This is maybe the most fun you can have in this hobby - the whole process some people call "bricolage"- i.e. construction, creation or problem solving using whatever you happen to have on hand. Having instructions and pre-defined pieces to assemble in a kit is fun too but winging it from the spares box is like a life lesson. The bits and pieces speak to you and suggest things you didn't originally plan but you are also relying on your knowledge and experience to know what you need. Not to sound too grandiose but I think it is a bit of a practical life philosophy (like Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, if you know that one). I'm getting carried away here, I guess. Still, I was trying to teach my daughter about bricolage yesterday when we were fixing her broken office chair with scrap hardware from my toolbox (we succeeded and saved the chair - learning some "conserver society" culture while were at it - but I'm not sure she got it. She wanted a new chair. Anyway it occurs to me now that this bricolage thing is also a big part of this hobby in scratchbuilding or making do. I am enjoying what you are doing here Spiros. Great too that your kids seem to be part of your hobby activities. Keep posting, my friend. It's fun and inspiring to follow your efforts.

Hi Colin @coling!

Glad you like my "bricolage " approach.

It has to do with my life philosophy, so I totaly agree with the things you mention.

I love Zen philosophy and Pirsig's book is one of my most important life guidelines books.

I remember buying "The Penguin Book of the Motorcycle", back in 1989.

I can recall some ingenious approaches there, like : "your motorcycle is a mobile oil supply, you can use some drops of this oil with the dipstick to lubricate esential parts, when you have a failure in the middle of nowhere and you need to lubricate a breaker cam, a cable etc".

I was hooked! Approaches like those broadened my mind and added flexibility to my thoughts. Learned to improvise, doing the best I could with what I had in hand.

Anyway, I am carried away a lot and I think you get my point, my friend.

BUT, and it is a big but, inspiration drives everything.

This inspiration comes from you, my friend, together with the other dear fellows in this magic site, with your great follow-up of each others projects.

Not to say more, this is one of the finest hours of our hobby.

As for my kids, I have vaccinated them with the Aviation and Modelling viruses (among others, swimming and motorcycles included...). So far so good! (but we will see of course).

So, bricolage it is, my friend!

Glad you like my journey!

That’s some courageous kit butchering Spiros! But I’m sure you will push the envelope with this one

Wow ! You have been very busy my friend. I'm going to use your build journal, along with Paul's when the time comes and I decide to pull mine out of the stash... Great work !

Whoa whoa - slow down here, I need to catch my breath! - to quote @fiveten:

Let’s see how far this baby and, mostly, this not necessarily normalized (!) modeler (?) can go!

In aviation almost everything can be paid at the bar. . . . 😀

Nice engine work !

Well done Spiros! This is a very basic kit - and you are having exactly the right kind of fun with it. Part of me still wanted to do it with the spinning prop! There’s a lot of gap to fill there. It’s going to be great!