Afternoon Fellow Rocketeers,
Ok, the weekend is over and this is not a build update, but an update just the same...
Paul, Rick, Greg and Stevie, Thank you all for your support and encouragement and kind words. The pressure is over and yes, I did get lucky too.
Stevie, I am not sure if I will finish the Steyr right now. It is about 85% done and it's all little crap to finish. I think I will go back to the main project now and ease the brain cramps with Blitzes and Hanomag's OOB (except for resin tires).
I took the Steyr to Holland along with paint, pigments, tools, mat, parts and glues to try and finish it at the hotel. Fernando came over and saw that there was still a lot to do and suggested that I enter it as a WIP (Work In Progress). I wasn't going to enter it at all, but then he kept saying do it, you have nothing to lose. He was so right. After we came back from dinner, I started working on it, spot gluing the interior components in place and left the rest loose (generator, regulator and seats) . At around 23:00 while using the tweezers, I managed to bust off one of the clearance indicators on the bumper. Time for bed, but first I glued it back on to dry overnight...This how she stood at 23:30,
We got to the show and I had to register for the comp and after about an hour of registering it was off to the category 26 table. I picked out a spot and laid out the mat, placed the Steyr on it and began placing the pieces around it where the belonged. Fernando even took a pic of me at work. With no label or name plate or the like, I scribbled out a description on a post-it note and at the bottom I wrote Work In Progress. I stuck it on the right top corner and that was it. The Steyr looked like this,
We went around and bought some stuff at the vendors. A few hours later, we went back to see if our works were still there. The were, but had been moved by others to make room for their models. Luckily nothing was broken and I just had to put a few pieces back in their proper places. At 1500, they close the comp room for judging and you can't get back in until Sunday morning at 10:00....
I got there at 09:20 on Sunday with the hopes of slipping into the comp room (like last year) to take pictures. No way!!! It was guarded like Ft. Knox so I had a nice chat with Jaap from Reality in Scale. At 100:00, I met up with Fernando and we went in to see if we had gotten lucky. I walked up and saw the card on my mat. I couldn't believe it and stood there with a sort of dumb look on my face. Fernando congratulated me and I asked how he did...
Now this is where I think comps are flaky. Fernando's dio was utterly fantastic. His attention to the details and painting skills are impeccable with the use of resin and etch and all in 1/48 scale. I come there with a WIP and a 2 cent post-it note and get an award. He should have received it, not me. Don't get me wrong, I am happy as a pig in a poke that I got the award, but...…...I don't know. Ok, I think the judges didn't really know what the Steyr was and felt it was different maybe. They did look at it a bit as my display looked like this,
Kind of a mess afterwards…...
I would like to heartily thank everyone for the support and encouragement during this project. It still has a long way to go though. I would also like to thank a few people for their help;
Paul Scott - Thanks so much Buddy for the cable reels you sent and all the support too!!!
Fernando N - Thank you for the never-say-never attitude and pushing me to 'Just Do It', no matter what. You are the man!!! And the burgers at Woest are good too...…………...
John Race - Dude 2, When the times got tough and I was about to pack it in, your mails kept me going and always put a smile back on my face with your sense of humor and pics. For that I can never thank you enough!!! I could post your GQ photo though...…...
So fellow Rocketeers, This is for you all, not just me...………………………………….
Enough horn blowing, it's back to the table for me...……………….
Prost auf Euch
Allen