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Jonners

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Everything posted by Jonners

  1. What a beast! That's a great looking model, and it's great to see something that has such a strong personal link. One to be proud of! Jon
  2. Thanks, Joe. It seems like a suitable kit for me to break out of my usual subject matter. I've a long-held ambition to own a real one, but until the kids fly the coop and I have some spare £££ for a change I'll have to settle for miniature version! Jon
  3. Fritag - as a stude it did my head in too, but there's a lot to be said for being able to stop before you land!
  4. GS - Yup, lucky and privileged to fly the SK3 in my previous career, and in what I've done since. I hope never to lose sight of that! I'm envious of you having another kit to get stuck into. Some more top tips: crew lifejackets are dark olive green, not yellow, and crew helmets are yellow or dark green with a reflective tape cross on top. Check your references for the aircraft you intend to model: the Mk3a machines at Chivenor and Wattisham are externally slightly different to the older HAR3 variants at Valley, Lossie, Boulmer, Leconfield and Mount Pleasant, primarily in the aerial arrangement and serial range. There are plenty of excellent pics on airliners.net. I've been away from the SK for quite a while now, but if you want any tips feel free to drop me a PM. Jon
  5. Blimey, I'm getting some stick here! (Crabstick???) Still, I rise above it! Jon PS Hey Fritag - just you wait until we start on helicopter Principles of Flight! Flapping to Equality, anyone?
  6. I had to think for a minute there, Wafu! Yes, you're right: yellow top surface only, and it was a very weathered yellow at that. Actually, I did see one that was this clean and shiny once. We had to put one on static display once when the Prince of Wales (honorary Air Commodore) visited Valley once. The groundcrew spent all weekend fettling it - it was pristine and simply didn't look right, somehow. It must also have been 50lb lighter... It was almost a shame to fly it and spoil all that effort. 'Display purposes only'? I imagine that the cab that Prince William showed to his grandmother must have had similar treatment, but that was in the hangar so wouldn't have gleamed in quite the same way!
  7. That's a really smart model you built there, GS. I bet it looks very impressive in 1:48. I agree with Col in that it could, indeed should, look much grubbier to be accurate, the sooty deposits from the engine exhausts build up very quickly and are especially heavy on the starboard side. If you can change it then the serial is slightly inaccurate - it should be '595, not '295 - and the 'Danger Keep Away' arrow is incorrectly positioned on the upper personnel door (your arrow isn't pointing to anything dangerous!). Those minor points aside, it looks the business! I wouldn't worry about the sand filter - the FOD shield is probably more accurate for the scenario of the sub's accident anyway! Hope you'll excuse the pedantry - I spent 9 years in the front seats of these, '595 included. Jon
  8. Following this with some astonishment, CT. Please don't take this the wrong way, but have you had a sanity check recently? You could build a real one more easily! Jon
  9. Hi folks, I'm toying with the idea of having a bit of a change from my usual aircraft modelling and would like to try Italeri's big 1/24 Willys Jeep. I haven't had the chance to see one of these kits close up yet, either in the box or built up; before I commit the ££ can anyone give me any advice on what the kit's like to build? Thanks in advance! Jon
  10. Awesome replica, Ray. I'm in the same camp as you: enjoy the construction, find decalling brings it all to life, but usually find painting a chore - and an often frustrating one at that. Funny how different modellers enjoy different aspects. Jon
  11. Not a grubber, Windy - a driver, and ex-crab at that!
  12. Grandad, the Wessex (like the Sea King) had a 'fully articulated' rotor head which means that it had 3 independent hinges between the rotor head and each blade. These hinges were/are generally known as the dragging, flapping and feathering hinges. Each hinge allowed the blade to move in a particular axis as the result of normal aerodynamic forces. You have noticed the effect of the dragging hinge, which allows the blade to move forwards and backwards slightly. As Navy870 has said, each dragging hinge had its own damper ('drag damper') to prevent the blade from banging from one extreme to the other too harshly. When stationary, the blades would normally settle at roughly equal angles relative to one another, but if a blade was pushed against its damper - eg by a strong wind or a maintainer - then it would stay in its new position until another force was applied to move it back again. For completeness, the flapping hinge allows the blade to 'flap' up and down (you could think of it as the Larry Grayson hinge...) and the feathering hinge allows the blade tochange its angle of incidence, like feathering a propellor. Try it with you hand held out in front of you, pslm downwards: flap your hand up and down for the flapping hinge, move it side to side as though you are waving for the dragging hinge, and twist your wrist (the 'so-so' gesture) for the feathering hinge. All helicopters must allow their blades to move in each of these axes, but in modern designs this is normally achieved using an elastomeric bearing (like a very strong chunk of rubber) instead of heavy and mechanically complicated hinges. Here endeth the lesson! Jon
  13. Nice one Tony, and good to see the older Hurricane getting a look-in. Just shows, though, what has to be done to bring it up to what you might call a 'contemporary' kit standard! Jon
  14. It's steadily coming together; no photo at the moment but perhaps a few words might be of passing interest. Although the rest of kit isn't the best in the world, I'd say the decals are really rather nice. For those who haven't made this kit, the decal sheet offers a choice of 2 Linton-based black Tucs in differing squadron markings and one Church Fenton machine in the older red/white/grey finish. The sheet has full stencilling for each version and is very comprehensive. The decals are thin, strong, settle well over detail and don't need much trimming as the carrier film is minimal. Thankfully the combination of serials on the kit sheet has allowed me to cobble together the serials for ZF406 in both black for the fuselage and white on the fin. When I flew it the aircraft had a small 1FTS crest on the fin; I found a small crest on the Aeroclub Meteor F8 sheet in my spares folder and handpainted something approximating to a 1FTS badge in the centre. It's a bit too large but I can live with it. It was only when I was putting it on the airframe that I realised that the crest has a King's crown...d'oh! I won't tell if you don't. The red/white/blue fin flash has been a bit trickier. The kit decals have the 'standard' sloping flash but '406 had a smaller upright flash. I found the tiny sheet from an old Airfix Chipmunk sheet that had flashes that looked about right, but they disintegrated as I was trimming the carrier film even before they touched any water. Instead I've had to use those from the Airfix Spitfire PR19 kit suitably trimmed so that each colour bar is slightly narrower. My packet of white stripe decals turned out to be duds - they disintegrated on contact with water - so I'll be cutting some solid white decal left over from a car kit into thin stripes to make the edging to the fin flash. I've also used the kit decals as the basis for the complex black/white pattern on the front faces of the prop blades, with more success than I had expected. Just a few small things to do now (outline the fin flashes in white, finish the prop, some stencil decals, touch up the nose wheel and apply a final Klear coat) and it'll be done. Work has stopped play again for a short while, but as soon as I can I'll finish this one and crack on with the Impala build. Jon
  15. Thanks Paul. I live close to the former RAF Leconfield and worked there a few years ago, hence my curiosity. 92 had been gone from Lec for 5 years by 1970 though. Jon
  16. Speaking of ATC memories, Paul, am I right to assume that that's you as a cadet with the 92 Sqn Lightning in your header photo? If so, was it taken at Leconfield or in Germany? Jon
  17. Great plan, DL - I will do the same sometime. You've just prompted me to have a quick look through my old ATC 3822 which I found when tidying a drawer the other day: a selection of Chippies, among a few other types. Happy days! Jon
  18. No need for an apology Max, and you aren't rambling - it's all interesting stuff and clearly relevant to you. I can understand your fascination with the research as I've also got an interest in history generally, aviation history particularly and local aviation history especially. I've long had the intention of using local aviation history and my own career as themes for my models, but other things seem to keep getting in the way of that plan! Jon
  19. Hi Max, it's interesting to watch your builds that have such a clear personal link. I've got to ask: for how many years have you been planning these tributes to your father's flying career? It seems as though this GB has been a bit of a catalyst. Jon
  20. Hands-on for a low-level tour around the Highlands in superb weather in a 237 OCU Hawker Hunter T8 from Lossiemouth as a UAS cadet. We flew low over Tain range at 420 kts; the Range Control Officer told me in the bar the next evening that we had been down at about 30ft - no wonder those strafing targets looked close! Wow. Jon
  21. Very nice, Oz, which is probably just as well, as there looks to be some serious investment there! Jon
  22. "I bet that was a pretty sight" - yes, definitely, and it keeps some illustrious company these days!
  23. Very nice, and very unusual! I've been lucky enough to see the original 3 or 4 times, and it looked exactly like this! Jon
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