As I've indicated, my last day of employment came and went early in March. I was asked to make a trip to the company's new digs to deliver some IT equipment, and I can tell you that the new place is a Taj Mahal compared to the shoebox we had been working out of for five and a half years. And, true to the end, my boss kept trying to get me to move. Sorry, boss. My wife and family are situated, I'm staying put. Thanks for asking.
I'm starting to get some things moving on the job front. Until then, I'm going to pick up a few shifts at the local hobby shop. I've always enjoyed my times working at hobby shops, because, well, I was working in a hobby shop! Nobody will get rich by doing so, but I enjoy meeting the customers and helping them either find a hobby or enjoy the one they already pursue.
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After taking a week of doing next to nothing–you know, to clear my mind–you would think I could get back to doing some things that I had missed due to the work schedule. However, that would be flawed logic, because the first weekend in April saw the 2016 AMPS International Convention roll into Sumter, SC. How was the show? I can only comment for myself–it may not have been the biggest, but it was the best run. I may be a bit biased, though, since I was a member of the host Chapter. We had 125 entrants who put 399 models on the tables. Another 179 people paid for a General Admission walk-in. 43 vendors were spread over some 60 tables–including at least four club tables with display models on them, which pushed the total number of models in the building to close to 500. Personally, my little M20 took an Intermediate Gold, which was nice–and it bumped me up to an Advanced Modeler. There were a few minor glitches, but they all got worked out or are being revisited for the next hosts. Next year's show will be in Danbury, CT, so make you plans now…
So, with AMPS over, I can rest, right? Wrong. Remember, this year puts both the AMPS and IPMS/USA National shows in the Midlands of South Carolina. No rest for the weary, wicked, twisted, or other. I'm coordinating the seminars, and I have had a great group of speakers volunteer. I've put together a schedule which should work very well. Now, I just have to get everyone on the same page with me–which at times can be akin to herding cats. But all will go well in the end–I can sense it…
Being the seminar coordinator, I decided that I'd present two of my own. One will cover the convention theme of "Every Model Tells a Story", the other was going to cover piston-powered airliners. But at some point I was asked if anyone was doing a seminar on model building basics. At the time, I was struggling to find material to fill out an hours' worth of propliners, so I switched tracks and started to put together a Back to Basics seminar. In order to do better illustrate the Back to Basics seminar, that means one thing: I needed to build a model. I had recently purchased some SIDNA from a club member, one of which was the Hasegawa 1/72 Beaufighter Mk.21. It is a neat little kit, and even with the advent of the new Airfix TF.X, it still is a worthy kit. I grabbed it off of the stack, and as of about an hour ago it was basically sitting in completed sub-assemblies. I'd like to have this one done quickly–I am also using is as my "Get your mojo back" model, so the sooner I can call it done, the sooner I can move on to other kits.
This will sound strange–between my last days at work and the start of the AMPS convention, I actually started another kit, too–an Aeroclub 1/48 scale Gloster Gamecock, which was also bought as SIDNA from a friend at a swap meet. It has been a while since I tackled a vac-form kit, but after knocking some rust off I have found the project to be rather enjoyable. I still have other kits to finish–most of which are at the paint shop phase–but something told me to start the Gamecock. I don't know, maybe I started the Gamecock so the dogs in my head would stop barking, but I'm making fairly good progress and am actually trying a few new techniques that I've read about. Now that this one is well under way, I need to finally go looking for an Aeroclub Gauntlet for my 74 Squadron collection.
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My wife and I did get a chance to take a few day trips–one of them was to see our friends at the Augusta HobbyTown USA. We deliberately make a note of Master's weekend and stay away, but the weekend after the golfers leave is usually pretty tranquil. In the theme seminar I'm presenting, part of it covers a story of a model of an AV-8B. Long story–I'll write a post about it after the convention–but the gist is that I decided to obtain the Kittyhawk Models 1/48 F-35B as a companion piece. Give me a while, and I might actually get it built. Kitthawk's kits carry a reputation online, but I've witnessed firsthand that they are not impossible to build. My wife has finished both their T-45 Goshawk and the TF-9J Twogar, and they both are excellent models.
Our other day trip was to the the big city of Blue Ridge, Georgia, home of Free Time Hobbies. I've bought from them online a time or two, and their selection they show online called to us to go for a visit. We left the house at about 9:30 AM and got home around 8:30PM. It isn't really a long ride, but the drive takes you through a lot of rural areas. The store is quite nice, and we managed to find a few things we needed. It isn't a trip we'll take every month, or even every six months, but it was a trip we were glad we took.
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We had planned to leave the house earlier on our trip to Blue Ridge, but when my wife was summoned awake by the Mighty Tiger (who had a Tiger Food Low Level Light come on), she noticed our little cat wouldn't leave the back window, and she kept hearing a cat crying. She assumed it was the little guy, but when she looked outside, she saw another cat on the porch. We had seen this guy a few times before–a youngish cat, gray in color–when he would camp out on the porch. This time, though, something wasn't right. The cat was sitting still with his head into the corner, not moving much, and every now and then would shudder, as if he was having a seizure. It had been a cold night, but we don't know if that factored into what was going on. After a while, not knowing what was happening, my wife called Animal Control. Since it was early, the Sheriff's Office responded. The deputy kept checking on the cat every now and then, and it was evident that the little kitty wasn't doing well. By the time the Animal Control officer arrived, the cat was more or less motionless. It did wiggle when she tried to pick it up, so she gave it a sedative before she loaded it into a carrier and took him away. We don't know what happened after she took the kitty away, but we're fairly positive it is playing a golden harp.
What nobody could figure out was what happened. It seemed to be paralyzed on one side, as if it had suffered a stroke. We don't know if it had been poisoned, we don't know if it met up with a snake and been bitten, we don't know if some cruel person or persons did something to it. All we know is that our little guy sat inside the whole time, looking after the injured cat. And, when our little guy would start crying, his big brother would walk over and lick him on the head. So much for being ferocious beasts–our two feline gentlemen proved that they do love each other.
This story illustrates why both of our feline justice units live indoors–in our area, predators lurk in the woods. It doesn't take long to become a snack for a Red-Tailed Hawk, an eagle, or a fox (or even a stray feral dog or another cat), or meet up with a rattlesnake. No, they do just fine in the house–the little one gets into enough mischief inside, I can scarcely imagine what he'd do in the great out of doors.
That's all there is for now. Thanks for reading–I'll post some Gamecock photos, and other photos, as things move along the line towards completion. Really. I will…
Be good to one another, and, as always, I bid you Peace.