Paul Bradley

Indeed - where from?! According to Amazon it isn't released until July!

It's a mark that's never been adequately covered in the scale before. And I'll be content when I have a 1/48 model of every mark of Spitfire in my display cabinet.....! Each to their own, and you are entitled to your opinion, of course - I am of the same view when it comes to Early Tiger Is in 1/35, or another 1/48 109G-6/a*++ But Spits is special!

I saw this in Aeroplane yesterday - so sad. His Corsair was a beaut! Here she is at North Weald back in 1985:

Interestingly, new research has found that in addition to 'Liverpool I,' 'Liverpool II' and 'Liverpool III,' there was also a 'Liverpool 4 Barcelona 0'........ YNWA

Can't give you individual codes, Steve, but gleaned from Spitfire: The History are the following squadron assignments. R7072 - 124 Sqn 7/5/41 - 12/10/41 R7073 - 123 Sqn 23/5/41-25/9/41 R7074 - 124 Sqn 7/5/41-27/7/41 R7114 - 1PRU (!) 10/3/41-19/5/41 R7125 - 123 Sqn 22/6/41-11/10/41 There isn't an R7208 listed, but R7206 is Liverpool II and was with 131 Sqn 29/7/41-12/12/41 Most went on to serve with OTUs right after a short period in the front line - superseded by the Mk.V, no doubt. Hopefully, another piece in the puzzles for you.

Correct, she's 100% real thing.

https://planesoffame.org/aircraft/plane-P-51A I helped repaint this a/c for a John Dibbs photoshoot back in the day. https://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/survivors/serial/43-6251

Pardon me for asking, but which set did you use?

I assume this will be a typical 3-month build? If so, I'd like to throw my hat into the ring with the Revell 1/32 beast. I've had it in the stash for years with a ton of aftermarket, but been afraid to build it! So this will be the perfect solution.

Cheers, guys! Alan, I am certainly feeling much better about myself now, and things have definitely improved over the past year or so. And I really do have some enthusiasm for modelling again! Glad to hear you are having a better time of it as well!

What an amazing game! I cannot believe they kept a clean sheet - Allison was terrific! In my 45 years of supporting the Reds, there's rarely been a more astonishing game! Now on to Madrid! YNWA!

After a two-year hiatus through severe loss of mojo, I have only recently re-started modelling. Put simply, 2017 was a terrible year for me. In April, we lost one of our beloved dogs suddenly and quite unexpectedly. Then in the spring and summer, I had a major falling out with my former boss, so I looked for, and eventually found, a new job. After 16 years in the same position.... Then, to end the year, my father passed away. There were some other issues that contributed to my personal ‘annus horribilis,’ so I was relieved to get 2017 out of the way! 2018 was all about getting my life back on track, with a challenging new job and seeking help through counseling, but modelling did not play a part in that. I would often sit in my den and stare at my modelling desk and simply have no enthusiasm at all for the hobby. Which was a major issue, given that modelling has been part of my life for over 45 years. In close to 2 years, I completed just two models. But recently, I’ve started to get the itch back, slowly but surely. I chatted with my former editor at the US Nationals and I got a review kit that I worked my way through. It was big and complicated but I enjoyed the challenge, although my skills have eroded somewhat. That should be in print very soon and I'll post an update on that in time. Meanwhile, I have recently finished three other models, the Italeri 1/48 OH-58D in Croatian AF markings, and a pair of Hasegawa 1/48 kits, the Thunderbolt I and Spitfire VIII. The Italeri kit is quite simple. It's billed as a "100% new mould" on the box, but that doesn't stop the canopy/windscreen from being a very poor fit. Otherwise, it's a nice little kit and the only additions were a few items to the cockpit - seat harnesses and such. I had to create my own decals for a Croatian Air Force machine. The Hasegawa P-47 Thunderbolt I is quite an old kit, mid-90s, but it's quite good. Typical of Hasegawa, there's not a lot of detail, but it's quite sufficient for my purpose, which was to help re-build my skills. The only issue I had was with the Vallejo RAF 'Dark Green', which was not at all the right shade, and was very fragile. So I covered it with Mission Models Dark Green, which looks a lot better! Xtradecals were used for the markings. The dimensional issues with the Hasegawa Spit VIII are well known, but the purpose of this build was, again, simply to build up my skills again and not worry about total accuracy. It builds up well and it nicely detailed. Again, I used Xtradecals for the markings of 152 Sqn. With both of these builds, I was aiming for a somewhat used 'tropical distressed' look, with dark brown and dark grey washes, and patchy paintwork through pre- and post-shading and colour variations. Comments welcome. Now the question is, what kit to build next...?

I found the retarder works just fine with their thinner. The issues I have with Vallejo is that it's very fragile - lifts far too easily with even the least tacky of masks and scratches at the slightest touch; and that their BS colours aren't all BS-specific - they can be from their Italian range, or American line or whatever. Their RAF 'Dark Green' is atrocious! I bought some on sale from Squadron after all the raving about how good they are, but I certainly very glad I didn't pay full price for them! I'll stick with ModelMaster in future, thank you very much!

I was there a few months ahead of you, Sven! November 29th, 1991, to be exact! Same aircraft - note the ex-BA Landor Tristars in the background. This airframe is still airworthy as N21MF based at Santa Maria, CA. Also seen onsite: ex-Turkish F-100C, N2011M, 54-2091, now at Yanks Air Museum, Chino. and: F-4D N401AV, 64-0952, now on static display at the Aerospace Walk of Honor, Palmdale, CA

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/looking-for-a-home-for-this-diorama-t399850.html A Fine Scale Modeler article from a few years back.