lasermonkey
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Posts posted by lasermonkey
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From the November 1982 issue of SAM:
That should hopefully tell you all you need to know about the production rear view mirrors, though there were unofficial modifications at unit level. I haven't seen the Tamiya kit as it's not my scale, so can't comment on what type it may be.
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That’s a lovely battering ram you’ve made there. A nice tribute indeed.
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Someone on eBay was selling a bunch of Aeroclub white metal bits, so I relieved him of the Lightning undercarriage and nose cone/tailpipe sets. I have a couple of ancient Airfix Lightning F.1 kits in the stash and still intend to make them. It’s not like the Sword F.1/2 kits are readily available and when they do turn up, they ain’t cheap.
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Some of the best photos I have been able to find can be seen here.
Also this pic.
Having seen a completed model here on Britmodeller recently, I think today's luncheon may consist of headwear. I'm still not convinced KP have got the subtle shape of the windscreen quite right, but you can tell from the completed model that it's a lot better than the photos of the canopy part on its own suggest.
Anyway, apologies to KP and anyone else I may have inadvertently misled. Hopefully the pics will help you make up your own mind.
Best regards,
Mark.
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I got the Tremulus Lune tremolo pedal working. It was over ten years ago that I started it,along with another that I built for a friend. I finished my friend's one but for some reason, mine found its way to the shelf of doom (yeah, I have two shelves of doom!) and languished there until yesterday. It's now up, running and zipped up in its enclosure. Although I believe that the origins of the Tremulus Lune were in the DIY community, it's one of the best tremolo pedals I've heard. With five control knobs, it's certainly versatile.
I wired up the Roger Mayer Spitfire fuzz tonight and that worked first time. I hadn't listened to any demos beforehand, but with a transistor buffer up front, an LM301AN op-amp, a pair of hard clipping diodes and just two controls, I had a rough idea of what to expect. Although called a fuzz, I was expecting more of a distortion (like with the Suzz pedal described above) and with the fuzz control half way up, it did sound more towards fuzz than distortion, with a slight splashiness in the treble frequencies, though nothing like as much as you'd get with a Fender Blender or Shin-Ei FY-2 Companion Fuzz. Turning the Fuzz control between minimum to around the 3 o'clock position yielded the expected differing amounts of distortion, with identical tonal characteristics. In the last quarter of the Fuzz control's travel things suddenly got thicker, fuzzier and more compressed, with bags of juicy sustain. I honestly wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did and was surprised at how much could be got from one control knob. I had been concerned that, being a total Spitfire nut, I'd be disappointed with its namesake. I can see me using this one a lot and I'll probably build one as a gift for my mate, as I don't think he has a fuzz. He did nick my Crowther Hotcake clone though!
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I forgot to mention that we had an Italian C-130 over yesterday. Somewhat smaller, less noisy and closer to the ground, we saw our first ringlet and marbled white butterflies of the year yesterday. Ringlets are pretty common, but I have seen very few marbled whites, especially around the village.
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2 hours ago, jackroadkill said:
Man, I had one of those. I've had lots of amps, some good and some bad. That's the only one I regret selling.
I still have the Twin, but sadly, I think I'm going to have to part with it. I've had it since the early 90s and it still had the original RCA valves in it! I did plenty of gigs before I had to change the power valves. It never did sound as good after that and they didn't last long either. It needs a new set and as I don't gig any more and can't really afford to maintain it, it'll have to go. It's so much louder than I need and I won't miss carrying it! My Orange AD30TC will be staying, as I really need a valve amp to test my pedals with, but I shall be getting a good sounding solid state combo to act as a pedal platform. I could probably buy a pair and have some spare change from the sale of the Twin.
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1 hour ago, keefr22 said:
And if you like modern stuff you'll be close to Lakenheath and Mildenhall ! I'd love to move to suffolk!
I'm going further south east, so I very much doubt I'll see much from there. Of all the time I have spent in the Suffolk Coastal AONB, (and I have spent a lot of time there) all I have seen is a couple of CV-22s.
While I do like to see modern jets, I honestly wouldn't want to live either nearby to the bases or underneath their playground. I went on holiday in North Norfolk a couple of years ago and the 48th FW turned up every day to practice. It was fun for a while, but the noise soon got tiring.
In February this year, Luton Airport's holding patterns were changed, and we now get a lot more jet noise we didn't have previously. It can get quite intrusive. I'll be glad to get away from it.
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I only lived in a city (London) for the first two years of my life. I grew up in a small town (St Neots) which grew and is still growing into a much larger town. I didn’t like it, so moved to a smaller village over the border in Bedfordshire. That also grew (and is still growing) and is too busy for me and my Mrs. Neither of us are very fond of people, especially the noise they make.
I am semi-retired due to long-term illness, though I still have eleven years to go before I can claim my pension. We are moving to the Suffolk coastal area soon, if the house sale goes ok, as it’s our favourite part of the country. We would have preferred something a bit more isolated than we’re moving to, but the house prices in that part of the country rocketed over the past couple of years and as the Reverend Spooner might say, Cheggers can’t be boozers*.
We are calling this is our pre-retirement move. Whether it is our “forever home” remains to be seen, but at least we now have a foothold in the right area.
If I had my way, I’d never visit another city. I hate the crowds, the noise and the bright lights. Give me peace, quiet and nature any day!
* sadly ironic, I know.
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For purely selfish reasons, I very much hope Arma doesn’t do the early Spitfires (or anything else I like, for that matter) as their newer releases are way too expensive for me.
So yeah, c’mon Eduard! Pull your finger out!
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I got a few more pedal circuits working, these being an Analogman King Of Tone, a Mad Professor Stone Grey Distortion and a Carlsbro Suzz.
The King Of Tone is basically two modified Marshall Bluesbreaker overdrives in one box. There's something like a two year waiting list for a King Of Tone and honestly, I'm not convinced it lives up to they hype. I mean, it is good, but not exceptional, IMO. I'll be putting it into an enclosure at some point in the future, after the house move.
The Stone Grey Distortion is, like the KOT, a circuit I built around ten years ago and only just got around to testing. It's a tight, focussed distortion and I remember liking the sound of it in a demo vide I watched at the time. Another one I'll be boxing up. I have loads of circuits that still need testing!
The Suzz is a very basic op-amp fuzz/distortion. I guess that Suzz is an contraction of sustain-fuzz. My first amplifier, a Carlsbro Stingray 150* (complete with 4x12 cab) had a Suzz feature on the dirty channel. I'm not sure if it's the same one, and to be honest, I don't remember it sounding like this one. For such a simple circuit, I really like it but then again, I'm a big fan of the old Carslbro pedals. The original Suzz is long out of production and like all Carlsbro pedals, sells for silly money these days. I modified mine with switchable input capacitors so you can have a bright and focussed tone or a looser tone with much more low-end. I shall probably modify it further so that the input cap switch is replaced with a potentiometer and I'll also add a variable low pass filter on the output. Definitely a keeper, this one.
I'm just about to head back into the workshop to finish off a couple more pedals, these being the Roger Mayer Spitfire fuzz and the 4mS Tremulus Lune tremolo.
*I know that Carlsbro amps (apart from the old valve 50W & 60W ones) aren't exactly coveted, but it sounded great to me. Back in the early 90s my rig of doom consisted of the Carlsbro stack with a '75 Fender "silverface" Twin Reverb (2x12 combo, so six 12" speakers in all, run in stereo) on top, which was around the same height as me (I'm 6' 2") and was insanely loud. There's no beating the visceral feeling of playing at trouser-flapping volumes, though I do have permanent tinnitus to prove it.
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42 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:
I envy you the Spitfires @lasermonkey, it was not uncommon to see and hear them where we lived in the UK, but not here in rural France unfortunately.
I do realise how lucky I am. I live around five miles from Old Warden, so it is common to see their aircraft during the warmer months, plus anything visiting. Duxford is relatively close too, so we see much of their stuff. In addition, we're on the route between Wattisham and Middle Wallop. This means we get Apaches and Chinooks at the sort of altitudes that rattle your eyeballs in their sockets!
I expect I'll miss it when I move to Suffolk, though it's swings and roundabouts, because the nature is way better than it is in Bedfordshire.
I should also add that there was a Tiger Moth around an hour ago and just this moment, a Seafire XVII flew over.
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Two more Spitfires and a Dragon Rapide. Not a bad afternoon at all!
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42 minutes ago, 11bravo said:
And yet those helos keep selling. Crazy to think that professional navies might know more than the experts on the internet, right??
Only the one you quoted works at a helicopter manufacturer. Hardly just some random on the internet.
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A Spitfire. During the warmer months it’s actually a rare day that a Spitfire doesn’t go over. It never gets tiring though. I expect I’ll miss it when I move house soon.
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7 hours ago, MACALAIN said:
I am sure that Eduard will produce in 1/72 a brand new Spitfire Mk I (II, Vb, Vc) in a nearest futur.
Alain
I have a lot of hopes pinned on that!
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I have just spent a few hours trawling the internet for images of period photos of Spitfire XIs to check the windshield shape. Interestingly, it looks like there *might be* examples of both curved and flattened windshields. Now, photos of that particular area of the canopy are not exactly common or clear and it is possible that only one shape was used. If this is the case, the flat at the front end is very subtle and not at all like the canopy supplied by KP, which really does look like the early Mk I style.
I was about to apologise for posting misleading information, but from the images I have seen, the kit canopy really doesn’t capture the subtle curves at all. It’s not easy to post links from my iPad, but if you Go ogle for images of the PR.XI you’ll soon see what I’m getting at. I will have a look through my books to see if there’s anything better in there, but as it stands, a replacement canopy is still needed.
Cheers,Mark.
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7 minutes ago, Julien said:
They said it was correct. I see very feint lines there but TBH they will polish out.
It’s not, it’s just the closest thing they have (from their early Mk I). The windshield should have a smooth, continuous curve. It’s quite noticeable on the real thing and KP have rather stuffed this up. Again, it’s not exactly new information and if they’d spent five minutes on the internet, they could have found plenty of photos.
Hopefully someone will come out with an accurate replacement soon.-
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Here's a cut'n'paste:
Navy Wings Trustees have reached the difficult decision to cease work on Sea Vixen FAW2 XP924.
The Sea Vixen suffered a hydraulic failure in May 2017 resulting in a controlled wheels up landing at RNAS Yeovilton. Despite the charity’s best efforts to attract interest over the last five years, including appeals for a ‘white knight’ to fund the restoration of the Sea Vixen, we were unable to raise the considerable funds required to restore her back to flight.
As the charity is funded by public donations, Trustees must always be mindful of achieving the most cost-effective outcomes from the funds that are generously donated by our supporters. With that in mind, the decision has been taken to offer the Sea Vixen to a museum or private collection.
However, if someone was to come forward in the next month with a plan to purchase the aircraft and restore her back to flight, we would listen to any proposals seriously.
Over the same period, we have been assessing the wider feasibility of all our potential aircraft restoration projects and, as part of that process, we have concluded that the restoration of Sea Hawk FGA.6 VW908 to flight is both affordable and achievable.
The aircraft, which last displayed in 2010, has been in dehumidified storage at RAF Shawbury awaiting a decision on her future. We have now commissioned a full survey of the work required and in broad terms, it will cost about 10% of the funds that would be required to return the Sea Vixen to flight.
Therefore, the Charity is delighted to announce that the plan to restore WV908 back to flight will now commence. The aircraft has recently been transferred to our Heritage Hangar at Yeovilton and our engineers will oversee the return to flight plan, which we estimate will take about two years.
This has been a very difficult decision for the charity. We believe that this course of action is the most responsible and has by far the greatest opportunity to be successful. The Sea Hawk will make an exciting addition to the future air show circuit.
We will be providing regular updates on the Sea Hawk project via our social channels, so if you would like to support the restoration of the Sea Hawk and get restoration news first, please join us by signing up as a supporter.
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That’s very sad to see, especially as it’s the aeroplane on which I took my first flight. I know it had an engine fire a few years back and was subsequently repaired.
Equally alarming are the photos of the turnout for the display. The only thing missing is the tumbleweed…
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Just had a USMC KC-130J, callsign SUMO97, go over. I was pretty sure it was a Herc just by the noise.
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Akan paints
in Paint
3 hours ago, sammy da fish said:Good evening everybody
Where can I purchase Akan paints here in the Uk?
sammy
IIRC they used to be stocked by Coastal Crafts, but that was some time ago. Short answer is I don't think anyone stocks them here and I'd bet no one will touch them for some time to come.
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3 hours ago, AMB said:
Would have been better in 1/48 perhaps?
You can go off people!
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I wonder if the smaller tail fin of the 180 will be included as an option?
What music are you playing VII.
in Chat
Posted
A few things I have listened to lately:
The Demonstration by Drab Majesty. Eighties-inspired, retro synthpop/post-punk mash up.
..followed by Sons & Fascination/Sister Feelings Call by Simple Minds. They were never my favourite band and were responsible for some utter drivel later in their career, but for a few short years, their self-bravado & bluster gave rise to a few stonking albums.
...and the Hyaena by Siouxsie & The Banshees. I've said before that I have lots of unpopular opinions, but for me, Hyaena is my favourite, despite not having the magnificent John McGeoch on it. Instead, Robert Smith does the guitars, though those are more often than not out of focus and deep in the mix. I seem to remember reading contemporary interviews where Siouxsie was saying about how little guitar Smith added, instead plumping for keyboards.
What the album may lack in guitar, it more than makes up with ambition. It's their most expansive album, IMO. Cinematic, even. Siouxsie's voice, always a force of nature, is breathtaking on Hyaena and much like the lady herself, equal parts dead sexy and absolutely terrifying. Steve Severin's bass is as melodic and mournful as it ever got. McGeoch once said of him "he's a terrible bass player, but probably the most musical person I've ever met" or words to that effect. And Budgie's drums, when everyone else was whacking gated reverb on everything, are given the space they need and thus don't make the record sound dated. He's my favourite drummer by a long shot.
Anyway, I love this record!