Punkawallah
Über Member
All ‘fur coat and no knickers’, eh? Let’s hope their safe is more prudently constructed :-)
Andy's Modelmaking Misadventures
- Thread starter Andy in Germany
- Start date
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All ‘fur coat and no knickers’, eh? Let’s hope their safe is more prudently constructed :-)
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
After much effort the bank of Ascension is taking shape, such as it is.
After feeling rather smug at being able to make the window and door prints fit as designed, I realised that I now have to paint the rest of the frontage to match the off-white I used for the window surrounds. I’ll also need to extend those corner stones around the um… corners, so that it’s at least pretending to be built of solid stone.
As usual this would be much easier if I actually planned ahead instead of trying to sort out problems as I go along…
Reynard
Guru
- Location
- Cambridgeshire, UK
You mustn't forget the swanky bronze or brass plate by the doors that's engraved with the word "BANK" 
And a night deposit safe thingy.
Looks pretty decent, though.
And a night deposit safe thingy.
Looks pretty decent, though.
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
The interior will be a future project, and a very solid safe will be part of it. Much to the delight of this chap...
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
You mustn't forget the swanky bronze or brass plate by the doors that's engraved with the word "BANK"
And a night deposit safe thingy.
Looks pretty decent, though.
Hadn't thought of that, thanks.
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
The Ascension Savings Bank is now open for business, despite being an empty shell at the moment; that seems strangely appropriate.
More pictures and stories here: https://korschtal.wordpress.com/2024/04/27/open-for-business/
Punkawallah
Über Member
It can’t be empty - a bank always has an interminable queue for the only teller - it’s a rule of physics.
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OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
Time for another story from Ascension Island...
It’s 1937 and a perfect morning on Ascension Island. The sun is shining, and a southern wind is blowing, fortuitously bringing the smell of the sea and carrying away the whiff of several hundred toilets without mains plumbing.
In the capital of the Island, Georgetown, the tourists are waking, the newspaper boys are delivering the early editions, and the 40 Elephants gang is robbing a bank.
Again.
Will the gang successfully escape the Island with their loot, or will the Royal Navy Air Service police stop them once again?
Full story here: https://korschtal.wordpress.com/2024/05/04/jewelled-tome-iii-the-heist/
It’s 1937 and a perfect morning on Ascension Island. The sun is shining, and a southern wind is blowing, fortuitously bringing the smell of the sea and carrying away the whiff of several hundred toilets without mains plumbing.
In the capital of the Island, Georgetown, the tourists are waking, the newspaper boys are delivering the early editions, and the 40 Elephants gang is robbing a bank.
Again.
Will the gang successfully escape the Island with their loot, or will the Royal Navy Air Service police stop them once again?
Full story here: https://korschtal.wordpress.com/2024/05/04/jewelled-tome-iii-the-heist/
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wiggydiggy
Guru
Rather than start Wiggys Modelmaking Misadventures I thought I'd hijack yours if that's ok.
I'm casually getting back into modelling, I'm not much of a painter but the kits that don't require paint do attract me.
Freedom Gundam
Ok is a Super Deformed version of a giant robot but it took ages to put together, quite happy with this first attempt.
And I've spotted my next project, in Halifax there's a model shop which as well as the usual tanks etc I spotted Wave Crest ship model from The Madalorian. Shop was closed when I was there but I'll be going back to enquire.
At the back next to a Y-Wing fighter.
I'm casually getting back into modelling, I'm not much of a painter but the kits that don't require paint do attract me.
Freedom Gundam
Ok is a Super Deformed version of a giant robot but it took ages to put together, quite happy with this first attempt.
And I've spotted my next project, in Halifax there's a model shop which as well as the usual tanks etc I spotted Wave Crest ship model from The Madalorian. Shop was closed when I was there but I'll be going back to enquire.
At the back next to a Y-Wing fighter.
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
A pity you aren't closer; I'd be fascinated to paint that and weather it like it had been in a skirmish or two...
classic33
Leg End Member
Closed on Wednesdays.
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
German railways are enthusiastically digging up several sections of railway line between here and the family, so last weekend I found myself stranded in my ‘work’ apartment.
I find that on these weekends I have to do something vaguely creative to avoid the vicious cycle of not doing much, getting lethargic, not doing much and suddenly realising it’s Sunday evening and I haven’t even washed the dishes.
I decided to repaint and modify this model for an upcoming project with Elder Son. I gave it what for using a drill, and the model fell to bits in a mostly convenient manner...
It was Friday evening; I realised that if I primed the model immediately, it could dry overnight and repaint, rebuild and then modify it by Sunday evening.
I took the
Then went online to research colours and promptly got lost down a rabbit hole…
The next morning, reality hit; I had to fix one of my bikes, and I had a window at the workshop between midday and 2pm to do this. (A simple project had got out of hand and I needed to do some serious rebuilding; do you see a pattern here?) Also, there was that washing up, along with a fair bit of other housework if I didn’t want to disappear under a pile of dirty laundry.
Okay, so dial back a bit and just do the repainting. After the rabbit hole on Friday I’d decided the model should be light yellow, a decision I later regretted because as you probably know, yellow doesn’t cover other colours very well. I ended up giving the model a wash of yellow, doing some housework, then poking the fresh paint to see it was dry. Eventually it was midday, so I left everything in a general soggy mess and went to the workshop to sort out my bike.
I’m sure a sales brochure would describe the result as “gold” or “cream” but in all honesty, it was school dinner custard; not quite cream, more of a dirty yellow colour. The seats were a frankly indecent shade of crimson and the bonnet was silver, just because I’d seen a photo of a car with an unpainted bonnet and liked the look. Anyone planning to tell me that’s not accurate; just wait until you see the modifications.
I took it outside to spray with varnish so it could dry overnight, and then had to leave all the windows open for ten minutes because the wind had blown the fumes into the apartment.
Sunday was weathering day. I’ve mentioned before that my process for this tends to overdo things, panic, and then start again. However, the model had to be primed by midday so I could rebuild it in the afternoon, so mistakes had to be left or at best, toned down a little bit, although I did manage to clean the worst of the dark ink wash off the bonnet.
The varnish went on in the early afternoon, which tells you a lot about how much time I waste dithering and changing things, then after a couple of hours I could finally glue the model back together.
I’m calling that a success; I’d achieved what I’d set out to do and can now start planning the silly part of the project.
Punkawallah
Über Member
And now I find myself strangely conflicted. I think the ‘silly part’ might be one of those things man was not meant to know, but curiosity is getting the better of me . . .
OP
OP
Andy in Germany
Guru
- Location
- Rottenburg am Neckar
This may give an idea of what is to come:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/294851/maximillian-1934
the real silliness is that I'm trying to make all the "extra" parts from bits of card, wood, and brass, which is proving interesting.
Punkawallah
Über Member
Yup. Definitely ‘not meant to know’ :-)