A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: TIME FLIES…

22nd October 2025

Despite all this I’ll have to shake off the malaise, because in the same way the last week flew by, the next two weeks leading up to Scale Model World (or the Nationals, as us older folk still call it…) will zip by with equal speed.

It’s hard to believe that this time last week I was packed and excitedly ready to travel to Eindhoven for Scale Model Challenge the following day. It’s barely believable that that was a week ago and yet here I am mulling over that idea and just how fast the weekend that I had so looked forward to since April, passed by.

This morning I decided at last to take a look at some of the purchases that I made at the show and formulate a kind of loose plan of action for their use over the coming year. I managed to resist the temptation to buy anything that would not directly be used either as part of other projects or in the case of the diorama accessories, the basis of standalone miniatures. This kept the costs down and the focus as tight as possible. With so many kits for work coming my way each year, making decisions regarding my own builds as infrequent as they are, needs to be done carefully if impulse buys are not to simply end up as unfulfilled ideas, rather than models I can actually display.

With that all done and my excellent purchases put away, attention turned to the ICM Marauder that I am speedily completing for Scale Model World. With news coming out yesterday that another Russian air bombardment had damaged the ICM factory in Ukraine, I am now even more driven to complete this model for the ICM display that will form the centrepiece – if only in part – of the Hobby Company stand in Telford.

Though this isn’t the pace for political discussions, I do feel that we should support these Ukrainian companies as much as possible at the awful time in their history, so if my build can help generate interest then I’ve done my bit, as inconsequential as that might be in the grand scheme of things.

So with the evening drawing in, I’m planning to complete the engines of the Marauder and then perhaps have an early night. No doubt the result of age, I’ve found the weekend a difficult thing to shake off, energy levels still not being where they need to be. Continuous yawning, a wandering mind and the request once again that I have another week of blood pressure tests (requested due to altered medication) have dampened my enthusiasm a little. Oh and the darker nights? Yeah, you can keep those as well!

Despite all this I’ll have to shake off the malaise because in the same way that the last week flew by, the next two weeks leading up to Scale Model World (or the Nationals as us older folk still call it…) will zip by with equal speed. I’m not thinking that the Marauder will be that tough to complete to be honest, but I don’t want to be rushing it as the show draws closer with the inevitable impact that that has on my family life. Nice and steady is a much better bet I think if an enjoyable kit and project, is not to become a burdensome chore. And given my travails with the Monogram kit, that is the last thing I need or want as deadline day approaches.

See you tomorrow.