Hardcore

The cost of my liability insurance, for my 2007 Toyota Yaris, is ≈135$

In Sweden, car owners are legally obligated to have car insurance. If, for any reason, a car owner doesn't have insurance, they are required to pay a fee to the Car Insurance Association. This association consists of all the insurance companies that sell car insurance. In the specific scenario mentioned, where the woman involved was uninsured, the Car Insurance Association would have intervened and covered the costs instead of the individual's own insurer. I got only partial insurance. It will cover damage done to another car, should an accident happen. My car is too old to be worth full insurance.

Lots of trees here in Sweden and forestry is a big business. Drought, forest fires, stormy weather, bugs, disease can cause damage and losses for hundreds of millions. The tiny spruce bark beetle is a big culprit, and the reason I chose to plant pine this summer. This spring has been very dry and that is perfect conditions for the but to breed. The trees can't produce enough resin to kill the larva in their tunnels. Pine is immune to that insect.

Would be very popular in a contest for sure!

I learned something new today. I added home insurance and forest insurance to my farm insurance a couple of weeks ago. I didn't receive any confirmation, and the premium remained the same. It turned out they added them without noting it anywhere and without raising the premium! I have no idea how they calculate it all... It's as if they feel like giving it away for free. How is it for you Americans? I know that insurance companies can be tough when it comes to health insurance, for example.

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll keep that in mind, especially if i go to ukraine in the future.

Alright, while it may not meet my previously attained standards, I'm relieved that the drop ship is finally completed. Being a large and hefty resin kit, it posed quite a challenge to work on. Moreover, my shaky hands didn't make the task any easier. Nevertheless, the vibrant design it sports will certainly catch the customer's eye, just as it did with me. Whether I decide to build two more or not, the customer, who is quite the visionary, want have the ability to send in a platoon of colonial marines. Yesterday, I applied a coat of matte varnish to the glossy exhaust stains. Although the outcome is satisfactory for now, I simply didn't feel motivated enough to redo it. However, in the future, I'll definitely take a different approach to make things easier for myself. I completely forgot that Tamiya offers a medium specifically designed to mix with varnish, resulting in a matte finish. So, todays work was to apply varnish and then a photo session. Thanks for watching!

You are right, we should spend more time there. Yet, the destination is Volos in Greece were will rent an apartment for a week or two.

Thanks dutik! I think the Rechlin museum looks especially promising, since it is on the way to Berlin. A test site! That should be something my pal want to visit too ^^

We will go by Hamburg, Berlin, Prague, VIENNA, Budapest and probably through Zagreb down the adriatic coast and so on. We will sleep one night in each city. We will visit a Flaktower for sure, the Pergamon museum, maybe get time for the Berlin Wall and Brandenburger tor. (Tempelhof would be cool! ) Still we should have time to visit shops selling books and hobby stuff on our way down. Problem is that Google is fine but the language barrier is an obstacle when searching. Any other places worth a visit?

The deed is done. I am running out of tamiya "Smoke".

Regrettably i just lost an hour discussing immigration, on twitter. Not worth it. Need to do more today. Coming next: Airbrushing

It's too hot to work in the garden, but work we must. Today we start with the weapon bays Tamiya Dark Green is a nice color for those rockets. I would have used Xtracrylics RLM71 but I tossed that in the bin in the big purge. I used the brown wash to darken those areas I couldn't reach with my brush.

I wanted to enhance the appearance of the landing gear, as it seemed too plain and lacked visual interest. To achieve this, I decided to introduce additional colors and weathering effects. Firstly, I mixed burnt umber with steel paint to create a custom shade. Using this mixture, I highlighted the nuts and bolts on the landing gear, giving them a more defined and realistic look. Next, I turned my attention to the skis. I took a cloth soaked in white spirits and gently rubbed it on the skis. This process helped to remove any excess paint and create a subtle weathered effect. Once the skis were adequately prepared, I applied a final wash to further enhance the weathering. This wash added depth and texture to the skis, making them appear more worn and realistic.

I washed the landing gear too. The scorpion decal on the side was destroyed by all Modellers nemesis: sticky tape.

Top planview. I have started on the engines with vallejo Air Steel metalic. I brushed it on undiluted and that went very well. Then I applied AK exhaust wash, and that was messy.

A fresh photo to show progress

The tail fins looks better. I used tamiya brown wash, but of course the real reason that worked was because the wash was applied were it doesn't easily run away.

Lessons learnt so far in this build: 1. I need a paint mule. 2. Don't use new paints for a build without testing them first. See #1. 3. You can't hide decal film under vanish. 4. To accentuate shadows don't use oil wash. Better to paint with brush. This leads me to today's photos, The accentuation of the air brake looks OK, but rather than getting a thin black line I had to be content with the shadows created by the clean up.

Sunk costs?

Semi gloss coat. I am not sure if I should try improve the surface more; one step forward easily mean one step back https://www.flickr.com/photos/198123981@N04/52951792897/in/dateposted-public/

I am currently running low on supplies, so I make do with what I have instead of using the most optimal options available. One specific example is when I used a can of Army Painter spray varnish, which has a very flat finish. Unfortunately, it dries to an uneven texture, almost like a dusty surface. While it's not a complete disaster, it does mean that I will need to use micro mesh to polish it away before attempting to apply AK Interactive semi-gloss varnish. Nonetheless, I have begun applying decals, so at least I am making progress.

I think I could experiment with what I have already, tamiya chrome and oils, but I am not keen.

Progress! Not your mama's dropship for sure. It is not visible from this angle but there are oversprays and paint bleed that I need fix before continuing. That done i will varnish the beast so that i don't need to worry about rubbing off paint.