Anniversary of Grand Duchess Maria's birthday

Exactly 100 years ago today on 26 June, Maria turned 14 years old. I would do anything just to witness her birthday. To see Maria in real colour would be a dream come true for me. In the words of Mountbatten, "I was mad about her."

Anniversary of Grand Duchess Anastasia's birthday

Exactly 100 years ago today on 18 June, Anastasia turned twelve years old. Wish I was there to witness and celebrate her birthday.

Keeping a photo of Grand Duchess Anastasia

Inspired by what Louis Mountbatten did, I've kept this photo of Anastasia at my bedside. Just need to find a frame for it.

Sometimes when I look at this photo, I try to imagine Anastasia's blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair. But as there are no existing colour photos of her, just imagining has proven very difficult. I couldn't help but cry when looking at Anastasia eyes.

It has always left me frustrated. Why didn't the Romanovs hire Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky (renowned for his pioneering work in real colour photography) to photograph their formal portraits? Such photos would've looked modern and never grow old. Nonetheless, while this photo is black and white, Anastasia's eyes have never failed to capture me.

When I saw those icons of Anastasia and her family as passion bearers, I found it so emotional that I cried again. Somehow, I find it too painful to see them.

Louis Mountbatten kept this photo of Grand Duchess Maria in his bedroom. So lovely.

Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna and Louis Mountbatten

Louis Mountbatten (left) in 1914, when he was aged 13-14

Maria was a year older and their birthdays were only one day apart

"I was mad about her, and determined to marry her. You could not imagine anyone more beautiful than she was!"

"Oh, they (OTMA) were lovely and terribly sweet, far more beautiful than their photographs show. I was crackers about Marie, and was determined to marry her. She was absolutely lovely. I keep her photograph on the mantlepiece in my bedroom - always have."

Ignoring the fact that they were first cousins (cousin marriages were pretty common in royal families anyway), I think they would've made a lovely couple. Of course, I'm only saying this because it would've meant saving Maria from her tragic fate, which still greatly bothers me. Furthermore, Mountbatten had little in common with his wife Edwina, who had an alleged affair, or so I read. But did Maria also have a crush on Louis? And even if they were married and lived in England, would Maria have been able to cope with the death of her family?

On the other hand, Mountbatten was himself brutally murdered by the IRA in 1979, aged 79. Even if they had married, it is likely that Maria may have met her cruel fate anyway, albeit 61 years later. Or be forced to cope with the tragic loss of yet another loved one. She might never have had a peaceful life as a result. I can only hope there's a heaven and that the Romanov family and Louis are at peace.

A postcard sent to Louis from Maria and Anastasia.

Licence2Play 2012

Saturday, 9 December. This is my very first time visiting a gaming event. I spent most of my time on the Blizzard and Wargaming booths. Just wish I had a better quality camera. Still, I found my time there to be quite exhilarating. Can't remember the last time I ever took a photo that I really wanted to cherish.

The Blizzard booth.

The Wargaming.net booth.

This Wargaming model had a World of Warplanes logo on her uniform. The sign she was holding read: "I love men with BIG TANKS!" Behind her is a replica FV 4202 (105).

Got a chance to try out this rare premium tank, the PzKpfw V-IV Alpha, which was awarded to players who participated in the alpha phase of World of Tanks, and it made me wish I had one.

Contents of the World of Tanks goodie bag: mousepad, 2013 calender, tattoo, notebook and dog tag. Some visitors apparently got a watch with their goodie bags, which I didn't get, probably limited supply I guess.

A signed Diablo III Collector's Edition. I may have played the first two Diablo games for nearly ten years, but this time I chose not to play the third. The story had just gotten old for me. Evil can never be defeated.

Beautiful Blizzard model posing with an Orc statue from World of Warcraft. iPhone 4 camera is mediocre, but I love the way the light reflects against her hair. Damn it, I missed her high heels!

Airfix 1:76 T-34/85

I bought this kit back in 2004 and built it out of the box. Eight years later, I took the model out of the cupboard and it renewed my interest in it. Now I discover that Airfix have re-released the kit. Since it uses the same mould as its predecessor (with the exception of plastic colour and decals), I decided to just contact Airfix for spare parts instead. I only requested parts for the 85 mm turret (don't want to be greedy and ask for the entire kit).

 The parts.

All ready for painting. Comparing the new turret with the original on the right. I was unwilling to paint the old turret as I had already applied decals on it. The same went for the 76 mm turret, though I chose not to request for those parts. 

For a while, I thought perhaps I won't paint the turret because it looked very nice on its own. But not so much when its on the tank. Since both the old and new instructions show the tank as painted in dark earth, I decided to use Tamiya's dark earth (RAF) spray paint. I previously used it on Tamiya's 1/48 Brewster B-339 Buffalo, so I didn't want to waste it on just one model. 

Done. Missed a few spots time and again, but I managed to cover up most of it without re-coating it too much.

Then I decided to paint the road wheels with Tamiya flat earth, just to make it match with the turret a little better. If I ever put either of the old turrets back on the tank, then the painted wheels can simulate mud instead. I could have spray painted the entire hull with dark earth as well, but then the old turrets would not match as a result, and the rubber tracks were already glued together.

I also notice Airfix has re-released the MiG-15 (another kit which I also bought in 2004). But since it uses newly tooled parts, 'modifying' the old one is a lost cause.

Women's artistic gymnastics at London 2012

I actually tuned into the Women's artistic gymnastics on television hoping to see Heem Wei Lim competing, only to fall in love with the Romanians instead. I ended up staying up late just to see them compete. Unfortunately, Heem was only shown performing on the uneven bars, out of the four apparatus she competed in. The cameras were mostly focused on the Romanian and Japanese team.

In the end, Sandra Izbasa drew my attention, who went on to win bronze in the team all-around final, and gold on vault final. She was in Beijing 2008, but I never had the chance to watch women's gymnastics back then thanks to national service (bastards).

Apparently, one of the Romanian gymnasts, Diana Bulimar, was in Singapore for the 2010 Youth Olympics, winning silver on the floor exercise. Two other gymnasts, Viktoria Komova of Russia, and Carlotta Ferlito of Italy, were also in Singapore. If only I was interested in the Olympics back then, I would've paid for a ticket just to see them (take some pictures too if I could).

I first saw artistic gymnastics during Sydney 2000. The jumping, swinging and somersaults are what attracted me to the sport, something I never saw before until then. When London 2012 started, I made sure it was the first sport I would look out for.

P.S. Don't ask me what about men's gymnastics, for it doesn't feel right for me as a male to be watching them.