Martin,
greetings!
First shot of HMS Campbeltown in Sargasso Sea type surroundings (not
healthy for Mariners ancient or modern) in St German en Laye which is an
old garrison town 16 Km due West from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
Residence of the tribe of Neave. She is a Sirmar 1/96th scale, with two
Graupner 500 motors, 2 channel Futaba radio control (ambitions currently
maturing to add bells, sonar sounds, attack klaxons etc) automatic bilge
pump to ensure that even with rascal waves, neither ship nor Captain
suddenly take on U boat characteristics.
You ask about Sirmar kits, actually, I am more than happy with this one
and am tempted to go for the type 23 Norfolk as the next project - after
bells and klaxons! As with all kits of this nature, the finer the
fittings, the more fragile ( of course) which makes for great challenges
when transporting from Tribal Longhouse to St Germain pond or, next week,
to the vastly deeps of the Versailles Lakes. But this is a reflection
more on my dubious talents as Load Master than on Sirmar. I have had
excellent service from them. Fleetscale make 1/72 scale semi kits. But
that would mean getting another car to fit ships of this dimension into
the trunk.
Will send a few more shots in the course of the week. But for the now, I
must get back to my usual occupation which is doing arcane research on
European higher education policy, editing a book series and a Learned
(sic) journal. With that kind of activity, model shipbuilding is the
only way to preserve as sense of proportion, a sense of the absurd and of
humour - in short, to retain the tattered bits of humanity as well as
being part of a very different but hugely interesting community than the
one I normally lurk in.
Warmest and best,
Guy (Neave) |