Time for a long overdue modelling projects update! I have got four on the go at the moment, two of which should be completed soon and two are just getting off the ground. This may seem a lot but there is a reason. In the past I have tried to stick to and complete one modelling project at a time. The logic was that all my attention would be focused on the subject at hand and I would give myself the best chance of producing an accurate and finely crafted scale model.

How wrong could I be? I found that the opposite happened. I am not a patient person at heart and I found myself rushing back to work on a recently glued or painted model hours before I should have done. Parts got knocked off, tacky paint received dirty finger prints, `melted' plastic was sanded too soon and so on. The result was a lot of wasted time fixing the result of my impatience. On a couple of occasions I had to abandon projects that had been taken too far along the road of incompetence! We have all been there.

To try and accomodate my impatience, nowadays I try to keep a few projects on the go at the same time, so that when I do get a moment to sit down and do some kit building I'll have lots of things to do before I get to a dead end.

It is a frustrating sensation, the model building "dead end", and I have just realized where I recognise it from. If you have ever played that traditional DIY card game called patience (the game designed to kill time! Why?) most of the games result in the player getting to the point where one can't add to any of the piles of cards in play. It is exactly that feeling with a modelling dead end, except that with a model you can quickly turn a lot of hard work into a wretched affair.

So, my solution is to keep several projects on the go at the same time. It works very well for me too: I now find it very easy to leave a model for a few days to make sure the glue cures properly before I start sanding again.

The project that has been going longest is a 1:144 scale Canberra I bought from Ozmods a couple of years ago by email. It has been both a joy and a real challenge. It is the first time I have attempted to construct a limited-run cottage industry kit like this and I have had to draw on all my common sense and skills to make it work!

The construction instructions were provided in one blow-up type diagram, the parts were rather crudely moulded and I had to do a bit of research to seek photographic reassurance as to where I should glue certain parts! Nevertheless I am having a lot of fun building it so I can't complain.

Below is a picture of where I have got to so far. As you can see construction is pretty much done and after filling in the gaps along the fuselage and wing roots I just need to glue the canopy in place and blend the edges in. Then a quick sand down before painting.

You can just see in the image a pieve of light colour plastic on the front top of the left jet nacelle. This I have to make from scratch because the original was damaged. I also had to fill in quite a bit between the rear tail and the rudder. I think I was a bit over-enthusiastic with the sanding!

The second oldest project is a Mig 15. This is an old Revell boxed Monogram kit and comes from a different era in terms of molding accuracy standards. I have got to a similar stage as the Canberra and am looking forward to moving on to the painting stage. It is safe to assume I am not too concerned about how this one turns out due to the relatively poor starting base so I have been using it to try out new techniques and ideas.