A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: A START IS MADE ON THE AIRFIX ANSON… AT LAST!

Detail inside the model is really rather pleasing and though the delicate frames took some cleaning up (worthwhile thanks to that enormous amount of glazing around the cockpit) assembly was a breeze…

28th January 2025

Today was much more like it!

Finally, after the kind of false starts that would have made my old Ford Fiesta blush with shame, I began work on the wonderful Airfix Anson. Having had the kit for some time, sourced a few goodies to dress up the cockpit and replace the engines with 3D printed offerings, it was great to start snipping parts away from the runners and apply some glue betwixt components, large and small. But first, I needed to tidy up…

Before beginning any project, I like to tidy the bench, sweep the floor and then clear away any accumulated crap that might have found its way into my studio. Though I’ve not always been like this, over the years I’ve become more and more fastidious when it comes to my working environment. I simply cannot work if there is junk on my desk, or in my eye line. It simply goes against the grain to have the rest of my house looking immaculate when my studio and office look like bombs have gone off in them. So, every day I tidy up. Then, once I start work the following morning, everything is ready for me to begin either assembly or painting. Result of that? Less dust, fewer shitty finishes and fewer lost parts hidden under piles of rubbish that had no right to be there in the first place. Simple really!

So, work began on the Anson. It’s a lovely kit that builds into a very pleasing model, so I’ve been keen since the first kit was released, to give one a whirl. Though I’d like to announce with glee that these initial steps are filled with excitement, the truth is rather more mundane. I begin by removing all of the bigger bits from the runners (bigger bits being a technical term that I am happy for you to use; just give credit where it’s due) so that I look like I’ve made progress as a full box becomes rather less so. Two runners down, the box was indeed a little emptier, my desk perhaps less so, a freshly-cleaned cutting mat now filled with those removed pieces, chopped-up bits of runner and a mountain of tiny ejector pin remnants, if that is indeed what the little blighters are called…

This is an important step though. This part is akin to reading the first chapter of a book (I imagine, as I don’t read that many…I’ll confirm it with my wife) and will tell me if I am going to dive into the project or run to the hills in despair. Thankfully, the juices began to flow almost immediately, telling me that I was indeed going to enjoy this new build with little need for extra persuasion. Phew. 

As it is, I now have an almost complete cockpit, ready for a coat the RAF’s finest interior grey green which I’ll apply in the morning once I’ve woken up enough to find my airbrush and a suitable bottle of Tamiya XF71. Detail inside the model is really rather pleasing and though the delicate frames took some cleaning up with the tip of a new scalpel blade and one of Infini’s nifty sanding planes (worthwhile thanks to that enormous amount of glazing around the cockpit) assembly was a breeze. There are still a few seams to clean up, most notably down the back of the pilot’s seat, but nothing too egregious or time-consuming. I’d hoped that that particular issue would be coved with some craftily draped seat belts, but that plan was soon consigned to the bin when I realised that the Anson was rather more Ryanair, than Top Gun, lap straps being the only restraint needed in such a pedestrian machine. Ah well, sanding and filling it is.

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One thing I have yet to do is remove the detail from some of the parts that will allow the replacement Eduard panels to fit. Truth be told, I’ve not even looked at what is needed in that regard so that joy will have to wait ’til the morning (I love the replacements; I hate removing detail to make them fit!). I’m sure it will be fine, if not a little time consuming once I start to butcher the kit parts in anger. It will be the first time that I’ve used some of Eduard’s SPACE parts, so I’m keen to see how well they fit and how realistic they look in place. Initial impressions are good, so fingers crossed that everything runs on rails once I begin work.

Alongside the Anson, I’ve also started to design a new book (first chapter is done) and spent some time working on the model that will form its centrepiece. It’s all a bit vague I appreciate, which is something that I am painfully aware of. Having felt for a while that kit companies should announce their bloody kits, rather than teasing the universe with endless posts about what might or might not be around the corner, doing the same with something of my own, really feels like rank hypocrisy. Here though, As I’ve taken some time to confidently settle on a new subject (which hasn’t been easy given how my self confidence has been so flaming up and down of late) I don’t want to jinx it by releasing details of the model before it’s finished. Several years ago I announced my Hellcat book would feature a very in-depth build of Hasegawa’s 1/32 kit, only to completely cock-up the finish to a point where it ended in the bin, rather than in the book. I just don’t want that to happen again! So far it’s running rails, something I hope will continue through to completion!

So, not bad for a Tuesday. More done than I thought and no further damage to anything important within the confines of our house. Same again, tomorrow?

TODAY’S MUSIC CHOICES

Today has been a good day of music with plenty of variety. Thanks to Drewe Manton for suggesting the ABC album which was utterly majestic and likely to part of my listening, tomorrow!

ABC: The Lexicon Of Love

Duran Duran: Rio

David Gilmour: Luck and Strange

Dire Straits: Love Over Gold, Brothers In Arms

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LATEST COMMENTS FROM VISITORS TO THIS SITE

1. 

   I’ve just completely revamped mine, and I’m still refining it, and making a few 3D prints that will fill some…

2. 

   My sympathies- I’m on day 6, and feeling just a bit better. Good luck!

3. 

   Hope you get over the flu but soon Spencer. Without sounding a bit, how can I put it, full.of doom.…

4. 

   That’s a great kit, enjoy.

5. 

   Hope you feel better soon!