noelh

Very nicely done model of the classic Gooney bird. Woody while the movie is entertaining the book on which its based is better, Air America by Christopher Robbins. One anecdote from it I remember. A new pilot in awe of one of the Air America veterans asked how many hours he had in the C47, pointing at one out on the ramp. 'About 4000 hours' was the reply. The new pilot was disappointed thinking after all those years he would have more than that. 'No' the veteran pointed out '4000 hours in that C47' Great stories in the book.

I lived for a while a few roads back from the front at Salthill. On stormy nights the salt spray coated the windows with a nice layer of salt. I even found seaweed in garden one morning. It's very exposed. Corsaircorp got lucky and in truth Manchester has a similar amount of rainfall. So it's exaggerated but frankly this month it's hardly stopped. I have a little pond in my back garden I never had before.

Your wife oooooh! Is that allowed? You know 'domestic politics'. Of course she's probably a better pilot than you . The best pilot I ever flew with is a woman. She also kicked my bottom and improved my flying. But while I'm not sexist, no really. I don't completely trust my wife even if she is better looking, more intelligent, more successful financially and in her career. I don't trust her when she's driving. But she doesn't trust me either. Fighting the urge to jump in and save the day must be difficult?

The 'Spitfire' piece is seriously dodgy. Clearly fake. The price is outrageous. In fact all the prices are too high. There's a very suspicious German WW2 helmet. Probably the most faked piece of militaria. There's also a US M1 helmet described as WW2 but is clearly from the seventies. There's also an actual WW2 M1 helmet but massively over priced. I have a few WW2 helmets and one WW1. At those prices I'm rich! There is so much money in militaria these days that fakery is rife.

I don't have a problem with 'fine' raised lines. They can be reduced. But some of the trenches on many models are a real problem. Find a real aeroplane and quite often the panel lines are literally narrower than on models. Often the trailing edges are actually thinner on the real thing than some models. Even the thinest rescribe is out of scale.

Very nice. I too have a WNW Bristol. I made great progress until I bogged myself down on details. A perennial problem for me. Great idea to display on an actual piece of a propeller. I always liked the Brisfit, indeed they were based locally at one stage postwar. Love to model one. Great Job.

Maybe, but meanwhile I'm forcing the issue by finishing a Corsair, my favourite aeroplane. I have literally haven't finished a kit this century. But I'll pick up the damn thing tomorrow the second kit this century.

Oh wow, only last week I ventured into the local model shop, you can hardly call it that, mostly die cast but a few plastic models. One a PM Beech 18. I was tempted but stepped outside and googled it. Britmodeller was not enthusiastic. I left it but reluctantly . I really like the Beech 18 not least because one was based where I flew. Indeed my aero medical examiner got to fly it. As he was pleased to let me know as he poked around. But I doubt I could do it justice in the way you have. Probably have to buy a real one.

THAT is nice. I'm a fan of the Intruder anyway. But if that replica was posed appropriately. You couldn't tell it was a model kit. Wonderful attention to detail.

Somehow I missed this thread until now. I've read almost all the posts. Really fascinating. My first model was brought in Woolworths, of course. Airfix of course. It was the Wildcat Dad built it for me but for the first time I inhaled model glue and I was intoxicated. I chose the red white and blue transfers, not the less colourful white stars in a blue circle. I really had no concept of what country they represented. Later I decided to use the stars so I cut them out and glued them on. The first model I bought myself was of course a Spitfire. The very basic Frog version. It was also the first I built and painted. It cost three shillings which I begged off my Mother. Too soft she was.

That's really excellent work. You have a real talent for detail. I like the way you weathered it. It looks weary but not overdone to my eye. Just a couple of nitpicks. The stars on the fuselage are tilted forward. Also the original had covers on main wheels. Removed for maintenance obviously on yours! A couple of tips, the tyres need to be flattened slightly where they meet the ground particularly with a bomb attached. Also when you weather propellers it's the rear of the blades that suffer most not the front. Particularly in a rough desert environment. That seems counterintuitive but there are good aerodynamic reasons for it. Great work. I look forward to seeing number 5. Any plans?

It was Britain at war magazine, March 2019. I think. Typically I can't lay hands on my copy assuming I still have it but here's a link. There's a pathe newsreel not that it helps much. https://britainatwar.keypublishing.com/2019/02/22/fleet-air-arm-attacks-tirpitz-1944-footage/

That stirs a memory in my mind. I'm sure one of the magazines, Aeroplane or Flypast covered the topic not so long ago. No doubt there were pictures. I'll have to dig into my pile of mags. Actually I'm also interested in FAA Corsairs in Europe. Will check tomorrow.

Edit

Happened to me too. Blissfully went to collect kids from school. Boom! Heavens opened. It was biblical. I note a pool of water by my garage I've never seen before. Tomorrow they promise more. It's almost fun to live in a coastal area. As I sit here now there's a delicious howl down my chimney. The storm it cometh.