Nick's Notes

[Nick]

Club Zoom chat last night - reminded me that we have a Crest of a Wave competition due in March and everyone is working on D-Day landing craft or Amtracs or battleships.

So I started the Airfix Shannon Lifeboat which I got at Telford last year. Nice little kit with brush and paints included. Goes together quite well with some filler needed for minor gaps. It has some very large sprue gates to cut and smooth out and numerous 'overflow bulbs' to remove.

Oddly this is the first modern kit I've washed. There was a tiny dab of a greasy substance in the corners of the rear hull piece which I assume to be a mould release agent.

Managed to get the main hull and cabin tidied up and put together in 90 minutes while taking part in the chat. A few thin gaps and some sanding is required, nothing major.
The lower hull needs to be painted separately from the cabin, the two put together and then several smaller parts adding on. I need to study the instructions carefully and plan ahead - there may be an easier way to do this.
The drawings are in colour but the detail could be clearer for small parts like the waterjets.

A fellow club member suggested I add a figure to the bow - the bagpiper who piped Obans newest lifeboat into harbour. 
Work to be continued....


Model show this weekend in South London

Saturday 1st February 2025
North Surrey Model Show
Banstead Community Hall, Park Road, SM7 3AJ
£4 entry fee.

[NARSES2]

I'm impressed with your ability to multi task Nick 

I looked at the North Surrey Model Show, but it's not particularly easy to get to from Stations, so I was "uhming and ahing" and then something else came up 

[Nick]

I'm impressed with your ability to multi task Nick 

I looked at the North Surrey Model Show, but it's not particularly easy to get to from Stations, so I was "uhming and ahing" and then something else came up 

I looked at the public transport options and it would involve 2 tube trains, 2 mainline trains*, and a bus ride (615 Banstead station to The Woolpack). 2+ hours each way.
*Weirdly you can get a train direct to Victoria from Banstead but not the other way.

So if I do go I'll drive round the M25 and meet the guys from the club for lunch.

[NARSES2]

I'm impressed with your ability to multi task Nick 

I looked at the North Surrey Model Show, but it's not particularly easy to get to from Stations, so I was "uhming and ahing" and then something else came up 

I looked at the public transport options and it would involve 2 tube trains, 2 mainline trains*, and a bus ride (615 Banstead station to The Woolpack). 2+ hours each way.
*Weirdly you can get a train direct to Victoria from Banstead but not the other way.

So if I do go I'll drive round the M25 and meet the guys from the club for lunch.

I live a lot nearer obviously, but it would still involve 2 buses and 2 trains, 90 minutes each way.

It's an odd part of the world, post-war it was where a lot of the TB Asylums were, plus the plastic surgery clinic. Even as late as the 60's you'd get some "interesting" customers in the pubs 

[Nick]

So I went to Banstead and it was a very good little show. Just how a local show should be IMHO.

First thing I noticed when I walked in was the alluring scent of bacon 

Next thing was the wide variety of clubs from all over the south east who were there, along with a few traders. Lots of nice models on display. Some I've seen before, many new ones as well.

Met Simon and Shelby from my club and we went to the Woolpack pub next door for lunch and a couple of drinks. Went back to the show and lots of prizes were being given out.

[NARSES2]

Glad you had a good trip Nick    I didn't realise it was next door to the Woolpack, brings back memories 

[Nick]

This month I has mostly been building a lifeboat...

My club has an annual Crest of a Wave competition and in previous years I built a 1/700 HMS Southampton and a 1/72 SRN5 Hovercraft.

This year I went with the 1/72 Airfix RNLI Shannon-class Lifeboat. It's a Starter Set with glue and paint and a brush. I used everything in the box apart from the glue and some paint.

I really enjoyed this build and plan to get another one. This time though... I will take my time as I rushed it and I now know what to look out for.

Main areas of concern are:
Prime with white paint to make the colours stand out more.
Don't use the orange paint in the kit as it's too thick. VW Beetle Orange is apparently the closest spraycan shade.
Fitting the cabin to the deck as it should be flush. The slots are precise but clog up when you paint them.
Cut out and fit each window section separately. Again, they fit tight and extra paint stops them.
Check the colour scheme with the real thing - there are several variations in the actual machines with white or black hulls and tools on deck.

[PR19_Kit]

A very smart model Nick, I keep wondering if I could fit some RC gear in one, but then remind myself that it's 1/72 scale!
 

[kitbasher]

Looking good!  Must get one to accompany my (currently unbuilt) Severn Class boat.

Fingers crossed a Tamar Class boat will eventually be released.

[Old Wombat]

Really nice work, Nick!




[Please excuse the earlier name ... I have no idea how that happened!  ]

[NARSES2]

That's really nice work Nick 

[Rick Lowe]

 

[Wardukw]

Great work on the LB mate 👍

[Nick]

Got home from Scotland yesterday and spent today unpacking and mowing the grass and doing things around the house. Tomorrow we're off to the funeral of Mums oldest friend who she sat next to in primary school in 1955. It's an early start to get to Cromer for 11am. Not likely to be a great day but we will have ice creams on the seafront after the service.

I got a few things at the Perth show and I'll briefly lay out my pencilled plans for them.

1/144 Su-57 and 2x J-20. These will be part of my small scale modern jets collection with the F-22 and Su-47 Berkut.

1/72 Academy T-50 Advanced Trainer. South Korean machine that closely resembles an F-16. It's a snap together kit and I want more. Red Arrows    To replace the Hawks and provide for RAF fast jet training.

1/72 Airfix MDD Phantom FG.1.  I need to find some Aéronavale markings for the 1970s or 80s. Yes, this will be French Navy to follow on from the F3H Demon I built a while back. I already have an idea for to replace the F-4s with F-18s in the 1990s.

[Nick]

It's been a while since the last update.....

Aunty Rosemary's funeral went OK. We had a decent afternoon tea in the Sea Marge Hotel in Overstrand, which is where Winston Churchill was staying when the Great War broke out. Big, slightly odd looking mock-Tudor Edwardian house. Afterwards we looked around Cromer and had some icecream.

I found some Aeronavale decals at the de Havilland show amongst other things.

****

In other news I'm looking to get a new car as this Nissan is not fun to drive and has cost me nearly £3000 in repairs the last 2 years - aircon pump, timing belt, fuel pump.

At home things are tricky.
Mums partner, John, is 80 and recently diagnosed with cancer. The docs said he's that unwell that the stress of chemo treatment would finish him off as fast as cancer would.
He normally comes over here on Fridays but didn't show up as expected so we went over to his to find him lying on the floor. He thought he'd been there for a couple of hours but the answerphone messages suggest he's been lying there for up to 8 hours in the heat.
Ambulance crew (2 friendly young lads and a very pretty female student paramedic  )  took him to the nearby hospital. I took Mum to see him yesterday. He's being kept in for more tests. Frankly he needs a hospice or care home but he's such an awkward sod he won't agree to it.

His house is a tip because he isn't very mobile, the pain and the morphine and dementia stop him doing much. So we went back there to clean up on the hottest day of the year.
Mum dealt with the kitchen and bathroom which were bio-hazard zones - 3 bottles of bleach and detergent. 
I cleared his driveway and back patio so he can get around there safely. Cut back the front hedge so the pavement is clear enough to stop the council complaining. The rear garden is an overgrown jungle needing professional clearance in the autumn.
Went to the tip with the garden waste and several sacks of rubbish.
All done in 34C heat and humidity. 

We are both worn out and this is why I've skipped the Coventry show this year.