David Womby

Thanks, Ron. I think I can get close enough for my purposes using the pics you posted. Regards David

Can anyone, please, trace the outline of an F-111 Pave Tack pod for me? I am planning to model an F-111 with the Pave Tack retracted. I'd like to represent the slight bulge in the bay door where the Pave Tack sits when it's rotated inboard. I need an outline of that shape, please. David

De Havilland Sea Venom FAW22 XG731 of 891 Squadron aboard HMS Centaur in 1960. I knew about the Sea Venoms being used in anger during Operation Musketeer but it seems that their final combat use was later. Operation Damon was an RAF operation against dissident tribes in Yemen and, from what I've read, HMS Centaur's Sea Venoms participated in rocket and cannon attacks when she passed through Aden in early 1960. So I've depicted her with the full load of 8 rockets en route to an attack. I haven't actually found a photo of any Sea Venom carrying that load but I am sure an obvious one will now, doubtless, be quickly pointed out to me! Yes, this is the old Frog kit. I have always thought it looked pretty accurate but the radome just looked too bulbous to me. So this one has one made from a spare from the MBox Meteor NF. It needed some filler to fair it in and the area between it and the windscreen needed to be sloped down a bit toward the radome. The decals are a mix of homemade and spares from old builds. Annoyingly, the walkway stencils silvered. David

Yes, the Swiss Venoms had rails like that. See this page: https://acesflyinghigh.wordpress.com/2017/03/05/swiss-air-force-centre-de-havilland-dh-112-venom-30-year-swiss-defenders/ David

Yay!!!! Thank you ( I have already painted the blue/grey and am glad not to have to redo it!) David

Dark blue? Blue/grey? Green? Same question for lifejackets: yellow or orange? Thanks David

Very thorough. David

Great video @RichG. Thanks for posting. David

I recommend you test that on a practice piece. I have found decals can be pulled up by masking tapes even when clearcoated. Good luck. David

Thanks, Selwyn

So I know the radome changed but I have seen some confusing info. on from what radar type to what. Cany anybody point to a definitive explanation, pls? Also , did the FAW21 canopy have the raised section over the pilots head that the FAW22 had? Thanks David

Oops. No, I understood the Tu-20 and Tu-95 bring the same thing. I just neglected to read all of your post properly. Sorry. David

I am no expert on Soviet aircraft (or anything else for that matter) but the ancient Contrail Tu-20 includes a Bear-D option. I assume the kit is basic and it is a vac but it has to be less expensive than the A-Model. See it here: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/contrail-tupolev-tu20-bear--191001 There's a build online too at : https://rareplanes.jimdofree.com/soviet-aircraft-vacuforms-alex-hunger/. David

De Havilland Vampire FB.9, WG872/W, 60 Squadron, RAF Tengah c. 1953 This is the Heller kit with one small modification. I extended the starboard intake fairing to represent an FB.9 (the fairing covered the air conditioning system that was fitted to this mark of Vampire intended for use in the Middle and Far East theatres). I also added rocket rails. In the photo I found of WG872, I can't see the squadron crest on the rudder but that could just be the angle of the photo. Anyway, several others in the squadron did have a crest there and, since the decals were included on ModelDecal set 101, I couldn't resist adding them. The white panel on the nose seems rare on RAF Vampires but I think I have seen it on some others - maybe the early Rhodesian or Australian ones? I think it was probably an attempt to cool an electronics bay in the nose. Stencils are from artwork by James Perrin. Thank you, James. David

Just plain gorgeous in that scheme and a fantastic build of it. David

Excellent. I always loved that pointier nose and those markings. David

Very well done. The figure painting is stunning. David

Nice job on that oldie. I had forgotten the Finns flew them. David

That looks amazing. David

De Havilland Vampire NF.10 WP256/E, 23 Squadron, RAF West Malling 1952. This is the night fighter version of the Vampire that was used briefly by only 3 RAF squadrons in the early 1950s before being replaced by Venom and Meteor night fighters. The model is a bit of a mongrel. The oldie Frog FB5 kit provided the wings, booms and tailplane. I added extensions outboard of the fins and the intake vanes. The rudders were taken from a Dekno NF10 conversion kit I bought years ago only to discover the whole, and somewhat important, NF10 fuselage was missing. The fuselage is the ancient AirModel conversion and it's not a bad representation. Definitely looks more like the NF10 nose than a T11 does and the canopy width seems right for the NF10. The AirModel canopies were a bit wrongly shaped (seen above). I took a mould of the inside of one and reshaped it to be a bit closer to the NF10 shape then smash moulded a few canopies off that. The stencil decals artwork came from James Perrin and the 23 Squadron markings and serials were kindly provided by Duncan B. at BlackMike Models. David

Indeed I do, Fred, and thank you. Sorry, I neglected to thank you on UAMF. I noted your recommendation of CA/talc mix but I just wondered what, if any, alternatives might be suggested. David

I haven't had to do this before but a short run resin kit I bought needs a surface area about 1mm by 20mm built up to a depth of 1-2mm. Please, please, don't say Milliput - I just can't get it to work for me. Any other suggestions, please? I am assuming getting it to adhere permanently to the resin surface rules out my usual solvent putties and PPP. How about 2-part car filler (Bondo over here and used to be Plastic Padding over there). David

That neatly solves your problem. 😃 David

She certainly had the non-bulged door early in her career. See: https://www.airhistory.net/photo/372547/XV160 but, by 1980, she had the bulged one fitted. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gerrit_kok_collection/15544335564 Sorry that doesn't help you much as we still don't know what door she had when the winter camo was on her which was, I think, 1977. If I had to guess, I'd fit the bulged door. David

There's a bit here with a couple of old pics that you can expand a bit: https://www.trasksdad.com/PopsProgress/Merryfield.html David