John

These are the ICM figures. They're very nice indeed. John

They still had swastikas in 1977: John

And so battle commences: Preparatory work includes painting the parts identified as 56 Aluminium in the instructions with Matt Aluminium MetalCote, and the hot end of the engine parts with Polished Steel MetalCote. If you don't polish the Polished Steel it dries to a nice matt metallic dark grey. John

India, according to the side of the box. I'm going to dive straight in, WIP thread here : http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235026587-airfix-new-mould-me262a-1a/ John

Plenty of dry-fitting before committing, I would think. A rake in the paint cabinet produces the Humbrol late-War greens and RLM76 in acrylic: I used the Humbrol acrylics for the 74/75/76 scheme on the Airfix Fw190 a while ago and liked the finish, so we'll see how we get on with these. John

This morning the postie delivered a package from Wonderland Models containing the new Airfix Me262 and I've posted up some quick shots of the box contents here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235026581-airfix-me262-a-look-in-the-box/ but I think I'm going to go straight ahead and build it as a respite from my current 1/35th scale figure project. I'm not a huge Luftwaffe modeller but I've always liked the shape of the Me262 and you certainly can't deny its place in history. I think my first Me262 would have been the old Airfix mould in the Me262 and Mosquito Dogfight Double boxing: http://www.vintage-airfix.com/images/Type 3 Dog Fight - Mosq and Me262.jpg I also had the 1/72 Revell kit that scored over the Airfix one in having a hinged cockpit canopy: http://www.oldmodelkits.com/jpegs/r/Revell H624 Me262blue.JPG These things were important in the late 1960s! I never built the FROG or Heller kits but I did get the Matchbox, which was "chunky". In bigger scales I got the all-singing-and-dancing Nichimo kit, complete with retracting undercarriage, engines, guns and so on: https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/0/8/1/145081-11104-pristine.jpg and, soon after it came out, the Monogram 1/48th scale kit: http://www.oldmodelkits.com/jpegs/m/Monogram 5410 Me262OK.JPG The Monogram kit was really nice, and I expect it still holds its own. So, it's been 35 years since I built a 262. Let's see how things have improved... John

The fuel tanks relevant to the nigh fighter are already on the sprues: 35 and 36 are indeed the nose-mounted racks. There's a flashed-over locating hole in the lower nose panel either side of the nosewheel well: In common with much of Airfix's planning these days other versions are being considered right from the start. I think we're looking at the 2-seater (night fighter and trainer) and the bomber in the future at the very least. John

Just arrived from those nice people at Wonderland Models for the very reasonable price of £12.99 (yes - mail on a Sunday!): Typical current Airfix instructions - note the neat treatment of the cockpit tub: Colour scheme diagrams referencing the recent Humbrol Luftwaffe colours: Decals, small but perfectly formed: Three sprues of the now standard light grey plastic: Separate mainwheel hubs and tyres -nice: Neat cockpit interior detail: Nosewheel well: Intriguing flashed over holes on the lower wing: Clear bits - note the windscreen includes part of the fuselage decking: Looks superb. John

The Ken Burns documentary is available on Netflix, for those that subscribe. John

Although I didn't buy Airfix Magazine regularly before the mid - 1970s I did pick up a few and I think I recall a debate that went on for a while in the letters column about it photo of a target towing Skua and whether it was painted in silver and red stripes? John

I remember the Lincoln conversation article, must have been about the first Airfix Magazine I bought though I didn't start buying it regularly until it went to A4 size (1976?). It was Brian Philpot's Stuka article that caught my eye. Was Bruce Quarrie the editor back then?

Chrome works for me. J

There might be something appropriate for the Land Rover here: http://www.kingfisherminiatures.co.uk/Decals-s3.htm Humbrol acrylic 79 isn't bad for RAFBG in a small scale. John

I've got one as well but at the moment it's just in an undercoat of 237 Desert Tan enamel. However, Humbrol did use the full-span version in one of their "how to" videos, which might give you some inspiration: John

I couldn't buy a modelling magazine even if I wanted to, there are no shops here that stock any even though I live in a large town. Our High Street W H Smith closed a couple of years ago and the only branch left locally is a small one in the hospital. There are no large independent newsagents and the biggest Tesco carries railway mags and Flypast but nothing else. One of the suburban Tesco branches might occasionally have Airfix Mag, which I'll usually pick up on the rare occasions I'm up that way. John