Thorvics'Blog

[Gondor]

And some friends think my 40 mile drive each way is a pain when it only takes roughly forty five minutes to get to work in the morning and maybe an additional five or ten on the way home.

Gondor

[Martin H]

Anyway as long as its not too warm this weekend, I will be clearing out my dads old office and giving it a clean, before I then migrate in my modelling stuff in there and shock horror, return my bedroom to being just that  .

about bleedin time!          He knows im only joking

I can see Martin H keeling over on reading that as its years overdue  .

Took me an hour to recover...................................................................

[Thorvic]

Hmmn the plans have gone a bit awry the office is a box room on the corner of the house upstairs and unfortunately the July weather has made it rather warm so after a couple of hours each morning at the weekend and a couple of trips to the local HWRC I then found it too much like a sauna and had to go mow the lawns instead.

Anyway as its raining today, hopefully it wont get too warm and humid so I can crack on and carry on clearing out the room. I can already see spaces for some things and I have just ordered a new cutting mat for the desk. So its looking good for a dedicated workshop space which even has an Desktop and Printer/Scanner in a computer cupboard so that will be protected when not in use  .

Clearing out my bedroom to sort out what goes in the workshop, what kits to store and in progress builds to put where should be an interesting exercise to say the least as need to exert some restraint to stop it getting out of hand again, so need to ensure I only have the stuff I need and keep it accessible and too hand.

It's going to be brutal but it will be worth it in long run I hope as in desperate need of decluttering and of making more suitable use of the storage space I have.

On a plus point cleaning up and re-organising will build up the incentive to get back to building again, lots of ideas and projects on the go so after this enforced hiatus I shall have to focus my efforts on my SMW builds, as later in the year I will have the New Airfix Phantom to play with along with a 1/700 Ark Royal. 

[Thorvic]

Well progress zip the last two evenings so will have to get serious tonight so I can have a load ready for the tip in the morning, ended up chatting with the neighbours and being sociable on a pleasant summer evening on Wednesday, and yesterday I was on a course all day and then had to go out shopping after I had eaten so lost the time window and the energy to start sorting stuff out. My bad but hopefully it wont get too hot and humid this weekend so I can carry on with the blitz.

On the good news front I got confirmation that my Orange Hobby 1/700 USS Midway I pre-ordered from Starling Models was despatched yesterday. That should go well with my updated HMS Malta as a comparison, although I do need to get the workshop sorted before even daring to think about that.

Speaking of temptations I have just got my bookcase edition of British Secret Projects: Fighter 2nd edition, which will sit in the bookcase downstairs whilst the other will become the working copy in the workshop (as I did with the 1st volume many years ago  ) . I also got the current 2017 volume of Warship with the RAN DDL programme article so a Type 42 kit may get somewhat modified in the future, but not until I get my other stuff done once the workshop is up and running.

I have picked up a fresh cutting mat for the new workbench so now have incentive to get the workshop cleared out so I can configure and restock it. I predict a long warm, dusty weekend ahead I just need to keep reminding myself the sacrifice is worth it in the long run 

[zenrat]

Neighbours eh?  Mine are like that.  You get gossiping over the fence and BANG an hours gone.
It was much better for my productivity when I lived next door to people I disliked and/or didn't care about.
 

[Thorvic]

Neighbours eh?  Mine are like that.  You get gossiping over the fence and BANG an hours gone.
It was much better for my productivity when I lived next door to people I disliked and/or didn't care about.

No I much prefer it this way, they both friends and have been unbelievably supportive in the last few years  with my dads decline and passing. Its quite nice to have an adult conversation in person and be involved in their lives directly rather than relying on virtual acquaintances.

I lend a hand when I can and they return the favour and makes the section of our street a pleasant and friendly area 

[Rick Lowe]

Neighbours eh?  Mine are like that.  You get gossiping over the fence and BANG an hours gone.
It was much better for my productivity when I lived next door to people I disliked and/or didn't care about.

No I much prefer it this way, they both friends and have been unbelievably supportive in the last few years  with my dads decline and passing. Its quite nice to have an adult conversation in person and be involved in their lives directly rather than relying on virtual acquaintances.

I lend a hand when I can and they return the favour and makes the section of our street a pleasant and friendly area 

It's good to have friends, wherever they are. 
Though someone you can have a cuppa with and to help you shift stuff/hide the body(s) is a bonus.   

[zenrat]

Neighbours eh?  Mine are like that.  You get gossiping over the fence and BANG an hours gone.
It was much better for my productivity when I lived next door to people I disliked and/or didn't care about.

No I much prefer it this way, they both friends and have been unbelievably supportive in the last few years  with my dads decline and passing. Its quite nice to have an adult conversation in person and be involved in their lives directly rather than relying on virtual acquaintances.

I lend a hand when I can and they return the favour and makes the section of our street a pleasant and friendly area 

It's good to have friends, wherever they are. 
Though someone you can have a cuppa with and to help you shift stuff/hide the body(s) is a bonus.   

You are both right.  I wasn't being serious (shock!) and should have put in a smiley (fixed now).

Next door borrowed my mulcher yesterday.  I wonder if he has a body to dispose of?

[Thorvic]

Well I missed my self imposed deadline, the office is mostly cleared out, just some stuff to find homes for. I did get my completed model boxes in to a safe corner and out of the wardrobe and other places they were so that's good news, but will have to finish clearing before I transfer in the tools, paints, builds and of course some of the stash.
Had to stop last week as my sister is home for the month for her annual break from the middle east so all those activities were curtailed, and will have to await her going to see her family in Scotland before I can really continue.

It did however allow a chance for my brother to come down so we as a family could scatter our parents ashes together in a place they knew and loved (my brother had kept my mum's ashes for 20 yrs to await on my dad joining her. Good to be together again as a family and my mum's mischievous streak stuck again as my brothers dog managed to appear under the ash flow just as my sister was scattering hers, thus a rather sad and somber moment collapsed into chuckles and laughing  as the black labradoodle now had a grey back and all three of us know both our Mum & Dad would be laughing away looking down on us 

Anyway still no modelling for me at the moment, must complete the transfer but inspiration is coming thick and fast with ideas along with the urge to try out and refine the new layout which should make the building experience a bit more comfortable and organised (LOL as if !!! ).

The hard part next will be deciding quite what to do first when I do start ............

[Thorvic]

Still sod all modelling done as expected although I have nearly cleared out the office, had to get a new double mattress from Ikea and dispose of the old double one for my Sister picked up the new foam one from Ikea a week last Sunday as I took her to Liverpool and then had swap out the old mattress, get it down stairs and folded over into the car so I could take it to the local tip before she came back last Saturday then I did the lawns as actually a dry day for a change, go get a new hoover as the old one started over heating and walked the dog. managed to crack on with clearing a bit more of the office out on Sunday whilst I had some transmission space and chance to put the new vacuum to good use  . Not much chance to do more this week but hopefully on track to finish clearing the office out at the weekend.
It's the temporary transmission space at the moment that's the problem as I pack stuff up I need to put it somewhere till I can sort it our to either keep or dispose of, couple that with the stuff I do class as rubbish and gets bin bagged and space soon runs out (not helped by new small capacity waste bins which are fine for average rubbish but a pain when you do any clearing out ) 
Anyway once the office is cleared I can start to migrate the modelling stuff in there in a controlled manner. set up my bench, lighting, air brush and spray booth. Assign space for tools, materials and paints add a couple more shelves for storage for Kits I want to build, the to do pile and work in progress. Put reference material into the book case where its accessible and then comes the fun part I have long been waiting for !!!! deciding what stuff I can complete for SMW in November as will only have 2 months to do it, what items I plan to build in the next 6-12 months so I can put them to hand along with any necessary donor kits and then move the rest into storage in the loft or excess storage space in the bedroom.
Somehow I get the feeling the actual clearing out and refurbishment of my bedroom may get put back to later in the year after SMW, although its going to be tough choice between doing the room or building a new Airfix RN Phantom at that point 

Anyway I know its going to be a busy August and a modelling free day, but hopefully I can get back into gear in September and October, its odd knowing the mojo is there but having to abstain 

[NARSES2]

its odd knowing the mojo is there but having to abstain 

Far better than having the time but lacking the Mojo mate 

[Thorvic]

Enjoyable evening yesterday as I met up for a meal and a chat with Harro (Hobbes) who was in the region on holiday from the Netherlands, enjoying the hills, the museums and authentic Lancashire weather Rain showers with extra rain  .

Nice to talk shop, discuss ideas and looking forward to Scale model World in November.

Prior to this I was at a garage looking to replace my car, now that I'm back at work and driving there I really need to replace the old one before Autumn & Winter. You can tell how daft things are getting as I was looking at the boot space and access with regard to putting in the model boxes as much as drivability, comfort and features   

[PR19_Kit]

 You can tell how daft things are getting as I was looking at the boot space and access with regard to putting in the model boxes as much as drivability, comfort and features   

One reason why I've only ever had one saloon car, all the rest have been estates or largish hatchbacks. 

[JayBee]

Just a most sensible consideration in my opinion. 

[Thorvic]

Well the money came through sooner than expected so I was able to swap over the car on Friday teatime after work. A long day as had been up early to drop Sister off at airport for another leg of her annual UK break to see friends & family. Sad to see the old car go as it was my dads to begin with and had served us well but it was feeling the mileage.
Getting used to the Astra now, feels quite different as the Civic was getting comfy like an old pair of shoes and it will take a while to get that comfy again but I do like it.
Other good news is that I have nominally cleared the Office, there are still some bits to sort out in the computer cabinet that I dug out during the clean up but the bench and shelves are clear, next up is moving the Airbrush and Spray booth in and getting them set up then its a case of sorting out paints, rattle cans, tools, glues sanding materials and plastic card and putting them into accessible places in the new workroom. So some progress.