general melchett

True, best Scottish loch, Heavy Water, will do the trick...

No, I haven't gotten around to picking those up yet, Barry; I may well acquire some, though, as they're quite useful for dropping a line of rivets over the leading edge of wings and tailplanes and, as you say, getting into tight corners (I've been in quite a few of those). I've got a good selection of riveting tools; just pick what seems appropriate at the time. The twin-wheel versions are also very useful. Ah, poor Hamish, this was indeed a black day for the clan MacMelchett. The kilt failure occurred just as he was passing V1 on his run-up, mid-toss. All hell broke loose; he landed derrière upmost, head buried in the sand trap, bent in half. Some well-meaning soul rushed up and parked their bicycle before nonchalantly walking off, hoping no one had noticed, but unfortunately, the damage was done. They say the enormity of his caber and his miscalculation of the C of G had something to do with it, but I'm not so sure. The papers had a field day. They say the mass hysteria and claims for PTSD (from members of the public and not a few Highland cattle) hadn't been seen on that level since the end of hostilities. The clan MacMelchett was forced to emigrate to a small island, used as a bombing range, near Tahiti, where the kilt and the tossing of outsize cabers have been strictly forbidden.

OnlyFans? oh I see... Extraordinary, the exact polar opposite to the incumbent Lady M. I couldn't possibly expect her to handle sharp objects, hazardous chemicals, and 3D-printed decals without the local A&E being put on QRA duty; it just wouldn't be fair. No, no, far better she sticks to doing just about anything and everything else...far safer.

Nice job, Martian. Glad to see you've cajoled the Martianess into joining the cause...bet she's chuffed to bits. As you say, no time limit on this one, just hurry up and get it finished, man/Martian. Along the same lines, I'm also juggling a few builds at the moment including another Italeri Stirling for the Bomber Command group build here on BM and our Telford BC SIG table, as we're doing another 'Tribute to the Stirling, Special' this year. Not a lot to show at the moment, but progress is definitely occurring. I can't avoid it any longer, so I set about removing most of the raised rivet detail from the kit (performed while watching series two of Bottom to calm the nerves), which took a lot longer than expected due to the granite-like nature of the ancient Frog styrene. The copious amounts of toxic dust kicked up reduced local visibility for hours. At one point Baldrick almost had to break out the Semtex, hammer, and chisel (Darling declined to mop his fevered brow; however, we lost the wire brush and ran out of industrial drain cleaner). So here the fuselage halves have been dealt with, but to avoid the thing looking a bit bland, I decided to keep the rivet detail around the cockpit areas, as these were to be given armoured protection. I'll see how it looks after a coat of primer to decide whether to keep it or not. Same went for the wings and tailplanes. The flying surfaces will be dealt with separately, as their ribbed fabric detail is way too heavy. These are the weapons of choice, along with a blueprint drawing I'll be printing to scale and using as a template, showing the location of the various panel and rivet lines as well as some design details. Thanks for looking, more soon

Beautiful spot, old fella, we visited a few years ago on our way to stay with young Ali of AeroCraft. Most impressed; unusually, the sun was shining. The National Wallace Monument would look quite at home in Rohan.

Blimey, they’ve gone and moved it again…

Great stuff Johnny, and they say nostalgia’s a thing of the past. The Eduard kit looks rather splendid, nice comparison. If I remember correctly the second ‘man size’ kit I built as a snottling was Revell’s 1/32nd Warhawk, ‘Aleutian Tiger’ festooned in rivets and badly fitting movable parts but great markings. Always liked the look of the P-40, purposeful. My earliest efforts never lasted long before being consigned to the Young Melchett’s homemade ballistics program….probably for the best, really.

I agree with you, Dan. I've built several now and am halfway through an Argosy and a Blohm und Voss BV-142; both are good kits. You have to go in knowing what to expect. One small point: both Anigrand (resin) and Airmodel (vac) produced the Seamaster in 1/72. Both are fairly simple kits, don't know how the Mach 2 offering stacks up against them.

Was that a foray to the Moray Firth of Forth, or was it a fifth of the Firth to the Forth? I never can remember! Sorry to hear about the luggage scamming system; par for the course. At least you had clean chundies for a couple of days. We had something a little similar years ago when Lady Melchett minor had to use a wheelchair following leg surgery, courtesy of the NHS. Said wheelchair was duly packed, along with us, on board a flight to Turkey; however, on the return flight, it somehow managed to end up in Guadalajara, Mexico! ... They didn't even have the decency to offer us an all-expenses trip out there to pick it up...so to avoid a diplomatic furore, I decided it could stay there, probably having itself a whale of a time. Funny that; the same goes for the folks from the Lincolnshire Wolds. It doesn't matter what the subject Terry, the more the merrier. I was contemplating the Airfix Scharnhorst reissue, HMS Prince, Iron Duke or even the SR.N4 hoverthingy, just so happened I needed to finish the Rita for Jim. Already have something a bit different planned for the next one.

Great to see another one being built, Alex. It's a great little kit. Must admit I'm very tempted to do another one myself, with all the bells and whistles...

As WC Fields once said (probably) or was it Loo Reed? 'My bog-standard reply would be, 'I dunny know aboot thart lad, let me 'ave a word with the privvy counselor.'

Good job; a bit heavy on the gloss varnish, but overall, quite convincing...what scale? I could mention something traumatizing that occurred during a previous visit to Martian Towers, but I won't; the PTSD still gives me sleepless nights... Not much happening here at MT either, re the Renzan. I have a few other projects that need attention first...publication deadlines can be a royal PITA, but hey-ho, back to ole Reet, as soon as. (trying to put the total rescribe and riveting off as long as possible!)

Ah, an enlightened one...you are most welcome to the asylum...just make sure you wash your feet on the way out and lock the door, once inside... I think this says it all, a little ditty from my childhood...

Well, I'm happy with the contents of the box, and as I only want to build a mid-1960s airframe, the short nose is fine for me. I feel it's definitely an improvement over the ancient Airfix kit, as it should be, although being short run, it is a little crude in areas—nothing that can't be dealt with. Now to sort out a suitable interior. Great to see someone attempt it, being an important aircraft type.

Along with his lovable long-sleeved assistants Ebar Ghum, Hay Oop, and Isla Seethee...