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Wumm

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Posts posted by Wumm

  1. Perhaps that was the case...

    My Wife would either put my kits on eBay; or sell them herself at the Aspley swap meet held May every year; she's been up there a couple of times with me in the past, so knows what to do. Otherwise I have a Will, have had one since I started working in the 80's. I'm often surprised by the amount of people I speak to who don't have one. Everyone who's working in this Country at least has Superannuation, which means that there will be a lump sum due to somebody when you pass. Better your loved ones than go to the Government!

    Speaking of Wills... My former Partner's Will still hasn't been read all these years later. Makes joke of those Movies where they get told "Your rich Uncle just died and left you a million dollars". Yeah, nah... Doesn't work like that.

    S

    • Like 2
  2. I realise this Gaz...

    After my Partner's suicide 5 years ago, I've spent $20 thousand of my own money finalising her Estate and making repairs to the house she left to our Daughters. 

    I don't begrudge his family a cent they made from selling these kits. My main objection was to the 30 to 40% skimmed off the top in Auction fees, postage and GST. There would have been individuals either from this Site or the other one he frequented who I'm sure would have seen to his wishes had he only asked, or had his Family do so. Of secondary concern to me was the sheer waste of amassing so many kits when by his own admission, Dale could have died any given day.

    If I've taken anything else from Dale's demise, it's to lead a more simple life and just have less 'stuff'... This was also reinforced by the amount of crap I had to wade through to renovate a house formerly inhabited by hoarders.

    S

    • Like 3
  3. Hubert,

    I will give you some allowance as English is not your first language...

    1 hour ago, HubertB said:

    If you are nowadays a Huighur in PRC, you can compare your situation to Nazi Germany. But not, to my knowledge, if you are a citizen of the US, Canada or Australia. So, to me, using this analogy is scandalous because it is belittling ultimately, by bringing what you face to the same level as the Shoah, the atrocity of what millions of people endured under the Nazi regime.

    No one is saying that it's the same as 1930's Germany. Only that aspects of that regime are like those experienced for others in 2021. There must be some nuance to any discussion, otherwise this too can stray into totalitarianism. No one here mentioned the Holocaust in discussions, for you to do so now seems like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. 

    Furthermore... Please don't accuse others of belittling a situation without knowing their situation and circumstances, simply because it happens to suit your agenda and your point of view. To do so only cheapens the analogy.

    S

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  4. 13 hours ago, HubertB said:

    Sorry to say this is a totally wrong and irrelevant comparison. Some "free spirits" in France went as far as using the Jewish yellow star with a "no vaccine" stamp on it. Needless to say it did not go very well, and rightly so, with the remaining survivors of the Holocaust.

    A bit of restraint in comparisons seems advisable here, gentlemen.

    Hubert

    I disagree that the comparison is irrelevant...

    I actually find it particularly apt. Not the same, but very much like Nazi Germany in the 1930's; both in the conduct of the Authorities here, and the willingness of ordinary Citizens to turn a blind eye.

    In just the last two weeks here in Australia, various Governments have:

    Blatantly lied to the public...

    Used propaganda and false data for political and monetary gain...

    Assaulted and arrested peaceful Citizens for questioning the Government narrative...

    Actively encouraged Citizens to rat on each other...

    Conducted surveillance of everywhere Citizens go and everything they do...

    Arbitrarily excluded, persecuted or arrested Individuals who don't comply with directions...

    Decided who does or does not have the right to work or earn a living...

    Granted favourable conduct to Individuals or Organisations without merit or explanation... 

    Actively administered medications that they know can be harmful or fatal, and indemnified themselves and the Practitioners involved from any potential consequences.

    In isolation, this has all the hallmarks of an oppressive Regime. Yet, I'm one of the lucky ones who has been able to work all through this disaster. It's a lovely Spring day here, and life is pretty good. I imagine much like life was for most Germans in the late 1930's.

    What's happening is wrong. If I don't speak out... Who else will?

    S

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  5. On 9/24/2021 at 9:56 PM, smitty44 said:

    Why wouldn't any police with a conscience just quit? Are they bound like military service. I guess this would be exactly why our federal government wants to defund police departments, and federalize tgem. Scary

    Morale in the Queensland Police Service is already very low Smitty...

    Police here are forbidden to chase suspects or felons in cars, and are greatly hamstrung in dealings with individuals of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. Whistleblowers with evidence of wrongdoings are hounded out of the Service rather than valued. Add in the fact that sworn Officers are required to give 3 months notice upon resignation, in an overall situation where jobs are already scarce and you've invested so much time and effort at the Academy to become a Cop, most decide to stick it out. Like, who's going to hire someone and wait 3 months for them to start?

    Yesterday was National Police Day here. Quite ironically, 7 sworn Officers have launched an injunction against the Service for mandating that they must be vaccinated, or either be stood down or sacked should they defy the order. 

    Police Member's action

    This is a Government mandate. Is also applies to other State Government departments. The Queensland Police Union is backing the Government against it's members. This is now not unusual; all types of Australian businesses in the private sector, from fruit canneries to banks and airlines, are now forcing their workers under duress to be vaccinated. But with deadlines approaching, people are slowly starting to instigate legal challenges to maintain their right to work.

    S

    • Like 1
    • Sad 1
  6. I declined to take part in this enterprise...

    I know that as Modellers, we often acquire kits that we'd like to build at a later date, sometimes to the extent that we end up with more than we'd ever complete over the span of a long life. But here was a Man who had 387 unstarted model kits, aside from those he was already working on, and knew that he was likely to literally die the next day.

    Dale was generous to a fault. He gave freely of his time, his knowledge and experience, and his possessions. To turn his hobby into a money-making exercise is the antithesis of how he lived his life, and doesn't sit well with me.

    S

     

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  7. 7 hours ago, Peterpools said:

    Border Models Announced they bought the rights to the WNW Lancaster and preorders will start around Christmas. The kit will be a limited production run (?)

    Not sure if bought the rights is strictly accurate...

    The Facebook post says they 'aquired the molds'. Reminiscent of the way Tibet was 'aquired' back in 1950.

    S

    • Like 2
    • Haha 1
  8. 17 hours ago, GazzaS said:

    Sorry for the crappy photos...   seems there was too much glare.  Anyway...   I figured taking enough shots from enough angles would illustrate the cheerful cloth seat for the deck chair.

     

    Happy modelling!

    Photos are fine...

    And it's a great little vignette to place beside the kit. There's a whole different process for painting your figures to actually suit the type of lighting you intend to display them under. Some of the pros just seem to churn their figures out perfect every time, it's a knack you will get if you do enough of them.

    On an unrelated note... Has anyone seen the tea-towl?

    S

    • Like 3
  9. 8 hours ago, smitty44 said:

    Looks brutal from afar. I was thinking about your police. Here in the US we have had a huge portion of law enforcement who opposed the draconian restrictions and said they would not enforce the mandates no matter what our leaders said. It looks like your law enforcement are 100% in to doing what they are doing. 

    It's a very different system we operate under down here Smitty...

    The Police are a State-run entity here. There are no City Police forces as such, and the Federal Police are much like your FBI. So the Police overwhelming do exactly as they're told. Police Chiefs and Commissioners are appointed by whoever's running the State at the time. The Judiciaries are also appointed by the State Premiers, so you tend to get laws passed and sentenced handed down that mirror the political narrative of the people in charge. The State and Federal Governers (the Queen's representatives) are also appointed by the ruling Party at the time they're due to be replaced, about 5 years give or take. 

    In short; apart from elected Members of Parliament, no-one in positions of power are required to justify their existence. They just refer to one another when challenged. Laws that make no sense are enforced without exemption. This is the mantra; we know best, do as we say and be good little Citizens. 

    The behaviour of the Police in Melbourne this week was appalling. I wouldn't put it past the Queensland Police to do the same here if challenged.

    S

    • Like 4
  10. Say that phrase very carefully when you first meet people...

    2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

    Steve,

    I am an infomaniac.

    As for the Bf-109 G canopy...

    The 20kg main cover is held in place with just 4 small rods; two fixed on the starboard side, and two on the port side that extend or retract into the bottom of the frame to lock it in place or allow entry/exit to the cockpit.

    IMG_20210908_184419.thumb.jpg.9c8bd9c8af6811c59620696e26e13323.jpg

    Remarkably, that's the extent of it. Each side of the front canopy has a compensating hole at the base... Seen at the starboard here, and also visible on the port side in Kai's photo above.

    IMG_20210908_184628.thumb.jpg.75b5c92687f7556aacedb88093e4277d.jpg

    The rear canopy has a similar notch at the base to receive these rods. Also note the two circular brackets on the inside of the rear frame and the brace across the base (more about these in a minute.)

    IMG_20210908_184726.thumb.jpg.3c127f5c42bd7cdefcadc538f97dc764.jpg

    Now for this portside lock... Shown here on the Erla Haube canopy, but the internal mechanism was the same on the standard frame. The canopy lock on the inside of the bottom rail moves the rods to lock or unlock the canopy (detailed in 'Point A').

    IMG_20210909_183539.jpg.87fa6a692390d37555c20af26db1c816.jpg

    Note the hole here in the front of the frame on Theo Weissenberger's G-2 (plus also the hole on the outside to access the lock.)

    IMG_20210909_174501.thumb.jpg.9c7e01d0f518818b96d9a467c7301547.jpg

    The rear canopy sat atop two small rings at the base of the angled rear shelf.

    IMG_20210908_184459.thumb.jpg.0e9aab4db4be6fcfe454c73fba9f105a.jpg

    Remember the brace in the photo above? It contains rods within, that sit inside these rings to keep the rear canopy in situ. Above this on the rear shelf, were another two rods fixed in place with small springs inside (that fit inside the round housings mentioned before.) In an emergency when the canopy release lever was pulled; the brace rods withdrew from the rings, the springs on the shelf pushed upwards, and the entire centre and rear canopy sections fell away with gravity or the slipstream... Alleviating the need to open the massive 20kg canopy to the starboard while under duress.

    IMG_20210908_184208.thumb.jpg.6f292a90e2b5b63ea1f40a7ccfff05ad.jpg

    Whether you can be bothered to add all this extra detail is a matter of personal taste. But that's the mechanisms at play here for a standard '109 G

    HTH,

    S

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  11. (Or : The perils of operating outside one's own sphere of expertise)

    Today is Father's Day here in Au, and my Wife was out half the day visiting her Dad and Siblings. At one point in the afternoon, it began to rain a little, so I did the thoughtful Husbandy thing and brought the washing inside, and bunged it all inside the dryer.

    So Mrs.M comes home; and having navigated the Spaniel obstacle course and after the customary cheek peck, went straight out to check the washing... Which I thought I had taken good care of. Little did I know that I hadn't put it on for nearly long enough.

    "How long has this been on? It's got 5 minutes left and it's still damp."

    "Oh, about 45 minutes I guess" was my answer.

    "OH MY GOSH! There's towels inside. It needed at least an hour or more."

    "Well, I just turned it to 'Sports Wear' because it has togs and towels in there, and that's what came up" said I.

    Again. "OH MY GOSH!"

    A brief and calm discussion then ensued, wherein the two of us spoke of the perils of operating outside of one's own sphere of expertise.

    So I asked...

    "OK then... How much oil does it take to fill the engine of your car at the next service?"

    "One point eight litres. It has a 1.8 litre engine, that's what that means doesn't it?"

    OH MY GOSH

    S

    • Haha 7
  12. You have a very good technique for metals Doc. I especially like the burnishing at the ends of the exhaust pipes, not an easy result to achieve. 

    1 hour ago, DocRob said:

    You made me curious, which bike do you have in your stash?

    I have the Tamiya Desmo kit, to be used with the Studio 27 transkit to backdate for the 2003 version.

     

    The only difficult choice... Whether to drill all the holes in these gorgeous resin parts for the Catalunya GP Capirossi first win bike?

    IMG_20210904_092621.thumb.jpg.f938acedb5fe72572b9ef7293cf47957.jpg

    S

    • Like 9
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  13. On 8/16/2021 at 6:50 PM, BradG said:

    They also closed skate parks for kids and banned using outdoor exercise equipment in parks. Really? Is the virus spreading in parks? No, no it isn't, in the next breath they were admitting that the virus is spreading because people are still having illegal gatherings like the 70 odd people who held an engagement party.

    Unfortunately with the Delta strain becoming the predominant variant of the Virus, and according to the Medical Journal of Australia, children aged 5 to 12 are at five times more risk of contracting Covid than the elderly cohort that were the early Pandemic concern.

    https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/5/covid-19-children-time-new-strategy

    The other two measures, while seemingly unreasonably harsh under the circumstances, are most likely a function of the extended Victorian lockdown last year... I don't think your Premier wants a repeat of that situation. While drinking in a public space has always been illegal here, I can see how the consumption of alcohol reads to people letting their guard down. Curfews however, are and have always been all about control.

    Which is what's been sorely missing in New South Wales... Over a thousand cases per day now, and it took them so long to implement consistent restrictions that they've lost control of the outbreak there. The NSW Premier is even talking about easing restrictions before Christmas when the Nation reaches the 80% vaccinated level... Despite possibly having hundreds of daily positive cases still. I can't see it happening.

    S

    • Like 2
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