Bennygman

That's what I call setting a low bar! (but at least Voyager was better than Enterprise 😄). I liked Disco a lot, S1 was enjoyable, but S2 caused a full on nerd-gasm. I'd call myself a Trek fan in the sense I've seen most episodes, but it's not a religion for me or anything. I quite like the idea of alternate takes on the source material. I wasn't going to do spoilers, but as we've already jumped in - yes, Pike was awesome. I love the comment above about ST written by section 31! Steve.

Andy, your work is never less than stunning, this is going to be another great build and I can't wait until I can get hold of one myself. Now I've buttered you up - I'm nicking that idea for the exhaust! Steve.

Excellent, thanks Murph. Very much appreciated. Steve.

Hi all, very quick one. Does anyone know wht the things are that look like finless AMRAAMS that go on the outside of the fuel tank pylons? I though they might be ballast/dummy missiles for weight purposes? e.g. here Thanks, Steve.

I don't post often these days but this one is too good to pass by. It's a beautiful job all round, but your treatment of the nose panels is brilliant. I have t tell you that I'll be stealing that idea! Steve.

Thanks, that's a perfect graphical version of what I was probably failing to describe in words. Steve.

I suspect (but don't know) that the sterile area of parking will be the fields at the far Western end beyond the tank bank and the Land warfare museum. If you've been driving out that end and seen traffic joining from your left, that's the area I mean. In years of attending DX I've never been parked there and I assume its one of the later areas to be filled up. If you want to guarantee access back to the car my advice would be to arrive fairly early and you will almost certainly be parked by the American museum (although early is good for a whole lot of other reasons too). The only caveat to the above is that I've not been to DX this year and assume they haven't started parking people in a different order. Steve.

Hi guys, a few from Sundays show at Old Warden. It appears I lied about the Ryan being too far away, I mananged to get a half decent crop from one of the shots. All on 7D with 300 prime and 1.4 extender, airborne shots are mostly crops (apart from the Blenheim) Steve.

But surely if they are serious about safety Duxford would have to go. Believe me I don't want to see it, but I can't see how continued displays there can be called safe. If the changes at somewhere like OW were felt necessary then DX must be giving them nightmares as surely it's the very model of another Shoreham waiting to happen. Am I being cynical or is the issue being fudged in the case of DX for some reason.I mean absolutely no disrespect to any pilots or display organisers, but surely it's just a numbers game as to when someone or something breaks. Very tricky one for me as I love the place, but think it's smacks of a double standard. Steve. Ps Paul, separate photo thread now added.

I'm fairly regular at OW and went yesterday. I go primarily for photography but like to watch the displays too and have a life long love of aviation in general. Some of the display were considerably further away than usual. I use a Canon 7d with a 300 prime and a 1.4 extender. I've often had to take the extender off at OW as the planes were more than filling the viewfinder. Yesterday I had it on all day and still had to crop in afterwards. I thought it put some e.g. the Blenheim at the perfect distance for me, but others e.g. the beautiful Ryan were too high and distant for a decent shot. It did vary though, with Teichman's warhawk the most distant (probably due to the aerobatics) and the Hurricane a lot closer Has the experience been changed? - yes. Has it been ruined? - maybe if you go for photography only and have less than 300mm, but otherwise, not really. Old Warden is and continues to be a wonderful place for an air show and quite frankly if you call yourself an aircraft enthusiast and can't enjoy a day there, you're doing it wrong. 2016 is a wait and see year for me and I feared the worst when I heard the new regulations. For me Old Warden has passed the test of an enjoyable day out, Duxford is very much still 'wait and see', and I do fear the worst for that one ( they closed the country road at OW for safety reasons during the display, so how you can have an airshow next to the M11 beggars belief). Steve.

I like them. I've used them thinned with their own thinners with good results and no clogging at low pressures( I free-handed a Vietnam camo in 1/72). One thing I would say is that if you go too heavy too early you will regret it, and primer is a must. Fortunately I tend to paint with thin coats and build it up, which is what they advocate on their site, so maybe I'm just lucky this time around. To my eye the colours are excellent, though I'm no expert on that. Steve.

Quite brilliant in all respects, very well done. Steve.

As an alternative, I've been using a rolled up corner of a sheet of kitchen roll for the same job (bit of spit on you fingers helps with point rolling). Works fine, won't damage the nozzle (Iwata hp-cs), and will take a modest amount of thinner. I usually use a liner type brush soaked in thinner to clean up first, then the kitchen roll point to dry/clean up. Bearing in mind you get four per sheet, they last for many cleans and the rest of the sheet can be used for cleaning needles, etc, and it adds up to a bit of a bargain in I think. Steve.

I'd imagine part of the advance ticket thing is to get cash in advance in case there is a wash out. That way everyone shares the hit rather than the organiser taking a huge one by themselves. I remember hearing over the pa at DX a few years back that this was a way to guarantee shows for the future, but the response from the organiser being interviewed suggested that they'd rather it hadn't been mentioned. For various reasons, the next year or two will be very interesting for aishow goers, and by interesting I mean potentially very different, frustrating and disappointing. Like others have said, I want to like going to Duxford ( I live twenty minutes away), but it feels like being kicked in the balls by an old friend. The only reason I can't just walk away is that I don't know to what extent these changes are being imposed. As I said before, I'll look and see and then decide going forward. If the extra cost gives a better day out, then fair enough, if not then its decision time. Steve.

My first thought on reading this was that Duxford were working hard to lose my custom, but having seen the press release on UKAR it seems they are justifying it as a way to improve traffic flow and the visitor experience. There will be a limit on the number of parking passes sold and the airfield will stay open longer after the show to break up the rush. The former is the route RIAT took when they went all ticket and I think they've held up their end. Departing after the show has been much smoother for me in recent years (can't comment on arriving as I'm usually there just after 6). It'll be interesting to see if Duxford can show a tangible improvement too. The latter is something I've been thinking about for years and seemed like a no-brainer to me. In the past I've experienced the message of "stay and make an evening of it" from the PA announcer coupled with "sod off we're closing" from the staff in the American museum. It seems the message may have permeated through at last. The most annoying thing is the requirement to pause the show every time the M11 slows down or stops. I completely understand why and without it there'd probably be no more Duxford,, but it p's me off no end. I'm planning a recce at the May show, and will base future attendance on first hand observation of the new measures. Steve. PS the release also mention that for Legends (not run by IWM) the car park charge will be built into the admission price.

You're not kidding, the kit is one big problem area. You're lucky you didn't try closing the air Brake! Looking good so far. Steve.

Absolutely beautiful. Steve.

That's a beautiful build of an amazing looking machine! Steve.

Snap fit has many negative connotations in the eyes of most modellers. The best way to disprove it is to show them a Bandai kit and how it goes together. My first experience was a non-grade Astray Red frame, hardly state of the art, but even then one of the most enjoyable models I've built. The recent X-wing smacked my gob even further (especially when it crumbled in the face of turps - but that's another story ) I think the beauty of Bandai's approach isn't just the ease of assembly but the colour separation, which make painting (almost) without masking an absolute doddle. The haters are missing out - big time. Steve.

Brilliant stuff Warren - order placed just now as promised. Thanks for getting this done so quickly as the 'official' version looks tricky to get hold of (not to mention somewhat more expensive). Cheers, Steve.

Brilliant job will, I love the colour scheme. The orange, white and gun metal accents really bring it to life and match the overall colour beautifully. Steve.

Your name was the first thing I thought of when I saw the battery compartment in the kit. Count me in for one when available. Steve.

Speechless. Top quality stuff. Oh, and the sponge mottling effect? I'm 'Aving that! Steve.

Wonderful stuff Andy. I'm taking it all in for when mine arrives. I saw a a vid the other day where a guy weathered a space marine by applying a hot needle to a finished model! One for someone with bigger 'nads than mine, but the scorch marks looked very realistic, because they were. probably the result of too many of those ales and thinking " I know what..." Steve.

Lovely job so far. My heart sank when you mentioned turps. My X-wing did what I can only call 'crumbling' when I used it on mine. I lost one detail part off one of the canons as it simply disintegrated. There was also some cracking but I managed to glue it back together. Hopefully you'll largely get away with it. Good luck. Steve.