Latrobe RC race meetjawaproTue 22/10/2013 11:50 PM
Nope that’s not a remote control helicopter - it’s actually a remote control car!
One of the guys from the Lego shows competes in RC races, so I headed out to the Latrobe track to check it out. Pretty awesome - just wish I brought along a better camera for video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YWK_WqPSw
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A short tripjawaproMon 21/10/2013 03:51 PM
"Come for a short trip?" says Chris.
Our last ‘short’ trip ended up going well into the night and involved one of the vehicles being towed home. I was cautious. Chris assured me we wouldn’t be that late this time. He just wanted to give his car a run now it’s back on the road. He hadn’t tried his new crawler gears in anger yet - plus he was now running on 31" tyres again, so we’d have the same sized wheels (when you are following someone running 35"s you can’t really go the same places).
So off we headed - and Chris got stuck.
"I’m not bogged - only bridged!" Chris claimed as he got the winch out.
A few minutes later, Chris was stuck again and the winch was back in action.
"I forgot how small 31s were!" says Chris.
Oscar the Pajero and I manage to clear the first few sections that caught out Chris (by running different lines) but eventually Oscar bridged up too. "Better turn around and get me out" I tell Chris.
Chris turns around, and then gets so close to me that he gets bogged too.
Doh!
Having two stuck vehicles facing each other isn’t very useful.
It reminds me of the last time I went wheeling with Chris...
Chris decides to try an advanced manoeuvre and runs his winch cabled under his car and manages to successfully tow himself backwards.
After which he kindly pulled me out.
For those counting, Chris and the Maverick had been stuck 3 times, Oscar only once.
But the day wasn’t over yet.
Chris stuck in a puddle.
Chris bridged on a bank.
Chris stuck on another bank.
While I very much enjoy the fact that I only needed recovering once while Chris had six, it’s not a true comparison. Chris was out challenging himself while I took the ‘sensible’ lines where I could.
Not a bad afternoon’s run.
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Oscar in the ShedjawaproMon 21/10/2013 12:09 AM
Celebration time - Oscar has finally made it into the shed!
I've been waiting until the floor has been painted before bringing a car into the shed to avoid oil stains. That has been held up until the plumber can come and do the downpipes which has been held up by the weather. Hopefully the plumber should be here this week.
After waiting for the plumber for months so far, I gave up and decided I'd bring Oscar into the shed anyway as I needed to do a little work on him. Surely I could avoid any spills...
About two minutes after I bring him in, I splash brake fluid on the flood. Doh! At least it's not much.
After Oscar, the Subaru got a turn in the shed as it needed an oil change. I very carefully dropped the oil into the drum and didn't spill a drop!
I then very clumsily dropped the old oil filter into the drum as well - which splashed oil everywhere. Doh!!!
I managed to finish the jobs on the vehicles and clean the floors - but I really want to paint the floors now. Hopefully the plumber arrives this week so I can get the remaining steps of the Shed Project underway...
When I wasn't making a mess in the shed on Saturday, I was weeding the garden. This gnome seemed appropriate...
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Brixhibition 2013 - HobartjawaproThu 10/10/2013 10:29 PM
Well - it’s Lego time again!
This weekend was the annual Hobart Lego expo - Brixhibtion.
Much bigger space than the last few years - and much bigger crowds to suit.
The blue tableclothed tables above are my section of the display. More than my car could easily fit - so I borrowed Dad’s Pajero for the week (it’s bigger than mine). That also allowed me to drag Jason down to assist with the setting up and packing up.
Given how much Lego Jason’s bought since then - I think he’s well and truely caught the bug.
Centre-stage this year was Marcus’s train layout. Got a lot of attention - which it rightly deserved.
Even includes decent sized ships!
A selection of Ken’s awesome buildings made it down to Hobart too. These things are fantastic.
On the much smaller side of the scales - but just as awesome - are Jades’s series of Goblins and Skylander figures. The techniques here are fantastic.
There was a bit of everything this year. And the crowds loved it.
^ Setting up on the Saturday morning. Click here for a larger version of that photo. Cool wide shot, even if it did come from a iPhlop.
And as expected - I took a Timelapse of the event. You can see it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoYydoK03wE
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WRC - Coffs HarbourjawaproThu 26/09/2013 05:02 PM
We weren’t the only people flocking to Coffs Harbour for the weekend - it was the Australian round of the WRC!
I’ve been a big fan of the WRC (World Rally Championship) for quite a while. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be aired on TV down here anymore - so I’ve been out of the loop for a few years - but when Dad mentioned that it was on at Coffs and he’d been able to book the timeshare for that weekend I got excited.
So for the first time I got to see my WRC heroes out "in the forest". It’s very different from watching on TV, or even spectating at the V8s. You really have no idea how people are doing or places or anything - all you see is the cars charge past your spectator point and then nothing at all until the dust clears.
It feels a bit disconnected - but it’s awesome anyway. If you’re lucky you can work out who it is and take a photo at the same time - but that’s about it. They certainly aren’t waiting around.
Nathan Quinn - a local Coffs Harbour driver who managed to get a WRC spec car for the weekend. He did quite well too - finishing about 8th.
Mads Ostberg
Mikko Hirvonen
Sebastien Ogier - the eventual winner of the Rally.
The Super Special stage in Coffs Harbour itself - very difficult to photograph.
A special mention for the "Classics" - some older Rally cars that were also tearing up the course in their own class.
And who said there are no spectators at Australian Rallies? They might not be all over the road like some European Rallies - but there were quite good crowds at the spectator points.
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