Time and Tide Wait For No Man: Presbyopia and Scale Modeling

"And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet." -  "the tide abides for, tarrieth for no man, stays no man, tide nor time tarrieth no man"  ~ St. Marher, 1225

The march of time and age has caught up to this scale modeler.  I have noticed recently that my close vision acuity has slowly eroded. 

Every one says that the fiddly bits are the hardest part of scale modeling to do. Even more so after 40. I have started noticing the problematic situation that develops when you have presbyopia - This loss of focusing ability for near vision due to the inflexibility of the focusing lens in your eye. A photography analogy would be when your focusing element for your macro lens goes all wonky and jams. I find myself rubbing my eyes more due to dryness. If I bring a model part up close to my eyes to ascertain the detail work needed it goes all blurry.

The inherent miniscule size of the detail work in 1/48 scale modeling (heck...I'm not even going to touch 1/72 scale any more) now either involves getting a large magnifying lamp with a large magnifier element (the one I have is too small or wearing magnifying glasses and I need to find one that minimizes the diffraction (think putting a straw in a glass and looking at it: it looks bent or broken in two). I need to know where my hands are on the kit so that I don't screw up a panel line or something. I don't like things around my head, wearing a magnifier glass would involve so much frustration that I would more than likely throw the model kit or the glasses out the open window in anger.

I'm getting the feeling that it's more than time to start switching scales to 1/32 and I hate to do that because it's going to involve selling the majority of 1/48 kits that I have collected over the years. I don't have 100s of kits but it looks to be about 58 kits that I have that are 48 scale. I don't see any chance of my near vision problems clearing up due to my age and I'm not too certain if there is a simple solution to focusing on detail work such as the cockpit fiddly bits without getting driven insane by all the small work needed. To give you an idea, if I hold a small figure at any point less than 3/4 of a foot away from my eyes the detail on the figure degenerates into a blur. So if I am to work on a 1/48 fiddly bit I'm going to have to get a magnifier somewhere in the neighborhood of 10x-20x magnification. It's either that or sell the majority of my 1/48 scale kits and switch to 1/32. Maybe being able to actually see what the hell I'm doing may get me back to the model-bench.

Considering my start to finish ratio... 0% in the past 6 years, I need some sort of kick in the gluteous maximus to get me to start working on something. Detail work frustrates the living daylights out of me to no end, but the OCD part of me figures that it doesn't do anything for a model if you put in a half-baked, half finished cockpit into a model that you do well...on the outside. So I want to do well on the cockpits too...and the smaller the pieces the more problem with seeing and the more frustrated I get. I guess that's probably why in the past 2 years I haven't wanted to work on anything because of the vision problems. And at one point in my lifetime, I had 20/20 in one eye and 20/10 in the other.

The young guys need to appreciate their visual acuity while they still have it. ...because all too soon...

Still On Hiatus - 1/48 Revell F-14A Tomcat

I've been busy with my photography for the last few years and haven't had time to work on any of my models. Not to mention that there has been so many things that I've had to do other than photography or models. Part of that is organizing the house so that taking care of chores is done quickly...rather than spending all day on it. In some ways, I hate the way that chores get in the way of stuff that is more enjoyable to do. But that's the way it works out. But sometimes I do find that I'd like to be able to finish off that 1/48 F-14A Tomcat. It's trying to find a tire black that doesn't dry glossy when I use a brush to paint it on, same with the cockpit area. the ability to be able to paint it with a brush so that I get a matte finish. I think I may have to strip off some of the paint and get it freshly repainted with the proper paint. I've thought about using Chaos Black from Citadel Paints for the cockpit and the tires. Then I have to redo the cockpit with Dark Gull Grey (FS36231). I tried Aircraft Interior Black (Testors) FS 37031, and ended up with it coming out extremely glossy. What I'm going to have to do is try what David Aungst did with his own F-14 Tomcat: Engine Gray (FS36076), European-I Gray (FS36081), or even Black-Gray (RLM 66) - Although I'm not sure where I can get RLM66. I've also found that I've had to get "flat-coat" or "dull-cote" in order to bring the sheen off the instrument panels. I feel like I'm going to have to pay a visit to my local hobby store to get a few 10/0 brushes. Brush painting is a pain in the ass, but I find that way it lets me have more control over where the paint goes, than by flat out spraying with an airbrush. I just have to find the right mixture of thinner/paint to paint-brush with. After the F-14A Tomcat, I'm going to go after the F-117A. What's pathetic is that I bought the model mid-way through it's service and then did nothing with it and now the actual aircraft is now retired. Oh, well...it'll go OK on my shelf once I get that done.

Need To Get Busy On That F-14A

Been busy with my photography, so I haven't been able to do much with my model kits. I hope though to be able to complete one this year. I've been meaning to do the F-14A Tomcat. But I'm going to need to figure out how to hook up a moisture trap to the airbrush system. Then I'm going to draw lines on a piece of paper and see if I can get straight lines. I don't need to spread flat black all over the aircraft.

The Revell 1/48 Tomcat project has been on-going for the past 5 years. I think 5 years is long enough. As it is, I think I'm going to have to strip the paint off the cockpit and redo it. My flat black seems to always come out glossy. I'm gonna go get some flat-grey and some flat black rattlecans and try to see if I can get a decent paintjob done on the F-14A. If so, then I'll be doing just fine and I can proceed with the rest of the build. I also have to work on the landing gear as well. That might take a couple of weeks to try to get them looking perfect. I'm also looking for some oil wash so that I can dirty up the wheels a bit. Got to stop by the painter's supply store and pick up some oils.

Masking off the wheels so that there isn't any overrun is the toughest part. I can't seem to get the procedure straight. That indecisiveness just pisses me off big time.

Hopefully, I can get rolling and get that stupid F-14 done and complete so that I can get on to some more projects that have been sitting and stagnating.

Stash Reduction Time...a Time To Reflect.

There comes a time when you have to let go of all the aspirations because you realize that there isn't enough time in life to be able to do everything that you ever wanted to do in your lifetime. It's not so much giving up...as it is the ability to focus on what is most important to you. I have made the toughest decision in my life. To pare down my model kit collection to the point where I have only a few kits that actually truly mean something to me. The rest, I will either sell or donate to the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. For my collection, I am hoping to be able to get enough to make a substantial dent in the cost of a Nikon AF-S 105mm VR Macro lens.

As much as I have enjoyed the collection of model kits that I have accumulated, there comes a time when you have to make a choice to pare down and really focus on what matters to you in life. And as difficult as it may seem, it appears that I need to do that, for the sake of organization as well as turning my mind to photography. Photography may be a more expensive hobby but for me, it also has the potential to earn some serious income. So instead of dragging around history that will never be used, I am going to take that and turn it into a lens that I can use.

Oh, I will be keeping some of my kits...that I cherish...and I hope to complete those before I die. And maybe I will work on them with my kids. What really means something is not the quantity of the things you own, but in the quality of the things you decide to keep. And for me, that is confining my purchases to camera equipment and only enough to do the photography that I really want to do.

So this blog is going to go on hiatus while I trim down my "stash".

Canopy Painting.

I've masked off my Tomcat canopy (did this quite a few months ago). I've been racking my brain on how to keep paint spillage from getting under the canoopy and ruining the canopy from the underside.

I'm just wondering if a blu-tak sausage shaped to fit under the canopy would be sufficient enough in keeping paint spillage from getting on the canopy inside? Or should I turn around and put Tamiya tape under the canopy to absolutely prevent any seepage at all?

These are the questions that I've been asking myself because the whole point of trying to figure out each and every step has not been crystal clear to me. A lot of people may say that might be a bit too much "thinking" on a hobby, but well...I don't like making mistakes. But maybe a part of this hobby is to learn as you make mistakes. ~sigh~

I'm going to have to strip the cockpit again so that I can actually turn around and prime the whole cockpit with grey primer. Then apply some tape to the sections that I want painted control surface black.

My wife gave me an idea of saving some "baby food" jars and using them to mix paint...or set up the mixture of thinner/paint for flat finishes of Modelmaster Int. Black (3 parts paint to 1 part thinner) (according to Testors = Gloss; 3 parts paint to 2 parts thinner. Flat; 3 parts paint to 1 part thinner)

Still Need To Finish That F-14

I really need to get going on that F-14A Tomcat that has been languishing on the model shelf for quite some time. But first of all I'm going to have to strip the paint off the stuff that I've already done because they didn't come out the way I wanted it to.



I would like to strip off the paint on the cockpit tub and the instrument panels because they should have been done with flat black...and would have turned out better with grey primer. And I did a somewhat passable job on the canopy with the masking off. That may allow me to paint a flat black...allow it to dry and then spray a coat of gloss gull grey over it. I'm going to need to get a spray rattle can of flat black. I have yet to set up my airbrush. Maybe I can see if this F-14 will prove that I can actually do this hobby. I guess it's gut-check time.



Well, at least I do have several of the paints that I need for this. FS16440 (Gloss Gull Grey) and Flat Black (I would like to make sure that it comes out flat black), the last two times, it's come out glossy.

Airborn T-shirts; not model related but aviation...

I remember a long time ago when I was in the Air Cadets in 1984 when several of my fellow cadets from 583 Coronation Squadron, a few cadets from several other squadrons and I went down to Spokane for the Fairchild AFB open house. I would have to say it was quite the highlight of my life. A fellow cadet, Paul Cameron, from my squadron and I were quartered with a Civil Air Patrol Master Sergeant named Jeff House.

During the course of the open house, I managed to see a lot of US military aircraft and also managed to pick up a "Blackbird Aviation t-shirt" of the F-15 Eagle. Needless to say, this company has metamorphosed into "Airborn Flightwear" and my old t-shirt from 1984 has seen the ravages of time.


Front side; F-15 tee.


Back; F-15 tee.

Needless to say, I was hooked on the Blackbird Aviation tees and I wanted to buy them, but didn't have the money until I grew up to get them. I had switched allegiances from the F-15 Eagle to the F-14 Tomcat due to a certain movie that came out in 1986. I'm sure you all know which one that was.





I bought this t-shirt in the 1990s in New Westminster, BC at a t-shirt shop that was located in the New Westminster Quay shopping center. Both of my now Airborn Flightwear t-shirts are an integral part of my history and I'm still happy to say that I still wear them...though I am seriously thinking of retiring my F-15 shirt. And frankly, I think it's about time for replacements.