A MODELMAKER’S LIFE: AIRBRUSHED PAINTWORK AND IAN DURY & THE BLOCKHEADS…

8th January 2026

With Storm Goretti moving closer and closer throughout the day, I’ve spent much of it hunkered down, painting everything that I’d assembled yesterday. None of this was particularly involved or difficult, involving little more than simple basecoats, but it was good to get it all sorted so that masking and detail painting can be started if not completed, over the next few days.

Along with the painting, I’ve enjoyed a little music today, something that I’ve not really wanted to listen to over the last week or so thanks to the flu bug that appears, finally, to be getting better.

So today, I decided to listen to a few albums that I knew about, but had never listened to despite being a big fan of singles that appeared on each one. The first two were the early releases from Ian Dury & The Blockheads. Famous for the track Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, I’d not investigated them further so when an album was suggested on my Apple page, I thought I’d give it a listen.

Where the hell has it been all my life?!

The two albums Do It Yourself and New Boots and Panties reminded me of not just what a clever lyricist Ian Dury was, but what incredible musicians that he surrounded himself with. Filled with the kind of social commentary that defined that era of music, the songs all seemed to be small chapters within a much larger and involved story. Not everything was to my taste, some of the songs being a little too raw for my ears, but those that did hit home will certainly be repeated over the next few days.

So tomorrow, with the forecast heavy snow now falling, we will no doubt hunker down once more until it all passes through. Painting will have to be part of the plan as the deadline for the Tomcat is only a week away, but that should be made all the more achievable if the music in the background is as pleasing as it was today.

See you tomorrow.