China’s expanding Navy

This isn’t good news.  The South China Sea is already a flash point.

2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 5,700 times in 2015. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

China v. Japan

Given the enmity between the two, if the Middle East doesn’t flair up first, this is where I think the balloon will go up.

High tech

Light being turned into matter.

A deploy-able laser weapon.

More decals I want

Yes, I have a sickness.

This is a terrible idea

Giving the IRS more power is like giving a teenage boy liquor and the keys to a car.

Magazine review: Scale Modeling Quarterly (Summer 2015)

I will admit that I’d never heard of this magazine before.  Faux-Canadian modeler Jim Bates got a copy and passed it on to me after he read it.  I will admit to being surprised at yet another modeling magazine coming to the market.  Print is supposed to be dying.  However, with digital layout and printing, magazine production costs have fallen to such a level that more and more magazines are coming out.

This magazine is a general interest magazine, meaning that it covers all subjects and all scales.  This issue has articles on the PT-19 in 48^th scale, a tour of the Boeing Washington production facility, armored tank turrets as pillbox dioramas and a very nice 72^nd scale PZL-24.

The articles are well written and well-illustrated.  The PZL article is particularly good.  However, I must say that I just didn’t find enough to make me think that I have to add this title to my monthly magazine purchases, even with its very reasonable $7.99 price per issue.  That said, I did scan and save the PZL article for when I get around to doing one.

Finally coming home

A nice story here. Glad to see these servicemen finally at peace.

Magazine review: RT Vol.37 #4 (Winter 2015)

Christmas came early this year as the Winter volume of RT came in the mail on Friday, December 18th, 2015.  Since I had a getaway weekend planned, I took the issue with me, assured that I would find the time to get it read.  In short, it is another good issue.  The guys from the Great White North continue to put out the finest volunteer modeling magazine out there.  This issue wasn’t quite as good for me as it had less 72nd scale content than normal, yet, like all issues of RT, I read every article, not just the ones that involved 72nd scale.  I know I have said this before, but RT reminds me of what the early FineScale Modeler used to be.

I know I’ve said it before, but if you aren’t a member of IPMS/Canada, you should be.  Join today!

YouTube modeling

Modelers today have so much more than when I rejoined the hobby in the early 80s.  The access to techniques and instruction on improving your modeling are available everywhere.  Modeler Mike Baskette recently pointed me to theses YouTube videos.  While I am an aircraft modeler, I think the techniques can be cross-applied.  I recommend these videos.