Celebrating Christmas
Grandson the Younger called up yesterday.
I suppose now he’s just Grandson which is a bit sad?
Anyways, last Christmas among other things he got an Airfix kit. I used to love Airfix and used to buy them at a fierce rate. I think they were 2/6 back then and came in clear plastic bags. There were also the bigger ones that came in boxes which cost 12/6 so I would really have to save for them. I had a grand collection of planes, ships and a rather neat detailed fully flexible skeleton who stood proudly on my bedroom window sill.
I had a feeling Grandson [the Younger] would like a kit as a change from Pokemon and tablet games and suggested that he might like to work on the kit up here at the Manor. The two of us get on like a house on fire and he jumped at the chance.
With one thing and another he hadn’t had a chance to call up until now so we opened the box which had been sitting gathering dust in the kitchen until now.
It was a disaster!
It’s a small model of a fighter plane which is fine. What isn’t fine is the detail. There are dozens of tiny little pieces so that the cockpit alone has a seat [two parts] a pilot, a control panel [in about three pieces], a joystick, rudder pedals and a few other levers. Now the entire cockpit is less than half an inch long so these individual bits are minuscule. They were impossible to work with even with a decent set of tweezers. Even worse they are supposed to be painted before assembly and the pilot’s face alone [the size of the head of a small pin] has about four different colours.
I was there in the role of adviser and helper but he just couldn’t do it. My fingers are a lot bigger so I was of little help. We had to abandon the enterprise and in the end we just sat and talked. He was very disappointed but quite philosophical.
At home he’s a very quiet kid and will barely greet me when I visit or utter a word. Here it’s a different story. He lights up and fires endless questions. Yesterday we covered such diverse topics as computer art, helicopters, mid-air refuelling, humming birds and the insanity of people who manufacture something for kids which is so complex that a grown up can’t hack it.
Damn it.
Now I have to try to think of a substitute Christmas present for him.
I used to make airfix planes but they would get damaged when I whizzed them round and round on string.
They’re notoriously fragile all right. A simple dusting was usually enough to break them. The balsa and tissue planes were much better: at least they actually flew!
I attempted to try my hand at model kits when I was a kid (ships, planes, etc) and all I managed to achieve was sticking my fingers together. And my painting left much to be desired–it stunk in other words. Still does.
How about one of those quad-copters? I don’t how old Grandson is but the earlier to learn the better? You’ll have to keep it at the manor though. That way you’ll get the blame when the Neighbors complain about being spied on and not him?
A drone is a good idea. I had toyed with the idea of one for myself [for research purposes, of course] but things are strict here. You can only fly them over your own land and only up to a certain height. There was a drone in the air a while back and neighbours went frantic. Turns out it belonged to an estate agent who was filming a property for sale.
Harmonica, mouth organ, or in Scotch, a moothie.
When I was a callow youth I yearned for one.
But things will be different now.
Try mcanno, it works for me.
Give the airfix thingy to his mam, might keep her out of trouble.