BravoLima

Would you disregard this beauty? (Image copyright of Italian Civil Protection Department, linked just for discussion purposes)

At a street price of £ 75.- compared to the £ 23.- of the Revell kit I would be surprised of the opposite. Luca

Nice kit indeed, but I'm afraid to notice that Revell already issued the whole range of MAN LKWs, the 8x8 10ton, the 6x6 7t and even the 4x4 5t. They did each one both in 1/35 and 1/72 scale. In the meanwhile our hair is becoming graying waiting for a plastic kit of the ubiquitous U.S. M54 truck, at a decent price and in both scales. Just my two € cents :-) Luca

Expecting for the usual crude molding, coarse detailing, awful plastic and exorbitant pricing for the value you get. Somebody should inform Mr. Palix that owning a molding machine is not enough to learn to be a fine moldmaker. No good news IMHO. Luca LIN

The Dübendorf Museum's website is at http://www.airforcecenter.ch/ and gives a lot of informations to candidate visitors. The train station is just some minutes walking to the museum entrance. If you enjoy Swiss military aircraft you won't be dissatisfied. The collection is almost complete. There are some rare birds and a nice collection of aircraft engines, and if time and money are not an obstacle to you, there's a chance to get a flight on one of the old Ju.52-3m based there. Have a nice visit Luca LIN

Something suggests me that this kit comes also from the interest shown for the subject here on Britmodeller: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...28874&st=20 ;-) Luca LIN

When I read posts like the following I feel really pleased: http://www.airfieldinformationexchange.org...ull=1#post22390 Luca (still patiently and politely waiting for an SAS' Agusta A109A conversion announced long before any RAF ground vehicle... ;-) )

Seems an excellent job. I missed it at Telford but I'll get three or four examples for sure. Grazie Airfix! Luca

Hello Starflyer, glad to meet you here. I guess that on the internet there is shortage of pictures of grey/green camouflaged T.1As just because they date back before the digital era, when the use of traditional film cameras didn't allow for an abundance of pictorial documentation like the one we are use today. On the opposite, you can find more often pictures in the grey lo-viz pattern, and hence there is plenty of digital pictures of Hawks in gloss black livery. Here some samples in grey/green that I found, rather easily to be true, through Google Images. Notice their dates: http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air/Br...Hawk/0170923/L/ http://www.paulnann.com/Make.asp?Make=BAe&...ef=pn_w2942.jpg http://www.paulnann.com/Make.asp?Make=BAe&...ef=pn_w1257.jpg http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1024436/ http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1091523/ http://www.abpic.co.uk/photo/1091514/ Books and magazines issued before than the full grey or the black pattern were adopted show this version/livery as a rule, BTW the copyright rules prevent most of these pictures from being commonly available online. HTH Luca

The same nice site about AEC trucks is hosting some good pictures of another ex-RAF Matador tug, prior and following a restoration: http://aec.fotopic.net/p18808241.html http://aec.fotopic.net/p7443381.html http://aec.fotopic.net/p539304.html http://aec.fotopic.net/p539306.html http://aec.fotopic.net/p539310.html http://aec.fotopic.net/p539312.html http://aec.fotopic.net/p539313.html Also here: http://www.aecmilitant.co.uk/matador4/mat4photo36.jpg To model it, rather than the three-axle refueller I'd choose the short-body 4x4 artillery tractor, also from Airfix, or the Matador Models' resin kit. Here are more details: http://www.matadormodels.co.uk/tank_museum...x_matador_1.htm HTH Luca

Yes and no. Later marks of the "Mandator" type had the "Ergomatic" standard cab introduced after the merging of AEC with Leyland but the model used by RAF as Blue Steel carrier is the kind of truck visible in this page Luca

No, I'm sure it is the Mandator. Similar in the name but a different truck. The full size cab version is almost the same as the AEC Mercury Here there is a picture of one of them converted into a heavy duty tipper, after RAF use. If I'm not wrong there is a white metal kit of these Hippos in the BW Models 1/76 range, including the trailer and the Thor ICBM missile body. Luca

Having been lucky with the Sentinel tractor, that by chance has been issued by BW Models just some weeks after I asked about it on this forum, now I give a try with another weird and unusual subject. I remember a picture of the Blue Steel transporter as part of the title in a recurring column of Airfix Magazine. Recently, Oxford Diecast has issued in 1/76 scale a finished model of the standard AEC Mercury/Mandator truck with full cab, and I am toying with the idea to to turn it into the one-place cab, with some work. The problem is the rear equipment. I have just some pictures of the example on exhibit at the Hendon RAF Museum and the overall dimensions reported on the Vanderveen's "Observer's Military Vehicles Directory". Are there scale drawings of it, somewhere? Luca

Great news! I swear I didn't know it when I posted my question. Unless it is obtained from the old Capricorn Miniatures, I'd rather see one sample assembled. Any hint ? Luca

Try there: http://www.italiankits.it/brach.html Item BM7204 Resin tracks for M tanks Luca IPMS Milan, Italy