No, sorry, not another chapter in the life of Feral (who has yet to catch anything but a bit of a following via the blog)…

Real life work stuff has been getting in the way again hence the lack of updates (at least I didn’t break my arm like a well known Aussie blogger…) so trying the remote upload-via-email tool today.

As you all know, I’m a bit of (well, OK, then, an avid, even rabid in some [domestic] eyes…) a modeller (well, IC acquisitions anyway) and spent last weekend at the Scale Model Expo in Wellington (have uploaded most of my pics here or here depending on whether you’re a paper or plasticy type – I still have a few to go so it may pay to check either in a day or so as well). Come end of the show on Sunday afternoon and I’m packing up my contributions to the “Range of Model Manufacturers Display” when the guys packing up next to me says “Hey, what’s that mad cat like?” Well, being the helpful chap that I am, I offered to open it up for him so he could have a look at the pieces…first that rolls out of the box is a very dead but very well-preserved rat…

For those who take the time to have a look at the links to my pics above, you’ll probably notice a couple of things. First up, the show is pretty busy and that’s what it was like most of the weekend. Most marketing was the bro-net, word of mouth variety which says something about the osmotic nature of information when people are interested. Attendance ranged from under-5 tearaways (“Don’t run, don’t touch, I mean it about the not running and touching!!!!“) to octogenarians and everything in between, from all sexes too.

The other thing is that the vast majority of models on display were military in nature from across history and into the future. Many of the aircraft, ships and vehicles were tied to a specific point in time or a specific individual. I’m just wondering what this says about us. Is a fascination with war fighting and its machines just part of our nature? Is it because often these times bring out the best in us and we seek to remember? Is it because subconsciously we know that conflict drives evolution (or intelligent creation if you’re from that school). Or is it simply a fascination with interestingly-shaped and -coloured machines. A 5 year old nephew staying with us was equally as fascinated with Thunderbirds (original series – none of this animated or live action crap: Jonathan Frakes you have a lot to answer for!) as I was some forty years before; and still am, although possibly using a Thunderbirds analogy on the COIN Center blog may have been taking this beyond the bounds of normality?