Truro Model Builder

Let's see if I can set the bar even lower. I went to an airshow where there was an immaculately turned out DHC-2 in the static, all polished and shiny. The lady pilot was there, so I went over and complimented her on the appearance of her aircraft, and she slapped me across the face. I was stunned at her reaction; all I'd said was, "Nice Beaver" .

That's the first time a DHC Beaver has ever been described as 'incredibly sophisticated' .

I would also ask that members do more than leaving the completed model on the workbench. You want to show it off to its best, surely, and while I know that not everybody is blessed with an abundance of space it takes very little to create a simple, plain backdrop to enable the focus to be on the model and not on anything else.

Cracking builds. Coming to the question of what the Fleet Air Arm may have ended up with had CVA01 not been cancelled, I believe that, depending on the time frame, the F/A-18 would have been the only game in town. The F-14 was too expensive and too limited in terms of role capability (and possibly too big) for CVA01, unless a joint RAF/RN order was placed in the mid-1980s at the expense of the Tornado F.3. Even then, I still think it would have been unlikely, so the F/A-18 is left once again as the front runner. The next question is, which variant. The RAF were happy to keep both the Phantom and Buccaneer in service until the early 1990s, which probably would have twisted the Navy's arm to have done the same. Had the Admiralty wanted something sooner, then probably the Hornet would have ended up replacing the Phantom from the late 1980s and then the Buccaneer, leaving an all-Hornet force by the time the Cold War was winding up. Had the Phantom and Buccaneer been retained, then the Navy may well have plumped for the Super Hornet, perhaps shouldering some of the development costs, with perhaps a lease of F/A-18As to bridge the gap. The Super Bug did not receive IOC until 2001, so it is unlikely that the Fleet Air Arm would have received any until 2002-03. There are two alternatives in a later purchase scenario. The Rafale M entered service at about the same time as the Super Hornet. Although British Aerospace was involved with Eurofighter the Navy could have pushed for Rafale, though I think it would have been unlikely with the Super Hornet being available. The last option would have been for a naval version of the Typhoon. With possibly three CVA01 class ships in commission, the Fleet Air Arm may have have required at least two air groups' worth of aircraft plus attrition and a training unit, possibly about 100 aircraft. This would have made a Sea Typhoon viable, possibly even as a higher priority over Air Force needs -as happened in France with the Rafale. Had either F/A-18 been chosen, then the Royal Navy would now be looking to replace both it and the CVA01 class with new equipment, undoubtedly the F-35C and a new CATOBAR-fitted carrier fleet.

It's the special chemtrail they spray as they fly. It makes you forget they were ever there...

I will say one thing, and that is that Italeri are coming up with some cracking box art.

That is a gorgeous looking and, dare I say it, almost sexy aeroplane.

Probably a lot cheaper, but don't expect decent aftersales support. Until you look at how many orders Airbus won at the Dubai show against Boeing...

Real aeroplanes. None of your high bypass turbofan and curvy propeller claptrap.

Leaf blowers. Are they the most pointless, noisy, expensive pieces of outdoor machinery ever devised? "Let's blow some leaves around the garden. They'll land here and then get blown back by the wind to where they were. Meanwhile look at me with my big, noisy phallic extension. It's cool."

That Drache with RAF markings is gorgeous.

Check your aircraft recognition. You may find it was a Bandeirante rather than a Jetstream.

I think it is fair to say that any C-130H kit can be made into an early C. Mk.1 without too much difficulty. A C-130K does not have to be a separate kit, though the IFR probe and wingtip ECM pods would be a pleasant addition to the parts total.

In the latter years of the Cold War most squadron markings were self adhesive and would have been peeled off. Code letters would probably have remained.

When you see how much it costs to have a pitch at SMW you may understand why.