Rob G

Ha, I know! I'll wait for a while, then enter a Lightning in the KUTA 8 GB, with decals for Mauretania, hence fulfilling the criteria for 4 GBs - Lightning, KUTA, seldom built AFs and What-if. YES!

Is an ex I-16 pilot or ground crewman likely to wander by and critique your build? If not, buy the one that looks like it goes together with the least effort.

I was sorting my decal collection last night, adding the missed bits to the database, when I came across a previously forgotten Esci Roundels of the World (for want of a better title) pack. There's some interesting stuff on there. If time allows, I may be forced to use some of them on a 3rd build for this GB. Although, given that I haven't even started my Lightning build yet (which started a month ago), that may be pie in the sky wishful thinking...

Having spent a bit of time on multi-propped boats over the years (not MTBs, mind you), I can confirm that the rooster tail does indeed appear like that - I think it's due to the time it takes the disturbed water from each prop to expand far enough to reach halfway across the wake and to the surface. Single props have a very different appearance.

Those Fujimi Spit XIVs are nice little kits, with the exception of that execrable cockpit 'floor'. I await your completion, the previous one looked very nice indeed.

Lovely. Thanks for sharing.

Ah ok. my mistake... I'll blame my confusion on it being tomorrow here...

Orright then, this one's right up my alley (so to speak). Now all I have to do is work out which one of the many I will commit to a relationship with...

Mish, please excuse my confusion... we get 6 votes, and can vote twice for non-aviation GBs if we so desire? If I've got it wrong, please explain. Thanks.

At least they announced that they were 'fighter jets'. Because you know, if they hadn't said, the plebes might have mistaken them for 'army tanks'. Bloody idiot journos...

Looking good Hendie. Who says you need the newest and bestest uber-kit from Nippon to make good models, eh?

12 bar boogie, you can't beat it. And top marks for the 119, as well.

Ah, but WHICH ONE! Because there is only time for one.

What to do, what to do... so many choices in the stash. Airfix in 48th and 72th, Matchbox in 72th, Hasegawa, Trumpeter in 72th and 32th (although I AM waiting for Ian's update set for that one), and, and... sigh. Although at my rate of building, I should probably restart one of my half-done old Matchbox ones (from 30+ years ago) - I may actually get it finished before the next Lightning GB starts.

Eh, so the fighter pukes had to borrow an intake cover when they were on detachment... don't stress about it Mr O.

For future reference, and to save the madness associated with shaping small, fragile bits of styrene, I present this for your delectation. Good stuff. Still watching this build, I have a hangar-full of Twin Otters that are crying out for attention...

We used to have one hangared here, sadly it's long gone (to the USA, iirc). LOVED that Centaurus sound. Great job. Those exhausts look just as cramped as the real thing. I need to get rolling on the several I have in my stash. One day.

Ah yes, I forgot that the Capri is German.

That carbon rod arrangement... once upon a time, it was the way that ALL really bright light was generated - my Dad was a cinema projectionist back in the late '50s (you didn't go to the 'movies', you went to 'the cinema' back then - it was 'an occasion'), and had some experience with them - there was a lot of adjustment required to keep it arcing correctly, as one of the rods was sacrificial and a pit was eroded into it. If you were a beginner, you adjusted them after they'd cooled down (the whole thing got very hot indeed), if you were good, you did it while the film was running, to keep the light even for the cinema goers. I had the experience of playing with a carbon-arc projector in the early 80s, when Dad volunteered with a local chap who ran the part time cinema in a small town close by, and he had 2 of them for Saturday night movies in the local shire hall. I can only imagine what a PITA they were in an aircraft wing mount. These days, carbon rods are used for arc/air gouging in heavy construction; lots of light, heat and noise, but rapid cutting of big metal blocks! None of this adds to the collective knowledge of Nimrod bits, of course...

See, it's stuff like this that makes forums like this one such an invaluable resource - living testimony from people who've been there, done that! I may never want to model a Wessex or Sea King on a deck-edge lift, but it was an interesting read nonetheless. Thank you gentlemen.

So the Airfix Flat Iron is a winner then? I've had a thing for them ever since I saw a photo of one in an Airfix Annual, way back when that publication was reproduced on clay tablets...

Nice job! Lethal, it's one of Tamiya's little gems, despite its age - whoever cut the moulds for in Japan must've been a Mini nut.

As much as I love the Lightning, the Phantom was a much more capable aircraft in real terms - carried more, for a lot longer, and had a long life with many upgrades and role changes, not to mention the luxury of having a back seater to handle half the workload. The Lightning was a one trick pony - it was fast; the Phantom was no plodding draught horse, but it carried a pile more ordnance. And memoirs are often coloured by nationalistic jingoism, so take anything said about relative performance with a large grain of salt.

Ooh, Tamiya did a Group 5 Capri touring car racer in 24th iirc (I don't recall seeing it mentioned). And Mr Shelby wouldn't have been able to make the Cobra without AC starting it off, so he can just suck it up, peeved or not.

And if we're allowing GT40s in, there's got to be space for the various AC/Shelby Cobras that have been kitted - possibly not the 427 S/C versions, but the 289 powered ones might just squeeze in.