Welcome to this week’s Musings!

—000—

Hooray, TIM’s Back From Holiday!

The good news is I’m back and fully rested. The bad news is I’m back and fully rested.  Either way I’m back so not only is my holiday over but so is yours.

Now while I was away internet access was, to say the least, patchy. I’d go as far as to say non-existent, it’s like that in the middle of the ocean apparently. As a consequence I have had much to catch up on, particularly in respect of what you guys have been posting. Over the last few days I’ve been trying to catch up with your posts, at a rough count I would say I had well over a hundred to look at. You have been busy, some more than others but between you all I had plenty to keep me occupied!  Apologies if I missed anyone.

Catching up with blog posts is only one thing I had to do. I had barely walked though the door when I was hit by a number of things which will require my attention over the next few weeks and beyond. More on that perhaps in future musings. Needless to say time to muse and paint is going to be patchy to say the least but hopefully I can keep both going for my sake if not yours!

Meanwhile, to mark my return, something for you to contemplate.

Is it possible to produce models teenagers think are cool?

I suppose I ought to explain the rationale for asking this question.

Over dinner one evening while on holiday my fifteen year old daughter announced out of the blue that modelling was boring and asked why I couldn’t do something more exciting and less embarrassing? Apparently having made friends with some kids on holiday she was called upon at some point to explain what her parents did. She wouldn’t reveal what she said I did do but she was embarrassed to say I did modelling. She would rather have died apparently, harsh but that’s teenagers for you.

I tried in vain to explain why I enjoyed the hobby and the benefits I got from it but I might as well have been talking to an alien. I don’t relate to her world at times and she does not relate to mine. I then remembered Harry Potter and reminded her of the many models we had seen when we went a couple of years ago to the Harry Potter Experience at Leavesden Studios, a stone’s throw from where we used to live before moving to Devon. I pointed out that the model of Hogwarts had bowled her and her brother over as one of the greatest things she had ever seen. I added to this just how much scale models had been used in films to produce great cinema effects well before the days of computer imagery .

After briefly allowing this to sink in she announced “Yes dad, but those models are cool, yours aren’t!”.

Oh the pain, the heartbreak, the … the… the… shit!

I can’t begin to explain the heartache which goes with her words. I felt I had lost my little girl, the girl who used to like what I did (well some of it).

After she left to see friends I asked She Who Must Be Obeyed where this change of attitude had come from. It seemed, according to he mother that one of her new-found friends was in fact a little bit more than just a “friend”. I asked what she meant by that and was informed that my daughter may have been trying to act “cool” having found herself enjoying a holiday romance with a lad named Harry.

What the f..k!

The following conversation with SWMBO ensued.

—000—

“When did that happen?” I asked.

“The second day of the holiday, now don’t go off on one he seems very nice”

“You’ve met him?”

“I’ve not met him but I’ve seen him and your daughter likes him. He’s sixteen, comes from a nice family and goes to Rugby school. It’s a private school and costs around £24,000 a year!”

“You new about this? Why didn’t anybody tell me?”

“Because we knew you couldn’t handle it and you’d go off on one and embarrass us all”

“That’s unfair, I’d never do that”

“If you say so dear!”

—000—

Embarrass them indeed!

Well the holiday is over and I can report that despite my best attempts at under cover surveillance I never did catch or meet the little bastard who was hell-bent on de-flowering my little girl. I know all about 16-year-old boys, I was one once albeit a long time ago. I’m also familiar with the upstairs downstairs class system and if he and his family think they can simply dump my daughter if she ends up pregnant they can think again. I’ll take great delight in using my modelling knife to remove his fucking scrotum!

I am however left with a dilemma. How to produce a model that a teenager thinks is cool?

At this point guys I need your input.  All ideas welcome!

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

Hooray! TIM’s Going On Holiday

Yes it’s that time of the year when “She Who Must Be Obeyed” and I, along with “She Who Wants To Be Obeyed But Is Only 15 So Does As She Is Told, Not” are off on our holidays.  As a consequence this is my last post for a couple of weeks or so.  You all deserve a good rest from me, my models and my rantings so make the most of it as I plan to pick up with the blog with a vengeance upon my return.

There is a small chance I might be able to check up on what you guys are up to while I’m away but with internet access likely to be minimal most of the time I can’t bank on it.  Hopefully you will all have been very busy which will give me plenty to look forward to reading in a few weeks time.

I Have A Plan!

OK, so it’s not much of a plan but it struck me that it’s all well and good having lists but a plan to go with them would be no bad thing.  Arguably it is essential.  Now I will give the matter more thought while I’m away but tentatively the plan, in no particular order, is:

• to complete all the Reaper miniatures that I currently have (an incentive before buying any more!)
• get ready for the Cornwall show the weekend I’m back from holiday
• decide what figures/models to take to Telford show (no rush as it isn’t until November)
• decide what models I want to do for the 2019 Plymouth show (the theme is 75 years on from D-Day) and buy the relevant figures
• decide what, if any, competitions and categories to enter and buy figures as applicable
• aim to do a neglected model or two every month

Sounds reasonable and dare I say achievable.

I’m feeling more organised by the day!

The Secret To Greater Harmony And Understanding?

Now because this is essentially a modelling blog I always try to make a link, even a tentative one, to the subject in my Musings. I’m stretching it a bit with this article but I wanted to leave you with something deep and meaningful to contemplate while I’m away.

As I’m sure you are all aware, opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.  In itself that is a good thing but not everyone sees eye to eye and when that happens problems occur.  No better example exists than in relationships.  Failure to see the other persons point of view is often a recipe for disaster.  The following is the best explanation I have ever heard for explaining the situation and what needs to be done to resolve it.  It was brought to my attention many years ago by a very old Wise Man (actually he was a Trainer at the Management Training college where I used to work).  It goes like this.

Draw the shape below and sit two people either side of it like this.

Person A

6

Person B

Ask Person A what they see and they will we see the number 9.  Ask Person B and they will say they see a 6.  From where they are both sitting they are both right, neither is wrong.  It’s all a matter or perspective.  The secret is this.  Until Person A or Person B gets of their arse, walks around to the other side and sees the situation from the other persons perspective they will always argue they are right and the other is wrong.  Only when one of them, preferably both, does this is there a chance for peace and harmony.

Easy really.

I should also point out that this Wise Man had a few radical ideas and approaches to training and education.  When he was in Hong Kong a course he was running had two delegates who simply just did not get on.  No matter what he tried they would not cooperate with each other.  He solved the situation by handcuffing them together for 18 hours.  Either they would find a way to get on or one of them would kill the other.  The story, a true one, ended with them becoming the best of friends!  Pity we don’t do this with some of our political leaders!

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

How To Deal With a Muddle?

For one reason or another this has been a difficult week.  Time spent modelling has been at a premium as has been the opportunity to type up any thoughts I’ve had, until now that is.  No single cause has been responsible for this, more a case of little things constantly coming along to disrupt any plans I might have had.  More like the drip, drip of water torture.  Uncertain as do the best way of dealing with things I decided to update my various lists in the hope some sense of perspective would lead to an orderly desk and an orderly mind.  Invariably I have tended to find that once I have gained some control things don’t look quite so bad.

The “To Do List”, if I ignore likely neglected models, isn’t looking to bad with 35 items on it.  An evenings work for Azazel but not for me.  More like several weeks, longer if things continue as they are for now (excluding going on holiday in just over a weeks time).  All in all not as onerous as I’d thought, particularly as my desk has been tidied too.

Then I got to thinking!

This is a hobby not a job and the time constraints are self-imposed.  I can always grant myself permission to be late if I need to so why on occasions do I feel a sense of pressure to complete something?  Is it the need to have something to blog about and have I become a slave to my own desire to publish twice a week on the same days and at the same times for fear of failing my own self imposed publication times?  Has my hobby become an obsession leading to an addiction where I cannot survive without it?  Above all how has tidying my bloody desk and updating my lists got me even thinking about such things in the first place?

It’s of concern but am I the only one who experiences such feelings and compulsions?  If I am then I’m beginning to think I might need psychiatric care!

“Wish Lists”, the Pros and Cons

The “To Do List” as previously mentioned isn’t looking to bad, the “Wish List” on the other hand is a concern.  Why, because unless I’m the only one that works and thinks this way, the wish list contains many of the things that I want to do now.  This in itself is a rather bazaar statement because the things on my “To Do List” were the things that were once on my “Wish List”.

Now as some of you are already aware that I am a list person, something I have mentioned on numerous occasions although I don’t have a list of the posts in which I have mentioned this (a list to do perhaps?).  Whilst I’m sure we are not all lists people I do feel certain that we all have a “Wish List”, one that’s either written down or in our heads.  The thing is I’m not sure now how good it is to have one.

Let’s deal with the positives first.

By maintaining a wish list I am ready and armed with ideas to give people for birthdays and Christmas presents (presumptuous I know).  I also eliminate the risk of forgetting something I have seen and would like to have if I write it down (I only need to remember where I put the list!).  It also serves as an ongoing ideas bank and prevents me from hitting the “what can I do now?” wall.  By having the list I can also think ahead as to how I might compose any given figure/model in a diorama or vignette by pre-planning and problem solving in advance.  Something I regularly do when walking Buddy the dog.

Now to the downside.

The idea of buying things when you see them, just in case they cease being available, has become my latest mantra.  The result of this approach is “Wish List” items get bought earlier than planned, arrive earlier than planned and invariably get done earlier than planned.  As a direct result, previous items which were once on the “Wish List” that had been purchased and were on the “To Do List” move lower down the “to do” pecking order.  The knock on effect of that is things that were once on the “Wish List” that were added to the “To Do List” only to later be relegated even further in the pecking order inevitably end up in the “Neglected and Forgotten Pile”.  Still with me?

I feel certain this is a dilemma we all share.  Why do I feel certain?  Well because if this wasn’t the case then none of us would be up for Azazel’s “Neglected Model” Monthly Challenges.

Is there a way around this?

Of course if I didn’t look in the first place then it wouldn’t be a problem at all.  The trouble is that right now I am on what for me is a creative role and it kind of makes sense to go with it in case it dries up.  Well that’s how I’ve convinced myself anyway.  Not buying the figures when you see them is also a risk I’m not willing to take, such indecision has cost me in the past.  Patience is a virtue but this is a hobby not a job  and therefore doing what you want to do next because it brings you pleasure overrides doing things in the order of purchase.  Not maintaining a “Wish List” risks  forgetting things I’ve seen and removes the fun of browsing and researching for ideas, a key component of the hobby as far as I am concerned.

So what is to be done?

In conclusion, I’ve decide to do nothing.  I shall just live with it and, whenever possible, seek to reduce the “Neglected and Forgotten” pile thanks to Azazel’s monthly challenges.

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this week’s Musings, a special supplement!

I had considered putting this article in my Modelling Memoirs series but because it didn’t really feature as part of my modelling journey I decided to leave it out.  There is, however, a military theme which I thought might be of interest to some of you.  So, at this point, if you are only interested in modelling articles, feel free to bail out, continue reading or just look at some interesting photo’s as you see fit!

Introduction

For those of you who may not be aware HMS Illustrious was until relatively recently the Royal Navy’s flag-ship aircraft carrier.  My son Tom and I were lucky enough to sail on this iconic vessel in April 2012 when it was on maneuvers between Portsmouth and Glasgow.  This is my story.

Background

In 2012 a neighbour of mine by the name of Steve McCarthy was the Chief Engineer on HMS Illustrious.  Steve’s twin sons, along with my son Tom, all attended Lamerton Primary School together with 42 other children (Lamerton primary is one of the smallest schools in England).  Being part of a small village the dad’s all got to know one another and periodically we would meet for drinks at the local pub, The Blacksmith’s Arms.  It was on one such occasion that Steve mentioned that HMS Illustrious was hosting a public relations event on board for families and friends.  More than that it was a long weekend trip from Portsmouth to Glasgow starting on a Thursday and ending on a Sunday.  If any of us were interested Steve said he would get more details.  I was up for it as was Andy the local Police Sargent and one of the other dads.

The next thing we heard from Steve was that the trip might now be in doubt.  Unbeknown to us HMS Illustrious , Lusty to the crew, was to be positioned outside London during the Olympics as part of the security arrangements.  The trip had now been designed as a full-blown naval and Royal Marines exercise.  The question of safety for members of the public had now arisen along with the administrative issue of public liability insurance.  It was looking like we would have to get our own insurance cover or we wouldn’t be able to go.  Despite our best efforts to get personal insurance cover nobody had ever heard the like before and we hit a dead-end!

As luck would have it a few days later Steve got back to Andy and I to inform us that the navy’s insurance would cover us and the trip was definitely on.  It would be taking place on Thursday 12th April through to Sunday 15th April.  As the ship was due to set sail early on the Thursday we would need to be in Portsmouth on Wednesday 11th April.  He was also able to confirm that my son Tom could go too.  Now the only problem I had with this was that the 12th April was my 30th Wedding Anniversary!  Some how I had to break this news to She Who Must Be Obeyed!

The good news was the trip was a couple of months off so I had plenty of time to prepare a feasible explanation.  I went through the whole gambit – “But we can’t disappoint Tom can we?”; “We’ll do something even better when I get home”; “I’m the man of the house I’ll do as I damn well please!” (not the best idea I ever had it must be said).  Fortunately Steve came up with the suggestion that if SWMBO drove Tom, Andy and me down to Portsmouth then he would arrange to take all of us including SWMBO and Jenny my daughter on a tour of the ship on the Wednesday before setting off on the Thursday.  A master stroke!  Well almost.  I was left in no doubt that I was in her debt, roughly to the tune of several hundreds of pounds being the cost of a necklace and earing set she had seen.

The trip was on!

Wednesday 11th April 2012

On the morning of Wednesday 11th April we drove down to Portsmouth and as pre-arranged met up with Steve at the relevant naval dock yard gate.  Greetings and pleasantries exchanged we unloaded our baggage and Steve showed us to our quarters.  Steve being a senior officer meant Tom, Andy and I benefitted from officer accommodation and dining too.  Brilliant!  We were then off for a quick tour.

Left to Right – On Deck – Steve (who is very tall at six-foot six), Andy, SWMBO (also known as Margaret), Jenny and Tom

Yours truly!

Up in the Bridge

The brief tour laid on specifically for the wife and daughter came to an end and we said our goodbye’s.  Next stop was Portsmouth city centre and a bite to eat and one or two drinks.  As much as I would have liked to have stayed on board the navy were in town and it was time to be ashore.

I have no idea what time we got back but I seem to recall seeing a pizza at some point during the evening and then again the next day.  Top tip – try to avoid drinking with sailors at all costs, especially if you are setting sail the next day in less than ideal sea conditions!

Thursday 12th April 2012 to Sunday 15th April 2012

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary dearest!

Fortunately my stomach settled down quickly, aided no doubt by a full English breakfast and a huge infusion of black coffee.  First up on Thursday morning was setting sail.

HMS Victory

All hands on deck to say goodbye to Portsmouth and hello to Mike Bannister.  Never heard of him?  Neither had I so I asked him what he did for a living thinking he was a guest of his son or someone  Turns out he was a guest of the ship’s captain and the Chief Pilot of British Airways’ Concorde fleet (retired)!

Mike Bannister is on the far right.

The next couple of days on board were all planned out.  Split into smaller groups we were taken round the ship and introduced to some amazing people. We also had plenty of free time and were able to wander around pretty much as we pleased but with helicopters buzzing about all over the place outside our time was spent there.

We checked out weapons …

We met some Marines …

Played with water …

But most of all we had fun with helicopters, lots of helicopters!

Going Up!

Tom Top Gun!

Now for Steve this was work but there were periods outside of meal times when he was free to join Tom, Andy and me and on these occasions we were given exclusive tours of areas others hadn’t got to see, namely the engine rooms.  We also got to hear some fascinating facts (the ship is very economical and can achieve a travelling distance of one foot to the gallon!) and climb up some ladders, lots of ladders to the tallest part of the ship from the inside.  It was on one of these occasions that I had an accident involving my wrist watch.

For my 40th birthday SWMBO bought me a Rotary gold watch.  An expensive item but priceless in its sentimental value.  It was when I was climbing up a ladder and a  good hundred feet or more up that I caught and broke the watch strap.  The watch came off and dropped like a stone to the floor way below.  I was seriously heart-broken.  Without further ado we started back down.  The outside casing was found part way down but only at the bottom did we find the internal mechanism.  To find it was incredible and had it not been for the amazing cleanliness of the ship we wouldn’t have done so.

I couldn’t be sure that we had found everything but back in the cabin I started to look at the various pieces.  On the face of it all the pieces had been found.  More than that the watch itself was still working!  A broken strap, a broken glass and a few dents but still working!  Unable to put it together myself I felt encouraged that all was not lost and a jeweller could put it right.

When we got home I took it to a local jeweller who managed incredibly to put it all back together save for a few “character” enhancing dents.  I then wrote to Rotary and told them the story for no other reason than I thought they would be interested, after all there can’t be too many stories like this one can there?  Well I can only assume my tale was common place as to this day I’ve never heard back from them!

Our tour with Steve down to the engine rooms

One of the propeller shafts well below sea level and with the sea just the other side!

Climbing up ladder after ladder.  It was here I broke my watch!

We finally arrived in Scotland on the Sunday.  A stunning day with a wonderful scenery backdrop.  Time to say our farewells, take the navy bus into Glasgow and collect our hire car to begin the 8 hour drive home.

With thanks to Steve!

The adventure of a life time and a truly unique experience.

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this week’s Musings!

The Weather – for better or worse?

Now before I get accused of  being a “whinging pom” and those in Australia start performing their rendition of Monty Pythons Four Yorkshire Men sketch by trying to out do me with their weather related tails let me point out that I am not complaining about the weather.  Personally I am enjoying it and my comments which follow are simply observational.  The simple fact is that this almost unprecedented period of glorious weather brings change with it and I thought I would highlight those which I have noticed.  For the most part, as with many things in life, there are pros and there are cons.

My fears of a few weeks ago that I would be spending much time cutting the grass have proven unfounded, the lawn hasn’t been cut now for three weeks.  With no rain it simply isn’t growing.  This time-saving has however been off set by cooking on the BBQ instead together with the constant need to water the pot plants and keep the weeds down.  Why do the weeds continue to grow when everything else appears to be at a stand still?  You don’t need to answer that.

Another positive has been being able drive with the top down on my car for the last two months, most enjoyable.  The down side is I’m ginger and the constant need to apply sunblock gives me the appearance of someone about to swim the English Channel rather someone driving into town.

Modelling too of course is not without impact.  It hasn’t been ideal having to adjust to painting early in the morning and late in the evening but then again my base work drying quicker has been an added bonus.  Overall the impact on modelling has been minimal but the same cannot be said for our garden wild life.

Fredie the fox who we saw throughout the winter has yet to be spotted this hot summer but more worryingly neither has Philip the Pheasant.  Shotguns have been heard ringing out so I fear the worst for both.  The heat is drying out the garden pond resulting in Drake and Jemima who are but occasional visitors seeking pastures new and although it’s normally a pleasure to see Kevin the Kingfisher the little bastard has taken to eating our goldfish as the poor little sods have less water to hide in.

Still on a final positive note I’m burning more calories walking the dog which is enabling me to consume more ice cream without feeling guilty.  Every cloud …

Fredie the Fox, Philip the Pleasant, Drake and Jemima and Kevin the bastard with one of my goldfish!

Thank Goodness For The Weird People

Have you ever wondered how you make bread?  No neither have I, well not until the other day but bear with me.

Now I don’t claim to be an expert but (thank you Google) apparently you mix flour, salt and yeast in a bowl then make a well in the centre, add oil and water to make a smooth dough and then bake in the oven.  OK, so that’s it simplified but the thing is we except that as perfectly normal.  Why wouldn’t you make it that way?  My point however is this.

If it wasn’t for a complete nutter, a weirdo who was capable of looking at things in ways others don’t and who wasn’t afraid to experiment with a mixture of unrelated objects we wouldn’t be eating bread.  What normal person would have looked at wheat or corn, thought to grind it down, add numerous other unrelated ingredients and then heat it all up?  You need to have people who can look at things in a different way and who are prepared to play around and experiment with things.  Who looked at iron ore and said I wonder if that melts, goes hard again and can be used to make weapons that I can kill people with?  The fact is we owe a great deal to people who in the eyes of many are odd or weird and so it is with modelling.

The modelling community, like many others I suspect, thrives off of people who can look at materials developed initially for another purpose (e.g. Milliput I believe was originally used by plumbers to plug leaking pipes) but useful in our hobby.  Then there are the various things made specifically for the hobby but like bread consist of unrelated items (e.g. brushes – sable/wood/metal).  Then we come to my current favourite.

At the Plymouth Model Show I got talking to Colin, the owner of a company called Charlie Foxtrot Models (worth checking out by the way, he does some great stuff) who it turns out only lives a few miles from me.  Colin and I got chatting about the MDF buildings he makes.  The ones he had on display didn’t appear to be made of MDF on close inspection mainly because they had been given a render to make them more authentic.  I asked him what he rendered his models with expecting to be told something like sieved grit or similar.  No, turns out he uses Chinchilla Dust bought from the pet shop!

So, curiosity has got the better of me which leads me to ask the following question.  What is the weirdest thing you have used, or heard used by others, for modelling? 

Meanwhile try to remember that the Weirdos help make the world go around so never knock a weirdo.

Be careful though, some are completely off their trolley!

—000—

Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

A Couple of Requests 

This wasn’t my original starting point for this weeks Musings but I received a couple of requests to do something and decided I’d do so here rather than as part of a separate post.

First up is a reply to Faust at Double Down Dice and his recent tool tips article.

https://doubledowndice.wordpress.com/2018/07/10/tuesday-tool-tips-13-organization/

I found the article an interesting one.  However much we like the actual doing side of things there is no getting away from the practical side of the hobby like storage and organisation.  In response I mentioned that I used business card plastic boxes bought cheaply on EBay or Amazon and he asked if I could include a couple of photos so here you are!

Second up, Azazel in response to my Plymouth Model Show write-up Musings No: 19, asked if I could post details of the models I’d entered in the show.

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2018/07/11/the-news-at-tim-mid-week-musings-no-19/

Not wishing to let the great man down details appear below.

Further details on “Afternoon Tea” can be found via this link –

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2017/11/05/battle-of-britain-raf-pilot-no-1/

Further details on “Fantasy Island” can be found via this link –

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2018/07/14/fantasy-island-featuring-nienna-a-28mm-reaper-elf-ranger-the-july-challenge/

She Who Must Be Obeyed

Those of you who follow this blog will be aware by now that when I refer to She Who Must Be Obeyed I am in fact referring to my good lady wife of 36 years, 39 years if you include the best 3 which took place before I committed to marriage.  I jest!  The thing is I realised the other day that SWMBO plays a significant role in my being able to spend time painting and modelling.

Just recently we were discussing how my son has women doing everything for him.  Now this has nothing to do with his medical condition, he is more than capable of doing things for himself, he just doesn’t have to do so.  His mum runs around after him, so does his girlfriend and her mother and the women he works with do the same.  I pointed this out to SWMBO who informed me that I was just the same.  I huffed and puffed and protested that she couldn’t be more wrong.

A few minutes later, the conversation having moved on she asked me “Would you like a cup of tea?”. I replied “I’d love one, just give me a minute to clean my brush and I’ll put the kettle on” to which she replied “No your OK I’ll do it, you carry on with your modelling”.

As she went off to the kitchen I thought to myself, she’s right the women in my life do run around after me too.  Then again she could be using it as an opportunity to slowly poison me!

“My Hero!”

A couple of weeks ago in Mid Week Musings No: 18 I mentioned the idea of occasionally posting details on a hero of mine, for example this could be a real person or perhaps a book character.  A couple of people made reference to the interpretation of the word “hero” so I checked out an online definition and came up with:-

A person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities

The chief male character in a book, play, or film, who is typically identified with good qualities, and with whom the reader is expected to sympathize.

(In mythology and folklore) a person of superhuman qualities and often semi-divine origin, in particular one whose exploits were the subject of ancient Greek myths.

George Mallory (1886  – 1924)

I would like to say that George Mallory was a childhood hero of mine but he wasn’t.  In fact I only came across him in 2009  when I read a book entitled “Paths of Glory” by Jeffrey Archer which was based on his life story.  The book captivated me from the off.  Quite why I had never heard of him until this point is a mystery to me.  So taken was I with him that I wanted to read more.  I bought several books about him, the most definitive account being “Into the Silence” by Wade Davis.

So who was Mallory?

Mallory from a very young age made a name for himself as a climber and was soon recognised as England’s best.  He married, had children and served his country during the Great War where he fought at the Somme.  An ordinary man who belonged to an incredible era, a period in history where the Union Jack flew over a quarter of the world’s surface and Great Britain ruled the waves.  The British Empire in its heyday.  The quest for people, supported by their countries, to conquer the unconquered and to map the unknown, was never greater.  Mallory’s desire was to be the first man to reach the peak of the world’s highest mountain, Everest.

Funded by The National Geographic his first expedition in 1921 ended in failure.  However, on the positive side a route to the summit had been identified and in 1924 a second expedition took place.  Mallory, along with Scot Sandy Irvine, went hard for the summit and were last seen within 245 metres of the top.  They were never seen again.

The question, which to this day remains unanswered is, did they reach the summit?

In 1999 Mallory’s body was found but to date, despite more recent attempts to do so, Irvine’ s body remains lost.  Finding Irvine’s body is considered to hold the key to the unanswered question.  It was Irvine who had the camera which would have been used to take pictures at the summit.  Kodak believe any film may well have been preserved due to the freezing temperatures and therefore if found it might well be possible to develop any images.  Only time will tell.

There is so much more to Mallory and this story.  If you want to know more then I cannot recommend more highly either of the two books I have mentioned.

So why is this guy my number one hero?  Well there are a few reasons.

The historical period alone is fascinating as are many of the other adventurers of the day.  The story itself is a true Ripping Yarn in every sense.  Then there is Mallory himself.  Tall, dark and handsome.  A soldier who served queen and country, survived the Somme and who was simply the best climber of his generation.  Having confronted the war and seen death on a grand scale the risk of dieing held no fear, the guy was by all accounts driven and fearless.  The endearing mystery of “did they didn’t they?” holds an element of romance to the point where do we even want to know if they made it or not?  There is also the incredible fact that if they did manage to reach the peak then they did so almost 30 years before Hillary.

Notwithstanding the above there is one other reason why I love this man.  Remember the years are 1921 and 1924.  Climbing gear in those days amounted to little more than hob nailed boots, a wooly jumper, a hat and a scarf.  When Mallory and his expedition set off it was to them little more than a jolly good walk!

We now live in a world where everything is exaggerated, people are called heroes for the least little thing (there are real heroes too of course).  I wonder what the world would have made of Mallory today?

To me the man was amazing and he is my number one hero.  An ordinary guy doing extraordinary things.  Put simply he just got on with things and possessed a can do attitude which I can only envy.

So far I have been unable to find what I think would be a suitable figure to model.  Perhaps one day one will turn up much like Mallory himself did back in 1999!

If anyone has any ideas on a figure(s) I’d love to know.

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Until next time.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!  This week is given over to a report on the 2018 Plymouth Model Show.

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The 2018 Plymouth Model Show

There are a few ways of reviewing the success or otherwise of the show, namely through the eyes of the club, other exhibitors, the visitors and the competitors.

From a club perspective there were two primary aims.  The first was to host a successful regional event, the second to raise sufficient funds to ensure future events take place and the Plymouth Model Club itself remains financially sound.  Both aims were achieved.

For the first time the event was held on the same day as Armed Forces Day.  It was a potential gamble but one which paid off handsomely.  The weather was glorious which brought with it a large turnout of people to Plymouth Hoe for the Armed Forces events being held there.  The majority of these visitors have to walk past the civic hall where the show was being held and it was hoped that this would generate a higher than normal footfall.  This decision turned out to be successful one and as a consequence the venue has already been booked for next year to be held once again on Armed Forces Day.

The success enjoyed by the club was matched by the trade sellers present on the day and the responses from other attending clubs and the general public were all extremely favourable.  The WW1 and RAF displays put on by the club particularly went down well which was appreciated as a lot of work went into both.

In addition to exhibiting models of all types, shapes and sizes the show also holds a competition for those club members who wish to participate.  There were 12 entry classes:-

1. Single foot or mounted figures up to and including 60mm
2. Single foot or mounted figures over 60mm
3. Busts
4. Aircraft up to and including 1/72 scale
5. Aircraft over 1/72 scale
6. Military vehicles & artillery up to and including 1/48 scale
7. Military vehicles & artillery over 1/48 scale
8. Dioramas including vignettes of 2 or more figures
9. Civilian vehicles
10. Ships, any scale
11. Miscellaneous – anything not covered above and including Sci-Fi and Fantasy, any scale
12. Juniors under 16

With over 25 clubs in attendance all the categories were well represented.  One thing which did disappoint me personally was the lack of smaller scale figures.  Category 1 was very much open to 28mm, 32mm and 40mm scale but the minimum scale on show seemed to be 54mm.  Despite the model show being open to all modelling genres the war gaming world was simply not represented.  I’m guessing that modellers wouldn’t be present at a gaming show either but it just strikes me as a shame because both have a great deal to offer each other.  That’s certainly my experience through this blog.

For my part I entered two figures under category 1 and a fantasy model in category 11.  With hindsight I ought to have entered a diorama into category 8 but those I’d brought with me were all featured in the WW1 display that the club put on and I simply forgot to go and get one!  I’ll do better next year.  That said the competition within the category was very high so I’m not sure it would have made a great deal of difference.

Notwithstanding the fact that I am a competitive individual my primary aim for entering the competition was to get a feel for the standard of my work.  Within my model club I’m doing very well but this show represents the next step up and I was keen to see what level I was at, not that I am in any doubt that I have much room for improvement.  I wasn’t present at the time of the judging and by the time I did get to view the models on the competition table many had already been removed by their owners.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had come third with my fantasy model and second and third with my two single figure entries.  Unfortunately I have no idea what models I lost to!

Now my success here has to be kept in perspective.  Whilst I was and still am delighted that my models were considered to be of a decent standard the reality is that many of the outstanding painters/modellers simply do not enter the competitions.  If they did I would not have had a look in.  Still, as SWMBO pointed out when I got home, you can only beat what’s put in front of you.  Furthermore, I now have a better idea than I did before of what I need to achieve if I want to win a competition at this show in the future.

All in all a great day.  I enjoyed myself, learnt a lot, got plenty of ideas and am motivated and looking forward to next years show.  Next year, assuming the classes remain the same, I aim to enter 1, 2, 8 and 11.  The other categories don’t interest me particularly and I fall just outside of the 16 year age group!

Photo’s below.

TIM

Welcome to this weeks Musings!

The Plymouth Model Show

Thank you to those of you who wished me well at the Plymouth Show.  It went very well but since the weekend I have had very little time to call my own.

I intentionally left a gap in this weeks Musings to insert an update but I haven’t had a chance to get my thoughts together or sort through the photo’s I took.  I will write a proper review for posting, hopefully that will be next week.

Reaper Miniatures

I suspect many of you will already be familiar with Reaper Miniatures, until quite recently I wasn’t.  I did do a Chronoscope figure based on the Tom Selleck character Quigley from the film Quigley Down Under …

https://theimperfectmodeller.wordpress.com/2018/03/30/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-28mm-quigley-down-under/

… but I didn’t check out their range in any detail at that time.  In fact the figure was purchased on Ebay which probably explains why that happened.

My discovery came about when I was looking for a figure for a model idea that I had for the July challenge.  Google images threw up some great looking figures which subsequently provided a link to a UK distributor for Reaper (Mighty Lancer Games).  This in turn led to a tour of the site and an initial purchase of a couple of figures.

I was very impressed with the figures when they arrived and loved the finer detail of the sculptures.  They offered a painting challenge that other figures often do not.  I think the fact that the figures were fantasy based helped.  Not being restricted to military uniforms or the dress code of a given period allowing a greater expression of creativity.  The same can be said when it comes to painting them, freedom to use the entire paint pallet.

I’ve since trawled through the site again and purchased another half a dozen white metal figures from the Reaper Dark Heaven Legends range, not my usual fare I grant you but expect to see the end results appearing on this blog in the coming weeks and months.

“My Hero!”

Heroes, my heroes.  I’m not sure what got me thinking about them but the subject popped into my mind and then decided to stay there for a while.  Long enough for me to give the matter some considerable thought.

The first thing that struck me was that my heroes, the people and characters I admire for one reason or another, can be found in a multitude of places.  For example, I have real life heroes from history, acting, music and sport and even fictional hero’s from Hollywood movies and literature including comics.

It then occurred to me that I could highlight some of these heroes in my weekly musings and even look to see which hero’s of mine could be turned into models.  Some are certainly available as figures, others I suspect wont be.  In any event it struck me as something that might be fun to do and, if others wish to participate, it would be nice to learn about other people’s heroes as well.

I’ll aim to do my first hero post in the next few week with others to follow as and when.  In the meanwhile I’ll leave you to try to guess who’s top of my list!

How To Name an Alien

Prior to the Plymouth Model show I was thinking about names and titles for dioramas, a topic I shall visit again in a future post, when my mind went off on a tangent.  For some reason I was reminded of something which did the rounds many years ago and that was “how to determine your alien name”.   It then occurred to me that for anyone who likes to name their figures or armies that this might prove useful.  Clearly it can be adapted in a variety of ways.

As best I can recall you take the first two or three letters of a Christian name, the make of a car and a prescription drug.  So, for example, you could have something like “Dav Mazda from the planet Warfarin” or “Jo Royce from Candesartan”.

Endless possibilities of course and some will work far better than others but when lacking some inspiration perhaps this approach might help?  In any event I thought I’d share it.

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Until next time!

TIM

Don’t Panic, Don’t Panic! (2006)

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I were travelling with the kids down to the New Forest in Hampshire, a couple of hours from where we were living in Hertfordshire at the time.  We were looking to buy a holiday home so we could spend more time together and with the kids.  Despite SWMBO being a stay at home mother my work life balance was shit, it simply didn’t exist.  If we could get away at weekends, some of them at least, I might get some life back.  It seemed a practical solution but it wasn’t meant to be.

On the journey down, and completely out of the blue, I had a major panic attack.  There is a lot more to this story and a great deal I could say about the subject of panic attacks but I’ll spare you the details as it gets to far away from my modelling journey.  I will say I’m happy to talk about it so if anyone wants to know more just let me know!

The doctor diagnosed work/life overload, prescribed some drugs and signed me off for a month which, as I was then due to go on holiday for three weeks, meant I would be off work for seven weeks.  Brilliant!

Two weeks into my time off I received a call from work. They wanted to know if I would be able to meet the Head of Occupational Health on neutral territory.  As Gail, the Head of OH, was a friend anyway I agreed.  Expecting an informal enquiry into my well-being and likely return to work I was completely taken back when Gail advised me that the company wanted to know if I would be interested in taking redundancy.  After 32 years service it came as quite a surprise.  In less time than it took to say “fuck me and take me to heaven and back!” I had said yes and signed the papers.

All I had to do now was tell SWMBO!

The financial service industry started shedding jobs way back in the early 1990s.  Redundancy, thanks to large pay offs had become the preferred way to leave an organisation.  It was an advantage being of a certain age and being in the wrong place at the right time.  Culling of staff became the norm and you got used to it.  As the years went by it held little fear for me, I was in a pretty safe position and allied to my ability to duck and dive I was able to carry on working and building my pension.  SWMBO was aware of this situation and I knew she’d be OK when I told her.

Now SWMBO never swears so when she said “you’ve done fucking what?” my male intuition led me to think that I may have misjudged her.  I decided to put off the announcement of selling up and moving to the country until after dinner when I thought she’d be more receptive!  

The year was 2006, I was 49 years old, had retired after 32 years with the bank and was relocating to Lamerton, West Devon, a village with no internet access or mobile reception in the middle of sodding nowhere.  SWMBO had come came around to the idea of a better life in the countryside for ourselves and our children, with cleaner air for Tom and his lung condition.  A no brainer.  No regrets.

Work Life Balance

One thing I discovered on my life’s journey is that one way to get your work life balance back is to ditch the work bit.  A major spin-off from this life changing event was getting my life back and having time to do the things I used to enjoy once again, like modelling.  Now was a good time to pick up the brushes once more.  So out they came and I started where I left off all those years ago.  I was rusty, very, very rusty but time and practice got me back to where I felt I had been.

After nine months off, which entailed moving, getting the kids settled, doing the new house up and trying to get up to speed with modelling, I thought it would be a good time to join a few clubs.  This back fired somewhat when everything I looked to involve myself in seemed to have a minimum age requirement of 70.  Where were the younger retirees?  Turns out they all went back to work so I decided to do the same, albeit part-time doing twelve hours a week.

Modelling wasn’t the main stay of my life, time spent with the kids was but I kept my hand in and was painting with some regularity.  I was still focused on the Old West and hadn’t really looked beyond 54mm miniatures from Andrea.  The company had gone from strength to strength and their range had expanded along with their prices.  Life happily for the most part plodded on, modelling too, until from out of nowhere I felt the need for a change.

Up to speed again with Andrea

Looking back now I think the catalyst was gearing up for full retirement and the realisation that the kids no longer needed me as much as I needed them.  Having reached the decision to set a deadline for stopping work (I’m calling it a day this August when I will be 61) I knew I needed to fill my time or I would be on the slippery slope to an early grave.  So, from around 2015 I started to get my head around the idea and modelling, not my only interest and activity by any means but in some ways the most important to me, and how I could do more.

I had reached the point where simply painting figures wasn’t proving to be enough.  I’d seen images on-line of people doing some outstanding base work and felt this was something I wanted to try to emulate.  Research, followed by more research, followed by purchase after purchase built up my collection of tools and materials and slowly I expanded my knowledge and creation of base work.  I was enjoying what I was doing but now found myself more absorbed by modelling landscapes than figures and wanted to do something bigger.

It was all very well wanting to construct larger models but where to put things wasn’t something I could simply ignore.  Believe it or not storage and size was something I pondered for a considerable time.  I wasn’t short of ideas but none worked.  Then I had a light bulb moment which illuminated the bloody obvious, drop down to a smaller scale!  Sometimes you cannot see the wood for the trees and this was very much the case here.

Some quick Googling led me to decide on 28mm as the scale for me.  I was blown away with the sheer amount of stuff available in this scale.  I had opened up a whole new world and couldn’t wait to get started!

Of the many sites I discovered at that time two stood out.  The first was Dixon Miniatures and the other was Sarrisa Precision.  Dixon’s had a large range which included Old West figures which they sold separately rather than in packs of 5 or 6 and Sarissa produced amongst other things lazer cut MDF Old West buildings.  What quickly followed was my first attempt at a building project.  A photos of the exterior appears below.  A full account together with more photo’s of both the exterior and interior can be found under the “Buildings Menu” of this blog .

I was pleased with how this one turned out and enjoyed painting the smaller scale figures.  I was also motivated by the idea of entirely making my own buildings from scratch and started on another journey of discovery which resulted in making several more buildings and 28mm dioramas set against an Old West back drop.  I was on a roll and enjoying modelling in a way that I had never done so before.

Plymouth Model Club (2017)

Things continued in this was for another couple of years until I got it in my head to join a modelling club if I could find one.  By now I was in my late fifties, my kids were more or less independent and I needed, because She Who Must Be Obeyed had told me to get out from under her feet, something else to get me out of the house.  The search for a club didn’t prove to be as easy as I thought it would be.  If there was a directory of clubs in existence then I couldn’t find one but then, thanks to numerous search variables, I discovered that my nearest club was 18 miles away in Plymouth.  I took the bull by the horns and went along.

I know it sounds silly but I was more than a little nervous.  I simply had no idea how my work rated along side that of others.  I wasn’t sure if I needed to take anything with me but in the end I decided to take along a couple of figures just in case they wanted to see the sort of thing I did.  As it happened it was the clubs monthly internal competition night and I was made welcome and encouraged to get one of my figures from my car and join in so I duly obliged.  At the end of the voting my figure was voted best model on the night and almost instantly I felt accepted into the group.  I’ve attended ever since and managed to pick up a few awards along the way as well as a few good modelling tips here and there.

At the time I joined the group, just over a year ago now, they were discussing plans for their annual show.  With 2018 being the 100 year anniversary of the end of the Great War and of the formation of the RAF they were keen for everyone to produce some models for a show display.  Having only just joined I felt I ought to at least provide a model of my own.   Besides, I felt a departure from the old west might be a good thing.

Once again I was blown away by the amount of figures available and before I knew it my first WW1 model had been completed.  More than that I had loved doing it.  I had enjoyed the research, the period and simply doing something different.  More models in this period followed resulting in my WW1 Timeline Project.  I’d also gotten the taste for doing something different and suddenly I was into anything and everything that took my fancy.

WordPress

At the same time that I joined the club I decided I had decided to test the water and create my own blog.  It was something I had thought about doing for a while but kept putting off, mainly because I didn’t think I had anything worth saying that would be of interest to others.  I think my initial success at the modelling club gave me the final push to eventually get started although I’d pretty much decided I would give it a go for myself anyway.  If nothing else it would serve as a simple means of documenting my work.

TIM was born in March 2017 when I posted my very first article.  Why the title TIM?  When I was trying to learn more about modelling and painting I turned to YouTube for guidance.  There were, and still are, some great tutorials on there, some by relative novices and some by true professionals.  The professionals are great but in truth they, through no fault of their own, nearly put me off of continuing with the hobby.  I got it into my head that I would never ever be as good as them and so what was the point?  Foolish I know but nevertheless that’s how I felt at the time.  I was on a downer and briefly lost my mojo.  When I snapped out of my self-imposed misery I realised it was better to take part and be the best you can be even if that wasn’t perfect.  I decided it was OK to be “Imperfect”.

My first post was published on the 22nd March 2017.  A little later I received my first “Like” and a little after that I received a notification that I had my first follower – somebody by the name of Imperial Rebel Orc!  Of all the people in the world …

It’s hard to put in to words the significance of having my first follower.  I was energised and motivated but above all someone was interested in what I had to say and what I was doing.  Powerful stuff and with every follower, comment and like I have received since my motivation to continue remains (so it’s your fault!).  I think I must spend as much time dedicated to my blog as I do to actual modelling, possibly more!

So that’s pretty much my modelling journey to date.  Hope you enjoyed the ride!

I guess the big question is where to go from here?

To Infinity and Beyond!

My first aim is to ensure there is at least another 30 years of memoirs to report!

Continuing with the blog is a no brainer.  I cannot get over how much I have enjoyed blogging!  It’s a niche interest and I’m never going to have a mass army of followers but I really do appreciate the ones I have.  I enjoy the banter with those who wish to participate and I’m encouraged in so many ways by the things you do and the things you have to say, be it modelling specific or life in general.  So brace yourself for more future posts!

This blog wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for modelling.  One interest simply fuels the other.  If the blog has any chance of being interesting, to me let alone anyone else, then the content needs to be varied and therefore my models need to be too.  Quite what I will do remains to be seen but I am no longer fixated on one subject.  I will always return to the Old West, there’s nothing like your first love but there is a whole world out there to explore and that’s what I intend to do.

Thanks for reading!

TIM

OH, one final photo To conclude the article!

Yours truly with SWMBO – August 2017

(taken just before she pushed me overboard!)

Welcome to this week’s Musings!

Exterminate! Exterminate!

I don’t know if I saw the first ever episode of Doctor Who when it was first broadcast in 1963 but I certainly got into it when I was very young.  As a six-year-old it was quite a scary programme made all the darker because it was broadcast back then in black and white.  As best I can recall it was my first exposure to Science Fiction and as such it was a fascinating programme.  For a good number of years I loved SiFi as much as I loved the Old West but then I fell out of love with the genre.

My interest was rekindled many years later by the likes of Alien, Aliens, Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (other titles in both film series served only to devalue the first couple of films in my opinion).  I never got into Star Wars with the same level of enthusiasm that others did, oddly it sort of passed me by, although I understood its appeal and the impact it had on everything that followed.

So why did I fall out of love with SiFi for a period?  Story lines played a part for sure but overall I think it was more about the alien(s).  They simply weren’t believable to me.  

Now in my opinion the greatest Alien ever is the Dalek.  I’m sure this statement will divide opinion so I’d better explain why.  The answer is a straight forward one.  A Dalek did not and does not conform to a humanoid form and neither, by modern standard’s, is it solely a product of CGI.  Too many films and programs way back then featured an Alien which was no more than a chap in a costume (much the same applies today).  A nice costume but a costume all the same.  Yes, I know there was a bloke inside driving a Dalek but a Dalek doesn’t look like a bloke in a costume and that for me was the key.  If Outer Space is truly infinite then why did (and still do) the writers and film makers think nothing could exist outside of a basic human form?

Fortunately, the figures produced by the model industry appear to have no restrictions on imagination.

The Future of Modelling?

I’m not entirely sure why but the other day I found myself wondering what the future held for our hobby.  I think what got me started was when my son Tom said that Hollywood rarely produces anything these days which is truly original.  Most films being the next in a sequence or a remake of something made a long time ago being presented to a new audience.  I’m not sure how true this actually is but I do feel there is something in it.

So, where does our hobby go from here?

New games will certainly come out but will they truly be original or simply a variation on an existing theme?  Wild West Exodus for example is relatively new but the Old West theme certainly isn’t.  So has everything been done?  I’m guessing it hasn’t but I cannot get my head around what lays ahead.  A small fortune awaits those that can!

Almost certainly new tools and modelling materials will become available but right now I cannot see what’s missing that is actually needed.  I’ve no doubt someone will think of something but if they do is there a danger that whatever it is it may remove another element of modelling creativity?

What about figures, where do they go from here?  The obvious one to my mind is 3D printing and being able to design your own detailed figures.  Conversions could become a thing of the past, you’d just create your own unique miniature and print and paint.

Can paints be improved?  Brushes too?  If so how?

Change is inevitable but for now, other than 3D printing,  I can’t get my head around the future.  Time of course will reveal all.  Perhaps this weekend’s Plymouth Show will provide some clues.

The Plymouth Model Show

This weekend it is the annual Plymouth Model Show, the largest show in South West England.  Not a huge show relative to those which take place elsewhere in the country but significant for the area.  The show will be the second I’ve attended (I went last year as a member of the public) but the first time as a member of the club and as an exhibitor. I’m looking forward to it.  Hopefully there will be plenty of excellent models on display and an opportunity to pick up a few tips.

The show is organised by the club I joined a year ago so this will be my first involvement.  Unlike other shows I’ve attend this one is not just about turning up on the day to display some models but also about the set up and everything else that goes with it.  It will be a busy weekend but a fun one I hope to.  Just as long as I can find somewhere to park!

On a personal level I couldn’t be less organised right now.  This is not like me but then again domestic issues abound and my time has been stolen.  I’ve been taken in directions I’ve not wanted to go in or been able to control.  That’s life.

Tomorrow I need to seriously get my finger out.  Although the show is on Saturday the setting up process begins Friday and so far I’ve done nothing!

I’ll let you know how it goes!

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Until next time.

TIM