G Class Final Edition

[Faith Lienhard]

Takea look, and be impressed with what these ladies accomplished. Live Online has become a successful way of teaching for me, and a great way of learning for students. The following results are proof enough.

Sandy Low of searing hot Las Vegas, Nevada created this scene of Arctic chill, and warming in my March 2021 Live Online Class. The beautiful eye of this handsome fellow (see detail below) seems to be reflecting the colors of the earth.

Ozzie became a friend to my grandchildren when they were sheltered in place due to COVID. They played with her and cared for her every day. This quilt is a tribute to Ozzie and to the resilience of youth. Ozzie the quilt is lovingly displayed in their home.

I had taken one class with Susan in Arizona and was signed up for a couple more when Covid hit and the world shut down. I was thrilled when she offered online classes and worked on Elvis in the March and April class. Susan also coached me while I was working on another collage. Coaching is invaluable.

There was way too much drama getting Elvis finished finished but the binding is on and he is done and I am on to the next. I am looking forward to continuing to work with Susan and having her experienced eyes understand what I am trying to do and somehow, magically, make it happen.

WashU faculty recently shared some creative strategies that worked for them when teaching synchronous hybrid courses (sometimes called hyflex). These are courses where some students attend the class in-person and other students join the class remotely via Zoom. Thank you to everyone who anonymously passed on these tips in our recent survey!

My day starts with an early wake-up. My first class is at 9:10 a.m., which is earlier than my typical GW class schedule. However, I am motivated to wake up by the free breakfast provided in my dormitory breakfast room. It is a classic European breakfast, consisting of juice, coffee, cereal, cold meats, cheese, hard boiled eggs, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, and bread. I get a strong start to my day with great food and even better company. At 8:30 a.m., I leave the dormitory and commute via tram and metro to my first class: Transformation of Czechoslovakia and Czech Republic. Our courses at Charles University are more intimate and heavily based on discussion, which is a change that I am adjusting to compared to GW-lecture style courses. Despite this difference, I am excited to get to know my professors and classmates better in topics about which I am passionate.

I have a brief break between classes, so I decided to check out a popular student cafe in the area, called Cafe Du. It is a perfect blend of working adults and other European students working and socializing while sipping delicious coffee. Cafe culture here in Prague is unlike the United States, where it is normal to sit and study for hours, so I am excited that I found a cafe that is welcoming to my American studying habits. After my break and lunch, I head to my second class called Kafka in Critical Context. The renowned author Franz Kafka was born in Prague and heavily influenced by Bohemian culture. I feel so grateful to be able to study such an influential novelist in the city in which he lived and wrote! Again, this course is very-much discussion based, but a challenge about which I am excited.

After my two classes of the day, I head back to my dorm via metro and tram around 4 p.m. Some days I would stay out in Prague 1, the center of the city, but today I am feeling tired and want to head back to my dorm in Prague 6. After all, It is the first day of classes, and I have had almost a two month break from school! While on the metro and tram, I reflect on my day and my classes and how excited I am to study politics and history within a European university.

Mercedes didn't give up on the Maybach brand after the 57 and 62 models born in the ill-fated DaimlerChrysler era failed to fully compete with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Bentley. In 2014, the three-pointed star decided to start fresh with a new sub-brand dubbed Mercedes-Maybach, mainly focusing on the extra-long S-Class complemented by side projects like the bonkers G650 Landaulet and the opulent S650 Cabriolet.

The stately S-Class now has an SUV companion in the Maybach GLS, much like the EQS electric sedan will spawn an EQS SUV in 2023 carrying the double M logo. In the meantime, Daimler is celebrating Maybach's centenary, although technically, it's marking 100 years since the first production car. The original Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH company dates back to 1909 before changing its name to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH in 1912.

Outside of the lavish Pullman models, the new Maybach S-Class Edition 100 is the most sophisticated version to date of the German luxobarge. It's based on the range-topping V12 model, complete with 621 horsepower and all-wheel drive for the first time, in an extravagant sedan dressed in a two-tone Cirrus Silver / Nautical Blue hand-painted finish.

To set it apart from the "standard" Maybach S-Class, the Edition 100 rides on shiny gray wheels with bespoke "Edition 100" lettering denoting the vehicle's limited-run status. It also gets special badges on the C-pillars and comes bundled with a bespoke car cover. Inside, the crown jewel of the Maybach S-Class lineup gets exclusive leather upholstery in Crystal White with Silver Gray Pearl.

For your money's worth, you'll be getting every possible luxury feature you can think of, varying from a "noise-insulated first-class rear compartment" to a Burmester 4D surround sound system. The Edition 100 also has heated and massaging seats as well as several "Edition 100" inscriptions throughout the interior.

The Royal Class boxings of Eduard's kits are always eagerly awaited, and include something that is both unusual and interesting, along with two full editions of the kit in question. We reviewed the Profipack of this release here, so I won't repeat the preamble and discussion of the build of the kit. Suffice to say that this is the most detailed and modern tooling of a Spitfire in this scale, and to many this is the best Spitfire mark, so there are plenty of modellers out there that will want one.

The kit arrives in a stylish glossy black box with a gold drawing of a IX carrying those famous barrels. As gloss black is hard to photograph, I've pinched Eduard's artwork from their site, but I'm sure they won't mind. Inside the box is a cornucopia of sprues, resin, Photo-Etch (PE) and a special item that will doubtless find its way into the kitchen cupboards for the drinking of beer or whatever liquid you prefer. The box contents take up quite a bit of space, so again I've raided Eduard's site for a complete picture of it all laid out for your delight. The special item is a splendid tulip beer glass with the same drawing on the boxtop surrounded by a garland of hops and crown at the top, and the words Mark IX with Eduard Beer underneath. A small label on the foot of the glass notes that it is made by Bohemia Crystal, a local Czech company that manufactures high quality crystal, and this is from their Lara tableware range if I don't miss my guess. In case there's any doubt, I'm not a glassware expert, but can use Google! Accompanying the glass is a nice thick card beer mat with a profile of Spitfire MH779 and the 453 Squadron RAAF crest, which if subject to use should last a while until a major spill soaks through it. There are a set of 14 coasters to collect, although the initial offer of one coaster per $10 spent on their website has now finished. The full set can be purchased now for a reasonable sum by visiting their site here, but as they're pre-packaged, it's a little hit-and-miss as to whether you'll get duplicates, so if you fancy a set, you'd better hook up with like-minded collectors and do some swapsies to minimise the cost.

In addition to the above, a double set of kabuki tape masks are included (not pictured).

Wings

In addition to the late IXc wings on sprue C that are used in four of the markings options included in the box, there are also sprues for the early IXc wing that are used for three marking choices, and sprues for the IXe wing which are used in the remaining seven marking choices. Choices of radiator parts vary between the three wing types, so you'll need to take care here, but the wheel well wall parts are constant throughout. These choices continue with the cowling shape, which is a choice of two types, tail plane fins and a choice of early to late elevators and rudder fins. Your choices continue with clipped wingtips for two of the marking choices, which improved the aircraft's roll rate for low level combat. These are supplied as clear parts that you paint in clear green and red before masking off the light portion for spraying of the wings. If you're planning on installing the bomb/beer racks, you'll need to drill some holes in the wing underside, so don't forget to do that before you glue the upper wing in place. The only downside of this approach to providing one of each sprue is that it limits your choices to one of each type of wing. If you're to choose two of the same mark, you'll need to get some wing overtrees that are sold separately, which are coded as follows:

Wheels

Although three pairs of resin wheels are included, two sets are identical with handed rear hubs and brake detail. You have a choice of 4 or 5-spoked hubs, and two of the decal options have a flat hub-cap that is supplied on one of the PE sheets. The alternative treaded tyres are an option for one of the kits, so check your references to see whether they are appropriate. There are different bay doors and scissor details on the various marking choices, so again you'll need your wits about you. The tail wheel can be either a single part unit, or a three-piece alternative - more choices, although this one is based on realism versus ease and strength.

Conformal belly tanks

Two of these are included in the resin bags, and even if you decide not to use them, they are detailed on the mating surface as well, so you can depict them as part of the surrounding clutter if you are planning a diorama base. The detail is excellent on the parts, so it would be a shame to leave them in the box, as both the rivets and the slight oil-canning of the tank material is depicted, as well as the various inspection hatches, attachment points and filler caps. The block that is an extension of the casting block needs to be removed from the rear of the tank, and a pair of PE latches added next to its site for extra realism, and if you're leaving it off, a pair of hooks that hold the rear of the tank in place will need adding to the underside of the airframe.

Beer Kegs

There is a famous instance of a Spitfire being used to ferry much needed liquid refreshment to forward operating bases after D-Day following the abolition of the previous technique of filling cleaned out drop tanks with beer to accomplish the task. Two kegs were lashed to the hard-points for small bombs just outboard of the cannon locaitons and carried across the channel for subsequent imbibing. The resin kegs are moulded in two parts, with the lashing straps moulded in for attachment to the pylons that come with the kit. You can of course also put the supplied bombs under the wing instead for a more normal load, but where's the fun in that?

Cockpit & Airframe Set

The cockpit set has been laid out differently to enable them to print the colour portions on only one sheet, which contains all the instrument panels and seatbelts necessary to build two aircraft. There are some subtle variations in the panels between the different marking options, so be sure to read the relevant section of the instructions before you proceed. The other parts are provided on a smaller bare brass sheet and include head and seat armour, hubs for the wheels, oleo scissor links etc.

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