Andrew Jones

As has already been said "flux" , I was useless at soldering until I realised you need plenty of flux . I've also find that you need a small amout of solder on the tip of your iron to help the heat to transfer and ensure a successful bond .

Yes there was a 33% overload but that did not stop Churchills being carried on occasion . The" Manual of Recovery " from 1944 states that , the Churchill could be carried in "very special circumstances" which included increasing the tyre presures of both the trailer and tractor , and very precise positioning of the tank to maintain the centre of gravity . The Sherman M4A4 firefly weighed in at 34 tons , yet was commonly seen carried by a 30ton Scammell. When needs must !

No the Supermarine 508 , which I presume in the aircraft you refer to as the Scimitar prototype , had a totally difference wing than the Spiteful or Attacker . Being a much larger and heavier twin engine aircraft the wing had an increased span and area compared to the earlier aircraft .

For any MAFVA members , there has been a series of Cromwell articles running lately , shows variants of hatches, engine decks and much more , also how to correct the various kits . Should be availible as back issues , well worth joining for this and much more . Concensus seems to be that the Tamiya kits is the most dimensionally accurate and also the easiest built out of the box .

Much better than the remake ,anyway .

According to US military vehicle experts , such as Steve Zaloga , Us olive drab is in fact a brown colour , not green . [ although ,I admit it always looks green to my eyes } Mr Zaloga suggests in most of his writings that you use Tamiya Olive Drab XF62 suitably lightened with XF60 desert sand , for a scale model .

Beautiful model ; That will be Nivo , not Olive Drab .

The white turret roof was an air recognition feature used in the Normandy campaign , it was meant to be applied to all british AFV's , but oviously wasn't . However, study of photographs show that it was more widespead than most may think , at least one Cromwell knocked out at Villers Bocage can be seen to have the white roof , and it can also be seen on a well known photo of a Staghound ACin Brusells . The more you start looking for it ,the more you will find .

blue background with three white triangles sounds like the sign garages display for MOT testing service .

Probably a Case model D . very similar to this one . https://imgur.com/a/IJUT6nt

When I was younger it was an Opel Manta , did get a Y reg Manta 1.8 Berlinetta , lovely car probably one of the best I've ever owned . Then my dream car became a Range Rover . Some years later ,when my farm Landrover died I found that I could replace it with a P38 Range Rover for less money than a Defender the same age . So a 1998 Epsom Green P38 4.0 V8 it was , great vehicle but bit heavy on fuel , having a LPG conversion did help however . It would tow anything , 14ft flatbed , Ivor Williams stock box , with ease . Today I'm on my 6th rangie ,all of which except the current truck have cost less tha £5000 apiece , currently have a 07 sport 2.7 v6 and a 64 sport 3.0 v6 . Don't really have any other car that I lust over , but wouldn't mind a Jag xk8 . Andrew

The term "goose neck " was never used to describe Scammell tank transporter trailers , it appears to be a fiction used to differentiate the Thunder models trailers . The so called " goose neck " is in fact the the earliest model of 30 ton trailer and were mostly used in the Middle East . The late trailer is the flat bedded trailer which in fact has a lower load bed than the so-called gooseneck so was more suited to the Sherman tank and was the type almost exclusively used in NW Europe . Andrew

It was also originaly intended that a proportion of Centurions would be fitted with the 95mm howitzer .

The book the photo is from is , " Wynns the last 20 years " by John Wynn , The tractor in the other photo is indeed an ex WD Diamond T , it is fitted with a replacement cab built by Nash and Morgan in the Forest of Dean . These larger 3 seated cabs were fitted to many of the Wynns Diamond T's as the originals rotted out .

Found this photo in a book , not the best quality , but it shows the loco being unloaded . Some useful details of the trailer bed and it may be possible to calculate the width from the gauge of the tracks which should be 4ft 8 1/2 ins . Also shows the trailer bed , note the central pivot hole for when it it used as a bogie under a large girder trailer .