MikeC

Nice. What was the unit, and where/when is it depicted?

Looks like the love child of a He111 and Ar196! Very well done indeed, I've never tried a Valom kit, but I understand they're not the easiest to get such good results from.

Nice Pony Well done for going off-piste rather than oob: it's very satisfying to know that you have a model that's slightly different, isn't it? Glad to see someone else realises that 8th Fighter Command consisted of more than the 357th and 56th FGs . It's a great little museum at Fowlmere, I agree. And I don't say that merely because they were kind enough to accept my 1/32 model of D "The Comet" for display last year.

Yes, they were definitely glazed, of course. I had a correspondence with the much-missed Edgar about protection from mud while taxying and on takeoff, and I assume they had the same system as the PR Spits. A metal disc covered the camera port. This was held in place by a spring-loaded catch system; after takeoff the pilot pulled a toggle in the cockpit which released the covers to drop away.

Nicely finished, and well presented.

The Scouting Force originated from the bomber world. The pilots were volunteers drawn equally from Bomber and Fighter groups. The idea was that the bomber guys knew how the big bomber formations operated and what info they needed, while the fighter guys had the knowledge and expertise if the SF had to defend themselves and/or the bombers. More info in the first "Gallery" entries here http://www.littlefriends.co.uk/scouting-force/

Well if we're talking display prop-driven aircraft, the oldest airworthy aircraft bar none is the Shuttleworth Collection's 1909 Bleriot. But wasn't this about jets?

Yes, an interesting organisation, and I have a Tamiya P-51D in the loft earmarked for a 1SF machine. Trouble is, my research rate is several models ahead of my build rate, but I will get round to it eventually.

But where did you leave them - on the bus or train, perhaps, or in another room, or ...?

Those wingtips remind me of the Trumpeter offering in this scale. Not suggesting it's copied, but does it suggest that Pilot used the same drawings or other sources as Trumpeter perhaps? Likewise. My Air Cadet squadron had a real Vampire in the 1970s (VV217, last heard of recently undergoing restoration at the DH Museum) and not a rivet do I recall. At least none visible. Look forward to seeing how this turns out.

It was a good day out, thank you to the organisers. Good to have a catch-up with a good many people, though I may regret it a little when the credit card bill comes in

Sorry to disagree, they are turrets. I can't recall the exact disignation, or even where I found this info. They were more streamlined indeed, so more efficient aerodynamically, which was why they were there; alas, in service they were plagued with technical and usability issues, hence the change to a more conventional design of turret on the Mk Ia ans subsequently. Second apology: sorry to divert the thread.

Nice

Nicely done, always a pleasure to see a well-modelled recce bird.

My instinct says not, but I have no evidence for that, just a lack of positive photographic proof. The nearest I've just found is a photo in The Buccaneers (Air Cdre Graham Pitchfork) of an aircraft with a rocket pod on the port inner station and empty practice bomb carriers on the other three.