Dear all,

Today Sunday I would like to share with you the work I have been doing during the last couple weeks although the basic computer-work was started a couple months ago. It is the preview of the stairs truck based on the model TLD ABS1740.

I have to say that although the model is finished, some parts require some little adjustments (I am talking about adjustments of less than 0,3mm). I am satisfied with the model because it was a challenge for me to make this movable, to go from an A320 door height to an A350 door height for example. On a side funny note, the two support bars I made them in a way inspired by a container loader truck that I used to play with when I was a kid.

The adjustments that have to be done are concering the two retractable colums, since I reworked mine for this example model, this adjustment will already be done on all units made from start.

One thing that is very important to mention is that, delicate or easy-to-lose parts will be added as spares in each stairs truck set, the resin is strong enough to not to break, I actually assembled 3 of these stairs truck and none of these parts broke, specially the thin bars which may seem weaker, they do the job perfectly fine, but to give a bit more confidence, I will be adding spare parts.

What does the stairs truck set include?
The usual parts as similar to the other GSE; solid wheeldrive (that means no flat PE part), handbrake, seat, dashboard, driving mirrors, and a set of decals which will have a generic title “Airport Services” as well as other photoreal elements such as head lights and tail lights, dashboard decal and the TLD logos. No driver figure/PE this time.

It is my other objective to release new figures at the time I release this model and the other GSE units, these figures will be; ramp/baggage workers with helmet and also a set without helmets. For this stairs truck model I will produce at first a set of cabin crew, which I may call “Short haul” and “Long haul” , basically the difference will be in the quantity of crew in each set and later after release, a set of passenger figures.

It may take me a little bit of time to make the first units because I am also currently working on the other GSE stock. It could be better for me to add to the catalogue each item as I finish their units, but I like to add units of as many items as possible in order for the customer to save on shippings if there are multiple items in the wishlist.

The plan is; work with the stock units of all GSE this week, prepare the stairs truck instructions and start making stairs truck units at the end of this week. Making units of this model will probably take me a week (taking into consideration the packing process) so I would say that from today 15 days is what I need to have the store with new units of GSE as well as the stairs truck.

I am also working on the 1/12 B737 cockpit, I keep in mind the B747-8F/-400F detail deck set, but since I have only two hands, this is all I can do so far.

Thank you very much for reading.
Best wishes,
Guillem

 

 

Hello everyone,

This weekend I would like to give an update on the stairs truck, the 1/144 figures, the 1/12 B737 cockpit and the stock units.

The stairs truck has gone through the fitting test, there are currently a few points that need to be fixed; the length of the “hydraulic rods”, thickness of the driving wheel and a few other bits, but overall I am glad to see that the height of the stairs goes from the A320 door ledge to the bigger airliner doors such as the A350, B777, B747 etc.

The rod actually slides inside the tube while the stairs rises or lowers, I kept in mind paint thickness so that the slide between the two parts can be smooth.

Finally I have been able to paint the baggage carts / belt loader figures to get a better view.

On regards the release date for the stairs truck, there may be a delay due the availability of materials, however, there are other areas to work on (instructions, decals, figures) while I await for the material (due to be received at mid week) so this also applies to the stock units, which are currently being produced (PE) and later the resin parts will be made.

It is normal that some units (most now) are out of stock due the recent opening of the site, so I am currently making more units of the GSE and will be updating the catalogue as I progress with them, so I am still trying to find the right balance/routine after the initial release of these items.

I also have news about the 1/12 B737 cockpit, I have to say that I found a way to work with it one/two days per week. Everything that I have done so far is discarded, it may sound crazy, but the reality is that I work faster and better with the computer and the 3D than working by hand, so this means that there is progress going on even I don’t upload it and so far, I have progressed in two days as much as I did in two weeks in the past.

For this particular project, there will be a first 3D model printed of each panel, and later these will be casted using the silicone molds and resin, the reason for this is to save some costs on resin and will be done only for bigger parts such as the sidewalls, pedestals etc, all other detail parts will be made in resin as the GSE resin parts.

By the end of next week I  expect to upload photos of the stairs truck finished and some progress on the other type of baggage cart / belt loader figures (summer clothing).

There is a lot to do, I do not forget the 1/200 scale models which I will also start soon, however this 1/200 models will be added into the store after I finish each one meaning that not all of them will be uploaded at once but in order of completion.

That is all for now, will update the blog again next weekend.
Best wishes,
Guillem

Hello all,

After a few days since the store re opening, I am very happy to see that efforts were worth it, the store seems to be working well and the latest module installed allows for an easier choice for the customer when having to customize certain items.

I am working on new units that will be progressively added to the current catalogue.

I want to give a huge thank you to all of those who trust in me and in what I do. I have been a modeling consumer all my life, enjoying this hobby since child.

I try to make things that a modeler may like, therefore I like to offer things as customized as possible, having decals of any airline so that the modeler can create the desired scenario. Work on the 1/200 scale will also start soon.

In about a couple weeks, I would like to release the stair truck model and a set of figures for the belt loader/baggage carts.

At the moment is a little difficult to see the details in the figures, but I hope to paint them to have a better view, they all are 1/144 scale, at about 13mm.

I really hope those models are of your liking, I am always open to requests or ideas, either for GSE models, airliner stuff or to make airline/handler decals that aren’t listed at the store.

Best wishes,
Guillem

 

Hello all,

I am writing this entry to inform of the store reopening that will take place today Friday 24th of January at 13:00 UTC, that would be; 14:00 Central European time, 22:00 local time in Japan, 8:00 AM at the East coast, 6:00 AM West coast of the USA.

I am trying to put the store back online at a time that can be accessed by most, the globe is quite big and it is difficult to find a time that can work for everybody.

Now on regards the store, I have very good news:

A few months ago, a big change had to be made in the shipping methods at the store because the post office no longer accepted shipping goods under the “certified letter” type. I am not sure if people have complained at the national courrier during this time, but they have put back the option of shipping goods within “certified letter” which, for shipping these small items, it is the best choice. Not only that, but they also made things more complete than before and allowed to write down in the online form, the customs form, this was only available under the “package” shipping method.

What does that mean? The biggest change are cheaper shipping costs, less time for me to prepare shipments but yet mantaining the fair delivery times which for the price (including tracking) are very reasonable, so if you are a pre “new” shipping method customer, it will all be like before. I may however in the future, add the “priority” shipping method.

What other things are new?

• I have added a new category, “Ground accessories” which at the moment contains a set of cones (set of 10) in 1/144 scale and a set of (6) aircraft chocks (1/144 scale). I intend to add further items in this category.
• During the next couple weeks I also plan to add another category “Ramp figures”. The first figures available will be the baggage cart/belt loader workers, with a set of a few figures loading luggage from the carts onto the loader conveyor.
  Since I plan to create more variety of figures, I may separate them into different categories “Passenger figures”, “Ramp workers”, or even “Crew figures”.
• There is also a new category under the GSE Series, that is “Handler  decals”. These consist on a set of handler decals of different sizes so that you can customize the GSE models at your liking.
• Another newlty is the possibility to purchase customized items from drop down menus, that means; if you want to purchase an LD3 container, you can chose the LD3 type from one drop down menu and chose the decal handler from another drop down menu. There is no more “writing at the text below” to customize these items thanks to a module I purchased and that seems to be working fine.

I am aware that some items have a bit low quantities, such as the new cones, chocks, A319/A320/A321 sharklets or the 1/144 baggage set. We have had a very terrible weather here during the last few days with intermittent blackouts which made it a bit difficult for me to have everything in the quantities I wanted, so that means that in the next days I will be adding more stock to these.

On a side note, the LD3 turntable trolley will undergo a modification, however, the new dollies set will be available.

During these next two weeks I also plan to have the stairs truck ready, during the last days it was impossible for me to work with it since I had to work on the stock and the store, so hopefully everything will have its process now and I will be able to dedicate time to the stock production and the creation of new items.

I plan to add other payment methods in the future as well.

That is all for now, I hope that the store will work well, if it does not, I will close it for maintenance again, except the new module for custom products and the new shipping method options, nothing has changed, so it should work fine as before.

Best wishes,
Guillem

 

Hello everyone,

This is going to be the last entry prior the re stock of the GSE (and A320 sharklets / Wifi radome) models on the 24th.

I am working full throttle to get to the 24th with everything done, although unfortunately I won’t be able to release the TLD ABS1740 stairs by that time, I will release it a couple weeks afterwards, however.

I am adjusting it, since it will slide, there are several parts that need to fit perfectly and sometimes even it is computerized, it is trial and error (being so small) but so far it is going very well. Main reason for the delay on the stairs truck is not only the model itself, but the preparation that it requires; the design of the decals/ instructions.

On the good side, I will release figures that can fit the belt loader and the baggage carts, and speaking of baggage carts, I have been able to make the finished versions as product promo for the store:

 

I also have been on time to complete the dollies sets which will also be available on the 24th:

 

I am handling many small parts (but paying a very special attention to packaging) baggage carts will consist in a set of 3 carts, my aim is have 10 units of each variant which translates to 4 wheels + 1 spare wheel x 3 carts= 15 wheels per set, so 10 stock units is a total of 150 tiny wheels… plus the other baggage cart type, +150 wheels, 300 wheels in total.

The same applies to the baggage, baggage included per set is of 15 baggage pieces (5 per cart) so that makes it a total of 300 baggage prepared, and these will also be available separately.

Store will be closed for settings and preparations from tonight 22:00 CMT time (or earlier) till January 24th (will be probably at around 12:00 CMT).

Reason for closing the store for preparation is basically that, new products will be uploaded, galleries will need to be double checked, shopping cart, shipping and other things are going to be checked. There will be a new option when chosing a product with multiple options such as decals, in the past I made the customer write in a text box the desired decal, this time, there will be a drop down menu (or image update) upon the decal choice, this is something very simple yet the default store did not include such function therefore other modules had to be purchased.

I will keep on preparing these models, and also working on the stairs truck. From that point, I will be starting to prepare and test the 1/200 GSE models while I work on the next 1/144 model; the Commander 15i cargo loader.
On top of that… I don’t forget the 747-400F/-8F nor the 1/12 B737 cabin, I really want to talk deeper on these subjects since now the way of make things for me has changed considerably, this may help me (a lot) to speed up things, specially for the 1/12 B737 cabin, will talk more about it soon.

Thank you everyone for your patience!

Best wishes,
Guillem

Hi guys,

I know that this entry is not related to the GSE models, stock units or projects, but I just had to publish it, had to share it…

A very good friend of mine has gifted me with her Sabena book, which is something very special that I will treasure for the rest of my days.
I can’t say enough how special this book is for me, it is a book that helps me understand a (big) part of the aviation history, it helps me to understand the beginnings and the different aircrafts  such as the Savoia Marchetti SM75, the Junkers, the DC2, the pionners in civil transportation that I was unaware of since I was just focused in nowadays widebodies, the book reminds me how the beginnings were in aviation.

Not only it teaches the history of Sabena, but it also explains how the airline had to survive through the world war which is something that I never read before, what the strategies were, etc.
Nedless to say that this book also inspires me to improve my work, with lots of fantastic photos and information, felt grown fan of Sabena I suppose, an airline that I never had the chance to see, it is now possible for me to go back on time and learn a little bit more about it.

I am sure that my friends from Belgium in particular will understand how special this book is, seeing the beautiful liveries that we call now “retro”, after seeing todays “Euro whites”,  I appreciate more these “old” schemes, but I suppose time changes and so do the airlines… but it is thanks to this book were one can learn from the past and grow to appreciate what we missed.

I want to give a huge thanks to my friend Olga for this magnificent book. I am fortunate that I have been able to open my eyes and see more than nowadays jets, for both culture and appreciation of the pionners in the civil aviation.

In the meanwhile, work continues preparing stuff.
Best wishes,
Guillem