Weekly Blog June 16, 2021: Following Along Friday

I awoke before my alarm and turned it off. I overslept to 7:15 but made it to the status meetings starting at 8:00, all clean and shiny. The Zoom meetings went on until 9ish, and then I was just watching and chatting with folks about various small issues.

I left for lunch at about 11:40ish and had chores to do and also some hobby items to get. So I headed to Gyro House and had the lamb kabobs. I wanted some protein and something that reminded me of Istanbul and India. The staff knows me at Gyro House as a regular customer and they were happy to see me. We all smile and laugh. We are so happy to have lived through 2020 and Covid-19 and see each other.

I drove to Tammies Hobbies in Beaverton. However, I am less happy with them as they even took down the screen for the cashier. I stood six feet back when cashing out.

I picked up from the Train department–the train guys have all the best toys, scale corrugated steel in plastic sheets. I got some more cement for plastic (it dissolves the plastic and then welds it together).

I stopped by RiteAid, still scandalized that they sell tobacco products for our prescriptions and supplies for Susie.

I stopped by McDonald’s to Susie’s fav. The Happy Meal did have apples.

I get Slack and emails from Nike on my phone now. So I can follow along as I travel.

I started back on the Hell War Machine model for our Dungeons and Dragon game this coming Sunday. I have repaired the glue spill issue and returned the model back to its working state last night.

I started on the model and finished much of the back of the model. It has corrugated steel now, all beat up. This is a kitbash scratch build. I have cut up an old Soviet model of a Russian Battleship, a US tank, and a staff car model that would look perfect in a Hogan’s Heroes rerun. I have built from scratch the framework added kitbashed decorations, and built some items from scratch using stips of styrene plastic.

I use my Dremel to cut dents and holes in the plastic. Then, I repair the holes with some metal screen. This partial filling of the hole adds to the drama of the damage.

As the model needs to open to hold 28mm Dungeons and Dragon scale figures, I have used a magnet to hold the deck onto the model. It is a cool trick I saw on a build video for adding lighting to a model. Instead of sealing the model with glue, hold parts you might need to open again together with strong magnets.

I intend to finish the model on Saturday morning and paint it soon. I will be using metal screening again for the sides and decking with plastic bits attached to the sides. Again, I might use magnets so we can simulate damage by removing the panels.

I was back on Zoom at 4:45PM (being a few minutes late). The data conversions are running 7/24 tonight, and I keep watching.

I went out and got some groceries at 7:30ish. I got busy with the model and forgot to get groceries. I picked up sandwiches for dinner, and we had a late dinner.

I returned to the Hell War Machine again and watching Slack and emails.

I turned to Breathe on Me, Breath of God in the Methodist Hymnal.