11-10-2015

Haven't written anything lately, have I.

The holidays are now over, the new academic year started last week and I can only wallow over how fast these three months passed. But man, it was a great time. We took off with a one-day visit to Gran Turismo Poznan, and from there on I'd spend a lot of time home - in peace, which was a big change; for four years in a row, every holidays were tainted by the perspective of September retakes, and the last year vacations were simply horrible: everyone were pissed off at me because I failed my English history classes, and I was looking for a new flat, which was time-consuming and required me to visit Poznan on several occasions just to watch some offers (it was totally worth it though, I love my new flat). I was really on a brink of mental breakdown back then and some time after that.

This year though, it all went well. In early August, I've been at the Baltic Sea for the first time in 11 years or so (not including that one time we crossed it on our way to Bornholm in 2007, because we didn't actually swam there or did any sea-related activities). Me and my girlfriend had a real fun sightseeing in Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot. I really enjoyed both the Navy-related stuff (such as a visit onboard ORP Błyskawica museum ship) and other historical tidbits.

Even better was our trip to Croatia, namely - Pula, an ancient city located at the tip of Istria peninsula. This city has a rich history, having belonged to Italy, Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia and Croatia throughout ages. I've never been to the Adriatic region before, and the place really amazed me. I liked how the old, Mediterranean architecture mixed and coexisted with more modern buildings, both from the Yugoslav and post-independence period. The sea water was so clear you could swim quite far from the shore and still see your feet at the bottom (which was also fortunate regarding huge Mediterranean jellyfish swimming in that area ). Our camp site, located at Stoja peninsula, was well-equipped, it had its own small market, a restaurant, all the neccessary facilities, and there was a small bakery that served delicious ham rolls, which quickly became my standard breakfast People in Pula were nice and helpful, and since many words in Polish and Croatian are similar, we were able to communicate quite easily. And big shoutout to the Croatian fighter pilot who flew in a MiG-21 over the Pula harbor on Sep 3rd - I always wanted to see the Fishbed in flight, and there it was, right on my birthday We've spend about a week there, and I really look forward to come back there one day.

And back at home, as I mentioned once, thanks to the fact we now have an extra floor (our neighbours from above moved out in December and now the whole house is ours), I was able to spend my hometime more at peace. This allowed me to spend more times on video games, which I've once again become interested with over the last year thanks to my gf, as well as the Freaky Gamerzz channel. Over the last three months, I've finished Half-Life 2, as well as Episode One and made it through the good portion of Episode Two (already arrived to the White Forest). I've also started Dishonored (but stopped quite early in the game, because of lag issues - my PC isn't handling this game well), Transistor and The Witcher, and I've continued with Mirror's Edge, Valiant Hearts, and thanks to my gf I can also play Contrast and Bioshock Infinite among others. Of course, I didn't forget about books or the outdoor activities such as biking

On the sadder notes, these holidays were not fruitful in the field of model making I have finished literally three models, out of 20+ I had in stock. Some were in pretty advanced condition, but I couldn't just go to the model shop when I needed something like I do in Poznan (because the nearest one is 25 km away from my home). So I'd buy a new paint, then I'd discover I don't have another, so I had to wait till I get to the shop and buy it, and so on and so on So, what I still have on the desk (1/72 unless stated otherwise):

1. RWD-8 - a small Polish liaison and trainer aircraft from the PZW Siedlce, also reissued by Mastercraft I believe. Almost finished, but I need to fix some painting issues (one of the decals tore, and when I tried to paint the missing parts it got under the film, so I need to paint it over).
2. F4F Wildcat - I intended to make it in British colours with invasion stripes, but these are difficult to paint by hand. Already washed three attempts with brake fluid, and if the next one is not succesful, I'm giving up on the stripes.
3. Ju-87G - not really happy with the wings camouflage. I'll try to mask some of the excess paint, but if that doesn't work I'll wash the whole camo away and try again. It's a really nice and detailed model, so I'm paying extra attention not to loose the details under the paintjob.
   
4. Bf-109E - same story as Ju-87G.
5. Bf-109G-10 - had to wash the paint down and then I've run out of it. I intend to finish it in Slovak markings.
6. Avia B.534 - an old, classic kit from Czechoslovakian KP company. Partially assembled and painted.
   
7. Hetzer - the Italeri kit, somewhat worse than the Sherman and IS-2, but doable. I'm yet to decide the paintjob.
8. An-2 - the propeller shaft broke away and needs to be replaced; and I've lost two of the windows, so I'll have to find a replacement (the hull is already closed).
9. Mi-24 - didn't really progress any further with that one. I've once again lost the landing gear bay and I cannot close the fuselage before I find it. Switched from the East German to the Polish paintjob (I'll be making my MiG-23 in GDR markings tho).
10. MiG-17 - assembled, needs some putty and it'll be good to go. Not sure if I'll go for Polish, East German, Romanian or Hungarian markings.
11. ORP Mazur (1:400) - decided to get someting naval into my collection. I washed away the first paintjob on the hull, because I tried to make the thin black line separating the grey and red parts by myself, but it didn't look ok. I'll go with decals next time. Also I consider getting some photoetched parts, but they're damn expensive.
12. ORP Sokół (1:400) - and then I got some more naval stuff. The hull is partially assembled, but needs some putty. The photoetched parts were included in the kit, but the resin "nose" was missing and my complaint on Mirage's website was ignored.
13. MiG-25 (1:144) - Revell's repack of Academy's old kit. an impulse buy, saw it in a toy shop, and grabbed it even though I knew it might be a waste of money. Fortunately it wasn't, but it needed some improvements. There is no cockpit whatsoever, just a flat surface, which I've cut open and inserted some leftover seat to make it look more alive. A single-tone light gray camouflage with dark-gray nose cone and edges of the vertical stabilisers were a promise of a quick paintjob, but I screwed up with the nose part and had to wash it away, with not enough time to finish it before leaving to Poznan.
    

And many others, but these are the models I've worked on the most often. Given my timetable, I doubt I'll finish anything before the Christmas break in December.

All in all, I had a great time these holidays. I'd write my hopes for the future as well, buuuut you know, they don't happen if you say them out loud