Clunkmeister

I'll start a list tonight folks. I did check with JetMads, and the Lears aren't expected until sometime in the last half of next year. That's a looooooong time from now, but they're gonna be noice.

Very nice. As a guy who can barely nail two board together, I’m quite suitably impressed. I’m in the process of redoing one bay of my car barn into a bar/50s lunch counter/service station replica. With parking for our 56 Meteor. it’s a TON of work. 😡🤬

Martin, you like buzz cuts on women? High and tight flattops? Were you Navy? 🤨

2021 has been a pretty crappy year here in my neck of the woods and I’m glad to see it in the rear view mirror.. Our Christmas raffle went over well the last three years, but I made a few mistakes due to my chronically low double digits IQ. I will need to concentrate harder on making sure everyone and everything is accounted for. I’ll go over the rules and once again, and attempt to keep it simple. So here is rundown of rules so everyone is refreshed and aware. For those who participated over there, you'll see a couple minor rule changes implemented by me just because I can. 1. Anyone who wants to enter to win may do so, IF, they are an Active Member of LSM as of right now. Dec 05 2021 2331 hrs CST) 2. Active Member is defined as anyone who has contributed to LSM by posting two posts to LSM within the last calender year. I though again of making it a WIP requirement, but decided again to nix that idea. The whole idea here is to promote a feeling of Christmas Spirit, get people posting more, and hopefully bring a better ending to 2020. So let’s make this fun! 3. Enrolling: Entering the raffle is easy. Just post "I'm in" and I'll mark you down. You do not need to contribute a gift to win a gift. 4. Gifts: You're welcome to contribute a gift to be included in the raffle. It’s absolutely not required or expected and you do NOT need to contribute a gift to be part of the raffle. 5. Impropriety: To avoid any sense of impropriety, I am going to ask that all people who feel led to contribute gifts to please verify your gifts as listed correctly. If I list it wrong, please let me know so I can correct it in time. Anything LSM related is good in my book. Aircraft and AFVs, supplies, AM, tools, etc, are all OK. I would suggest that if you're giving a bunch of little AM bibs and bobs, or things like magazine collections, think about including them as a package. It makes my job easier when it comes to keeping track of who gave and won what. 6. More Impropriety: As the organizer and overseer of this operation, once again, I will again NOT be eligible for any gift drawings. 7. Giving something is cool, but there is no right or wrong. Some give kits, others a resin set of wheels or #11 blades, or decide not to. If you feel led to, then do, cool, if not, then there is no big deal. 8. But remember, if you offer a gift, you're responsible for the shipping charges to the winner. 9. Gift givers and winners are to contact each other in a timely manner and winner must provide shipping information so the giver can get the package in the mail. 10. This is a fun Christmas Raffle, guys. If you pledge a gift, please make every effort to get it out in a timely fashion. 11. I will attempt to update the prize list and the names of those who entered the raffle on a daily basis. If there's more entrants than gifts, not everyone will receive a gift. If there's more gifts than entrants, then some will get more than one. 12. Drawing: Christmas Day in the USA, because that's where I live, and I work the day before, so the Aussies and the Kiwis gotta wait an extra day. Sorry guys! Grand Prize this year will consist of an HK B-17G with the option of requesting a JetMads Learjet C-21 in lieu of the B-17. Grand Prize will be drawn from all names after the regular draw has been completed. Pretty normal stuff, eh? I think this oughta be a fun thing and I really hope everyone has a good time with this! Ernie

OK, I’ve been racking my tiny little brain on what to do here and how to avoid the pitfalls of previous years, because last year a few people had their names missed due entirely to my incompetence and oversight. So, what I’m gonna ask is that y’all help me. As the list grows, please check for your name and make sure it’s listed on whichever list, or both lists if you are both donating and receiving. Our grand prize has been plagued by issues. Once, a Wingnut Lanc was chosen, and Wingnut promptly folded, next year, an A-26 with Eduard engines was one of the awards and poof, the Eduard warehouse went up in flames. You seeing a pattern here? Carl is getting a Viggen in place of the no more Lanc, and Smitty got Resin2Detail engines once they hit the market. So, onward and upward, let’s make this the very best one yet. I’m going to offer a first edition HK B-17 out of my personal stash as the Grand Prize, (that’s the one with Milk Wagon on the box), with the choice of the winner to opt for a JetMads Learjet C-21 if they so desire, also will be out of my stash, once they arrive in 2022. No danger of JetMads getting struck by a meteorite if it’s not the stated real grand prize 🤣 And the B-17’s in my freestanding barn, so I’m safe too. 🤣😇

We are. I’m just getting a few personal loose ends tied up here, as in saying goodbye to loved ones, etc. hang tight, y’all.

Now that’s a beauty. Nicely done! I have the 1/200 Arizona, and have been playing around with doing what’s needed to transform her to USS Pennsylvania.

Damn! Noice!

Yes, The AAF had LeMay a d the RAF had Harris. They both made decisions that made perfect sense at the time, but maybe don’t quite stand up to scrutiny over the years. So we need to be careful to look at them through the lenses of the day, not of today. Aircraft so totally overloaded that even the slightest momentary hiccup from one of the engines on the takeoff roll meant a massive fireball off the end of the runway. But one less gallon of gasoline meant less of a chance of making it back. One less bomb loaded today meant one more trip in the future, and one less ammo belt loaded meant one less belt to fight off the German fighters. One thing I never did understand was Harris’s absolute unwavering refusal to allow RAF bombers to rearm with .50 cal guns. The AAF used them, and the RCAF changed their Lancs over, but the RAF refused.

Yep, I actually have a Squadron I’m going to do, just not sure of the bird yet. It will be an Airborne Cigar (ABC) of 101 Sqn RAF, because my ex FIL did a full tour with them as a tail gunner and was a third of the way through his second when he was forcibly transferred to 429 Sqn RCAF as they activated. (He was not amused) The war ended shortly after 101 Sqn had some of the highest loss rates of the war, but his crew was Blessed. They had nobody killed, and no crew members left the team except for their Nav who took extended leave for kidney stones. He came back and they soldiered on. The history of the ABC missions is interesting. They carried an German speaking extra crew member who acted as an ECM operator and broke into the night fighters radio traffic and screwed with the GCI guys. The ABC birds also transmitted static and interference, sometimes simply microphones set in the cowlings of the Merlin engines and kept an open key on the German Freqs.. That really messed with the Germans ability to conduct ops. Needless to say, the ABC ships were prime targets and were #1 on the list to destroy. They were easily picked out due to the extra antenna arrays…. Along with those duties, they also conducted normal bombing duties. Far be it for Harris to let an aircraft leave out empty!

The staff here have had discussions regarding things like this. As long as things don’t degrade into the absurd, personal attacks, or similar, we let things run their course. Personally, I think it’s healthy to a certain degree. As long as it’s our regular bunch having discussions over coffee, it’s all good. Now when some new guy walks in and tips the table over, we all have an issue with that. Y’all know my personal feelings on Chinese Copyright and business practices. I needn’t go over them again. Let’s just say this isn’t the first time this has happened. From my understanding, the DR.1 was an employee generated project to fund other more esoteric ventures. As a result, PJ didn’t care one bit about that project. The Lanc however is another story. That’s his baby and this hurts him hard.

Everyone has more or less played nice. Thank you for that, folks. It’s back up for sale, I expect I’ll have one, simply because it’s the ultimate Lanc kit. I built the HK kit and loved it, but for a wartime Lanc, I expect this kit will be amazing.

Happy Thanksgiving y’all! Be safe out there! And to the 85% of this board who’s not in the USA, Happy normal work day! This day is a bit surreal in our household. But always remember,…. Eat more cow

Thanks y’all. Care homes in Canada are notorious. Carl can testify, I’m sure. I’m just glad I’m here, because if I was there, I’d most likely be in prison right now.

Working to keep my business afloat through the Covid mess, (we succeeded), my wife’s illnesses and hospitalizations, (she’s on the mend), my Daddy’s illnesses and hospitalization, (he’s on the mend), and the ongoing saga with my Mom. She has Dementia and is in a nursing home. For two years, the Docs and nurses have complained constantly about my Mom’s knack of getting up and going for midnight strolls. They’ve had to constantly chase her down and bring her back. Well, Covid came, and of course nobody was allowed in to see her, so that gave them the chance to rope her down in her bed and of course she developed bedsores. Being 82 years old, the infection wouldn’t go away, so they were forced to amputate her left leg at her hip. Now no infection and no more chasing her down. What a relief for them. Now of course this is in Canada, and despite it being blatant malpractice, there are no witnesses, just statements from old folks and much conjecture, and suing the government isn’t recommended, so my family is out in the cold. But, that being said, there WILL be a Christmas raffle this year. We had som issues with last year’s edition, with some suppliers going broke, and a couple names being missed, (I run this myself) but we’ll try a bit harder this year. I expect to go live right after Thanksgiving, y’all.