Chronic Updates

[TheChronicOne]

I've been extremely busy, sick, and a number of other things (dealing with vehicle break downs, people stealing my work tools, etc) so I've been NOT doing model stuff for about 5 weeks now other than a combined couple hours of work at best.

Just wanted to drop in and drop a note.

Also, I'm running a major kit-bash/scratch build through a GB right now and have shelved all other builds no matter how close to being finished they are so it's going to be a month or more anyway before I get back to trying to finish off the 737 and Tristar.

[Graeme H]

Hope the sick bit is nothing serious, and total scum stealing your tools, they are out there
Hoping to see you back at the bench soon, stay safe

[RayS]

Hope things are on the rebound Brad, looking forward to seeing your finished works of art. Which reminds me I should get something finished.

[TheChronicOne]

Thank you, fellas....... It was tremendously strange being ill. I never suspected the Covid stuff initially but now weeks later I have my doubts and may get tested at my next Dr's appointment. It was the strangest, oddest "illness" I've ever had and I've never felt like that prior and have since recovered and not felt like it since. I wound up feeling so bad at one point as to call an ambulance and go the the emergency room for a short hospital stay.

I reiterate the troubling, never before felt type of illness.. This was like a month and half ago now I think. It was after I made this post. At the time I knew I was feeling under the weather but it boiled to a head. Anyway... in the weeks that have followed I and we all have learned more about the Covid stuff and while I wasn't suspecting it even remotely way back when, so much new information has come to light and certain "hidden" symptoms that have matched up have reached the light of day. So very, very, very weird... Like I said, I'm going to mention it to my Dr. next time I'm in. On that note, two days prior to my ambulance ride I was actually IN for a check up because I was feeling so bad... I wasn't having a fever or breathing problems and none of us suspected anything so they chalked it up to ALLERGIES. "Allergies" had me in the emergency room two days later.

Thieves... yeah... so help me God..... one of these days I just might catch one of these bastards in the act and put a few holes in their ass. Shelled out a few hundred and got a new mower and the lawn mowing part of how I earn a living has returned to normal.

That said, the other part of how I earn a living, which is a contract to police up a large shopping center here has been "suspended" so I've lost 60% of my income. I suspect I'm being thrown under the bus ont his one but I'm not going to complain as the people I contract with are really great folks. It's a bit disappointing not having full disclosure but I can live with it.

I mentioned things breaking down, I think. Just shortly before the covid mess got started I had a break down with my work truck but no time to fix it and thus took on a loan to get a used truck. I was going to do this anyway but the truck breaking down forced my hand. Fact is, it was too early.. I wasn't mowing lawns yet so I didn't have the income to pay on a loan. Family member stepped up and loaned me the money to keep going. Things are good, there. It's been not quite yet two months since then and I've already managed to pay back something in the neighborhood of $1800. BUT.. I'm still very much in the hole.

So that's that! For all the nasty things going on, recently things have been going well, relatively, and I'll be working on my Airliner builds again very soon. That kitbash thing I mentioned has since started to come together nicely. I've only been able to put 4-5 hours per week into it but it's been enough! I'm no longer in danger of blowing the deadline. Next up will be to complete my PSA Tristar.

[RayS]

Wow! Glad to hear you are getting to the other side of all this Brad. We have been very fortunate here with CoVid.

Hope that things start to pick up and the restrictions drop away and you are able to get back to full employment, till then let's see some build pictures!

[TheChronicOne]

Hell, why not.

This is the only thing I've worked on in months. I got all the stuff together over a year ago but only decided to build it after the start of a Navy GB at the What If Modellers message board. I brought together a bunch of parts from the spares box and decided to try to bash them all together and create an aircraft. I came up with the parts and decided it would be a NAVY ASW/ patrol plane or some such.

I've since started it and I'll show a bunch of the pictures in chronological order and let them sort of tell the story. Never done anything like this before... I've never made a true kitbash or scratchbuild. I've done certain aspects of each, but never anything so "major." There are parts from 9-10 different kits and of three different scales that I know of, 1/72, 1/100, and 1/144. I've made up the difference where things were absent with plastic card and putties of various types.

I call it the "P-4 Pluto."

Most of the parts when I first got it all together:


I even bagged it and made a box with box art:






I let it sit around for months until a Navy group build came up and I figured since this was a Navy thing I'm trying to make, what better time to get it going.

This is, in pictures, how it has gone down since:



















Changed things along the way....I completely re-did the back portion of all this mess and this was the start of it after I cut out a bunch of plastic that didn't look right:



THAT took awhile to correct and I'm still working on it. It's almost done, though. I just slathered on what I believe will be the last round of putty before a final sanding then it's into primer again and likely right into paint soon after I correct any problems hilited by the primer.

This is the last update picture I have of it. I've done quite a bit more work in general since but nothing that really stands out to be worthy of new pictures. It's uhhhh.... well... it's turned out to be quite the little airplane.



If anyone is interested, there are more pictures and the ENTIRE story here, and it's public veiwing so no need to sign up or anything: https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=46850.0

[hrtpaul]

That's cool as man

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks, hoss! You're over at the WIM mb, too, right? GD? Or am I mistaken?


More work on this one done today along with a what-if F-16XL build.