lasermonkey

I have some of the original Letratone drawings done my Mike Keep of the Dragon Rapide and I'm sure the AA example is featured. If I can find them, I'll be happy to scan them.

Sorry Edgar, I should have clarified: It's a 1938 scheme I'm doing. This is the reference I found: link and an abstract from that site: 1938-November 1939: The first production batches of Spitfires (K9787-K9814) were built with 37.8 inches (96 cm) roundels on the fuselage sides-these were centred 39 inches aft of the rear edge of the cockpit door. 56 inches (140 cm) type A1s were on the upper wings. From K9815 the fuselage roundels were moved back, to be centred 53 in aft of the cockpit door and 6 in above the main longeron, and reduced in diameter to 35 type A1. This position for the fuselage roundel was subsequently standard on all Supermarine and Westland built Spitfires and Seafires. The first 180 or so built (K9787-K9960) also had factory applied 50 in type A roundels under the wings. After K9960 there were no factory applied under-wing roundels until December 1940. With the change to type B roundels Spitfires built with type A1 roundels had were repainted by the squadrons creating a plethora of sizes and proportions. and a picture to illustrate: Although I still can't find it, I remember an online discussion on this a few years ago and I'm as sure as I can be that the rather odd roundel size is correct (or at least closer than the supplied 35". Cheers, Mark.

Looks like the Xtradecal sheet for the "19 Sqn 1938 hawk" (which also has a '38 Spit on it) is the only source. Shame I'm going to have to spend over six quid to get the right size roundels I should have got in the first place!

Hi, I was just about to start decalling an Airfix 1/72 Spitfire Mk I which I'm doing as K9797 from No 19 Sqn, Duxford and I noticed that the Model Alliance sheet provides 35" type A1 roundels for the fuselage. The On-Target book also describes them as 35". I'm not convinced. I'm sure they should be bigger and located further forward. One source lists them as 37.8", a figure which seems vaguely familiar. I'm sure I have some references which concur with this, but I'll be darned if I can find them! Anyway, after hunting through my decal bank, I can't find anything close enough, the nearest being 35" or 42", neither of which I think are acceptable. With markings, I think that even a couple of scale inches can spoil the look of a model, even in 1/72! So, does anyone know of a source of 37.8" type A1 roundels, or am I just being wildly optimistic? Having to use those 35" roundels is really going to bug me........ Thanks in advance, Mark.

Another Lifecolour fan here. Like all the acrylics I've tried, it has its foibles, but once you've worked out what to do, I find it's the smoothest finish of any paint I've used so far. It's not too keen on being the first coat, as it tends to bead and pool somewhat, but if you mist the first coat and let it dry, it will self-level. It can also be brush-painted if you add a little washing up liquid to it (my thinning mixture is water with a little W.U.L. and a drop or two of Slow-Dri). I think the washing up liquid breaks down its viscosity, allowing it to flow better. Andy from MR&ME (my much-missed local model shop) shared that tip with me, bless him! That said, I still haven't quite cracked mottling with it as yet.

On some Eagle Cals for the Fw 190D-9 there's some whitewalled tailwheel tyres indicated. IIRC, the Luftwaffe used synthetic rubber, as they had little or no access to the real thing. I'm guessing they "doped" the synthetic rubber with a conductive medium.

I'm pretty sure that Cutting Edge did a set of spinner spirals and the Superscale stencil sets for the Bf 109 and Fw 190 had spirals on them too.

That's the same process used to coat laser (and presumably other) optics. Always wanted to see that being done.

I remember reading a thread over at the '109 Lair, many moons ago, where the subject of RLM 66 was discussed at length. Apparently, later on, 66 wasn't just one colour! There were cases of dark green 66, certainly. I'll have to see whether I can locate the thread........ Well, I found this, if it helps..... linky

That's my experience of every Airwaves PE set I've tried!

Hi, In the churchyard across the road, lies the remains of Pilot Officer Alan Dunn Hopkin. The inscription on his gravestone tells that he was killed in action on July 10th 1940. I spent most of last night trying to find out more about him. All I could find was that he served with No 59 Sqn. He and his crew (Sgt TJ Rowles and Sgt J Falconer) were lost when their aircraft R3637 exploded at 03.00 hrs whilst on patrol near Cardiff. I'd like to make a model of this aircraft, but haven't been able to ascertain the individual code letter, or any other pertinent features. If anyone can help, I'd be very much obliged. Cheers, Mark.

Another thing I've come across (i've built around 40 of the buggers!) is a tendency for the fin/rudder to lean over to starboard. On the majority of the Ias I've built I've cut from the stbd elevator locating hole-forwards, bent it into place and superglued it. These days I'm cutting the wing assembly into three pieces, gluing the centre section first, then adding both wings. There's some filling and sanding to do afterwards, but it does ensure the wonky wing problem goes away! Wooksta's comment about the fuselage locating lugs is spot-on. Cheers, Mark.

That's a model? Cats on a cracker!!!! I honestly thought it was real. Top work there!

The P-40 was a bit of a surprise to me too. It's from North Weald, apparently and owned by Peter Teichmann (sp?). He's got some other nice toys, if you can call a Spitfire, Hurricane and P-51 toys!

A few more pics from the 03/05/09 Shuttleworth show. Gloster Gladiator: Hawker Hind: Westland Lysander: Curtiss P-40 SE-5a: Sea Hurricane: I hope to get the remainder of the pics uploaded over the next week or so. As I said, there's a fair few pics and walkrounds on my Photobucket Album, which might come in useful. Cheers, Mark.

Hi, I've just started uploading the pics into my Photobucket album. I took over 500 pics, so it's taking a while! Despite incredibly variable lighting conditions, I don't think they came out too badly. DH 88 Comet: DH 89 Dragon Rapides. G-AIYR is the a/c in which I took my first flight. Blackburn B2 of the BAe Heritage Flight, alongside their DH 60 Moth and Avro Nineteen (Anson). Soon to be joined by the Harrier and Tornado, as they guy standing next to me quipped! Miles M65 Gemini: I'll post a few more pics in an additional post, so the page doesn't load too slowly. There are quite a few pics in my Photobucket album here and there are lots of sub-folders to browse too. Cheers, Mark.

I managed to get a Czechmaster York conversion for £29 and to be honest, I wouldn't pay more. I feel that the interior is somewhat shoddy (I've seen much better, and that includes CMR themselves) and my example had way more than its fair share of holes, some of them pretty big. I'm guessing the person I bought it from off eBay felt much the same!

Hi, just to prove I do the odd bit of modelling! I only get to sneak in a small amount of modelling at work (I get in a bit early and get a quick fix then, and at lunchtimes and after work) as the hobby room is full of audio projects, including a 32-channel mixing console that takes up rather a lot of room! I only have rudimentary facilities and I'm having to learn brush-painting again, which is much trickier than I remember! First up is the excellent ICM 1/72 Bf 109E-4. There's a lot more flash than when I first built one for a Modelling Madness review and a defiite softening of detail. Still, with a bit of work it turns out nicely. I used a mixture of Almark and kit decals and a combination of Lifecolour, Aeromaster and Xtracrylix paints. This is the Matchbox 1/72 Lysander Mk II (please forgive the truly awful pic!) and is a real favourite of mine. I scratched some cockpit detail and added the landing lights. Markings are a combination of kit and Modeldecal roundels. codes and flashes. Where would the 1/72 WW2 RAF modeller be without them? Paints are Aeromaster, but I modified their Dark Green somewhat with some brown, as it's way too blue otherwise. I hope to get some better pics soon. Currently working on two Revell Fw 190A-8s and five Matchbox Bf 109Es. Cheers, Mark.

I was told by a fellow SVAS member that she is flyable, but no one wants to do it! A real pig to land, by all accounts: you can't see a damn thing except the nose and the ground just to the side of you. That, and the stall characteristics of the wingtips don't make for a happy experience.

I got one of those off eBay last year for £29. I'm a bit disappointed with the internal detail, as it's rough to say the least. I'm bloomin' glad I didn't pay more! I guess I'll be practicing my scratchbuilding skills.......

It's not like I didn't have some online help for that!

Off the top of my head, in 1/72 and injection moulded: Airco DH 2 (Eduard, Pegasus, Revell) Airco DH 4 (Airfix) Airco DH 5 (Pegasus) Airco DH 9 (Pegasus) DH 60 Gypsy Moth (Frog/Novo, A Model) DH 82 Tiger Moth (Aeroclub, Airfix, Pavla) DH 88 Comet (Airfix, Frog/Novo. Heritage[ Airfix kit with new decals, resin interior and vac canopy]) DH 89 Dragon Rapide (Airfix/Heller) DH 98 Mosquito (Airfix, Matchbox [if you want the two-stage variants. It's basic, but with some work etc, etc] and Tamiya) DH 100 Vampire (Airfix/Heller) DH 103 Hornet (Frog/Novo, Special Hobby) DH Sea Hornet (Special Hobby) DH 110 Sea Vixen (Frog/Novo/Revell, MPM/Xtrakit) DH 112 Venom (Aeroclub) DH Sea Venom (Frog/Novo/Tasman/Toko) DH 114 Heron (Airfix) HS 125/Dominie (Airfix, Matchbox. It was a DH design, IIRC) If you're prepared to go down the resin/vacform route: Airco DH6 (?) Airco DH 10 (Andy Pack- I think!) DH 60 Moth Major (Choroszy) DH 71 Tiger Moth (Dujin???) DH 80 Puss Moth (Omega. Be warned, it's over £40!!!!!) DH 83 Fox Moth (Aeroclub, Kiwi Resins) DH 84 Dragon (AIM/Rugrat) DH 86 Express (AIM/Rugrat) DH 90 Dragonfly (Airframe, AIM/Rugrat) DH 91 Albatross (can't remember the manufacturer, but I desperately want one!) DH 93 Don (Dujin) DH 94 Moth Minor (High Planes) DH 95 Flamingo (Magna) DH 104 Dove (Rareplanes, Magna) DH 109 Comet (can't remember exactly, but IIRC at least two companies have done 1/72 kits) I'm sure there are many more out there which I have either forgotten or don't know about. Some of these kits are rather hard to find and will likely be a bit pricey. I'm quite a fan of De Havillands myself and there's a lot on the list I still don't have. Good luck! Mark.

I reckon you'll have to go a long way to beat White Ensign Models Colourcoats. Their research is second to none and are incredibly helpful.

I have successfully added some 64 light grey to Metalcote matt aluminium to get quite a convincing silver dope. The trick is to stir constantly!

My God, that looks good enough to eat! I'm a big Dora fan and that has to be one of the very best I've seen. Top-notch work there!