The Hurricane's Over!

At Last!

Well, at last the Hurricane is completed, and not before time. I've come to realise that dragging out a small modelmaking project for so long can't really be a good thing.

For one thing, my partner's sick of the sight of it on our kitchen windowsill, and for another, you patient readers must be looking forward to seeing something else by now!

So, Here's The Completed Hurricane

I took advantage of an hour of "The Biggest Loser" on TV and set about finishing the decals the other night. Now the model's in pride of place on top of the lounge storage unit - that is, until this weekend, when it'll be moving to its permanent residence in my son's room!

Oh well, I can't totally boystyle the home, can I?

More ramblings soon... ;o)

Hurricane Update

You might have noticed that it’s been a while since I posted anything about my modelmaking exploits. (You might also notice that the above title might get me some inappropriate links from weather websites!)

You’ll be pleased and relived to know that the Hurricane MkIIC is almost complete. My son and I put a little time into a couple of models over the weekend and this is the result:




There’s just a little more painting to do, the glasswork to glue on then the decals (that’s stickers to us English) have to go on before the project’s finally finished.

Considering that this model has about the complexity-level of an 8 year-old, I think I’ve done a pretty good job! By my reckoning, the 3D thought, dexterity and eyesight needed to do these models right peak at about 13 years of age, then begin to atrophy until an average 30 year-old man can’t successfully complete one. Of course, that 30 year-old will mutter some justification along the lines of “…job to do … kids to sort out … boring … just for kids …” but you know as well as I do that it’s all lies, so as a 39 year-old man I'm quite chuffed. ;o)

I’ll post a separate, more organised entry about my son’s Ferrari F340 build another day, so until then just have a look at ModelZone’s online shop and let me know what YOU think I should make next.



I’m thinking Messerschmidtt Bf109, to give a balanced WW2 view!

Conference, Camping and Chins ...

Friday's conference was a success, thank goodness. Without too much detail, the day went well and there were no hitches involving laptops or presentations. The mouse was a bit lively, but infra-red mice aren't designed to be waved in the air are they? No wonder a few presentations went one slide forwards then two slides back.

A few of us tried to put Peter off with our specially mail-ordered facial hair, but his professionalism won through so we just had a quick photo taken and got on with it.

On a better note, the Easter Camping Trip has been booked and we are off to Glanllyn at Bala lake. We spent Sunday afternoon buying camping gear and now all we need is the gas bottle and we're off!

I'm sure you're excited to know how the Hurricane MkII is coming along. Well, here it is...

The guns were as fiddly as fiddly things to attach, but after a few minutes standing in the kitchen waiting for the glue to set a little, the thing was looking good. Just the painting to do, then the glasswork to glue on and it's finished. My boy has asked for a model for his birthday in a few weeks, so there should be more to come. I bet you can't wait, can you? ;o)

Shaving? Then read this bit.

On a totally different subject, I bought a new Razor last weekend. I've been impressed by the "King Of Shaves" oils for a few years, and I noticed their "Azor". The packaging is designed to save on their Carbon Footprint, and the design itself is a joy: simple, clean lines with a strong, functional blade attached. I'm happy to say that the shave I'm having is a massive improvement over my old Mach 3. So buy one, if you're a bloke. If you're a woman, buy one for your bloke. If you don't have a bloke, get one and buy him one.

King Of Shaves, Azor, tell them Phill sent you.

Team Building?

It's our company conference tomorrow, so the office is a mess of palpable nerves and bristling egos. I'm trying to gather all the presentations together: deadline Wednesday pm, so far it's Thursday lunchtime and half of them are done.


I have no room to talk: mine's not finished either! But don't I automatically I get special dispensation as the Marketing guy?


As I polish off my Cajun Squirrel crisps (possibly my favourite Walkers experiment so far) I'm checking my desk for car keys, as I'm off to the bank to releive the Sports & Social fund of £440 towards post-conference refreshments.


I'm a big believer in Conferences as Team Building events, but I have to confess that it'll be a relief to get back to actually doing some flippin' work next week. The new style marketing's working very well and I need to keep the momentum up. 16 good leads in the last 5 weeks from emails and the web, which in our niche is brilliant, if I say so myself.

At Home...

No progress on the blinds business, BUT I did get a little more of the 'plane done.

It's looking vaguely like an actual aircraft now, and with each step I relax a little bit more. Note the clever use of a dark background this time!

Well, I'd better get to the bank before 22 Utility Masters employees and up having to pay for their own beers tomorrow!

Bye for now.

If at first you don't succeed, get distracted.

It quickly becomes apparent that one post isn't enough. We didn't progress the blinds business last night, choosing instead to deliver a birthday present and shortlist potential Easter holidays.


Bala Lake in mid Wales is looking favourite. We drove past a place last October and I fell in love with it just for the view http://www.glanllyn.com/. Terrible website, but gorgeous place and reasonable prices. No play area for the kids but a beach leading down to the lake, so I'm sure we'd be fine there.


I also put another step in on my way towards the Hawker Hurricane model you can almost see, light grey against white (note to self: use different background) here. Building the model is a guilty pleasure: I do it either while Sharon's out, or in the smallest room, or while I'm making our bedtime brew. Girls don't understand Airfix!


Work's going really well. I got another unsolicited phone call from a potential customer this morning. They'd looked us up on the web after two rivals, recommended by KPMG, turned them down for being too small! Silly rivals, they're not too small, you're just too inflexible. Thank you for your incompetence. Anyway, this chap found us on the web and just dialled the number on our homepage http://www.utilitymasters.co.uk/


Not sure what tonight's plans are. Maybe a little guilty modelling, maybe more holiday planning, maybe even something useful!


See you soon!