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.

Drawing breath

I have a day off work today, so I can draw breath. In England, we have had a surprising level of rain over the last month, which has caused much ironic comment as the rain started as soon as the profit-maximising water companies, and the panic-inducing government announced that we were suffering from a drought. The effect has been to induce the newly reborn plants in my garden to flourish, though they could now do with some warming sunshine. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to sit quietly in my little garden due to work and rain, but, this morning the rain stopped, and I am drawing breath. It is all very pleasing:

The patch above contains Japanese anemones (bottom left), which are delicate, graceful plants which produce fine, pale flowers on long stems towards the end of summer. Also pictured are the burgeoning leaves of foxgloves, hollyhocks, tuberous thistles, and, lower right, the monstrous growth that will be a spectacular verbascum. Just below this patch is the edge of a section of 'decking', put there by previous owners of the house. I wouldn't have put decking in myself, but I like to work around previous endeavours:

The plant is aquilegia, another delicate flower-bearer, and, something I approve of, a good self-seeder. The name refers to the spur that will appear below the flower head once they are fully formed, and has the Latin root that is the same as 'eagle'. Needless to say, this plant was a Roman import into Britannia, in the centuries before the creation of England.

I now await Mercurius' informed comments....

State of play

The Hawker Weather build continues. The Academy Hurricane IIc is turning out to be a neat little build. I've put the cockpit together, popped a bit of paint on it (interior green, aluminium, and a touch of dark brown, all suitably washed with a black wash, and highlighted). I added some Tamiya tape harness belts, they look a little too wide, but, through the heavily framed cockpit canopy that will probably be an advantage:

The cockpit fits, neatly, onto the one piece lower wing, perched on the blanked off undercarriage wells - so no see through problems as with the Airfix MkI Hurricane in 1:72.

But, wait.... what is this toy soldierly thing that arrived today:

A Roco Minitanks M41Walker Bulldog in 1:87. What can this mean? Surely not another project in being...?! Is that a silly question. But a small virtual award to the chap who guesses just what the M41 presages.

Now, following that interruption, here is the current state of play at Hobbit towers:

And...

... they're off! On the great 'Hawker Weather Build'. After a day in London, which was fine after all - more than a hint of Spring in the air, a pleasant garden after my own tastes to spend a short lunch break in, and only an hour on the train (complete with prattling 'phone fool), I was back to Hobbiton, raring to go with my Hurricane MkIIc. On the way back I bought a new cutting mat to mark the importance of this event, so the kit parts are displayed below on its pristine perfection:

At first glance, a sharply moulded kit, reasonably well detailed for 1:72, engraved panel lines, and a fairly detailed cockpit:

And, this is how far things have got: basic cockpit assembled, transparencies dipped in 'Klear' and left to dry, and prop assembled. I'll give the cockpit a quick basecoat before I go to bed, and the Tamiya tape lurking in the background will be used to make a harness. Although I was pleased to see the cockpit sides, I wonder if they will give problems when the fuselage sides are mated? We will see...

Saved...

... by the hoarder's habit. Over breakfast this morning, thinking about the great Hawker Weather Build (see previous posts) I realised that if I was to make up the Hurricane as an RAF western desert version then I would need to fabricate a Volkes filter for the thing. My scratch building skills are very limited at the best of times, and the thought of trying to make the multiple smooth, curved surfaces of the Volkes filter was somewhat daunting. There was a possibility that I could sand one down from a small piece of wood, or balsa that I could then seal, or, perhaps, even try the hot water mould technique (something that I have never done). But, then, I remembered, I am a hoarder, so this evening I rummaged, and, ta da:

The two pieces on the sprue are certainly a Volkes filter; the single casting is a filter, but from what I'm not sure. Anyway, problem solved, so my western desert option is still on for the great build, which starts tomorrow - 1st May. Actually, it's already started in New Zealand!

I have to journey from Hobbiton to London tomorrow for work. William Cobbett (that hero beyond compare of all right-thinking Englishmen and a man that the House of Commons could sorely do with - try Richard Ingrams' biography of the crow scarer, soldier, newspaperman, recorder of England, grower of plants, drinker of beer, and MP) called London 'The Great Wen' (sore). I fear that, taken as a whole, the title is more apt than ever, it seems less and less to have any relation to other parts of England. Perhaps it is time for a new capital - Winchester (our Anglo-Saxon capital), or York, that jewel? Or, perhaps we should have a roving capital, not unlike The Flying Inn, a tale most strange, and, oddly prescient. Still, despite it all, there are parts of London that still resonate to this Englishman - Marylebone (as in Marie la bonne) Station is a favourite, a town terminus popped into the metropolis, or the Museum Tavern, or, even tomorrow, the guardhouse type structures outside the now hideous Euston Station.

Clear the decks

The great Hawker 'Weather Build' starts on Tuesday, 1st May, so rather than start anything new, I thought I would clear the decks of bits and pieces that have been hanging around for a while:

Rather a mixed lot - some early war Germans in 28mm who will go on to annoy my stalwart Home Guard fellows; a small batch of gunners and heliograph types for the Sudan; some Jack Tars for FLW; a 10.5cm howitzer for the Afrika Korps; a Bohler 47mm for my Roumanians; and a Lince (looking very much like its Dingo forbear) for my RSI die-hards in 28mm. Mmm, 'focus', 'prioritise' ... NEVER!

I'm rather looking forward to the Hawker Weather Build, as it's about six years since I bashed an aircraft kit (I just haven't the space for the things), and I've already had fun thinking about the finish for my Hurricane. I have 1:72 Hurricanes in RAF, Finnish, Soviet, Roumanian, Jugoslav, Portuguese and RAAF colours, and I had thought about a Turkish Hurricane. However, Turkish markings were a little limited, so I think I will plump for a western desert Hurricane ... but I may change my mind.

The Weather Build event is being led by the Plastic Warriors blog from New Zealand, and one of the great things about this blogging malarky (in terms of toy soldiers and wargaming) is how many bloggers keep in touch from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the USA, and Ireland. Of course, we all speak the same language (and I haven't forgotten about Irish Gaelic - something that I've only heard university types speak in Dublin). I can't remember the fellow's name, but some famous Frenchy of a literary bent once said, 'my homeland is my language'. An interesting thought. But, then, he was an egghead. Still, despite our different paths, there is obviously, still, some linguistic-cultural link, even at the level of this sub-culture of toys.

Embarkation...

... a task that US forces found a bit tricky in 1898. Partly because they weren't really configured (that's a horrible word) for an out of theatre assault. Trying to put together my Span-Am chaps this afternoon for a trial run of Chris Ferree's Rough Riders; America's Little Wars of Empire, I had similar difficulties. I began collecting together these figures over a decade ago, and put the collection together in a haphazard fashion. So, using the orders of battle in the rules, I thought I'd try a part of the famous battle of San Juan Heights:

This was my first attempt to put the forces together. It was fine for the Spanish, as I could muster enough figures for the Talavera Regiment, the Porto Rico regiment, some counter-guerillas (the original contras?), a reserve and a mountain gun battery, but my US forces quickly proved lacking in numbers. So, I had to rethink, and decided on a part of the battle for El Caney, specifically, the US attack towards the El Viso blockhouse, involving the 3rd, 20th and 7th US infantry and a gatling gun detachment. But I had to use Buffalo soldiers (black troops) as stand-ins for the 3rd:

What will be immediately apparent is that Rough Riders really sticks to historic numbers, so even though I only intend to field three US regiments, as opposed to the nine that faced the Spaniards at El Caney, the numbers still stack up as 19 Spanish figures and a blockhouse versus 81 US infantry and the gatling gun detachment. Yikes! The key will be in the effectiveness of the game mechanism. 

As evidence of the haphazard recruitment process, here are some Cuban patriots/nationalists/guerillas/machete-wielding types which will not be seeing action:

Nice figures - especially the moustaches!

Finally, smoke of the moment:

The pipe bowl on the left, minus its stem (I bit through it - modern life can be rather annoying, hence the broken stem!) came from a batch of pipes made in the 1950s from Algerian briar. Briar pipes are made from the roots of briars, so there is every chance that the briar was growing in the heat of North Africa a century ago. At any rate, it was dug up and turned when Algeria was a bit different from now, before the most successful ethnic cleansing of the latter part of the last century - anyone seen a pied noir lately ?