The Lost Coast is one amazing ride.

It’s a cliché but you just have to get back on & try to tame any fear you have. I know, easy to say, less so to do. It took me a few weeks after my crash (a bad one) before I was able to get back on a bike. I took it slow & worked up my confidence. If you really love to ride, then you’ll get there.

I used to like the guy but now? Sore fucking loser. His antics were shameful. Not a fan anymore.

My moto friends used to describe my K1200LT as a “sofa on two wheels”. 😁

Eduard Fw 190A-8 plastic model: gloss coat and decals 75% done).

Eduard Fw 190A-8 plastic model: gloss coat and decals 75% done).

Eduard Fw 190A-8 plastic model: gloss coat and decals 75% done).

Eduard Fw 190A-8 plastic model: gloss coat and decals 75% done).

Getting to the finish line (more or less) on the Eduard Fw 190A-8. Gloss coat & about 75% of decals done. A bit of weathering after sealing the surface with another coat of gloss. Weapons covers held on with Blu Tack & will be open for display. So far a fun and, at times, a challenging kit.

Plastic modes picked up at a yard sale: Ilyushin II-4 and a Nakajima Ki-43-II.

A little bit crazy yard sale about 20 miles away from our residence has three plastic bins of plastic models. Lots of them are old 1/72 scale: Frog, Heller, Zvezda, MPM…many seem to be in good shape. I picked up two of the planes on my want list including a 1/32 scale Nakajima Ki-43-II.

Just a little diversion from a few years ago. (I have so many figures like these….way too many to build before my hands and eyes decide that I’m done 😀)

With no context, how am I starting this week?

That match was really excellent. Leeds came sort of close several times but City fought it back nicely.

Eduard’s Fw 190A-8 kit box.

Eduard’s Fw 190A-8 3D printed cockpit upgrade

Next on the bench…Eduard’s Fw 190A-8. I’ve never had a kit from Eduard so it’ll be an interesting ride. I decided to splurge and get a 3D printed cockpit upgrade for the kit. I’m looking forward to challenge my not-so-nimble fingers to put some good detail here…

Ah, the Tamiya McLaren Senna…not really Tamiya’s finest hour. Poor fit on about 60% of it. I suspect that McLaren designers had final say over the usually ace Tamiya folks. I chose to mix a “papaya” color used on the F1 livery instead of Senna colors. I swore more making this build than any other

Been following you for a while now. 😀

That is excellent! Thanks for posting it.

Tamiya 1/48 F-15J Eagle.

Tamiya 1/48 F-15J Eagle semi cockpit close up.

Tamiya 1/48 F-15J Eagle rear view #1.

Tamiya 1/48 F-15J Eagle rear view #2.

After much camo work, painting & “weathering” (seems more like dirtying), my Tamiya 1/48 F-15J Eagle is finished.

This a practice run for the Fine Molds 1/48 F-15J Fighter J-MSIP in my stash. That kit is more complicated with all the extra add-ons. I’m taking a break before getting started on it.

Main body of the plastic model of the 1/48 Tamiya F15J Eagle.

Wings, landing gear and other below-wing items on plastic model 1/48 Tamiya F15J Eagle.

I build very slowly but I’ve have had some free time to make progress on the 1/48 Tamiya F15J Eagle on my bench. I am just a clear gloss coat away from panel line marking & weathering. I chose to not attach wings beforehand as their fit is superb & there will be no problem fitting them afterwards.

Primer painted parts for the 1/48 scaleTamiya F15J Eagle I’m working on.

Primer day for the 1/48 Tamiya F15J Eagle on my bench.

So disappointed to be caught up in tariff bullshit. I wanted some canopy masks, photo-etched & custom parts. Unfortunately , nearly 100% of them are offered by companies in the EU. When I ask why my order won’t complete, they nicely tell me that shipping to the US is currently not available. Sigh.😟😟

Czechoslovakian L-29 Delfin aircraft model.

Egyptian L-29 Delfin aircraft model.

Ugandan L-29 Delfin aircraft model.

Three L-29 Delfin versions with original box top.

The L29 Delfin was first aircraft I built at age 16. It turned out ok for a kid. But I wanted to do it justice so I collected 6 boxes of the same kit across many years. These kits were old, I had to salvage enough parts to build 3 versions. Here are Czechoslovakian, Egyptian and Ugandan versions.

The finished Tamiya Newman Porsche 956, from the front.

The finished Tamiya Newman Porsche 956, with race exhaust and wear.

The finished Tamiya Newman Porsche 956, from the back.

The finished Tamiya Newman Porsche 956 engine compartment.

The finished kit. The Tamiya Newman Porsche 956 was a fun build. Tamiya is always spot on with tooling & assembly. There were moments of frustration with some of the tight tolerances but everything turned out well. I added a bit of race exhaust and wear in a few places. Overall, I’m happy with it.

Maybe I’ve shed my notoriously slow build pace as this Tamiya Newman Porsche 956 is nearing completion after only two weeks(!). I’m at the flat clear/decals/flat clear/seam darkening phase before a gloss clear coat. All the “glass” goes on after that. Then I’m done. Three weeks? Not bad for me.

#TonyTonyTony sounds like fun, but I don't have 2nd Tony kit to work on. My next three are German & Italian WWII planes & a Porsche 956 24 Hour 84 Le Mans winner.

Plus my propensity for building very slowly makes a 30 day limit (probably) impossible. I'll be watching from the sidelines on this one.

My build of the Tamiya Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien Japanese fighter aka “Tony”.

My build of the Tamiya Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien Japanese fighter aka “Tony”.

My build of the Tamiya Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien Japanese fighter aka “Tony”.

My build of the Tamiya Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien Japanese fighter aka “Tony”.

Ok, so I’m a few weeks late. Par for the course on my bench. I finally finished my Tamiya Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien Japanese fighter aka “Tony”.

This was fun to build & gained me more experience & patience w/ air brushing camo.

I’ve got 2 on the bench now + 1 more in the on-deck circle. Progress!

明けましておめでとうございます。
皆さんが幸せで健康な2025年を過ごせることを願っています。🙏

(To all of Japan) Happy New Year.
I wish you all a happy and healthy 2025. 🙏

It takes me ages to finish a build. Is it ADHD? A crippling perfection streak? I dunno but here’s what’s on the bench:

Tamiya’s Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien (Tony). The main body is done, camo painted (not my best airbrush work) & clear acrylic coated for decals & panel lines. Target: end of January.

A restored ME-262 German war plane, one of the first jet-propelled planes.

Finally carved out some time to follow and like some cool model builds. I'm a big fan of WWII German/Italian/Japanese planes as well as Soviet Bloc jets (early ones). My all time favorite plane is the ME-262 not coincidentally spurred on by the Blue Oyster Cult's song of the same name.

Beauties!