Filler

Yes, it's the filler stage of the Hurricane build. Wings on, horizontal stabilisers on. I thought/hoped that I might not need filler, but both wing roots needed filler, the port wing more than the starboard. Also, some filler was needed where the lower wing meets the rear fuselage, along with a little at the extreme nose. So that was done, and, happily, light sanding seems to have smoothed the result without removing the very nice surface detail - a real strength in this Academy kit.

That took me, this evening, to the Volkes filter (which, try as I might, I just cannot remember which kit it came from). Unsurprisingly, this will need faring in. So, the current state of play is:

Looking at the Hurricane, I was struck, yet again, by its elegance, its perfection of design. The Hawker stable, of course, was renowned for this - from the Fury to the most elegant jet fighter ever, the Hunter.  The   design business came to mind again, when I was flicking through a periodical that I received the other day:

The Antiquarian is, as it says, the newsletter (usually of around 70 pages) of the fantastically Enlightenment  sounding Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society, of which I am a member. It is a most active society, and the beauty of  its publications is the eclectic nature of the articles - from flora conservation to sea battles via vernacular architecture and stone axe heads. One can imagine an enthusiastic curate from the High Victorian period settling down to a good read. But, my point was to be (remember, it does say 'ramblings' at the top of this blog) about the image on the current issue of The Antiquarian. It is from a single-decker Leyland Olympic bus, but designed to commemorate the last Olympics in London - the 1948 'Austerity' Olympics. Look at this bit of public transport, vehicular, and cultural history in detail:

What a striking combination of symbols, and what a strong design, perfectly matched to its task of badging a workhorse and commemorating an event. Then think of the utter banality, the vapid idiocy of the designs that   are associated with this coming Bread and Circuses Olympics. Another thought - Roger Bannister ran the first under four minutes mile on a cinder track, had a shower and went back to studying for his medical degree. He was helped in that endeavour by a single pace setter - Chris Brasher. They both had sport in something like a proper perspective, and both made actual, useful, practical contributions to society. By contrast ... well, see any newspaper or colour supplement and one will find plenty of athletes who declare that they think of nothing but sport, and explain the importance of being supported by droves of hangers on. Bah.