albamac

Thanks folks for the heads up on the Lansen and Draken. When funds allow I will buy the Tarangus Lansen and the Mikro-Mir Draken as I don't mind paying extra for a good quality kit. Also, I have discovered in my old decals "stash" a nice sheet for the Draken from Flying Colors Aerodecals SR7210. Result!! Thanks once again for your kind help and advice. Albamac

Hi Folks, Can any member assist me as I have just returned to the hobby after some health issues. I note that Heller did an earlier Lansen kit but I think there is a reboxed version? A few years ago I built an Airfix Draken which was my first attempt at that aircraft kit but had some additional parts from Eduard I think. Mostly pitot heads and probes which assisted in improving the finished kit along with Hughes IR missiles which weren't used. Any kind suggestions and helpful advice would be most welcome as I have developed an interest in Svenska Flygvapen aircraft from "The Cold War". Cheers,Prosit,Skol,Sante Alabamac

A nice model and diorama and I like the dayglo orange finish. I served in the RAF alongside the Whirlwind Mk. 10's in the Far East but the H19B kit is quite rare but I constructed a Mk.10 with a conversion kit many moons ago. Keep up the excellent work. Best wishes. albamac

Wow!! That is a lovely finish on your Viggen and respect for tackling such a complicated camo. scheme. I wouldn't even attempt it but you have done justice to a fine aircraft. I saw one perform at Farnborough in 1983 and thought, that is some machine. Keep up the excellent work. Have a few glasses of fine Belhaven Ale to congratulate yourself. Slainte albamac.

Hi Bjorn, A lovely piece of modelling of a classic British aircraft. I'm not a lover of heavy weathering and staining but you have made it "just right". What brand of paints did you use as I believe aircraft in the early delivery batches were initially finished in British colours. I recently built an old 1/72 Airfix kit into a J34 ably assisted by my razor saw and a spare Hunter F4 tail pipe. Filler was sparingly used ha ha. I used spray can Humbrol 163 ( RAF Dark Green) for the upper surface and the grey blue undersurfaces were a Tamiya mix. I plan to build another J34 but have a Freightdog Models Hunter Conversion Kit with the suitable tail pipe, centre fuselage and wing modifications using the Revell F6 kit. Skal! albamac😀 Footnote : A Swedish Hunter pilot once commented that the Hunter flying "was a pilots dream but a mechanics nightmare"

A very nice model of some of the lesser known RAuxAF squadrons. I well remember the "other one" up the road from them in Edinburgh, 603 Sqn City of Edinburgh Squadron. Their Vampires were quite a common sight "whistling" overhead our house. The ground crews took great pride in keeping the aircraft well cleaned and polished. Overall an excellent effort and thanks for the trip down my memory lane. A sad day when the RAuxAF flying squadrons were disbanded in 1957 . Best wishes albamac

Hi Antti, Many thanks for the information. The films are very interesting too especially the section on dispersed Draken operations. I was on the Harrier Wing in RAF Germany 1970-73 and spent a bit of time in the fields and forests under camouflage nets. A trip down memory lane Antti ha ha. It answered many questions for my diorama and I have heard of the BRAGG generator but hadn't seen one. I'll try to scratch build one sometime but we used the HOUCHIN for ground power generation and the Harrier had a Gas Turbine Starter/ APU fitted. Isopropyl Nitrate (dangerous stuff) was used when I served on an Hawker Hunter FGA9 Squadron and was known as AVPIN (Nato store code S746?). Hearing the Draken start and the whining noise with smoke took me back 55 years ha ha. Skal Antti. Albamac (Frustrated Norseman) Qualitas Potentia Nostra

Hi Folks, I'm going to build a diorama comprising an J34 (Hawker Hunter) and J35 (Saab Draken) and would be grateful for some help. I have built the J34 from an old Airfix kit ably assisted with a sharp razor saw and an old rear end for a Mk.4 Hunter. Best viewed from over a metre distance ha ha. My questions are as follows for the "experten" Could the Draken self start and if ground electrical generation was used what colo(u)r was the equipment? Hi Folks, I'm building a small diorama and need the following information. The airyplanes are J34 (hawker Hunter) and J35 (Draken). My questions for the "experten" are. Could the Draken self start and if ground electrical power was needed what colour was the equipment? Were the round tanks found on dispersals for aircraft servicing lubricants etc? What colour were the missile handling trolleys especially the Rb24 (Sidewinder AIM9B)? All help and suggestions gratefully received by an apprentice,aging modeller ha ha. Skal Albamac (Frustrated Norseman)😀

Hi Folks, I agree with some of the comments about the finish. I think that it should be semi-matt finish with the Type D roundels. We had Buccaneers at RAF Laarbruch when I was based with RAF Germany ( I was on Harriers) and the early Buccs had a gloss finish but later deliveries to XV and 16 Squadrons had the toned down finish with tactical roundels etc. A very potent aircraft which was overshadowed by the Phantom but "Grannie" proved the old girl still had it with sterling service during the 1991 Gulf War. I don't think the Tornado had the low flying capabilities of the Buccaneer as I have often witnessed in Scotland during holidays. 100 metres was high level for the Buccaneer. An excellent model and a nice tribute to a brave flyer. Best wishes. Albamac😀

Hi Graham, A lovely model of a 19 Squadron airyplane. Top marks for the finish but just a teeny, weeny criticism. The rear of the canopy appears to have been painted or has a seal. I served on a Hunter Squadron overseas and can't remember any of our aircraft having that as it was generally clear. That doesn't detract from an otherwise excellent model of a classic aircraft. Keep up the excellent work. Best wishes. Regards Albamac 😀😀

Hi Rob, I have been following with great interest the building of HP Victor B1 XA923. The nose flashes whilst serving with the RRF at RAF Wyton were green apparently, looking at some old photos. Seeing XA923 being built was a blast from the past for as I served at RAF Gaydon 1962-64 spending some time on "A" Squadron. XA923 was a familiar sight on the dispersal pans along with XA926, XA935,XA936 etc and were in the anti- flash markings with a pink "A" displayed on the fin but on odd Victor was still in the Type "D" roundels with a red "A" fin flash. I look forward to seeing the Vulcans and Victors on your QRA pans during Exercise Mickey Finns which were a regular occurrence at RAF Gaydon. Keep up the excellent work. Albamac😁

Hi Guys, Thanks for the information about the RF84F in R.No.AF colours. I have settled for NATO Dark Green, NATO Dark Sea Grey and NATO PRU Blue for my model. I hadn't heard of Sikkens paint which adds to my knowledge as I am now interested in Scandanavian air forces during the Cold War (I don't think it has gone away ha ha). I'm not brave enough yet to try natural metal finishes (except out a spray can) as some of the Thunderflashes had some nice markings.Thanks once again chaps and Skal!! albamac😁

Hi Folks, I recently took delivery of the SWORD SW72117 kit. The paint call outs aren't very clear especially as I would like to do the Royal Norwegian Air Force version. It gives : Upper Surface : Gloss Extra Dark Sea Gray and Gloss Dark Grey (looks green) Lower Surface : Gloss Light Gray No FS/BS etc numbers are indicated. Can anyone who is familiar with the colour schemes in the R.No.AF assist? Many thanks. Albamac

Hi Zebra, You have made a lovely job of an old kit. I always had a liking for the Belvedere as it could carry a lot of underslung freight, more than the Whirlwind 10. I flew a few times in them at RAF Kuching, Sarawak (66 Sqn), air tests( mad 20 year old fool) I might add ha ha. The indigenous Dayak tribe called them "the flying longhouses" which is apt. The main problem for their short service was their engines - Napier Gazelles which had starting problems and the odd engine explosion on start up. I think if they had solved the engine problems their Service life may have been longer. Great effort Zebra and I would like to see a new kit too but we live in hope ha ha. Cheers mate. albamac😀 wee footnote: The Belvedere also flew on active service during the Radfan (Aden) campaign with 26 Sqn and gave good service (when serviceable) especially to the Royal Artillery as they could carry an underslung pack howitzer up into the hills.

A very nice effort Sir on a very old kit. The shape is good and also the "sit" of the plane. With a couple of Firestreak missiles fitted and after market bang seats it would look even more tasty. Keep up the great work as I love to see the old kits being built and I have a few Frog and Matchbox kits in my stash. Cheers mate. albamac(frustrated Norseman). PS: On my workbench is a Frog Vampire FB5 but would like to try a Javelin sometime.

Hi Keith, The Argosy looks very good and the paintwork is superb. We used to call the Argosy "The Whistling Pig" because of the turbo-prop engines but it was a good work horse and deserves to be better known. My first trip in one was in Sarawak in 1964 (215 Sqn, home base RAF Changi) as I "volunteered" as a temporary air dispatcher but that's another story. The Beverley, is excellent too and well known to me as it was favoured by our unit when we went on detachments and was easier to load up. As mentioned a lovely Herky Bird in camo. colours would make a lovely trio and with an Andover would really make a great diorama. Keep up the superb work. albamac

Hi Guys, Thanks for the information and the lovely photos of the Falcon AIM 4 family used by Svenska Flygvapnet and other air forces. My Internet search skills aren't great but I can now proceed to try to do justice to a fine Swedish aircraft when I do build my Heller kit with additional bits and pieces. That's what I like about the BM site as there is a huge body of knowledge and experience from the many members that is mutually available to help amateurs like my good self. Enough of my waffle but thanks once again and Seasons Greetings to you all. Best wishes. albamac (Frustrated Norseman)

Hi Folks, Calling all Draken experts especially those having serviced those wonderful airyplanes in the weapons tech. role. My query is regarding the Hughes AIM-4 missiles (Rb26/28?). What colour were they painted as I have seen photos of them painted green but were the drill/dummy missiles painted blue? I have some nice Eduard Brassin 1/72 scale AIM 4D missiles ordered for my old Heller kit so assume those missiles could still be fitted on the J35F. Thanks guys. albamac (frustrated Norseman)

G'day (or evening) Rabbit Leader, It's a lovely colourful collection and it's great if you have some eats along with some mates - plus beer preferably. Can you kindly advise the paint you used on The Red Pelicans Jet Provost airyplane. I believe the early team had the aircraft finished in a Dayglo? Orange finish before the Red paint was applied later. I'm in the course of building the Airfix kit you see and your input would be much appreciated. I believe The Red Pelicans early team had an RAAF pilot too. A case of Per Ardua ad Astra Aussie ha ha. Best wishes and keep on building lovely models. albamac(frustrated Norseman)

That is one fine model of a Jet Provost, Sir. The finish and presentation are superb as befits a great training aircraft. I must admit a bit of bias as I was based at 1 FTS, RAF Linton on Ouse 1965 -70. I'm in the process of building my second one - best viewed from 6 feet (1.98 metres) and if I can do justice to that airyplane like your good self I will be delighted. Keep up the lovely work. albamac (frustrated Norseman)

Hi Folks, I have recently finished the excellent Airfix A02103 Jet Provost T3 kit. It is in awaiting in my "Paint Shop" for minor sanding, filling etc. I'm going to finish it in the lovely overall CFS red finish as I've got some spare CFS badges and blue numbers in my spares folder. What would be the correct finish as I have the following colo(u)rs available? Humbrol Gloss Red No. 19 Humbrol Signal Red No. 174 Xtracrylix XA1014 Red Arrows Red. I'm sure fellow BM'ers could assist with a recommendation as I'm sure some served at RAF Little Rissington. Cheers guys albamac (Frustrated Norseman)

Hi Guys, Your advice re. Halford paints has been very interesting. I'm like Canberra Kid, inasmuch "as near as damn it/close enough" is often acceptable on certain occasions for me. The nearest equivalents help greatly especially in the BS381c/BS 4800 range so once again thanks for your time and effort in assisting me. I can now walk to said shop with a list in my arthritic wee hands. Cheers albamac.........(frustrated Norseman)

Hi Guys, Many thanks for your tips on building resin kits, the advice being invaluable to a semi-novice, especially from the safety angle which is much appreciated. I feel that I have the confidence now to tackle this new form of kit to me and I have even washed the parts in warm soapy water. Once again thanks for the great advice and just need some decent weather so I can lay down some primer on the parts. I'm not allowed to spray in the house as my nearest and dearest would not be amused and I want a quiet life ha ha, although I do have a modelling shed but spray outside in a quiet corner of the garden. Cheers albamac.........(ftrustrated Norseman)

Hi Silver Fox, That is one nice Bristol Frightener with the paint work. I remember them in the painted aluminium with white and blue cheat line. I flew in them courtesy of 41 Sqn? RNZAF from Changi and other points on several occasions and it was a steady workhorse. However, saying that, it was OK if it was blue skies and a fair wind. On one return trip to Singapore, we hit a violent storm and after disembarking I felt my stomach was left behind in the aircraft ha ha. Made me appreciate Terra Firma even more!!! My next trip from Changi to Kuching was to be on said aircraft but fate intervened and I ended up in the freight bay of a new, shiny C130B of the RAAF. Blame it on Tiger Beer, Sir but that's another story. Once again a lovely model. Cheers mate albamac........(frustrated Norseman)

HI Folks, Can anyone kindly advise me on the following. Do Halfords, (well known automotive store in the UK) do paint that roughly matches RAF Dark Green and RAF Dark Sea Grey? Being on a bit of a budget I find the courier costs quite expensive when ordering from certain model suppliers as the items can't come by Royal Mail. I have used Halfords Primer and then gave it a little polish and Future application and it looked OK to a semi-blind person. I know Halfords do quite a wide paint range and luckily the shop is within easy walking distance for me. Many thanks. albamac........(frustrated Norseman)