71chally

MR.3s did Maritime detatchments and flag waving all around the globe, and they did appear at Sharjah, but I didn't think they were involved with combat patrols as such. Ray Deacon's excellent web pages has pictures of such, I think they are Kinloss Wing units, scroll down to almost the bottom http://www.radfanhunters.co.uk/Sharjah.htm

...actually that does sound like the better spend, enjoy!

True, but when a decent kit is available of the subject you wish to model. The Mk.2 was a modification of the Mk.1 and is fairly straightforward in that regard, but the 3 was a completely new design which is why it got it's own design number. The MR.3 fuselage (inc bomb doors) is a different profile and cross section from the nose to approximately the forward spar, the nose section being much deeper and lacking the distinctive kink of the MR.2 nose, to house the tricycle nose gear. The bomb doors themselves are shorter, to allow for the underside crew entry door. The pilots canopy is very different, not only by lacking framework but also in shape. The inboard engine nacelles are a different cross section to allow for the bigger twin wheeled main gears. The wings from the outboard transport joints and the ailerons are a different planform. There are also minor variations in the fuselage window arrangement. Completely different undercarriage between the two versions, and the MR.3 has a tail bumper, which is easy to remove. As others above have said, getting that forward fuselage to look right would be an absolute devil, I would actually say impossible. Aeroclub did an MR.3 to 2 conversion along time ago, for when the Frog Shackleton was the only game in town.

It was only MR.2s that appeared on the Aden dets, and some of the other hot dets (Indonesia, Borneo, Beira patrol, Persian Gulf) of the time. 37, 38, 42, 210, 204 and 205 Sqdns provided MR.2s for the dets. The much fewer, and long suffering, MR.3s were retained for pure maritime work in the UK and Malta. 205 MR.2s were the last Shackletons in Coastal service, retiring a few weeks after the last UK MR.3. Modelling an MR.2 from a 3 is folly, there are so many differences between them.

The kit looks fantastic, especially the surface detail, and really can't wait to get one. Is the pilot's sliding canopy in two pieces? I do wish though that wings are molded as clean sets without the nacelles and that these are added on afterwards, as per real aircraft, you would think it would be more accurate. In this case it would have made for a more straightforward Hereford conversion aswel.

...they are, they have already released the old Matchbox Tyrrel P34, to little fanfare it seems for a kit that was starting to demand silly prices. The chrome sprue seems to be replaced by a more dull silver finish, so hopefully it is unplated plastic. Apart from the Meteor I couldn't see anything new in the video. And while we are re-releasing stuff, lets see the 1:48th B-1B come back.

Personally I would love this to be a 262, about time that there was another jet, as the Harrier is the only one they've done in this scale. Also, would they want to do a 109 that Trumpeter already sells? (please don't give me the '..doesn't make money for Airfix line!)

..ah ha, Il2 Stumovik - Stormbird, of course! That 109 reveal does look convincing, that or it's a really good hoax.

Valom do quite a broad range of aircraft types in 1:144th.

Me262 Sturmvogel (Stormbird) perhaps?

Ahh, I see. I would concur with what Dave says above, or possibly the plastic being removed from the molds to quickly which has happened before.

I might be misunderstanding you @Johnson, but aren't the blades on the right in the picture the curved drooped blades?

The producer of the kit, Tony, is a member here, TheBaron. Here is his details of the kit, Bill (NavyBird) has started an excellent build thread of the kit, here

That would be nice, but it looks to my eyes that the kit is engineered with a single wing lower half which would mean cutting and adding the longer span tips or an aftermarket option.

That really does look fantastic! Only just noticed that the tail unit is a separate part, I wonder if that hints at earlier variants? A T.7 would be fantastic!