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SuperChamp82

Summer vs Winter

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Ok so we all get distracted in the Summer months - but what are you aiming for when the clocks turn + locking ourselves away isn’t domestic suicide ?

Younger guys will probably roll their eyes but, for me, there’s a huge amount of pleasure in planning ahead - not least because it usually takes a 6 month run up to get old bits working 😳

And sometimes a following wind ... esp to find things (again) 

So - will you be:

Revisiting unfinished projects ?

Finding fresh ones ?

Selling some old stuff ?

Buying some new ?

And fwiw - I’ll start with a vintage NIB Hotshot build ... which is a first because I originally left the hobby before it was released.

So this is my first, old, new build ... 😬

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I think this might vary a lot depending on where you live.  In in Wiltshire, UK, and the temp today is around 27 degrees (C) with 54% humidity.  That's around the upper edges of what's normal.  Yesterday we were around 30 degrees and more humid.  Tomorrow is set to be 31.  It doesn't usually get hotter than that here.  As often as not, this time of year it will also be raining and 20 degrees.

My workshop is big and airy enough that it's cool enough to work in today.  Actually I'm in my home office today, which is in my workshop.  It's on the upper level of tolerable.  There's no airflow and no aircon.  I wouldn't want it much hotter in here.  But if I was on a day off, I could happily tinker away in the workshop.  I spent most of Monday night working on my King Hauler project.  I had a bit of sweat on my forehead but it was bearable.

However, come winter, temps here will typically be between 0 and 10 degrees C.  It doesn't usually stay below freezing for a whole day unless there's a cold snap for a week or two, but it will hover between 0 and 10 degrees for months on end, meaning the workshop is never really warm enough to work in comfortably.  I do have a big log burner, but it's a big workshop and the log burner is at the far end to the workbench, plus it's a hungry ole stove and it'll eat its way through a winter's supply of wood in a couple of weeks.  So if I want to do anything that uses saws, power tools or abrasives, or anything else that leaves mess, I have to wrap up warm and work in short stints until my fingers go numb.  (That's a mixture of middle age and bad circulation - I can be sweating under my jacket and still have numb fingers).

My home office is heated, it retains heat well although it can get stuffy after a long winter.  So I can at least build kits and tinker with rebuilds during the winter.

With that in mind, I'd rather spend my winter months going to indoor race meets and bashes and my summers in the workshop tinkering, where I can work with the roller door open, enjoy the sunshine on my back, measure and cut in natural light and revel in the fact that I can move unhindered in shorts and T-shirt rather than be wrapped up like the Michelin Man for winter work.  But it doesn't seem to work that way.  There's not enough indoor vintage RC for my liking and a lot of outdoor stuff closes down or is spoiled by rain.

Also it's too cold to paint in winter, so I like to plan all my projects to get to paint stage when summer hits.  I've kind of missed that boat this year, I think I'll be ready to throw paint on a number of projects around about October time...  I guess I'll have to pull out the halogen lamps and crank up the stove if I want my King Hauler on the layout before next summer.

Anyway, the point is moot for me - I have a fair bit of spare time these days, more than I can really fill right now, so I'm doing things that are bad for my health like drinking beer, eating crisps and watching films.  I'd love to be in the workshop but I'm short on ready cash even for smaller parts to get some stalled projects moving.  I usually spend my spare time writing fiction or music but I'm having a hard time finding the inspiration.  I've built my way through more than 50% of my NIB collection in the past year and I don't have the cash to replenish it.  Gonna have to start selling some things :o 

but to answer the original question :

  • Finish my Drag King project.  Once I get past the stuck point with the front arches I should be rolling.
  • Finish my Arduino MFC.  It sort of goes hand-in-hand with the Drag King.
  • Modify a modified Bruder low-loader trailer.  It's all built, but I need to convert it to work with my Arduino MFC via IR.
  • Find or make a good-looking 1:14 load for my low-loader
  • Convert my Globe Liner and MAN TGX to use the Arduino MFC.  Good winter project as it can mostly be done inside my home office.

Loads more stuff besides on the outstanding projects list but it depends how much money I can raise this side of Christmas.  Next year is going to be expensive regardless so I'm not even planning that far ahead :p 

Either way, I'm sure I'll have fun and learn something new, which is why I do it :)

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Well, I can't even think about winter plans yet; I have a lot of non-RC-related things to do yet this summer. I have a ton of work to do on my MG to get it ready for the big annual British car show in September, and we're still working out the details of a major landscaping project that will start this summer, but probably take a couple of years to finish.

But, with my wife back in school working on her Master's degree, I will probably have more free time when the weather turns, and I will continue with my grand re-think/re-organization of my hobby stuff. I'm shifting away from bashing/running and towards collecting and restoring, and I want to get better at scratch-building. I just finished building a big new workbench, so now everything's in one place at last, and now I have to go through all the boxes and bins and drawers of stuff, sort out what goes and what stays, and try to impose some degree of organization on the whole mess. (There will likely be some half-finished abandoned projects available for sale, probably pretty cheap, so keep an eye out.)

Once I get everything sorted out, I think I want to tackle another vintage restoration/restomod project, but I don't know what yet. I'd love to find a really crusty old 3-speed and bring it back, but I know they don't exactly grow on trees. One of the old 1/12 scale RM cars would be fun too. Or whatever else looks interesting.

Also - and I haven't really told anyone about this yet - I think it might be time to take another stab at writing that book I've been wanting to write. It will be non-fiction, an exploration (and defense?) of hobbies in general and model/RC cars in particular. Why a bunch of men in their forties are so fascinated by "kid's" toys, and why it's a good thing for us to be doing something that keeps our hands and minds occupied. A lot of the things that people here already know and talk about, but compiled into a layman-friendly format. Tentative title: Still Plays With Toy Cars.

So yeah, plenty of things to keep me busy...

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Still projects I started that I've yet to finish -

Orange Blossom 2 (hornet chassis) thats not that far away tbh.

Project I've bought parts for but not actually started (bullhead)

Project thats in my head, that I've only kind of thought out. (Lunchbox's - double wishbone front - 4 bar rear, paw patrol livery on one, and superwing livery on another)

Brushless set up in the boomerang, for a 4s speed run.

Set up the Optima Mid for track use, although my club has just lost its venue (3hrs notice...🤬

Should keep me going for a while 🙄😁

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4 hours ago, markbt73 said:

Well, I can't even think about winter plans yet; I have a lot of non-RC-related things to do yet this summer. I have a ton of work to do on my MG to get it ready for the big annual British car show in September, and we're still working out the details of a major landscaping project that will start this summer, but probably take a couple of years to finish.

But, with my wife back in school working on her Master's degree, I will probably have more free time when the weather turns, and I will continue with my grand re-think/re-organization of my hobby stuff. I'm shifting away from bashing/running and towards collecting and restoring, and I want to get better at scratch-building. I just finished building a big new workbench, so now everything's in one place at last, and now I have to go through all the boxes and bins and drawers of stuff, sort out what goes and what stays, and try to impose some degree of organization on the whole mess. (There will likely be some half-finished abandoned projects available for sale, probably pretty cheap, so keep an eye out.)

Once I get everything sorted out, I think I want to tackle another vintage restoration/restomod project, but I don't know what yet. I'd love to find a really crusty old 3-speed and bring it back, but I know they don't exactly grow on trees. One of the old 1/12 scale RM cars would be fun too. Or whatever else looks interesting.

Also - and I haven't really told anyone about this yet - I think it might be time to take another stab at writing that book I've been wanting to write. It will be non-fiction, an exploration (and defense?) of hobbies in general and model/RC cars in particular. Why a bunch of men in their forties are so fascinated by "kid's" toys, and why it's a good thing for us to be doing something that keeps our hands and minds occupied. A lot of the things that people here already know and talk about, but compiled into a layman-friendly format. Tentative title: Still Plays With Toy Cars.

So yeah, plenty of things to keep me busy...

You should do it!  It's a fascinating idea on many levels. 

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I am building a new hobby room at the top of my house, the new floor is in, so my winter project will be to get the walls in and plastered in time for christmas.

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I’m planning on shifting a few models to justify getting a new kit :ph34r:

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winter time is RC building time for me, i travel in my RV a whole bunch in the summer so i don't wrench too much.

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