally being not working. 

This is how I would like to be living my life! 

I have similar plans for when (if) I retire... 3 years to go... 
And yes, I'm well aware that Life and Family will have Other Plans... 

Don't get a truck. Everyone will want you to haul stuff for them!
But you do need to find something to do with your time. A part time job or volunteering perhaps. As for me, go to doctor appointments.

[Steel Penguin]

suspension units on, and idler wheels on the lower hull.
more 1:48 barrels together and more jerry cans will be started in a few im trying to keep doing them so that as and when i want them they are available.
in other threads (  What If ideas/goals for the upcoming year, what are YOUR plans?) 

as i say every year   ( inserts the obligatory postmodern jukebox version of pink and the brain  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqMs9WsJg2k    )
build stuff and have fun
ive the Chieftain AVRE to finish,  after that i will be switching between 28mm figs and 1:48 warrior kits, in an effort to try to get units and the battlegroup built up
so next planned are either Athena Minis cold weather / post apoc British squadys  or the recently got GZG combat Nuns
I also want to try to get the 1:48 fuel truck done soon as well to keep the cold weather  force going.

plans however rarely survive contact with my minds wanderings, and the insperations that strike.       

its  a copy / paste so i dont have to retype 

[Rick Lowe]

plans however rarely survive contact with my minds wanderings, and the insperations that strike.     

Nice. Know the 'issue' well. 

Kerick - yep, I'm aware of the phenomena; good job a truck isn't even on my list of 'possibles'... 

But one can have similar problems if ones' car has a towbar... 

[Steel Penguin]

i carry on tanking    and  im having to think where i put all my 1:35 rammage, i want to hang a lot of " stuff"  off of the turret and side skirts,  and most certainly add at least one or two more MGs on the turret top, i know the twin 7.62 mount from the "shouldn't cost a tenner" project, was added to the FV432s, im wondering if i can do one with a pair of  .50 brownings?  i have enough round and a bought to do so    in addition to the usual jerry cans, packs, smgs, etc
im also doing 3 of the street violence figs i cleaned up and primed last year, just to keep painting in between gluings.
all the 1:48 tamiya barrels and jerry cans are together, and in a zip lock bag in the box, all the packs, tarps and other bits are in a similar zip lock   
i may start on one of the 1:35 drums and can sets as a filler as well,

[Steel Penguin]

a short trip out to the national trust property at badersly clinton today, a moated manor house,  the kind of place you could have as the target on a 28mm wargames table without it overwhelming everything 
and big enough that you could do a mini game within it if you wanted.
lots of rooms with wooden panelling, several ages of construction and a goodly bit of history.

modelling and painting will be later. ,

[Steel Penguin]

adding tool boxs to the upper deck, and then trying to find a picture of where to put the power box for the dozer blade, the accurate armour instructions are a little woolly,      fortunately there are several good pictures in the Tankograd book on the Berlin Brigade, so i am carefully studying  i dont think any other bits need swapping over and i think that the splash board still goes on   

the 3 figures are slowly progressing and im assembling 1:35 fuel drums and jerry cans now., ive had a rummage through my 1:35 bits so have 3 extra of the long side tool boxs, so they can go pn and 3 spare of the front wing square boxs, and 2 spare of the sort of triangular ones from the scrapped  old. old kit. in addition to some tarp and camo net rolls   Ive also found 3 wooden bodied SLRs and an UZI from a previous  Italeri weapon set, so theyve been put to one side,, and im certain ive some LAW72s in another set as well, ive located some of my .50s as well so thats good   yes it may be over gunned but as the great saying goes " if it isnt nailed down and on fire,   Its mine.  And if i can put it out and pry it loose, well...  "

[Steel Penguin]

todays progress the body of the AVRE is together     and the upper deck has been attached to the lower half.  ive filler one of the old long bins so it can be attached to the turret if needed and found my Tankograd book on the Chieftain which has some more shots of the dozer in it , 4 jerry cans are finished assembly. to add onto the body as and where
 
The 3 figures are painted but need the flock gluing on, that will have to wait for more to be done, as mixing up the pva and then getting the flock out and accessible, merits more ready to do.

ive been cutting brass tube to make spacers for the UNSC FLEET REPLENISHMENT TENDER  trio of hulls  ( https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/full-thrust-starships/unsc/ft-1116.html  ), as ive taken  one of the cargo pod sets out of each of the 3 i have to stretch the Cruisers from the same range ( 2 done over the jan holiday one just arrived)   a thinner tube to go in the  socket  and then a thicker one to go over to give the same dia as the collar that the socket is in, and as i want them to stand out as 3 separate ships one slot is immediately behind the bridge, one is in the centre of the pods, and one between the pods and the engine unit, so they all will look like they have started doing replen duty's..

again happy with the progress.

[NARSES2]

again happy with the progress.

Always a good place to be   

[Steel Penguin]

gun is assembled now, i has forgotten the length of the recoil bellows on the 120mm, so i had to cut it down that length on the brass tube, then add a sub tube to act as as joint between the tamiya part and the brass tube that forms the main part, which of coarse was too narrow, and had  to have some micro strip glued to both sides to centre it and act as a wedge....      I am now letting the super glue cure, then will pour a little more down the muzzle to ensure there is plenty to act as a binder.
I have started cleaning up the Athena miniatures cold weather British troops, they are in heavy parka style tops, and have SA80s / LSWs for the main armament so are rather late for my normal  UK troops but will go with Warriors / challenger 2s, like the fact that any overhanging long arms have a casting vent well along the barrel to enure that the cast well, but it means that the GPMG was very finely barrelled, and i managed to snap the tip off, so it been drill out the front of the forward section and add a stub of copper wire to replace it, i hope that it holds as there isnt much metal to drill ,
i will probable be cleaning up the GZG ships as well but ive 14 more troops to do first.

[Captain Canada]

a short trip out to the national trust property at badersly clinton today, a moated manor house, 

I'll have to google that and check it out !  Lookinf forward to seeing the AVRE

[Steel Penguin]

happily cleaning and basing lead.
all 19 of the Athena Brits are done   https://www.athenaminiatures.co.uk/browse/cat6776949_361249.aspx   the figs are all very nice but the metal is rather hard, ( and as any metallurgists out there know) a little brittle so ive lost a couple of the barrel tips and muzzle breaks from the SA80s  i can cope with it as is  better to loose them now rather than in the long run during painting or in storage.
Ive also managed to get the 9 GZG warrior nuns done as well  https://shop.groundzerogames.co.uk/25mm-characters-misc/nun-s-with-gun-s.html   a leader with sword and pistol 6 of the assult rifle  ones ( mix of Kneeling standing and advancing) and the plasma gunner and MG armed ones.
the commanders cupola and hatch  are on the AVRE turret, and im slowly adding parts as well. 
Next across the table will be the 3 Tenders, the Cruiser, and SDN   for the UNSC  but im waiting wile superglue sets on bases for the above before i start on the hulls. 

[Steel Penguin]

the Brits and the Nuns are undercoated, as are the 3 tenders. 
im building the SDN  not too hard, but im trying to be a bit proactive and using some micro strip to fill in the gap on the weapon pylons / wings, its more of a case of glue, let cure, glue next bit etc as handling parts to quickly will put a lot of shear strain on them, and i dont want things to slip before all is done.

[Steel Penguin]

SDN is together and based, and the other hull is coming together, a couple more bits on the AVRE turret,  good hobby progress.
In other news if disassembled a set of shelf's, cut the lugs down ( from the top so they stay the same in the important ground based clearance dimensions), and then reassembled so they can go back in the porch, but not block the cupboard door,      its a job ive been wanting to do since the start of jan, but lack of light and more importantly constant rain has meant it was on hold,  as it took all of 45 mins from start to finish including getting the tools out and packed away, both myself and Mrs SP aer happy.  Ive also got some comics packed away on the book case that have been accumulating for the past year... and stack things around them better as well.     
generally feeling good so far today.  and if i get the ship together ill be doing some undercoating later as well.