Finding the gear

My last blog post was ‘Changing gear’, which, for it’s time, was quite correct.  Actually, maybe that’s the point of blogs, that they reflect how you are, or what you’re up to, at the time.  I guess in that sense, it’s quite correct.  However, things move on, and so, I’d better write a new post, as, otherwise, the wrong impression can be given.

The gear one is in is a reflection of where one is, at that point in time.  4 Weeks ago I was tired.  I’d been working for 7 months, with no real breaks, doing a job which had bored me.  Whilst the job was near home, and paid reasonably well, it wasn’t satisfying, leading me to the point of exhaustion.  There were some moments of high stress, but, usually, it was fine.   However, worse than this, I had pushed myself to be something more.  Thus, 4 weeks ago, I was tired, exhausted, and a little emotional.

Into this mix came a few girls who wanted to see me.  Frankly, I was tired, I had reached the end of this path, had run out of steam, and needed a break.  I just said that I didn’t have the capability to see someone, to give myself over to a relationship, or, more so, a new relationship.

However, over the past few weeks something has happened.  I have relaxed, and found my energy returning.  Already people are noticing that my smile has returned, and I’m not as intense as I was then.  For work, I’m taking a different approach.  Without realising it, I’m realising what I want in my next contract.  It’s not being near home, so I can run away at 5pm.  It’s not short hours, or easy work.  Rather, it’s being more accepting of where I am, of being more relaxed, and not always worrying about the next contract, or what it’s doing for my career.

A by product of this has been that I’m now energised enough to get back into the dating game.  In fact, I was off JDate for a while, around 6 weeks I think, but I’m now back on, and have met a lovely new girl.  You may recall the girl I mentioned before, well, she’s met someone, and, whilst I still like her, I know it’s never going to be more than as friends.  You might say: but meet her first!  Actually I did, and spent a nice afternoon with her, and whilst she’s still a lovely girl, the chemistry wasn’t there to go further.  So, let’s see how things pan out with this new girl.  So far, it all seems great, but let’s see.

Speaking of contracts, it has been a little depressing that it’s been 4 weeks, with no offers (bar one silly one), but that’s the nature of being a contractor!  Still, I live in hope, and reasonable hope I’ll be working in the next week or so.  A couple of interviews Monday should sort things out, maybe!

Just a short round-up, more next time!

A change of gear

It’s funny, a fortnight ago things were in flux, but I sort of knew where I was going.  Now, suddenly, so many balls are in the air.  Well, this was this girl, and yes, whenever I commence a tale of myself, there’s always a girl around!  However, there was this girl, but, sadly, it seems, that before we’ve even met, it’s looking likely we’re, well, not going to meet.  Yes, I agree, garbled English, but I believe it conveys adequately how things are.  I met her, as I meet most girl, on JDate, and she is, really, quite fine, being witty, intelligent, fun, world-wise, and, from what I’ve seen, quite good looking too.  There were some issues, none insurmountable, bar one, and that one is one, i.e. me.

Frankly, I’m not in the correct frame of mind, for a number of reasons.  Quite what they are is not something I’m going to discuss in great depth, except that a major cause is work, which I’ll come onto in a moment.  Right now is the time of reflection, and introspection.  It’s looking into oneself, to find the answer to enable progression.

A few weeks ago, when my contract was coming to an end at the holiday company I worked for, I was asked to stay on, but I refused.  I knew I needed time off, that I was tired.  I guess I’m still tired, but a lot less than I was then.  What I have been able to do, during this time off, was to look at myself, from different eyes.  I realised a few things, and given myself the wherewithal to progress onwards.  Somehow, I knew I needed this.  What this means is that I’m moving forward, and getting ready for more work.

Financially things will be tight, but I should be OK.  I’ve changed what I’m looking for, both in terms of money (I’m considering roles I’d previously thought too junior), but also changing emphasis, looking for more ability to progress, both in terms of career, and myself.  In other words, I’ve learnt a lot about where I am,  and where I’m going.

To bring it back to girls, to finish on that lovely note, I’ve realised that I’m not ready for a relationship, even though I know a couple of girls who I’d love to date, and they, I think would like to be dated, by me.  One other thing I’ve done is to stop flapping about with girls where the connection is more physical, than anything else.  I had, and it pains me, to change my relationship with, well, more than one, because I realised I saw her just in terms of what I could get from her (which was on offer).  I haven’t turned celibate, just realising I’m not ready for a relationship, and yet not happy for sex sans love.  A frustrating dichotomy!

…and then it finally came

Strewth I can’t believe I’m 37. Thirty-Seven. It’s not 35, which is the edge of being young, or 36, which is just gone, no, 37 means you’re, no fail, on your way to being 40. Crikey! Rather frightening really. Makes one sit back, and muse a bit. At least before I’m 40 we should have a Conservative government in power in the UK, but I’d rather, if one could chose, give up that for a peace deal in the middle-east. However, both would be nice! I do wonder if we’ll see McCain win, or will it be Obama. I reckon it’s too close to call.

So, to modelling (as I assume you’re here for the modelling). Well, ‘The Bitch’ is no more. Yes, she finally tried my patience once too many times. Having assembled the fuselage, I found that the Revell 1/48 F-14D just will not fit. The final straw was the forward fuselage, which, fitted like a crack dealer at Lords doesn’t (to ape Douglas Adams).

The counterpart to The Bitch is The Dog, another Revell 1/48, this time the B-25J Mitchell, in Red Bull configuration. The interior, in ’stone grey’, from Revell’s own range, was lovely, if the fitting were a tad flat. Trying to enough weight in was a problem, but by losing the front wheelwell (which can’t be seen anyway), and the tunnel (not a huge loss), just about managed it. Also, some more weight dotted around, but it seems to be OK. Fuselage fit is a bit indifferent. However, by using Tippex, Zap-A-Gap, and Mr. Surfacer 500, finally achieved a smooth top fuselage. Now have masses to complete elsewhere! Seat sides are silver, Humbrol no.11, the seats themselves are blue, from Testors, straps are black, with the cockpit in Humbrol, no. 144 I think, but need to check.

Not a bad kit, but raised panel lines, and some indifferent fit. Still, easy to build, and cheap too.

I’ve also been working on the Tamiya scout car. Not a bad kit, although the floor seems a bit dodgy. Still, it is an early kit. Fit is fine, but then, it is Tamiya! Interior is white, with smeared ‘wood brown’ from Humbrol, and smeared black. Dry brushed some of the brown along the bottom corners, where the walls meet the floor, looks good! Exterior is being brushed some Molak black-green. Looks good, and, being a land vehicle, can be heavily weathered.

The Tamiya Bell X-1 was a lovely kit to build. Quick, easy, satisfying. Perfect! Needs now to be sprayed orange, and then, well, that’s about it. Just need to paint the canopy first, then mask off. As for when I’ll do that… Slight problem in that the instructions were for the Eduard 1/48 Bell X-1, but seemed to have worked it all out! Interior was Gunze Sangyo interior green, with details in Humbrol black.

The Tamiya Mustang continues at a glacial pace. Slow doesn’t mean good! I re-painted the instrument panel, as the original job was far too shiny. Humbrol 33 can, unless well mixed, come up shiny. Now mostly OK, with some shiny black (Humbrol 21) for the instrument faces. Using matt and gloss for instrument faces works really well, so, pleased about that.

Speaking of instruments, I dropped some Humbrol 21 onto the clocks of the little Scout car, worked a treat! Will also use it for other instrument panels in the future. Another thing that worked well was the dry brushing of the radio boxes for the Mustang. I use a light grey for this, made them look nicely worn in, but not too worn. Fantastic!

Other bits worked on include: the DFS aircraft, which had a drop more canopy masking; the submarine, which was brush painted with a mixture of Humbrol no.10, Humbrol no.01, and an Airfix which was similar to no.01 (to finish the tin); and the 1/32 Sea Venom, which had bits of the cockpit painted, and the seats re-done, yet again!

One thing I find is that Humbrol no.85, coal black, is not a mid-gloss, between 21 and 33, it is, in fact, a shiny black, more like 21. This is rather annoying, as I have masses of 21, and really need something between 21 and 33. Revell do some nice mid-way black, so I’ll use those. As for modern Humbrol no.33, well, it must must be well stirred, else the colour is far too shiny.

A few new kits around too. Swapped some for a Trumpeter 1/24 Mustang. I will build this in Israeli colours, maybe as Judy/Tink, the first Mustang, or as a later blue/brown from 1956. Either way, should be fun. Also bought the new AFV Club Sh’ot 1973, which is similar to my old tank. For my for birthday, my mother bought me the new AFC Club Sh’ot 1967, which was more like the Centurion base tank. Both of those are 1/35, but I also bought the new 1/48 AFC Club Tiger. The price, just 12 Pounds was the same as the Trumpeter, but far less than the Tamiya, even though it’s a fine product, or so it seems. Time will tell, but AFV Club have a good reputation.

Meant to start the Sh’ot for my birthday, but not quite there yet. Other than that, a few kits here and there, but the interesting one is the Academy F-89J Scorpion, from Hannant’s London second hand section. A mad looking aircraft, so, should be interesting to build!

Finally, I also commenced work on the Tamiya 1/72 Nanzan. Very simple build, but what’s RLM Grey? Decided to use RLM02 for it, from the Color of Eagles range. This range was actually produced by Vellejo for an American company, but not any longer. The theory is that the paints are ready mixed for spraying. Personally, I found them a tad too thick, but not too much so, and so sprayed direct. Not a bad result. Needs a second coat, and also to balance out a slight colour imbalance, where some items were darker than others.

Oh, and really finally, did a tiny bit of work on a 1/48 Airfix Mosquito, but just some painting of the interior (Humbrol 78) and some black for detail work.

OK, that’s it for now, for modelling.

Otherwise, well, been using some dowsing rods, with some interesting results.  Been chatting with this lovely girl I met online, from a dating website, and, hmmm, excited to see what happens there.  My contract is up for renewal at work, as it’s supposed to finish Monday 30th.  They asked me to stay on a fortnight, but, no, I need a break, so, decided to say sayonara on Friday 27th.  Then, have a break in July, whilst hunting an appropriate new contract.  September’s a good month for new contracts, as is May.  June is less so, and July worse.  This means I could be up a gum tree, but I hope not!  Today, had my first Gaapweb email which had no new jobs in it.  Has the market dried up that much?  I hope not!  Still, I just need the one right job, not 30 jobs!

Car’s still running, running well actually, but decided not to replace until get a good new contract.  Likewise computer, which needs replacing, but can do for now, until I get a contract.  Actually, I have a virus, or had a virus, rather, but it’s damaged my Explorer.  As I need to partially clean my machine, I’ll wait until my break, as it could take a few hours.  Hopefully all will be OK.

Ideal?  A nice contract, to start end of July.  Perfect!  Then I can have a break, and start refreshed.  Still, let’s see what life brings.  Need a break though, and need to spend time walking, getting fit, losing weight, and, of course, writing my blog!  Modelling just goes without saying.

Anyway, enough for now.  TTFN!

Moving on?

Been quite a while since the last update, so, here goes! Firstly, I noticed I made an error in an earlier post, which I’ve now corrected. The F-14 seats are Humbrol 67, not 62 (probably slipped up as the cushions are 72). Anyway, been quite a few developments.

As I’ve mentioned the F-14, I should say that I’ve worked on the underside. It’s a pig! For that reason, this build was nicknamed ‘The Bitch’, and that still holds true. Basically, the intakes do not match up well with the fuselage. A lot of filling and sanding later, and it’s much better, but still not quite right, and there are gaps (and poor adhesion) which I’ll Zap-A-Gap, then sand, later. Dry fitting the cushions to the seat sides showed some bits of white, where I’d thought the plastic was hidden, so, re-painted the seats, again, in Humbrol 72. Next up, well, tomorrow, I’ll paint the seat sides in 67, and leave for a while. As I’ve sanded out parts of the cockpit, out with the Revell paint to re-do, and to also paint the canvas instrument binnacle covers. Not sure yet what colour to use, but that can be easily sorte.

Away from kits, was very pleased that Boris Johnson won the election to be London mayor. Ken Livingstone is one of those politicals who I dislike, possibly on a par with George Galloway. As I’m living in St.Albans, was weird that the Tories gained 3 sears, and the Liberals 1, but it gave them control of the council. Oh well, guess that means more anti-car policies here. Still, for now, fairly sane, except in St.Peter’s St. where they seem to be, oh never mind, but it is crazy to stop all parking there, for no reason. The old system of no parking during market times worked well. Banning at all times, and installing cameras to monitor cars, issue remote fines, etc, just feels so wrong. No wonder Tesco want to abandon the town centre! I wonder, can’t councils grasp the simple concept that if you stop people going to smaller town centre shops by car, they will drive out to the larger places. Sadly, this means that the town centre loses supermarkets, resulting in people living there being forced to drive out… Oh well!

Other than that, meeting some lovely girls online, one in particular, but enough on that. Sadly, had to dump someone the other day. Nice girl, but, a culture clash, and I knew it would bring grief. Also, going to be starting the gym next week with an old work colleague. At least, that’s the theory!

The B-45 Tornado is now more or less done, except some touching up, where some of the original paint job came off. Hand painted the engine cowling covers in olive, using my ancient tin of Humbrol Authentic. It looks good! At least, I think that’s what I used. I’d better work it out before I finish it off! Once touching up is finished, decals, and then, that’s it. Cool!

Working on a SMER Fokker S.11 Instructor. That’s proving a bit of a pig as well, but it’s my own fault. The left wing was shoved in, glued in, and then I realised, wasn’t quite right. Wondering if the fix, or trash it. Might go to my godson for experimentation. Another along those lines is the Short Sunderland. Just can’t be bothered to finish it. Also there will be some other bits I’ve lost interest in, such as an Airfix 1/72 Spitfire, an Airfix 1/72 Drakken, and who knows what else!

Was feeling fed up with modelling the other day, decided to jack it all in, but, for now, have stayed my hand. Instead, will dispose of 100 or so kits. Ignoring the 1/144 kits, that around a quarter of my stash. Obviously, there’s a financial implication, in that I’ve spent money, and now not using it, but, on the other hand, these are all kits I’m unlikely to build in the near future, or indeed, not so near future. Some could be sold on ebay I guess, maybe raise £500 ? It’s just a hassle with finding boxes, packing, etc. Still, would raise my ebay profile! The Airfix TSR.2 kits alone are worth £100, plus decals, resin aftermarket bits, etc.

Well, that’s it for now! Osher

Just a small change…

Oh boy! Did I really forget to blog for all of November, and most of October? Has it really been 2 months near enough since my last update? Oh well, a few minor things have happened. Let me see, hmmm… A couple of weeks ago I was offered, and accepted, a 2 year contract in the Caribbean. Two years in the Caribbean, oh, and pay doubling. Bit of a no brainer really. Except…I do have friends here who I will miss. Oh well, sometimes jigging up one’s life is needed!

Now I just need to get rid of the car. Anyone for an 18 month old Saab convertable, a limited edition, with all the extras, bar sat-nav? That’s going to be hard. Funny, also hard to say sayonnara to my models. Weird, but I guess it also means saying bye to the all projects I’ve had on the go.

At least my flat is being rented out, which is nice, but I need to sort things out with what I have around.

So, new job, new car (I get a company car out in Trinidad), a new home (company supplied), and maybe even a new woman. Basically a new life! Yep, just a small change…

Oh yes, all this happens in January, one month from now. Better get moving!

Mirror glass and motorways

Driving back last night, had a lovely diversion.  Yep, the M25 was closed from junctions 8 to 10, clockwise.  Did the authorities both giving advance notice?  Of course not!  Thus, I spent 1-2 hours sitting in traffic additional to what should have been.  Ah well, it happens, just so damn frustrating.

Could it get worse?  Yes!  I parked at up at 3am, but at midday when I went to the car, I found that the mirror glass had been stolen.  The mirror glass, just the glass, with no damage to the car.  A professional job, but so annoying.  At least it wasn’t malicious.  If it had been, I think I would have sold the car.

Ironed a week’s shirts, do I lead an exciting life!

A day to remember, or forget

When does a day start? At midnight? At sunset? Or even at sunrise? This morning, unfortunately, I saw the sunrise. Why? My finger (middle, right hand), was not allowing me to sleep. A lump on the side was causing me pain, and keeping me up. So, off to the hospital, for a presciption. 05:30, on the way to my local, I see no A&E, OK, so, Barnet General then. Naturally, I don’t wish to pay and pay, so parked a short walk away, and guessed I’d be seen soon. After all, it was 6am, and just a few people waiting to be seen. No such luck! Yep, I’d be seen at 11:30, if I was lucky. Amazing sight, people in pain, groaning, blooded clothes, and they’d been there for hours like that. What a pity the Tories are now saying they will keep the NHS.

Saw the F1 later, from Monza, good race, but oh dear, Alonso, what happened? Nice to see a Pole on the podium (can you imagine the headlines, if Kubica made Pole Position?), but oh dear, the man that Alan Jones described as ‘the arrogant Kraut’ might just win the championship. At least he’ll be gone soon.