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Most of my building happens on the weekends, so occurs to the backdrop of the various TV cooking shows that my Wife might be watching at the time... So a similar, yet different kind of human suffering. If I'm alone at home, music if played at all extends to the familiar that invokes good memories without needing to think about lyrics or specific refrains. Steely Dan's Gaucho, ELO's Discovery, Box Scaggs' Silk Degrees, The Police Zenyatta Mondatta or INXS Shaboo Shoobah are examples... Middle of the Road or Yacht Rock stuff from the 70's and 80's. Whenever Chicago's If You Leave Me Now is on the radio, I find I'm immediately transported back to the mid-70's and the yellow and brown 1/72 Matchbox Bf109 kit I was working on at the time when that song was being played four times a day. It seems to be ingrained somehow. S

Dale drew every last morsel of life from his time on Earth... Lived well. Fought hard. And still gave back more than he received. A lesson and an inspiration for us all. Rest in Power you crazy Bastard. S

My favourite of these releases is the Koala Racer... Hot-shot on the Racing circuit by day, catching Chlamydia by night. This excites me more than yet another Phantom model in 1/48th scale. S

Putting this here, because its '190 related... Let's play "Spot the Engineer in the photo." S

How do you get anything done in that work environment, Carl? We have Cocker Spaniel hairs floating around in the Fish tank, let alone on the modelling bench. The Fish Tank! S

A lovely Service for the Duke this morning (Au time), all of the Circumstance without the Pomp. Quite fitting for the man, who was a constant for Her Majesty, and worked tirelessly all his life in service of the Nation and Commonwealth. S

Australia this week has had two cases of Health Care Workers who have been vaccinated with A/Z, that have also had blood clotting issues. These are the only two attributed directly to vaccinations, out of about 700 thousand total. The Federal Government has now recommended that Australians under the age of 50 now not get the A/Z jab, due to the lesser risks in that age group of severe Covid versus the risk of clots. This leaves only the Pfizer option, which is also in short supply. Over 3 million doses of the Astra Zenica shots that have been ordered and paid for have still not arrived from Europe, and Australian production has not yet achieved the expected levels. The Prime Minister has conceded that not all Australians will be vaccinated by the end of the year. We have also had two deaths in the past week for the first time in over a year; a former Provincial Governer from PNG who was being treated here in Brisbane, and a returned traveller from the Philippines who contracted Covid there. S

A rubber bush by any other name... Can't do that with a Cricket ball!

He has that Marty Feldman look down pat though... You could always make the eye with the hole into a squint maybe? Brilliant work otherwise Gaz. S

I can definitely vouch for the Rivet-R Alan. This is the 1mm wheel applied to the wing, shown alongside the Eduard resin cowl pieces for comparison. S

It turns out that the Doctor in question eventually passed the Virus on to only a couple of people. It took over a week for these cases to surface, and Brisbane was put into a snap three-day lockdown last week until they could confirm the source. Through back-tracing, they found that there was another cluster of cases also linked to a Nurse at the same Hospital; who also had been treating Covid Patients but was also again inexplicably not vaccinated. This caused a lockdown in the Hospital in question, which was from that point being deep-cleaned, because they think there might be issues at the site. The State Government vowed to ensure that only Vaccinated Staff from now on would be able to treat Covid patients. Seems like something they should have been doing from the outset. Greater Brisbane and Ipswich residents must still wear a mask while out and about or while Shopping or at the Pub, until April 15. However, plenty of people aren't, and don't seem to care. That's such a shame for you Phil. I watched a Documentary the other night about the ranks of London Cabbies being decimated due to Covid. The completely random nature of the Virus and its effect on some Vocations and not others is just so unpredictable. I really hope there a silver lining for you in all this, and the Sun shines through somehow soon. S

Yes, that's it Rog... Because it's within an oblong rectangle, it's an armoured flamethrower. So, a Hetzer or more likely an Ausf.M Panzer III, attached to the Staff of l and ll Companie. S

Thankfully Rog, With the internet, and the proliferation of Hobbyists and Enthusiasts in both the Modelling and Gaming spheres, there seems there's always information about major battles and turning points during the war. The key to the Wehrmacht is finding the Order of Battle. I managed to find this one on a Gaming site for 4/7/43... https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4673348&mpage=1&key=&#4715300 Being more of a Luftwaffe Enthusiast I can't vouch for it's complete accuracy, but the layout seems logical to me. Notable that according to this information, the 3rd Regiment had not received their complement of heavy (Tiger) tanks, as they were only raised 3 days earlier back in Germany proper. The following is a generic guide for late War German Army symbols... This will help greatly in determining the strength of the GD Companies and Units, and the types of vehicles likely in use. For example: I have highlighted 2nd Company of the GD's Aufklärer Regiment (armed Reconnaissance) below. At the top, we have the stylised tick indicating the Aufklärer unit, the '2.' of 2nd Company, and the thick border to the left of the rectangle to indicate Company strength. At the bottom, we see a small circle and oblong track, which indicates half track... The small 'm' inside shows the vehicle size 'mittel' for medium. Then; within the rectangle of the Company we have an angle showing Mortar, a gun of 3.7cm calibre, and the line with 2 dots indicating machine gun, along with the numbers corresponding to each underneath. So by inference: 2nd Company of the GD Aufklärer Regiment has 2 x Sd.Kfz.251/2 with mortar, 3 x Sd.Kfz.251/10 with 3.7 Pak gun, 4 x standard Sd.Kfz.251/1 troop carriers with machine guns only, and a complement of 56 enlisted men. I'm afraid that I can't help with individual side numbers of vehicles, but logically the first number would be a '2', and of course these vehicles would have the 'half track's tactical symbol and the white 'GD' helmet in the usual places. Using the guide above, you should be able to work out the types of vehicles that GD would have been using during Zitadelle. Suffice to say, that I can see everything here from Motorcycle combinations to Famo's from which to choose. S

So many questions Gaz... Was you seller local or from Overseas? Are they an official distributor? Were they guaranteed supply of the goods before offering them at pre-order conditions? It is illegal in Australia to offer goods for sale that a Retailer knows they cannot supply, or not be able do so within a reasonable time frame. https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/sales-delivery/non-delivery-of-products-services By the sounds of your story, if another local Retailer has the item in stock 5 months after you paid for the item, and your Shop still cannot supply you, you are well within your rights to ask for a refund. Perhaps they forgot to cancel your order after refunding you. Maybe they just let it go through in the name of goodwill. Or possibly someone on the other side of the Globe just had their kit get mangled in transit, and the good Karma blessed you this time around. I would pass it on. Especially if you don't intend to build another example of the subject. Gift it to a Member's Son or Daughter at your next Model Club meeting; if they'll wash the dishes nightly for a month for Mum or Dad, or something similar. S

Lol Rog, There's more WIP pictures from your Ute than any of your models here! S

You'll not be disappointed Alan... It's a stunning piece of miniature engineering, from the details to the way it all fits together. Just picked up for my example... Some Hobby Design 0.8mm resin connectors (yes, I know they're meant for scale model autos, don't judge me). I'm needing to replace the spark plugs on my '801 motor, and want to see if I can make these fit for purpose. Time will tell... S

That thing needs a Dickie seat... (Plus a Tommy gun, some white spats... And a bunch o'fives!) S

The up-shot is... It's great weather for Frogs! S

This is part of the problem Jeff... Stoopid people out driving around, pushing waves of floodwaters through other's houses, instead of staying at home. S

It's very serious in some parts Jeff... Not so much where Gaz and I are in South East Queensland, some localised flooding in parts of Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Hinterland. Last week; one place halfway up the coast got half a metre's rainfall in a day, half the yearly average in one 24 hour period. My Mum lives 30 miles away, and got absolutely nothing on the same day! New South Wales is copping it worst. There is a mass of warm tropical air moving eastwards, mixing with moisture-laden air out over the Coral Sea coming back west after the remnants of Cyclone Niran from a fortnight ago. Some parts of NSW received almost a metre of rain in the past 96 hours, and the Dams and road infrastructure just can't cope. Parts of the Country that were subject to a once in a Century Fire season last year, are having once in a Century floods this year. However, they knew we were due for a La Nina year after years of drought, so the Authorities can't say they weren't warned. S

It's the least we can do. Until 1975, PNG was an Australian Territory, and even now Australian Mining concerns rip billions of dollars of resources out of the Country. But I'm not convinced that we're looking after them from a largely philanthropic point of view; rather than we don't want the collateral Health risks from incidental contact between Traders, or the Virus being brought back into the Country by fly in / fly out Australian workers. Apart from the Towns and the Mining settlements; it's still a Jungle up there, both literally and figuratively. Lots of lawlessness and superstition abounds. I think that most people deep down realise that reactions can occur to vaccinations, but that severe reactions when they happen are extremely rare and anomalous (as are cases of re-infection of Covid-19). My former Partner had a severe reaction to Gadolinium dye during an MRI, and the shock to her system brought forward her M.S. symptoms almost instantaneously... Many people would equate that as being similar to examples of a Vaccine causing an unrelated Medical condition, and therefore a justification of an anti-Vaccine stance. It's always a personal choice when it comes down to it, but everything in life comes with risks and consequences, and so it is with vaccinations. FWIW, I'll be getting one when my time comes. S

That great to hear John... They have been slowly rolling out the Pfizer vaccine for the last month here now. The AstraZeneca variant will be manufactured locally in Melbourne at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory. On March 4th, Italy decided to suspend supply of the AZ vaccine to Australia; citing the fact that we don't need it as much as they do because we have kept Covid-19 largely under control... and the European Commission backed them up. Then, some EU Countries (including Italy) stopped their own vaccinations of the AZ variant due to blood clotting concerns. So for all it mattered, they may as well have just sent what we ordered a year ago. Meanwhile, Queensland where I am has started vaccinations with about 30 thousand given to Critical Care workers. We have about another 70 thousand in stock, so the rollout is happening very slowly. A Doctor treating Covid patients in a Public Hospital tested positive to the Virus last week... Inexplicably, she had not been given even the first of the two vaccine jabs! Some of the Australian stock of Vaccines is being sent up North to Papua New Guinea. The Virus is beginning to spread up there, and the Au Government is becoming concerned that it may become a back-door entry for the Virus. Parts of PNG are within sight of the Australian coast, and groups of Islanders often commute by boat and trade between the two Communities. With only 18 ICU beds in Port Moresby, the situation may get out of control there really quickly. S

Technically, sites like this one are Social Media. As are other Modelling-specific sites that we as a group are prone to visit. It's just about finding a space in which you're comfortable. S

Yes, it was a much simpler World back then Jeff. But the basics of what we're seeing now were already in place then... Axis = bad, Allies = good. That was the narrative. Everyone lumped into either one side or the other. Never mind that Stalin starved Millions of Ukrainians under his control to death in the 30's, he's fighting the bad guys like we are so we can just ignore the ambiguity of aligning with that particular Despot and just deal with the anti-Semitic Despot instead. Nuance was already dead after the Great War. This is now a Generational thing, it's going to be with us for a decade or more until the next reset (as in, the next Great War) and whoever triumphs will hold the cards and decide the rules. Last month, Facebook got the sh#ts with the Australian Government and censored all Media pages here with the flick of a switch... Just because they could. Conversely, China limits what can be seen on Social Media, and Russia has begun limiting access to Facebook posts that refer to Alexei Navalny... Apparently it's not enough that they tried to bump him off, and they now have him in custody, let's also remove all traces of the Man so that the people forget. State censorship or Corporate censorship; it's all basically the same if you can't see the finger on the switch. S

This is a thing now... I recently changed jobs, and my current workplace has a ban on adverse Social Media comments about it's operations or Individuals who work there. I can be disciplined or have my position terminated in what they may deem to be extreme circumstances. They may have the power to liaise directly with Facebook to have my account suspended; I don't want to be in the position to have that theory tested. I use it mostly for social interaction... In hindsight, some of my posts might be deemed to be in contradiction to their position on Climate Change. S