Grant Hutchison's Blog, page 35

Lindberg 1/96 Moon Ship: Revised

This is a rickety old kit, first issued in 1958 by Lindberg. The version I’m building is a nostalgic reissue by Round2. During its sixty-year history, it has undergone various metamorphoses: shifting its supposed scale between 1:96 and 1:200; changing its name from U.S. Moon Ship (1958) to Star Probe Space Shuttle (1980s) to Lunar … Continue reading Lindberg 1/96 Moon Ship: Revised →

Bogus

ˈbəʊɡəs bogus (noun): a press for producing counterfeit coins; a counterfeit coin bogus (adjective): not real, counterfeit, existing in order to deceive bogus (adjective, 21st Century): bad, wrong, inappropriate  Bogus is a potentially expensive word. Back in 2008, the science writer Simon Singh wrote an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper, entitled “Beware The Spinal … Continue reading Bogus →

Braes Of The Carse: Glen of Rait to Den of Pitroddie

Montague Hill (NO 196285, 227m) Beal Hill (NO 203273, 257m) Evelick Hill (NO 199257, c270m) Pole Hill (NO 195260, 288m) 17.9 kilometres 580m of ascent So, another little segment in my exploration of the Braes of the Carse. This time I parked in the Glen of Rait, in a little pull-off below the crags of … Continue reading Braes Of The Carse: Glen of Rait to Den of Pitroddie →

Arthur Gould Lee: No Parachute & Open Cockpit

I reflect on how amazing it is that I’m here at all, sailing along nearly three miles up in a flimsy contraption made of wood and quivering fabric, suspended on air, sustained only by the wind rushing under the wings. I think how not long ago the aeroplane didn’t exist at all, no man had … Continue reading Arthur Gould Lee: No Parachute & Open Cockpit →

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

Having finished building the S-IVB third stage of my Saturn V, I moved on to the S-IVB Aft Interstage—a conical support structure that separated the 6.6m-diameter S-IVB above from the 10-m diameter S-II second stage below. The real thing was assembled into the Saturn V stack as part of the S-IVB, but after launch it … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IVB Aft Interstage →

Côte d’Azur

Back to France again. While we generally prefer to explore new places rather than to return to previous destinations, the Boon Companion and I make an exception for the Côte d’Azur, which we visit regularly for a blink of off-season sunshine. This time we avoided some late snow in Scotland, to bask under clear blue … Continue reading Côte d’Azur →

Dron Hill: The Hard Way

Dron Hill (NO 288321, 211m) 12 kilometres 210 metres of ascent Dron Hill is an outlier of an outlier of the Sidlaws. I didn’t include it in my Sidlaws Gazetteer because it felt like it might be one of the Braes of the Carse, but it actually doesn’t feel like it belongs there either. Either … Continue reading Dron Hill: The Hard Way →

Septentrionate

sɛpˈtɛntrɪənˌeɪt septentrionate: to tend, or point, to the north This word septentrion and its derivatives are hardly anglicized; they are harsh, unnecessary and little used, and may well be suffered to pass into disuse. Noah Webster, American Dictionary Of The English Language (1828) The Septentrion is pictured above—the seven stars that make up the asterism … Continue reading Septentrionate →

Timothy Caulfield: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?

I’d love to feel pure, happy and lighter. Okay, I’m not sure what that would feel like, but it sounds better than I usually feel. Who wouldn’t want to feel like that? Given the warm and friendly vibe on the Goop website—it was, after all, to quote the website, “created to celebrate all life’s positives”—I … Continue reading Timothy Caulfield: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? →

Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IVB Stage

It’s been a while since I made any progress on this kit. Last time, I described building the Spacecraft/Lunar Module Adapter and Instrument Unit assembly. Moving down the launch vehicle, this time I’m building the S-IVB stage, which was the third stage of the Saturn V—the “small” one that pushed the Apollo stack into Earth orbit … Continue reading Revell 1/96 Saturn V: S-IVB Stage →