Thommo

Making this for our eldest daughters boyfriend who is sweating on this new video game 'Elden Ring' to come out. Will make it into a little diorama for him. Using the Minicraft US Horse Soldiers kit as the basis for the magic jumping horse and warrior.

Very cool!

To be fair, we received some inheritances which instead of peeing up the wall on sports cars etc. we used to pay off our mortgage, so by the ages of about 48, we were debt free & owned a house. After that, we concentrated on saving into Super, shares, managed funds. Many of our friends invested in residential properties to rent, as has my brother (who is much wealthier than us, but also has a lot of debt). We tried that once and frankly it did not suit our temperament (tenants were dickheads too often, damaged the property). If you buy in a place that has stupidly high capit

I invested in a Cricut Maker a few months ago, $450AUS. Despite the software it uses (Design Space) being a bit clunky, it is brilliant. I've used it to cut masks for spraying and vinyl for decals (and a business sign on my 4WD). Have been looking into using it for engraving and debossing (e.g. patterns on a knights armour for a current scratchbuild), but I think for 1/35 scale, it would not go fine enough. I've found in vinyl/masking frisket, you can go down to about 3mm height for complex shapes like letters. Smaller than that, it starts to lose the plot and chop u

I'm 57, my wife 59. We are looking to semi-retire in the next 2-5 years. We started running a family budget on Excel back in about 1996 when we went off salaries and had our own businesses. Best thing I ever did, still run it today even though the kids are off our hands and we have way more $'s to play with. We also set up a Superannuation model in that spreadsheet which predicts how much in income-earning assets we will have to retire on and at a very conservative 3% earning rate, how much that will give us per year to live on in retirement (as I'd like to leave all

Finally finished. Tried several new things: - A bloody expensive limited run resin kit. It was a dog. Poor fit etc. Did my best. - BMF. Great on flatter areas, very tricky around compound curves. - Vallejo Still Water. Would be good for small areas of water, but not so great for my creek which had to be 1.3cm deep. Don't use masking tape for a 'dam wall' to hold the water in, as in longer sections, the still water will pull it out of shape. Don't apply Still Water in more than 2-3mm layers (mine needed about 6 layers) else it will take forever to dry

They surely did. Brought the entire world to it's knees. Deliberate or accidental, we may never know 🤔 Geez the French PM is pissed with our PM, and rightly so. He is commonly known as 'Scotty from Marketing' down here, and I'm really starting to understand why. He's about to get a hammering in Rome too over his plan on climate change.

Yes, it bothers me and most others down here, but we put up with it, it's not the end of the world. We are not as paranoid about 'personal freedoms' in general in Oz compared to what we hear about the US, but obviously there are limits to what we will tolerate. And I think most people are now approaching their limit, however with vaccination rates having increased sharply, it looks like the limitations will soon end - at least in our state (New South Wales). The bigger problem is the inconsistencies between the states. Queensland & Western Australia in particular (who have g

It's probably because we peed off China over the genesis of Covid & the powers that be decided we might need to get more pally with the US soon......so the poor French got burned 😬 Yes, some states are taking it more seriously than others, but it has as much to do with 'you know what' as the health of the people. You blokes in the US would know all about the joys of having 'states', though you have 50 and we only have 8.

I used an Aztek for at least 10yrs, then went to an Iwata HP-CP. Like chalk and cheese. I had no idea how inconsistent & unreliable the plastic Aztek was until I got the Iwata. I constantly had to dis-assemble & clean the Aztek (this voids the warranty) as the body got full of paint. Nozzles always clogging and sputtering. Trigger mechanism snapped (got a new one under warranty, but still the same drama's). The Iwata still has it's blockage issues, but it is much much easier to strip and clean and put back together. Usually, it is the very fine n

For me, the bigger question is, how important are submarines in the scheme of all things military? We are hearing the new nuclear subs won't be ready till at least 2040....and the Chinese Govt is already pretty pissed with us 😬 I was not aware they were going to built here though & provide local jobs. If so, that's a big plus.

Build video here mate. Ice cliff carved out of AK carving foam. Flat area covered in paper & glue, then rocks added with AK carving foam, snow painted white then Vallejo Snow added. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0etUZU2pi4Y

Supreme stubborness. Honestly, I've never yet made a kit I'm 100% happy with, probably never will. But most people don't know the issues I can see.

Our local hobby shop here in Oz just started stocking this - https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/collections/acrylic-lacquer-paint It leaves everything else I've ever put through my airbrush for dead, and no thinning. So far I've tried the camo black, white and clear gloss. Going to slowly ditch all my Tamiya acrylics, Vallejo's, Model Master & Humbrol enamels and just use these. They are also bringing out a range which can be brush painted.

I just resign myself to the fact that no model I make will be 100% right. I find the only time people including myself really notice the flaws is when I take photos of them to stick up on forums. The camera shows up blemishes far more than the naked eye, even when I have my glasses on.

Never.

Wish I'd seen this before ordering my first ever batch of BMF chrome to do the trim & bumpers on a model car I'm building! Still, I don't think we can get Stardust paint in Australia? I looked at reviews & vids for doing chrome but did not come across Go Chrome. BMF looked like the easiest option (no tiny masking & careful airbrushing needed). I also ordered some Alclad Chrome as a backup option. Molotow pens also rated highly on other model forums.

Our area comes out of lockdown tomorrow as we have zero cases, which means I can get back to swim training & fishing 🏊‍♂️ 🐟 . But if we get more cases, we can go back into lockdown. Wife & I are fully vaxed now, as is youngest daughter, eldest has had her 1st jab. At 70% of the state vaxed, they are saying vaxed people will be able to do things the unvaxed can't (e.g. pubs, movies, restaurants etc). My wife has to travel to Sydney today as her Aunt is dying in a nursing home and my wife & her siblings are her only relatives, next of kin & m

Puppies means something else down here & I don't have any, so here is a pussy...............cat. This is cranky cat (inherited when our eldest daughter left home 🤨). 2 nights ago it left a headless, disemboweled rabbit in our laundry. This morning, we were lucky - just a huge spew on the mat.

Christ, they were smarter in 1905 than we are now! "The Court's decision articulated the view that individual liberty is not absolute"

Spot on mate. And we keep following you guys right through the same door 🙄 When will all we learn that 1st world military might can't beat 3rd world middle-ages fanaticism? Or that letting bats piss on pangolins might end badly?

I think I solved it! 1. Very light sanding internally of needle seal. 2. Screw the needle seal back in looser. Must have put it back a tad too tight which was compressing the seal. Needle move much more freely now. Traps for young players.

I took the seal out again and stuck the needle through it and it is def way too tight. As if the plastic/teflon insert has swelled a tiny bit.

Good point! I just checked but no it seems straight against a steel ruler edge.