Thunderchild (3): ULLA!

Just a few pictures of the first finished tripod, which is nice.

Thunderchild (2)

So the Kreuzer Emden gets a new name, eh?

Now the ship is nearing completion, it is time to tell a bit more about the rest of the build. First of, I am not the first one to make such a diorama. The scene I planned is derived from one I saw done in styrene a couple of years ago. But as far as I know it has never before been done in paper. When asked where he got his creative ideas, jazz- bass player Ray Brown used to say: “steal anything you can”. So I did too. 
So, credits where credits due: thanks to Marco Scheloske for inspiration!

So there you have it. In the title and certainly the link above it already became apparent but for those of you that could keep their curiosity in line and read on: H.G Wells’ War of the Worlds. Thunder Child. Martian tripods. That is the story in three short sentences.

There is something cooking...

Although I promised a What-If, it has become something else. Creativity moves in mysterious ways. The idea I was tinkering with is not thrown away, it just needs more tinkering. And I wanted to make stuff. So there.

And yes! Today I suddenly found myself in my hobby room, with an Xacto in my left hand, humming and singing along to some old Paul McCartney tracks and Bowie's Blackstar album and also listening to the new KD Lang/Neko Case/Laura Veirs album. Which is not bad at all.

For now I just show you some of the stuff I am doing now, not yet revealing what it will become although it is easy to find out what I am working on...

That is: easy to see if you know what that silvery paper print is.
But chances are you don't. And I am not going to tell you.

Not there yet, but..

... Here's an update.
Although I haven't got anything to show you yet, I have been diddling and fiddling with paper again. I have left the N1 for the time being even though it is calling me to get it ready for the shelves.
I have been doing some preparatory computer redesigning stuff for a what-if which now is in the first stages of testing. it involves two models and a diorama. It still needs more tinkering, I am afraid but hopefully in the coming week I will have some time on my hands to have some showable results.

I also have invested in a new printer, because the old one started to show inaccuracies in printing. The ink was clogging a little too often and the results were disappointing. It again is an A3 printer, a little upgraded from the last one. Compact shape, also an A4 scanner, top document feeder, which might be handy for business like stuff in the near future, extendible paper tray for A4 (landscape) to A3 (portrait) but also a manual feed input at the back. Great. It prints well, has a little less options in paper types but in top quality it all looks fine to me. Still have to try photo paper yet.

I wanted to visit the Luchtmachtdagen (the Dutch Air Force open days) last week, but Friday I had to work and for Saturday the predictions were it would be very crowded and The Red Arrows weren't performing because of the British queen's 90th birthday. The live feed the RNLAF provided showed me it was crowded indeed. With an excellent view of the air show (and somewhat sloppy camera work here and there) I can tell you the Italian Frecce Tricolori were doing an awesomely good job of letting me forget the Reds weren't there. What an amazing show. Very very tight formations, no gaps in the performance and oh, that Lomcovak! That was something I would have liked to see for real.

(this vid up here is one from 2011 but it shows what an amazing manoeuvre it is.)
It usually can only be performed by propeller aircraft. The MB339 apparently is the only jet that can perform this weird tumble. A somewhat rough translation from Czech is "drunken stumble".

Also present was my pet hate, the F-35 Pork Chop. The Dutchies stupidly bought into the "dream" and we are going to buy 37 of those money guzzling chubby short-of-ammo shoot and flee planes. I just think it is a dramatically bad aircraft. Not just the financial part, although that is also very bad indeed. It is just that it is not a very capable plane. it flew together with an F-16 and a Spitfire. What an awful sight. One beauty from the propeller era, a very sleek, capable and light aircraft and the fat winged blob.
One consolation is that "we" probably are going to fly the M346 Master as a trainer for the Pork Chop. Aesthetically, that is a beautiful plane. And in my opinion all that the Dutchies need anyway. They can keep those two Pork Chops they already bought for the QRA's, for all other stuff the M346 seems well enough to me.
/rant

Okay, anyway, hopefully I can show you some stuff later this week. Until then, stay safe and have fun.
--PK