LewisM
15-10-2014, 09:52 PM
I declare I have TFOD. I am not sure if it is pure-BS astrological karma of being a Virgo (anal-retentive fastidiousness and attention to minutiae) or just Obsessive-Compulsive disorder... with maybe a twinge of Aspergers :)
ANYWAY, i cannot help myself. I NEED to always make telescopes (or most other things around me for that matter) aesthetically correct. It can be as small as painting the Vixen rings on my Tak FC-100 the exact same matching blue as the Takahashi fluorite titling blue (Blue Blaze, BTW), or it can be as obsessive as having a custom pearl paint mixed up to match a bog-standard Skywatcher finder scope to the Pentax SDUF II I recently acquired (that's Subaru Arctic White pearl by the way :) ), to include gold-leafing the lens locking ring to match the gold ring on the Pentax dewshield AND ordering a custom helical focuser to fit the finder converted to guidescope ($80 only, which seems a good price). Now to pearlesce the Vixen short finder bracket too (tomorrow...)
I find it hard not only looking at, but USING UGLY equipment, especially stuff not looked after. Yes, I know function is as function does, but there is something about function AND aesthetics to me. I have bought some HORRID scopes before that had simply been hacked at, velcroed, abused and neglected, and taken the time to bring them back (good example was an R200SS that had a tube shortened VERY roughly and non-squarely with a hack-saw - to include jagged sharp edges - but a superb mirror set. I went about having a custom CF tube made for it in Germany, and also repainting the parts in O.S red to make it look "RIGHT").
I have for example only recently started leaving one mount set up outside (3 tarpaulines, 2 waterproof sleeping bags and a plastic rubbish bin over the top, all bungied together and tent staked, as well as copious lithium grease around the tripod feet, insecticide soaked into the soil at those points and a spray every 3 days with WD-40 on all ferrous and aluminium parts :)All electronics that are not removeable get individual cling wrap film to stop any potential moisture ingress)
I am not knocking those who look at a telescope or mount as merely a tool and looks DON'T mean anything to them, but to ME, yes it does.
Now you KNOW one of the loonier sides of me that maybe wasn't as apparent as the other lunatic antics :) :stupid:
ANYWAY, i cannot help myself. I NEED to always make telescopes (or most other things around me for that matter) aesthetically correct. It can be as small as painting the Vixen rings on my Tak FC-100 the exact same matching blue as the Takahashi fluorite titling blue (Blue Blaze, BTW), or it can be as obsessive as having a custom pearl paint mixed up to match a bog-standard Skywatcher finder scope to the Pentax SDUF II I recently acquired (that's Subaru Arctic White pearl by the way :) ), to include gold-leafing the lens locking ring to match the gold ring on the Pentax dewshield AND ordering a custom helical focuser to fit the finder converted to guidescope ($80 only, which seems a good price). Now to pearlesce the Vixen short finder bracket too (tomorrow...)
I find it hard not only looking at, but USING UGLY equipment, especially stuff not looked after. Yes, I know function is as function does, but there is something about function AND aesthetics to me. I have bought some HORRID scopes before that had simply been hacked at, velcroed, abused and neglected, and taken the time to bring them back (good example was an R200SS that had a tube shortened VERY roughly and non-squarely with a hack-saw - to include jagged sharp edges - but a superb mirror set. I went about having a custom CF tube made for it in Germany, and also repainting the parts in O.S red to make it look "RIGHT").
I have for example only recently started leaving one mount set up outside (3 tarpaulines, 2 waterproof sleeping bags and a plastic rubbish bin over the top, all bungied together and tent staked, as well as copious lithium grease around the tripod feet, insecticide soaked into the soil at those points and a spray every 3 days with WD-40 on all ferrous and aluminium parts :)All electronics that are not removeable get individual cling wrap film to stop any potential moisture ingress)
I am not knocking those who look at a telescope or mount as merely a tool and looks DON'T mean anything to them, but to ME, yes it does.
Now you KNOW one of the loonier sides of me that maybe wasn't as apparent as the other lunatic antics :) :stupid: