Hobbyboss Macchi Mc-200

I am working my way through the WW2 Macchi fighters, having completed the Hasegawa Mc-202, and today’s completion is another step on that road, the Hobbyboss Mc-200. I also have an Italeri Mc-205 in the paint queue currently.

As with many Hobbyboss kits, this is a pretty simple build with an overly sparse cockpit. This is a bit of a downside given that it has an open cockpit, but I rarely try to superdetail an interior so it really was not an issue.

I did have a bit of an issue with the painting, however. It’s funny, when you see it on the display shelf it doesn’t look too bad, but in the close-ups (such as the completion shots below) the paint looks very splattery and indistinct. I still haven’t mastered a thin airbrush line for mottling, but this seems a bit of a step backward. Still, it can function as a 4’ standoff model (given that it is best viewed at roughly 4’ away).

Decals came from the kit, with a masking set by PMask. Not much else to tell, just another model that I’ve never built before to add to the completed queue.

This is completed aircraft #514 (12 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 2 vehicle for the year 2019), finished in March of 2019.

Airfix Tilly Standard truck (from RAF Support set)

Before I fell into the April health crisis, there were two completions that I had no chance to write up. This is the first, the standard Tilly truck from the Airfix RAF support set.

There really isn’t much to say about construction. It is a simple, well engineered kit with only those vices associated with 1:72 vehicles. Minimal decals and a relatively simple paint job too.

I still have a couple of models unbuilt in that particular support set. I even picked up a photoetch set to detail the included bicycle. Which is about ¼” long by the way.

The biggest crisis with this kit happened after it was complete. I came into the hobby room one day and found that Kirby, our younger pug, had it in his mouth! The damage was repairable, and the truck seems to have survived its conflict with a giant prehistoric pug monster.

This is completed vehicle #26 (12 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 3 vehicles for the year 2019), finished in March of 2019.

Paint prep (Hurricane, Mc-205, A-4, MS-406, I-16)

As I slowly crawl my way out of the post-spring-show health crisis, I have somewhat forced myself to do a few modelling actions. These mostly qualify as paint prep, though I’m not sure when the paint session itself will take shape.

Much came under masking wheel wells. There were basically three types done: The Arma Hurricane, Italeri Mc-205, and the Blue Angels Fujimi A-4. They will be moved down to the garage to wait for the compressor to fire up.

The other two were masking jobs as well, this time for camo. I’m now ready for the final camo coat (of X115 Field Green) to be applied to the Hasegawa MS-406. And I’m working on masking the upper surfaces on the Hasegawa Polikarpov I-16.

Content production might get a bit erratic this week. I received a note from the main cardiologist on Friday (after close of business in their office) which sounded dire but provided very little information. But until the paint session happens, I have two items to write the completion documentation for. Plus there are new models to add to the construction queue - trying to stay optimistic here. They are all modern Soviet fighters of all things, not my normal area of interest. 

Mensis horribilis

Mensis horribilis. Actually more like 6 weeks and still not completely done yet.

It all started on the Wednesday after the Spring Show. Since I’m not working any longer, I don’t circulate amongst the public and therefore don’t pick up the normal immunities that almost any schoolkid will have. I knew there was a possibility that I would get struck at the show since it was 10 hours of talking to the crowd, selling, and shaking hands. But this was one of the worst and longest-lasting colds I’ve seen in many many years.

But was that it? I had a bad labwork result that showed fluid buildup around the heart. Is that where the coughing was coming from? Or all the crap being dumped out the back of my sinuses? To make things worse, we got the late spring phenomenon of all these little tufts of plant material (cottonwood?) floating in the air. We all joke that it looks like it is snowing, but the stuff actually forms into drifts when it blows into a curb or house side.

So cold, cardiac event, or seasonal allergies? Whatever it was, it went on for 6 freaking weeks. I felt just awful. The airbrush remained silent, I didn’t even venture into the workbench room, and I didn’t even read much during this interval. Just felt like sleeping or at least laying in a darkened room.

Then, just to provide the cherry on this horrible sundae, my cardiologist decided I might benefit from a discussion with a heart failure specialist inside his practice. Practically the first words out of his mouth were “heart transplant” and how I should get ready for it. I admit to being taken rather aback by this. None of the cardiology team ever mentioned this as a possibility, and I’ve had 3 straight years of “abnormal but stable” echo-cardiograms. It’s a bit like going in for jock itch and being told that the solution is a sex change operation. Time to back this bus up for a minute. I’ve been trying to get my cardiologist’s take on it, but he is not responding to emails. I hope this isn’t another example of one doctor refusing to contradict another one. I’m old enough to remember the first heart transplants. Even after 40+ years of research, it still strikes me as a last resort. Am I overthinking this?

So that why there has been no content for the last 6 weeks. I am feeling a bit better, and have 2 models to write up completion reports for. Plus there are lots of items backing up the paint queue now, mostly waiting on me to finish masking of one type or another. And, of course, I have bought some additional models and stuff (masking, paint, books). When has that ever stopped one of us?

But it has been a pretty depressing 6 weeks. Definitely a visitation from Churchill’s “black dog”. And if one of the greatest and most successful men of the 20^th century can suffer from this sort of overwhelming depression, I guess I shouldn’t assume that I am immune. So bear with me as I get my content generation back on the rails and see if I can resolve the potentially rather disastrous health issues.

And on another note entirely. 

2019 IPMS-Seattle Spring Show (pt 5 of 5)

Now for the last group of 1:72 models from the show. Armor, sub, sci-fi, miscellaneous. Remember that if you want to see the entire album of models, the link is: https://postimg.cc/gallery/dxaq9lsc/

That's all folks. I'll post stats from the show when I get them. 

2019 IPMS-Seattle Spring Show (pt 4 of 5)

OK, time for some miscellaneous items that caught my eye during my brief tour of the contest tables. 

2019 IPMS-Seattle Spring Show (pt 3 of 5)

Now, for the jet fans among you, a selection of the contest's propless subjects.