Andy Robbins

I think there are some photos in Spike Milligan’s books. D Battery used 7.2’s, and I’m pretty sure there is at least one picture. I suppose if you go down the diorama route, you could recreate Harry Secombe’s ‘Anybody Seen a Gun?’ story of how he first met Spike…

Mine’s arrived, but I’m seriously considering binning it if any of you want to buy it? I’ve tried dry fitting and can’t get the wing on. Is the centre part supposed to be raised? If it is, then that’s a start. Without the cockpit in place the front sort of matches, but not quite. With the cockpit in place (and correctly located) the fuselage is too wide and the front of the lower wing is too narrow, so it’s forced backward because of the taper. I’ve got the main spar fitted correctly, so is not a fit issue there. The curvature of the rear fillet doesn’t match the fuselage fillets either. If the front seat is in, then the fuselage is even wider. If anyone can advise, I’d be really grateful. I’ve waited a long time for this kit. If not, then I’ll sell it to the first person. I would write to Airfix, but their standard reply is ‘nobody else has complained.’ If I can work out how, I’ll post pictures.

Happy to help. Always a pleasure, never a chore. Andy

Sorry, didn’t realise I needed to apologise. I meant to say that I had revisited something and found out something new about my home town., what with life forever being about learning, and all. However, in the light of your comment, before I cancel my membership: ’I wholeheartedly and unreservedly apologise for the comment I made in which I dared to question your words. It was remiss of me to imagine I would have the temerity to cast any doubt on your writing and will henceforth bow to your superior knowledge in all things modelling and aviation based.’ Will that do?

Well flip me! After a bit of research, RAF Gosport closed in August 1945 and briefly became RNAS Gosport and then HMS Siskin until it closed in 1956 to become the Marine Engineering School of HMS Sultan. So Guy’s headmistress was wrong about the origin of the school’s name, and I’ve learned something about my home town. I’d never heard of HMS Siskin. That’s a bit of local history I never knew.

Sorry to be pedantic, but as a Turk, I have to correct some issues.... The married quarters at Rowner- now private (and Siskin School, where my son went)- are on the old RAF Gosport (originally Grange Aerodrome- named after Fort Grange which is still there) site. The present day HMS Sultan is also based on the old airfield, and uses the old hangers. I can remember parts of the old taxiways being there, but when Sultan expanded they were built on. The modern day Rowner Road follows one of the runways. If it’s a Navy Tiger Moth it’s from RNAS Lee-on-Solent, which later became HMS Daedalus. RAF Gosport was a torpedo bomber base. My dad can remember the aircraft practising in Stokes Bay. Siskin School, the headmistress told me, is named after the AW Siskin that were based at Grange in the 20’s. Like Paul, I remember all the planes over Gosport. We knew them all. You could always tell an Argosy- it sounded like nothing else. Gnats, blue and dayglo Wessexes, the green and white ‘admiral’s barge’ Whirlwind. Later on, the two Hunters and a Canberra from FRADU pretending to be an Exocet armed jet so the ships on the Solent could calibrate their radar. Hovercraft from Daedalus crossing the road by their own traffic lights on the slipway. I can remember Sea Vixens, and when the Navy got its Phantoms it was the biggest noise I’d ever heard. I was 5 when they first appeared at the Daedalus airshow, and I hid in my dad’s legs when it flew over. Oh man! That takes me back....

My grandad worked on all three of them. I find it quite an amazing thought when I look at the one in Southampton that his fingerprints are on it somewhere.

One Sunday teatime, Victoria (my wife) and I were walking the dog around Grasmere. You often get fast jets hurtling through the valley, as it’s part of the Mach Loop, so we weren’t over surprised to hear something noisy passing over us. This day, however, we looked up, and it was the Vulcan. I think it was the last year it operated, so it was at every airshow, but there hadn’t been one that day. It was clearly just out, returning home after whatever it had been doing. Flying in a leisurely way, not in a display, just doing what it was made to do. Then it passed over the hills and was gone, leaving only fading noise. For a few minutes we’d had it just for ourselves.

The last time I went to RIAT was 2013 for the 70th anniversary of the Dambuster raid. After the Vulcan flight, they were doing guided tours on the apron around and underneath it. Our tour was just after the Lancaster and a 617sqn Tornado did a 70th anniversary flypast. While we were stood gazing at the Vulcan, the Tornado and Lancaster landed, taxied onto the apron and parked either side of us. Apart from the 10 or so of us under the Vulcan, nobody will have that experience.

My mum had them designated as monuments in order to stop commercial salvage. It’s a ‘look but don’t touch’ thing. She wanted to preserve what was left of them after salvage companies had been using explosives to blast bits off the wrecks.

Ah well... Brain beasties worked their usual magic. I’m off for another 4 weeks, and the Fokker got as far as Aviattic’d and decalled upper wing, assembled and yellow nosed, white tailed and yellow undercart before the demons arrived...

Ah well... Brain beasties worked their usual magic. I’m off for another 4 weeks, and the Fokker got as far as Aviattic’d and decalled upper wing, assembled and yellow nosed, white tailed and yellow undercart before the demons arrived...

That is my thinking. Options D, E and F will lead to option A, I fear...

Blue Rider do a bewildering variety of decals for non German Fokkers. Hungarian MAG, Lithuanian, Ukraine, Finnish, Swedish.... If you choose the right bits from the box, the kit is basically a one-stop shop.

Late (correct ones): Mid (wrong ones that I’ve used):