Grant Hutchison's Blog, page 29

The Strange Shadows Of Apollo

In a previous post, I explained how all the manned moon landings were made with the sun low in the sky behind the Lunar Module, so that long shadows accentuated terrain features, making it easier to locate a safe place to land. But this meant that the LM landed facing into its own shadow, so … Continue reading The Strange Shadows Of Apollo →

Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IC Stage – Part 1

Having completed the S-II Aft Interstage for my previous post on this build log, I’ve now progressed to the Big Beast of the S-IC. This stage is composed of Revell’s usual combination of moulded cylinders for the skirts and intertank, and printed styrene sheets to be rolled into cylinders for the tank sections. The stage … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IC Stage – Part 1 →

Mull

At the end of my report on Islay, I promised you more Hebrides. This time, we headed off to Mull. We stayed in a house on Calgary Bay, in the northwest of the island—here’s the view from our front window: The tiny village of Calgary (Calgaraidh in Gaelic) is the namesake of Calgary in Alberta, … Continue reading Mull →

Glen Shee: Carn a’ Gheoidh From The South

Carn Mor (NO 110750, 876m) Carn a’ Gheoidh (NO 106766, 975m) Carn Bhinnein (NO 091762, 917m) 16.7 kilometres 840m of ascent I’ve crossed Carn a’ Gheoidh in long traverses from west to east and from east to west, but never approached it from the south. The hill sends out a couple of ridges in that … Continue reading Glen Shee: Carn a’ Gheoidh From The South →

Lane Greene: Talk On The Wild Side

It is perfectly possible to reconcile strong opinions on individual points of grammar and usage—including dislike of a particular usage, or fear that a change to the language might introduce confusion—with a belief that the language on the whole is built to adapt, to minimise confusion. What do you think of that cover? I’d read … Continue reading Lane Greene: Talk On The Wild Side →

Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Aft Interstage

Having completed the S-II stage, I’ve worked my way down the stack as far as the S-II aft interstage—a ring structure interposed between the first and second stages to provide clearance between the S-II’s rocket engines above and the dome of the S-IC’s liquid oxygen tank below. We can see it being dropped astern in … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Aft Interstage →

Islay

Another year, another Hebridean island. This time we spent a week on Islay. (For non-Scottish readers, it’s probably worth mentioning that the second syllable of the island’s name is pronounced “la”, rather than “lay”. Nothing betrays the whisky dilettante more quickly than a profession of enthusiasm for Is-LAY malts.) We stayed in another one of … Continue reading Islay →

Glen Clova: Brandy And Wharral Circuit

The Snub (NO 335757, 837m) Green Hill (NO 348756, 870m) The Goet / Ben Tirran (NO 373746, 896m) 16 kilometres 820m of ascent The U-shaped valley of Glen Clova is decorated on either side by rows of corries, like some sort of sampler of post-glacial topography. This was a trip around two of them, neither … Continue reading Glen Clova: Brandy And Wharral Circuit →

Ultima Thule: Part 2

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Advertising slogan for the Apple II computer (1977), often hilariously misattributed to Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)   In my previous post about ultima Thule, I traced the strange history of the Greek name Thule, and how it came to be associated with the Latin adjective ultima, meaning “far” or “farthest”. … Continue reading Ultima Thule: Part 2 →

Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 2

In my previous post of this build log, I eventually got the heavily modified parts of the Revell S-II stage assembled, and had replaced all the kit fairings with more correct versions from New Ware. A good coat of white paint brought all the disparate parts to the same shade, and then I added the … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-II Stage – Part 2 →