andyf117

Guessing those internal arrangements illustrations are 'not to scale' - otherwise, it'd take some pretty skinny nurses/medical orderlies to squeeze between the stretchers!

Thanks, Bill, but we're already beyond that now - 90 minutes after the above-mentioned phone call, took another from the service manager to say that the situation had worsened, insofar as 'cleaning up' and re-fitting the CEM resulted in a completely dead car... ....the 'upside' is that with it having happened whilst with them ("on my watch", as he put it), he has stated that they'll replace it for "significantly less" than the previously-stated £860 - "rolling the two jobs into one" and "at in-house cost" were two phrases used, so I won't be looking at £1700+ had they been done separately...

In a further development, took a call within the last hour saying the PDM is now fixed, so "everything on that side is now working again - but..." On taking the car for a test drive, there were a couple of sudden losses of power, wild battery charge level fluctuations, and then trouble starting the car... ....apparently traced to the CEM showing corrosion (some "green pins") - to have it replaced would be a further £860... ....I've never experienced any power losses, or issues with starting - so for now, it's being 'cleaned up as best they can'...

You read it in a magazine?

You've got an electric spade?

Soldering irons with displays to show how hot they are, or even just with knobs and a red light? Mine has a handle, power lead, and a plug. No fancy display, no knob to twiddle, no red light - not even one of those springy cone-shaped things to stick it in... On the rare occasions that I actually used it, I think it suddenly leapt from 'barely melt an ice-cream' to 'thermite lance' in a mere nano-seconds... ....'cause the solder would sit there unyielding, then suddenly drip like molten lava - and whatever I was attempting to join invariably fell apart later! Prime 'Fnnarr' material in some (most) of the first part!

Now't wrong wit' old-fashioned mindset, Bill - I much prefer plastic in its various shapes and forms... ....scrap or adaptable items from the spares box(es); sprue (stretched or original); card, rod and strips... ....as you're aware, I'll happily cast my own resin items - but that's mainly for convenience when I require multiples - but as for brass... ....I've got various etch detail sets that I've done no more than looked at - I wouldn't even entertain the thought of making my own bits!

Oh, oh, ain't we all 'igh 'n mighty, eh? A Kenyan Prince, no less... ....the rest of us have to make do with your common-or-garden Nigerian ones...

Methinks I may have worked out how the seats work! From the stowed one, it looks like the bottom edge (as it appears) is the front, and it's hanging from hooks at its rear - whilst the legs look like they pivot around the bar the canvas is hanging from. So, lift stowed seat off upper brackets, legs swing down, rear hooks attach to lower brackets? The ends of the front edge stick out, the slots correspond with the 'brackets' the tops of the legs disappear into, and the other angle shows a gap at the back - but I can't offer an explanation as to what the canvas is for! Or why the stowage brackets for that seat are higher than the others - which suggests that particular seat is longer (deeper) than the others....

I paid as much for this car as for the preceding half-dozen combined...

The problem was initially intermittent, with windows, central locking and BLIS temporarily not functioning - but when it got worse, with the window stuck partially open, wing mirror not unfolding and an airbag warning light on, I took it to the garage where it gets serviced and MoT'ed... ....their diagnostic kit wouldn't/couldn't talk to that door, so they said it would have to go the dealer for them to investigate with their 'all-singing, all-dancing' equipment - and they specifically said once Volvo had diagnosed the problem, to bring it back to them to fix unless it was something which would require 'coding', which they wouldn't be able to do. Presumably, the module having failed is why their kit couldn't connect to it... ....from what I gather, 'coding' parts to specific cars is becoming more common, in an effort to stop people buying cheaper alternatives or secondhand replacements - the Volvo guy cited a recent instance of someone who'd bought a simple door switch on eBay, which didn't work when they fitted it. Because it was coded to the car it had come off, and couldn't be re-programmed, they had to buy a brand-new OEM one for the dealer to fit and 'code'...

Some of us can only dream of only being charged £82,62... ....having to have the passenger door module replaced in my C70... ....can only be done by Volvo, as it will have to be coded to the car... ....is taking a week to get and fit it - with a total price tag of £850...

The further forward you put it, the less you'll need - not sure that much (if any) is required anyway, with the main wheels being towards the rear of the body... ....so as Toby says, the nose is the ideal place...

As there's currently only one helicopter listed in this GB, I'll put in this placeholder for another rotary-wing subject... ....most likely another Sea King from my long 'to do' list - it is, after all, probably the most iconic naval helicopter...

Complete mix 'n match on these two:

Bill's quite adept at shades - recent practice on Secret Squirrels for the Chinook.... .....a steely-eyed pilot's bristling handlebar moustache may be a whole different ballgame, however...

See, Crisp - you've set Hendie off again! He did have two of the things, you know! The boarding ladder - rather than steps - will indeed be a bit challenging; look at all them lightening holes!

Except I doubt you'd ever get it to lay perfectly smooth inside, especially around the top - crinkles and creases will abound...

Ssssshhhh... we already did a deux chevaux thing back in the Fifty Shades thread....

Ah, actually, Bill - the thing on the rear pylon is part of the DAS, and always appeared 'paired' with the sponson-mounted ones... ....and as you've got them 'covered' on the sponsons, you had them right first time on the tail... ....so in the above pic (originally from page 2). both 'uncovered': From page 3, on BL, 'covered': Whilst the training airframes, such as 240 OCU's FI, generally didn't carry them at all: Nice-looking AN/ALQs...

No, no, no, Bill, 'tis EX Wokka... ....hang a couple of AN/ALQ157 units off the rear racks?

I know, but I couldn't resist!

In case she demands to know who PAM is?

I'm sitting firmly on the fence - you've only got the one original... ....so whichever way you decide to go, exercise extreme caution...

Y'know, I keep looking at the 'drive shaft', aka 'the white thing' as well... ....and thinking it looks familiar - are we sure it's not a cunningly-disguised one of these? I think that might be right! A pre-Vietnam 'gunship' helicopter, with a fixed transverse-mounted Gatling-type gun... ....,in similar manner as later employed by the USAF's better-known 'Spooky' AC-47, AC-119 and AC-130 aircraft... So perhaps that cylinder thing should really consist of six barrels.... Ah, no, wait - even if the gun was the traditional British .303 calibre, given the Skeeter's load-lifting ability... ....it could probably only carry enough ammunition to tear up an area about the size of a table-tennis table! Meaning it probably is a drive shaft, then...