This is neat

I really like this video.  (H/T to Tim Blair)

Iowahawk does it even better

The genius of satire does it again.  If you believe, like I do, that this Global Warming Global Climate Change Global Climate Instability is just a bunch of hooey, then you are going to love this.

Better F4U-1D photos

Here are two better photos of the Tamiya 72nd F4U-1D that I recently finished.  I want to thank MMCL member Randy Fuller for his photography tips.

F4U-1D Front view

and

F4U-1D Side view

Russian Tanks

Here is an interesting set of photos.  Anybody know what model the tanks are?  Look like T-72s to me.

June wrap-up

Well June is over.  We had 612 visitors in June. This was down slightly from May, but was still the second most number of visitors to this blog in any month.  I did manage to get some sort of post up nearly every day in June.  That seems to have little effect on the traffic numbers.  As I said before, I clearly don’t understand any of this.

P.S. It turns out that this is the 200th post for this blog.  That is 200 posts in about 12 1/2 months.  Not bad.

Happy Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to all our friends from the Great White North.

Thoughts from a Blitzbau novice

Having just completed my first Blitz, I thought I’d take a minute and post my thoughts and impressions of the blitzbau concept.

In general, I found the experience to be very rewarding. I think one of the benefits is the ability of the blitz to get a modeler back in the “groove” of modeling, if he or she has been struck with AMS. Going in knowing that you are building a model with certain limitations due to time frees the modeler from worrying about they should stop and fix or that minor issue that might grind them to a halt in a more extended build. In the future, I would not try a “man-style” 24 hr build but would break it up into two 12 hours sessions over two days. One of the advantages of doing that is the ability to have part of the “down time” between sessions work for you by allowing paint or decals to be drying on the model. Also, when you realize that you can finish a model to a standard you find acceptable in 24 hours it will cause you to reflect on why you might be spending some much time on other builds without making progress. In short, I wouldn’t want to build every kit as a blitz, but I recommend doing one if you can.

Now a practical point or two. First, if you hope to complete the build on time, selection of the kit is key, especially if you build as slowly as I do. The Tamiya F4U-1D was a great choice for me as it had great fit so that there were no construction issues to slow me down. When picking a kit you should also carefully select your markings. This was my downfall. If I had selected one of the other sets of markings for this model it would have been completed with time to spare. On the advice of some more experienced blitzers, I examined the instructions in detail well ahead of the build. I planned sequences to get things constructed in such a way that I could build, and especially paint efficiently. This called for building out of the order called for in the instructions. Finally, you gotta have one of these.

Hydra

I have four airbrushes and the Hydra (pictured above) allowed me to paint using several different brushes and thus saved me time by not having to stop and clean my airbrush between color changes, etc.

 As always, thoughts and comments are welcome.

Blitzbau

Sorry I missed a day or two of posting.  I’ve been invovled in a Blitzbau (Lightening build) over on the Unofficial Airfix Modelers Forum.  You can see the build here.  I had a great time.

Here is the result.

F4U-1D VMF-312

I kinda admire this guy

The story is here.  Now I am not suggesting we need a bunch of correspondence school lawyers running around, but the ABA stranglehold on the legal profession isn’t healthy.

Ummmm.

Ok, this story temps me.  I could comment on Supreme court justices, or women drivers, or I could make a joke about “breaking news”.  Instead I’ll just note the story without comment.