Alex Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Back in May I was cruising along through life and modeling without too many cares. Making progress on my latest overly-complex 1/32 warbird. Then my wife was diagnosed with colon cancer - very much out of the blue, no reason to suspect anything wrong. Despite really wanting some sort of distraction at times, I found myself utterly unable to focus due to stress and lack of sleep. My manual dexterity was similarly shot. I was actually afraid to ride my bike for a while (I have been riding and racing for 40 years, for context) because my reaction times were so poor. So needless to say I had to hang up the modeling tools, and most everything else, for a while. Fast forward a couple of months and (I am thankful every day for this) my wife is recovering nicely post-surgery, with pathology indicating that the cancer was found early enough that it was removed completely and hopefully won't recur. Now that I'm not full-time on nursing her back to health any more, and I've finally recovered a bit from the stress (which was vastly more debilitating than I expected it to be), I wanted to try and get a bit of model mojo flowing again. I didn't feel up to diving back into my 1/32 Airacobra just yet, so I pulled something small and simple off of the shelf - I wanted something that just required basic skills, would involve no research, no scratchbuilding, no decisions. Seemed like this should fit the bill. It's a simple kit. That builds into basically this A/C: I'm afraid I didn't (still) have the presence of mind to take many pix while building - it was hard enough to remember how to do the basics & not screw them up... This is mostly assembled - I decided to attach pretty much everything but wheels, main gear doors, and props before painting. Looking pretty in primer... And with the fuselage painted gloss white Hoping it will come together quickly now. It's nice to be building again - contributes to life feeling more back to normal... MikeC, scvrobeson, LSP_Kevin and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Really sorry for your (borh of you) troubles, and glad she is on the road to recovery. The 748 is a classic, this looks like it's going to be an excellent model. Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Alex: firstly, sorry to hear about what you've going through, but so glad your wife is recovering. I had a similar experience back in 2017, so I certainly understand what you're going through. Secondly, your new build is coming along nicely! I'm not familiar with either this aircraft or that kit, but they both look pretty decent. Looking forward to further progress from you on all fronts. Kev Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 3 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said: Secondly, your new build is coming along nicely! I'm not familiar with either this aircraft or that kit, but they both look pretty decent. Looking forward to further progress from you on all fronts. Kev It's a decent kit, assuming all the usual short-run caveats. No major fit issues. The biggest challenge for someone wanting to build it is that the wings and tailplanes basically butt-join to the fuselage, with no locating pins etc. So it requires some care to get them attached correctly. But otherwise it's fine. Three schemes come with the kit. I'm not surprised that you were not familiar with the aircraft (neither was I, but I'll buy any 1:144 commercial aircraft kit I see, just in the name of diversifying the shelf...). While these planes were operated by a bunch of airlines around Africa, Latin America, Europe, and many parts of the Commonwealth (as well as in the UK, obviously), the only evidence of one being flown "down under" that I could find was this (photo from 1974, a local operator out of Christchurch): LSP_Kevin, Greg W and Paul in Napier 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 6 hours ago, Alex said: the only evidence of one being flown "down under" that I could find was this (photo from 1974, a local operator out of Christchurch) That's interesting, I did not realise there were so few of them. Although we can bolster numbers a bit if we count the military derivative, the Andover: the RNZAF operated a number of ex-RAF aircraft for some years. But that's probably a bit o/t, sorry. Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted July 27, 2021 Author Share Posted July 27, 2021 8 hours ago, MikeC said: That's interesting, I did not realise there were so few of them. Although we can bolster numbers a bit if we count the military derivative, the Andover: the RNZAF operated a number of ex-RAF aircraft for some years. But that's probably a bit o/t, sorry. Right you are! I had only been looking for civil operators... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 That's indeed a 748; I did not know the RAAF operated them. Found more info here: http://www.adf-serials.com.au/indexbak.html HTH Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 I kind of hurried through the finish on this one - largely because the mojo is returning and I'm motivated to start a more complex project. I struggled a bit to get the decals to lay flat, even after a few rounds of MicroSol. Reminder of why, when I'm bring more patient, I paint as much of these liveries as possible, rather than relying on decals. The decals that came with the kit were decent though, quite thin; the only complaint was a lot of clear film around each colored area - I ended up having to trim most of them before getting them wet, because it was obvious that the extra film would make it even harder to get the decals to conform to a 3D shape. For the record, this is the first 1:144 kit I've done that came with decals to do the manufacturer's labels on the prop blades... LSP_Kevin, denders, Fanes and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerwomble Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Awesome , my first time on any aircraft was a Dan Air 737 to Spain circa 1982 .....and they let me "visit" the pilot whilst mother smoked ...... Happy days . Also - I hope your wife makes a full recovery. Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 1 hour ago, Panzerwomble said: Awesome , my first time on any aircraft was a Dan Air 737 to Spain circa 1982 .....and they let me "visit" the pilot whilst mother smoked ...... Happy days . Also - I hope your wife makes a full recovery. Yeah I can also remember when you could smoke on airplanes…. Been a long while there ;-) thanks for the good wishes too - she’s doing great so far Panzerwomble 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 That's turned out really nicely, Alex! Well done, that man. Kev Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 That looks nice, well done. Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Looks great Alex, 748's were a regular sight at Manchester Airport, and though I don't remember that particular scheme I probably saw all the Dan Air 748's in the later colours, incidentally they were built at Woodford, South Manchester, where the Lancaster, amongst others, were built. Really nice model, hope your wife makes a speedy and full recovery. MikeC, Wolf Buddee and Alex 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Buddee Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 That came out looking absolutely brilliant Alex! Wonderful colour scheme and so cleanly executed. Very well done! All the best to your wife for a speedy and complete recovery and to you as well. Cheers, Wolf Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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