Mandrake

A good idea for a GB but I think your parameters need redefining. Your big five appear based on the five main nations in WWII rather than post war, excluding the argueably the third largest air force, the Chinese PLAAF. Also the USSR has not existed for 23 years.

A very productive year for you. The ML-20 & tractor diorama is particularly good Also nice to see that EBR-10 I traded to you built.

The Kingston Upon Thames Model Zone area was under construction when I visited this weekend....hope to check back later this week. Not a huge stock but a broad range visible including some 1/35 Tamiya which makes me happy! Interestingly there was a member of the public whipping his camera out and taking pics of the area. I can only assume a modeller on another site as nothing has appeared on here.

The Kingston Upon Thames Model Zone area was under construction when I visited this weekend....hope to check back later this week. Not a huge stock but a broad range visible including some 1/35 Tamiya which makes me happy! Interestingly there was a member of the public whipping his camera out and taking pics of the area. I can only assume a modeller on another site as nothing has appeared on here.

The Russian hammer and sickle was actually put on by the Germans during testing. The accepted theory is that any prying eyes would see it and assume that this was a captured Soviet vehicle rather than something they were producing.

A slight aside from the main point but the reason why is was applied so consistently and precisely to all aircraft of that type is that although some slight deviation may not impact upon the effectiveness of the camo it could be used to identify individual aircraft and used to identify sqn strengths and losses by adversaries.

I would first try to isolate the problem by removing the head assembly and seeing if air passes through. Failing that it is probably the air valve, possibly the o ring as that is the only real perishable part there. There are videos of how to disassemble this online however. If it is the o ring then this is <£2 however if you prefer not to dissembles and it is an issue with the air valve a new valve assembly is about £15. I will echo what a previous poster said, dissassembly of an airbrush is an essential part of airbrush ownership, I strip down my Badger 150 after every use.

I have been informed that the last remaining MZ stores are all due to close on the 14/09 or 18/09.

Looking forward to the review and indeed the kit itself. I am curious about the RRP though. Hannants list it at £44.99, which seem rather a lot for one of the smallest tanks in the world. I appreciate this might not be the actual RRP when available. However I am well aware that if it was priced at £25 and not so detailed (Italeri?) I would still spend £15 on a workable track set and £5 on a PE set.

Technically the Colindale shop is a franchise

Just an update to wrap this thread up. 1. The air valve was on too tight for even the correct size Allen key, so ended up loosening it with a small wrench. 2. Although the O ring intially swelled up, blocking the airway it was actually fine after a couple of days and not the cause of the pulsation, which only occured when another medium (paint, thinners, water etc) was passed through. 3. It turns out that I had not thinned the paint enough and it had build up, restricting the passages. I resolved this by sunging the head assembly and front of the main airbrush body (air valve cautiously removed) I decanter badger airbrush cleaner for a for hours and removing and remaining loosened paint with some pipe cleaners. 4. Airbrush works fine now without any pulsation (tested with water only). I am very relieved and thankful, I was prepared for a long and expensive solution!

Good customer service from Badger who have confirmed my assessment of the problem and stated the correct size Allen wrench is 1/16" I had tried an alledged 1/16" previously, but perhaps not the most precise so will source a better one soon.

Talking to the staff there last week they are in the in the top 6 in terms of sale and/or profitability so they should be one of the last to close, which might be at the end of this month. There is still a decent selection of all types of kits, despite not receiving any new or redistributed stock in the last 2 months! Tools and paints are starting to look a bit sparse though.

Dave, I have tried an imperial measure set and again one is too large and the next down is too small (see original post for sizes). I can't believe badger would use an obscure size , perhaps the 99p sets from wilkos may not be precise enough. I wait I hope from a reply from Badger.

My understanding is that the cleaner causes the o ring to swell up and degrade. The swelling accounts for the blocking of the valve and although it has since reduced in size the seal has seemingly being compromised hence the lack of consistent airflow. I'm hoping it is an O ring because that is only a £2 replacement part, however if I can't get to it the whole £100+ airbrush is redundant!