After I returned from the US Nationals I suffered a bit of a modelling block, which was very strange because just a week before I left for Phoenix I had finished a total refurbishment of my loft workshop. For the first time in years it was beautifully clean and tidy, with all my tools in the right drawers, all my airbrushes cleaned and ready to go, and all my models nicely audited so I knew exactly what I had and where it was stored.
But no matter how hard I tried inspiration failed me; I took out at least twenty kits, in all different scales. I got all the sprues out, looked at what detail sets and decals I had, and then put them back into the box and carefully back into storage. Even a visit to my local library to peruse the aviation section and trips to RAF Hendon and Duxford also failed to inspire me.
So, as in years past it was my model club that got me back modelling. Every month we have a small competition; as well as normal themes like aircraft, armour, and ships, we usually have a theme, and this year it is continents. Africa, Asia, and the Americas will all feature over the next few months. But - I am well known for seeing exactly how far I can push the rules!
So with Africa night looming I looked at one of my purchases from the US Nationals and wondered how I could get it into the competition. Sometimes the simple answer to my modelling block is to build something outside of my normal aviation interests. Now I must confess I am also a bit of a Sci-Fi geek and have gathered a number of 1/350 Star Trek models over the years, and in America, I purchased the new Moebius kit of the USS Franklin from the recent Star Trek: Edge of Darkness. This is quite a small model compared to other 1/350 models, and as it is mainly in shades of natural metals I could use Alclad.
All in all, this was a very pleasant and quick build, taking two weeks from start to finish and it worked..! was revived. The arrival of two new kits from Zoukei Mura and Airfix immediately got my juices flowing and I was back modelling aircraft again.
So, if you get modeller’s block, maybe the answer lies in building something totally out of your normal field of interest, and you may learn a new technique that you can apply to your aircraft modelling. So give it a try; it worked for me!
Enjoy your latest magazine and may all your models be fun ones.
Q: So how does the USS Franklin get into the Africa competition?
A: Franklin is, as I am sure you know, a town in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa - which of course is what the Starship USS Franklin was named after. Or at least it was in my version of the Star Trek Universe. I told you I pushed the rules.
David Francis, Editor