SleeperService

OK Pip you've convinced me. I've just ordered the one Troy linked to as well. I have three nephews who will also get use out of it so £5 has been invested. Got the Hannants torpedo on the way as well. my Mate wants the trolley so nothing will be wasted. Thanks to both of you for showing what a great bunch of people you all are.

Hi Troy That's great Thank You. I've just had a modest windfall so the RAF Museum book is ordered. Seems to cover what I think I need to know. Mike Starmer covers the AFV colours, Dark Earth was used to camouflage structures like Nissen huts, portable workshops etc. for the Army. The RAF colour was, obviously, for aircraft. Slightly off-topic but I found this out while at East Kirkby museum, this is an excellent museum if you're near. I must admit that I haven't verified it from another source but the colours looked quite different to me. I'll send Bob at MDC an e-mail, a friend was sure there was one but couldn't remember who did it. I'll have a look at Hannants as well. Cheers!

A 48th Lancaster????? Or, the Naval/RAF/Naval progression a Shackleton......

Hi There As a tread-head venturing into aircraft I'm getting myself in a bit of a mess trying to work out what I'm building, how and what to paint and what colours were used on different schemes for various roles. Is there a decent, available, 'Camo Schemes for Dummies' type book(s) around. I've found several series on a particular plane type but that will get expensive very quickly I think. I'm only really interested in British Military WW2 at the moment and have, for example just discovered RAF Dark Earth and Army Dark Earth aren't the same...... Follow up 5 points each: Aerial torpedoes were an oiled steel body and bronze warhead for the live weapon? Is there an aftermarket British 18" torpedo on the market anywhere suitable for late war use. If not what is a good source please? I've used the BM search function to gain the pathetic knowledge displayed above. Thanks for any help. If anybody wants to know about British WW" armour then I'll be glad to reciprocate!

Completely agree about the consistency, if they get that right they can move onto other issues. I don't see them having a massive increase in the standard colour range simply because of sale stands etc. However they could grab the enthusiast market by changing some of their current colours to match standard shades, this would keep the casual buyer on board and keep them when they learn more about the subject. We shall see. I'm glad to see the Luftwaffe colours though.

Hah! When I have a lovely Vampirish aircraft model and you haven't you'll be sorry. Mind you I've just had to pull the wing off as the fuselage started dissolving...... This is fun This is fun This is fun Well it's interesting

Awesome! I feel so much better now!! You may be able to use the Pavla cockpit upgrade if you want to....Here be temptation I'm really looking forward to following this one. Top choice of subject.

Proper ship built standards there, even left the foundry casting marks in. from me as well. Really nice clean build so far, I doff my cap to you.

Coming along nicely there Sir. Good trick for marking out bulkheads, wished I'd known of it about a week ago.

Sorry Chap but I don't agree with that at all. The kits you are suggesting barring are exactly the type that people will risk for a first build. Older, worth less, fall-back onto the replacement injection kit if it all goes pear shaped. I think keeping it open will be in the BM spirit getting too restrictive won't. The variety of subjects in this GB is amazing.

Welcome to the workbench again! Apologies for the delay in updates but, dust, filler and tears don't tell the whole story so.... without further ado Safely at the back is a vac canopy from John Aero all cut and fettle'd....and scratched....by me.....being an idiot. So that'll be polishing practice later. Upper fuselage has both wing roots on moved up 1.5mm and forward 1.0mm and tapered to the rear so the wings align correctly, finally about 5mm trimmed off the rear. Also sanded and packed to be vertical for the wings later....much, much later. Lower fuselage with bulkheads to hold it all in line, something the kit locating pegs did not do, ever. Kit nose wheel well extensively modified and narrowed. Open area aft of gear door incorporated. 2 Neomega resin Mk2 seats, I know the Vamp uses Mk3 but can't find any. So there Beautifully cast but suffered damage in transit due to being packed into too small a bag The wings, For The love of God Jim, the wings....featuring anhedral as predicted by wise BM Obsolete builders and followers, put that right and the booms tilt in, the realigned roots mean the booms almost meet, so they've been removed. The shaded area shows the depressed areas, I know how they feel which provide the aerodynamic profile of a brick, or an Alp. I have a cunning plan for these that I shall share if I enter the sunlit meadows of success. So next is to get the wings well, wingey. The leading edge is too sharp, apparently there should be dihedral, the tips need extending, the intakes need work, I'll stop there as I don't feel too good now. Then there are the booms..... Thanks for looking, and see you next time.

Hi Martin Hope the health improvement continues. Looking good so far, I like internal bulkheads as well. A modelling weekend sounds like a good thing to do at this time of year.

That got me thinking and I can honestly say I never saw any on the shelf when they were released. They were scarce at shows as well IIRC. A friend of mine was looking for one for what seemed like months before he found one. I know they need work but that's why I make models rather than collect kits (he lied unconvincingly...) and the stuff is available to improve them? If there are still shops with stock I'll be interested in one.

I sent Gordon an email regarding release date and it will be launched at SMW Telford.

It's usual in such cases for the receivers to sell what they can through the shops they control. As a chain winds down stock will have been consolidated as confirmed above. The remnants will then be consolidated and sold as bulk lots, the receivers will have established buyers, whoever buys the stock then sells it through their usual channels. It's quite common for such stock to be offered for sale by one retailer then the remnants sold on again. So, keep your eyes open in retail stores especially the Home Bargains type, independent shops and small chains, eventually market traders. You would be surprised by how little volume there probably is, much will be returned to the suppliers/manufacturers/importers as they will retain title of stock supplied but not paid for, when Woolworth's went under most of the stock went through one rather small centre over about six weeks. Unfortunately it's an operation that is well understood...

I'd suggest that the National markings would apply to the vac-form Dynavector (?) kit and would be useful as spares for the rest of us. In my case they certainly won't go to waste!!! Apparently Ali will be spilling the beans in the next week or so, he doesn't want to announce something that then gets delayed, I think that is very wise. Building an F-111B eh? Tried that many years ago and never finished it. I'd have thought it would be a viable conversion set, but I'm mad.

This site and these producers making stuff I want are going to bankrupt me! But I don't care I'm happy

Hi Raj If the Tamiya clear you are getting is X-22 then it's acrylic and a gloss finish. It may be easier to use the spray can TS-13. Cover the transparencies and cover everything else with it. Apply the decals then use a satin or matt coat over the top to give the final look you want. This final coat could be enamel but I'd advise staying with acrylic. Humbrol do spray cans of all of them if you can get them. These are the acrylic ones. 49 Acrylic Varnish Matt - 150ml Spray Varnish Product Code: AD6049 135 Acrylic Varnish Satin - 150ml Spray Varnish Product Code: AD6135 35 Acrylic Varnish Gloss - 150ml Spray Varnish Product Code: AD6035 When applying them spray several very light coats rather than a single thick one. You should then get a very good finish. Remember If you work hard when you are young you won't have to work as hard when you are older. Also remember The only stupid question is the one you haven't asked! Happy to Help as are most of us.

Scimitar (1 or 2), Sabre Challenger II Viking f2d That is a fantastic Puma shot. Put that on the front of a 48th kit and every young lad (and many a lass) in the country would want one. The Vampire T.11 is a no brainer IMHO, they've done most of the preparation work for the 72nd scale wonder, lots and lots of different schemes, what more can you ask???? For a new modeller it would be a great step into larger kits. For a proper they should do the Bristol 188

The way you've listed the problems makes it seem just like the mess I'm working on..... I wonder if merchandisers around the country will be trying to work out why filler sales have shot up?

Agree absolutely Eric, at the moment they seem to be stalled though. They've cut costs dramatically, seen an improvement in footfall and modest increases per transaction. The stores at major transport hubs perform very well indeed. However, some of the town centre stores struggle and these are seen as the Achilles heel by many. Airfix/Hornby and WH Smith would make a very good partnership, kits have much better margins than CDs, DVDs and some books and they're rather harder to pinch as well. Airfix get a massive boost in the market place, they would be able to get a better deal than at Tesco, Sainsbury's etc. as well. We shall see.

That is a very lovely model, Well Done An unusual scheme and a very good paint job really set it off.

Hi Raj I'm on the same sort of learning curve with aircraft so the suggestions from others have helped me as well! Thank You for asking the question. First model? Then I say When you head to the supermarket go to the cosmetics section and get ladies nail shapers (sanding sticks) and a nail polish buffer (like a piece of material on a foam stick). The first is excellent for removing excess filler from joints, the second for polishing scratches out of the plastic. If you mix paint and varnish types then generally enamels can go over acrylics but not the other way round. The varnish is to give a smooth surface for the decal, it's best applied to the whole model except for transparent bits, once the decals are dry you need another coat to protect them. This can be matt, gloss or satin. For wartime aircraft matt or satin varnish seems to be normal, it's really down to what you prefer. Have fun and enjoy yourself. Things like air-bruhes can come later, you can get a very good finish with a brush. You can also learn a lot by going back to earlier models you build and tidying them up with new paint and decals. I'm with Val you've done much better than I did when I started.....

Don't tell him Pike! I do remember reading in the financial papers that WHS were looking to diversify their retail operations around a core of established stores. The suggestion was stores would be relaunched, some closed etc.etc. so far nothing seems to have happened except more stuff rammed in, aisles restricted and very low staffing levels. They've also pulled out of DVD and CD in most areas. Market feeling at the moment is that they need to turn around quickly; preferably get some key stores sorted for the Christmas season, identify and discount slow moving stock, implement some diversification other than pushing chocolate sales at the checkout and make their stores more welcoming. In fact exactly what Tesco are starting to do....

Hi Chaps Going by your information above and a lot of digging I think the DHC-3 prop is 10 ft 10 inch diameter. The Wirraway seems to be 10 ft. Before I go at the Ultracast blades I think I'll make a disc or two and see what looks right..... Modifying the standard hub doesn't look too bad even with three of them..... I've also found a picture of a similar set-up on a Ju-52 in USAAF service in Panama, I now need to decide what to do Then there are the civil registered Float Planes..... I'm going to end up with two Tantes I think Thank You so much for your help I hope I haven't been too much trouble.