Sunday 22 February 2015

My Thoughts on Tank Nation


What would Carelton say?
Over the last week or so, there has been a lot of talk about the imminent rebuilding of the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Additionally, there has been a lot of talk of "tank nation" in which the Leafs would throw the remaining games to better improve their odds of getting  a draft pick.
Yes, I'd love to see him in a Leaf uniform.
While I certainly welcome a complete and sincere rebuild, I am not so sure about the idea of playing to lose.  As we have already seen, losing becomes a habit.  If we start lowering our compete level, can we get it back?
There are some other problems with this idea.
  • The "superstars" that we are going to be trading away will want to look good for their future team.  They want to be sought after by strong teams, not weak teams.  Playing to lose won't improve their value on the trade market.  That's a lose-lose proposition.
  • The team seems to have lost without trying to lose, so maybe we should just let nature take its course.
  • Once we have jettisoned our free agent talent, or older players, or overpaid players, or whomever we let go, I suspect that the team won't be in any position to compete anyway.  Losing will happen, whether we want it to or not.
  • What kind of mood will be left in the dressing room by a team that gave up?
  • These players have been competing for their whole lives.  Can we expect them to unlearn that behaviour?
In the end, we will just have to see how things turn out.  I welcome your opinions.

Saturday 21 February 2015

I Finally Found It





Despite being into model trains, I really don't know a whole lot about them.  I have learned a lot in while pursuing this hobby, but I am nothing like the people I meet at the hobby shop.  These people are way into the hobby.  They quote rail lines and dish out engine numbers like I could recite comic book characters.  They have a name for every part of every car.  It amazes and astounds me.  Granted, sometimes it makes me feel rather uninformed.  It also makes me feel that I just don't take this hobby as serious as other people.  I have to admit, that doesn't really bother me.

Nonetheless, I do want to continue to educate myself.  I participate in online forums, search the web and do a lot of reading.  If you have seen my other post, you will know that I have amassed a library of interesting books.  Here is a link to that post.

 
Unfortunately, one book has eluded me.  I considered it my white whale (thanks Melville).  Since I started this hobby, I have wanted to read The Model Railroaders Guide to Freight Cars.  The problem was that the book was no longer in print and the prices people were asking for existing copies was rather astronomical.  We're talking over $300 in some cases.  I wanted to read it....but not at that price.

I have scoured hobby shops, hoping that a stray copy was lurking in an overlooked bin.  I have gone to flea markets, train shows, and even hoped that some unlucky hobbyist's wife or husband had decided to put their copy into a garage sale.  I have gone so far as to contact the publisher to see if they had a copy or if they ever planned to reprint the book.  They didn't even bother to respond--Thanks Kalmbach.  I have had the book on my favourites list at Amazon for quite a number of years.

Luckily, I continuously check my lists, because someone decided to part with theirs for a price I deemed reasonable (profitable for sure, but nonetheless reasonable).  It arrived yesterday and I couldn't be happier.  This seller will no doubt get a five star rating from me.

I haven't started reading it yet, but after leafing through it, I feel quite happy with my purchase.  I know, most of this information (if not all) is available online, but I like books.  I like sitting on my deck (when it isn't bitterly cold outside or snowing) and reading.  There is just something so satisfying about the tactile experience. If I feel the need, perhaps I will do a review of the book.

All of  this got me thinking....is there anything out there that you consider your white whale?  Is there something you are on the lookout for?  I imagine it could be an original Star Wars figure still in the package, or Wayne Gretzky's Rookie card, or ..... who knows.  I would love to hear what you are looking for.

As for me, next on my list is either a 1:12 Mustang convertible model kit, a book on the history of the Starlost, a collection of Park tools for my bicycle, or...... I had better stop before I say too much.



Thursday 12 February 2015

Where Did All This Stuff Come From?




While looking through my unbuilt collection of models I came across a few other boxes.  These boxes fell into three categories.  The parts box, the scratch building box and the other box.  What is all this stuff and where the heck did it all come from?
The parts box or the spares box (there are probably just as many names for this as there are modellers--partners of modellers probably call this the box of crap, but that's another story) came about from the extra parts that are included with models.  Some models have different parts because they can be build different ways (the 2 in 1 or the 3 in one model).   I have a 57 Fairlane that can be built stock/custom/or with optional parts.  Some have parts left on the parts tree from earlier versions of the model kit.  I have drag bars because one of the 66 mustang kits I've built had a previous life as a dragster kit.  I couldn't throw them out, so now their in the parts box.
The scratch building box is collection of stuff that I thought might one day might fit into my models.  Often I think of building unusual train car loads, or wild science fiction ships. This probably came about from searching out the stuff under the title Maschinen Krieger, or watching the great Japanese TV show Plamo Tsukurou--if you haven't done so, you should check both of them out.  Either way, I suspect all modellers look at stuff destined for the trash or recycle box the same way.
The last box, which I have labelled the other box, in my case is a bunch of models that I have decommissioned.  Maybe they fell from their shelf in cleaning.  Maybe they broke in one of the many moves I made.  Maybe they weren't as well done as I would have liked and became euthanized.  In the case of one of my top fuel dragsters, I broke some pieces putting it together and became so frustrated that I stopped building it and sent the strong parts to the box.
So what am I going to do with all of this?  Besides the aforementioned flatcar loads, I have the same dream as many modellers do.  I plan (and plan is a good word, as it may never get beyond the planning stage) to build a great diorama.  These parts will look excellent it that.  These parts will make that diorama look amazing...I hope.  This diorama will most likely be some kind of car shop diorama.  The extra car parts (the tires, the engines, the seats, should all fit in perfectly.  So I guess that means I will be holding onto them for a little while longer.
What about you readers?  What do you do with your parts boxes?  I would love to see some examples.

Tuesday 3 February 2015

My initial reactions on having a spray booth


 
I had been planning on purchasing a spray booth for quite some time.  I finally took the plunge and got it set up in my reorganized hobby room.  (See last post for reorganization)  The booth is portable and sets up pretty easily.  I have the complete venting hose so I can run it outside with only a small window crack, which is important when you are living in Canada and it is winter.

My initial reactions are quite positive.  The things that strike me conclusively are:
  • better air quality  (a major plus!)
  • better visibility with the light attachment
  • less overspray

I have only used it twice, but have felt good about it.  There are some things it doesn't do.  It doesn't:
  • improve the way I mix the paint and set the air pressure--improperly mixed paints and incorrect settings cause splotches and poorly atomized paint spray.
  • improve my painting technique--practice makes perfect
  • hide my mistakes--you'll notice that I didn't use the macro lens.

I certainly don't regret my decision.  I have other areas to improve upon, but having the right equipment is not a mistake.