spruecutter96

Bump 13/3/24.

There's an old photographer's saying: "The sharpest lens you can buy is a good tripod". Hope you enjoy using your new one. Cheers. Chris.

Bump 9/3/24.

Bump 9/3/24.

How do you murder a Circus? You go for the juggler! Chris.

IIRC, Italeri have produced a 1/72nd version. Cheers. Chris.

Odd and VERY graphic, in places. Says some interesting things about the man/woman power dynamic. Looks really good. What say ye? Chris.

Throwing another one into the mix...... Akira. Possibly the best animated film I've clapped eyes on. Allegedly, Taika Waititi was going to make a live-action version of it, but that has gone very quiet indeed (probably because it would need a $500 Million budget to really do it justice - not impossible, given that Disney apparently spent nearly that much on "Solo: A Star Wars Story", when you include the cost of the re-shoots). Cheers. Chris.

The first one was one of the most self-important, dull, poorly-written, turgid movies I've ever seen. A 45-minute story, stretched into a two-and-a-half-hour film. AWFUL. Two, three and four were good, space-opera romps and worth the effort. Five............I've been in therapy ever since and it still gives me nightmares. Utter bilge. The rest of the flock? Range from watchable to just embarrassing.

I think we might be getting our Neil Blomkampf films mixed up here. The first part sounds like "Elysium" and the second part sounds like "District 9". Both worth a watch, although District 9 is the better movie, IMHO. Cheers. Chris.

Just to be the contrarian here, folks should check out a 1970's (?) sci-fi parody called "Big Meat Eater". Made on a budget of around 10 Dollars, but the script is super-sharp and very ironic. They certainly don't make them like that, anymore... Only issue with this one? It is VERY difficult to find these days. I saw it for sale on E-Bay recently and an ex-rental VHS copy (remember those?) was going for a mere £80! I've never seen it on any streaming service. If you like weird, low-budget, made-with-real-love movies, this one's a genuine gem. Cheers. Chris. PS: Solaris and Stalker? Regularly upheld as two of the top Sci-Fi films of all time.... I just don't get Tarkovsky's way of telling a story. And I doubt I ever will, to be honest. Really not my cup-of-tea. Just as an aside, it's reckoned that filming next to the heavily-polluted river in Stalker might have given a lot of the crew cancer, including Tarkovsky himself.

This looks a lot like a Danish film available on-line, called "The Bombardment" (for English-speaking markets). Cheers. Chris.

Thank you for your service, Mike! Chris.

When you eat a steak (or similar meat), a percentage of your consumption is blood. Is black/white pudding radically different from that? Personally, I think not. Just my two penneth. Chris.

176.9% agree with this! When the paints are imported to the UK, they will travel from a dock or airport in a ROAD-GOING lorry. Why is it considered safe for commercial-freight services to move the paint, but not for Royal Mail? This whole situation absolutely reeks of "Official Convenient Excuse Syndrome" to me.... I'm willing to bet that RM can afford the best transport-insurance going. I will now brace myself for a load of respondents telling me I have no idea what I'm talking about (which I don't, but that's not the point!). Cheers. Chris.

Ketchup - still the best condiment to add to most meats, bar none! Anyone who tells you different is a foolish purveyor of "foreign" ideas.... PLEASE do not take these comments seriously, folks. Said entirely in jest.... Cheers. Chris.

"Damn the torpedoes, Sir!" Looks like Sunday is going ahead, folks... Let's hope the forecast is wrong. Chris.

Keep a close eye on the 'forecast for Sunday, folks. This show is entirely outdoors and if it's too wet on the day, it might get cancelled. Fingers crossed for decent weather! Bump 5/3/24.

Bump 2/3/24.

Bump 2/3/24.

Bump 02/03/24.

Hi. I appreciate that it will be an expensive option, but Hasegawa have marketed a 1/48th US Navy (1970-1980's era) pilots and deck-crew set. This might be overkill for what you want, but it also gives you the option to do a full diorama. Reedoak produce some superb, 3-D printed pilot figures, but cheap they are not. Hope this helps. Chris.

This does sound pretty ominous..... Let's hope for the best. Cheers. Chris.

I've read this in the last ten years. I seem to remember the "controversial" reference on the second cover being a bit less-than-expected in nature (but the details are very hazy, admittedly). I think this could be a bit of shameless marketing-hype. From what I do recall, it was very much worth a read, despite the publisher's enhancement. I THINK the controversial aspect was that Sharkey Ward claimed that the Black Buck Vulcan raids were a massive waste of time, money and effort on the British side. He felt the Navy could have done a better job, given half-a-chance. My apologies if I've got this wrong. Cheers. Chris.

I've just finished "Nimitz Class" by Patrick Robinson. It's about an American aircraft-carrier being destroyed by an atomic-tipped torpedo, fired from a "stolen" Soviet Kilo-class submarine. The aftermath gets interesting. I'm not really into naval stuff myself, but it kept my attention pretty nicely (some chapters waffled on a bit, but I just skipped through them). Recommended. Chris.