andyf117

My understanding is that it was a flight of four - seeing the report of one aircraft returning with a cracked canopy immediately suggested birdstrike to me... ....there is now one of Mildenhall's MC-130s at low level to the northeast of the previously-mentioned KC-10 - whilst that is now orbiting at about half the altitude than before after apparently rendezvousing briefly with a Mildenhall KC-135...

I'm currently seeing a KC-10 that launched out of Mildenhall two hours ago that's been orbiting the approximate area, whilst flying dog-legs a little further to the north and northwest is an RC-135 that was previously on station over Estonia... ....live updates ongoing here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-england-suffolk-53051437

Already posted over in 'Real Aviation': https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235075203-lakenheath-f-15c-down/

Nice - been torn between doing one of these 'Big Mother' birds in overall grey or in Air Force style camouflage... ....yours certainly looks good - what grey did you use?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-53051055

Heller re-issued both KC-135A and R kits complete with markings for French versions, as did Italeri - perhaps someone can provide you with the un-used section of a kit sheet, so maybe worth a post in the newly re-opened 'Wants' forum?

'Tis sheer witchcraft, all this brass malarkey.... ....personally, I can't wait to see how you tackle that big all-seeing eye and its visible innards!

I think the artistic licence might be going a bit too far - not quite as low as depicted above: But this Blue Angels F-18 is - the wake is still flat, though: There's always the shockwave effect:

Nicely done, and with a couple of useful tips to boot - I'm actually working on two of these at the moment... ....like yours, both are secondhand, one slightly started, one more so - the latter to be an HC.1, the former an HC.2 utlising parts from a scrapped AS.532...

I stand corrected; I'd thought the HAS.5 was one of the C Scale range that Airwaves hadn't re-issued after E.D. Models took it over - but now I've even found one online:

Or just pick up a Revell kit when one's available - such as now: https://www.ebay.co.uk/c/1906208827 If the under-size sponsons are a big issue to you, there are Whirlybird resin replacements - otherwise, the only thing that really needs sorting is reducing the Sea Searcher radome's height, which is quite simple to do...

That was actually the C Scale white metal set designed for the old Airfix kit, which I don't think appeared under the Airwaves label, as it was superceded when Revell issued their kit in AEW.2/HAS.6 form - and also when Airfix re-did theirs with an additional sprue for the limited edition HAR.5 boxing...

That would mean I'll struggle if I need any more 12" blue ones as well, then - used my last Scalemaster pair of those on the CH-3B... ....I'm just astounded that something common to most USAF aircraft throughout the 1950s and, 60s and beyond simply aren't available!

The situation remains pretty much the same as previously: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235024535-which-72nd-sea-king/&do=findComment&comment=2779387 Except that Revell kits now appear less frequently on eBay...

Not over my house, but just looked at ADS-B, and see there's three E-3s over the North Sea at the moment - one NATO and one RAF flying the opposite sides of an orbit halfway between the UK and Denmark, and another NATO one returning to Luxembourg after departing the same orbit area...

So here I am, tinkering with a few models that aren't Sea Kings just for a change - and decide on a particular finish for one... ....delving into the decal folder, I'm looking for a pair of 12in white 'U.S. Air Force' titles that I may or may not have to hand... ....no, haven't got any, or any white ones actually - only part-used Microscale and Scalemaster sheets of Insignia Blue ones... ....could do with some, methinks, so I start looking online - well, this is silly. None available anywhere, from anyone. Nil. Nada... ....since when do no decal manufacturers produce any sets of white USAF markings? Scalemaster certainly used to:

Funny you should mention the F-111; I learned yesterday that a former Lakenheath F-111F WSO who was one of the group of junior officers I hung out/partied with back in my days at Mildenhall is now a Flight Safety Inspector, and arriving at Eglin this weekend as part of the investigation team looking into the cause of this particular accident...

Big blue box here for me too, Bill...

As I mentioned in the UH-3A's RFI, the 'flaws' are more evident in the photos than on the model itself sitting in the display case - some can be mitigated by careful trimming, such as avoiding long straight edges where possible, although you'll struggle there as I did with the 'NAS Point Mugu' titles... ....one trick I've discovered when cutting out the decals is to angle towards, rather than vertically or away from the design, to help avoid leaving a white edge...

I also did the hanging on the wall thing - simple picture hook on the wall, and a humble paper clip opened up and bent to fit into the front of a nosewheel well, with a piece of wire twisted into a figure eight connecting the two. It's easy enough to just lift them off for dusting, or to swap around, and depending on length of wire used, the hanging mounts can be almost completely hidden. At our old house, on the large landing wall directly above the stairs I had a KC-135 at the top with a B-52 positioned underneath - if they hadn't both been 'gear down', extending the tanker's boom would have made the display a vertical mid-air refuelling diorama! Also back at the old house, I had a large open display unit which SWMBO always complained was a dust trap - I eventually enclosed it using large clear acetate sheets, which were glued on at the rear and sides, but attached with stick-on Velcro strips at the front, to allow removal to change the contents, etc.

I think part of the 'problem' is that the white sheets are thicker than clear ones - as seen below, on the UH-3A the rivet detail barely shows beneath the white lettering, and edges to the decals are visible; in comparison, look carefully at the UH-3H's black lettering and the rivet lines underneath can be seen. All home-printed, and applied in exactly the same way:

Head in the clouds - relevant post here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235054766-we-three-kings/&do=findComment&comment=3704970

Perhaps you were thinking of the B-47 - didn't that have two sets of wheels along the centreline? Similar arrangement still in use on the U-2...

Quite possibly - there were always (then) familiar faces who I otherwise usually only saw at the Nats, IPMS Farnborough guys being the exception (they got everywhere!)... The two pairs of big wheels under the left side of the fuselage! Whether the issue was with one, or both, I don't know - all I recall was us overhearing the radio transmission declaring an emergency, due to "no green lights for the left main gear". The guy nearby with the radio was a USAF SP, who went rushing off to his truck...

Guessing they're mostly staffed by ex-military instructors earning more as civilian contractors than they did as service QFIs...