There are some things I hate about “in-flight” models of piston-engine aircraft. One is when the aircraft appear to be flying without a pilot; the other is a stationary propeller.
Modellers have a couple of ways of dealing with this second problem. One is to simply remove the propeller blades, leaving only the filled and smoothed spinner visible—it’s a well-recognized technique which many feel produces the most realistic appearance. But it always makes me think, Where’s the propeller? I find the complete absence of anything in the space where the propeller should be is a little distracting. I’m also not very keen on the photo-etched “prop-blur” option, which aims to produce a blurred sector for each prop blade, reproducing what we see in photos and movies, but not what we see with the naked ey
All posts by Oikofuge
R.A.J. Matthews: Tumbling Toast, Murphy’s Law And The Fundamental Constants
Robert A.J. Matthews published this seminal bit of applied physics in 1995.
Keplerian Orbital Elements
1. All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.2. A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.3. The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit. Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion (formulated … Continue reading Keplerian Orbital Elements
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The Sound(s) Of wh
You know how to whistle, don’t you Steve? You just put your lips together, and blow. Lauren Bacall, To Have And Have Not (1944) No, your browser hasn’t had a stroke—this post really has wh in its title—that is, the two letters at the start of the word whistle. For most of the English-speaking world, … Continue reading The Sound(s) Of wh
Supermodel 1/72 Blohm & Voss 138 “Flying Clog”: Part 2
I finished my previous post having painted the finicky yellow stripe on the rear of my aircraft. Having masked that off, I sprayed the RLM65 blue underside, and masked that, followed by a base layer of RLM72 dark green for the upper surfaces. Then there was a lot of tricky masking for the even darker … Continue reading Supermodel 1/72 Blohm & Voss 138 “Flying Clog”: Part 2
Bishop Hill Circuit
Bishop Hill (NO 185043, 461m) 13.5 kilometres370 metres of ascent Bishop Hill is a prominent ridge on the far side of Loch Leven for anyone driving on the M90. Together with West and East Lomond, it encloses an area of tilted terrain, dotted with reservoirs, northwest of Glenrothes. I parked at the Holl Reservoir car … Continue reading Bishop Hill Circuit
T.J. Bass: The Short Stories
He stood up and walked to the still form of his assailant. A female. Her abdominal muscles were still twitching, but no breath moved through her open mouth. He felt no pulse. Between her breasts he saw his brown-stained heel print. The sternum was depressed and made gritty sounds when he palpated it. Fractured. And … Continue reading T.J. Bass: The Short Stories
Fata Morgana
As the weary traveller seesIn desert or prairie vast,Blue lakes, overhung with trees,That a pleasant shadow cast; Fair towns with turrets high,And shining roofs of gold,That vanish as he draws nigh,Like mists together rolled,— Henry Longfellow “Fata Morgana” (1873) I took the photograph above in Kolyuchin Inlet, in the Russian Far East, one evening in … Continue reading Fata Morgana
Supermodel 1/72 Blohm & Voss 138 “Flying Clog”: Part 1
This is an old kit I’ve had lying around in the attic for years. It has more recently been reissued by Revell—same parts, but a better set of instructions (available online from Scalemates) and decals. Blohm und Voss is a German shipbuilding company, which diversified into aircraft production during the Second World War. Under the … Continue reading Supermodel 1/72 Blohm & Voss 138 “Flying Clog”: Part 1
Prosen-Clova: Airlie Memorial To Hill Of Couternach
The Goal (NO 361639, 459m)Hill of Couternach (NO 356659, 512m) 13.7 kilometres470 metres of ascent The Airlie Memorial stands on the shoulder of Tulloch Hill, which is the prow of a long ridge separating Glen Prosen to the west from Glen Clova in the east. It’s another of those places conjured into legendary status in … Continue reading Prosen-Clova: Airlie Memorial To Hill Of Couternach