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TEXANTOMCAT

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Everything posted by TEXANTOMCAT

  1. The Sywell Aviation Museum opens for its 2024 season this Saturday between 1030-1630 classic/military vehicles, re-enactors and visiting aircraft…. And it’s all free…. also Models for Sale, Falcon Models, Akari Models, Chris Mitchell Models and the Museum Book and Model stall will be there… it’s a one day only event following which the museum is open each weekend and bank holiday 1030-1630 until the end of September. hope some of you can make it! ATB TT
  2. I don't know how to break this to you FS, but most of the aircraft have been dispersed from the BOB hall, most is now touchy feely stuff, they even reduced the float struts on the Sunderland so the cafe would fit. Others may disagree of course, but IMHO there is a huge amount of wasted space and it isnt what it was - also they have disposed of a lot of aircraft - eg the B-25 'wasn't relevant to the RAF'. I'll stop there or I will kick the cat. TT
  3. I suppose it could be misdirection but they are in the correct part of the Museum for the 109 or Spook - the Beau is in the adjacent bay - the Vulcan is next door in the former Bomber Command Hall and the Sunderland is in the now ruined former BOB hall.... the IWM Vulcan is probably easier to scan (ie its nose is not up against a wall) the 109 is pretty original - the and may make sense... but there are quite a few scannable Spey Spooks, SWAM, Long Kesh and DX amongst others, the only other Beaus in the UK are at DX with TFC and The Museum of Flight in Scotland both being under restoration... given where they are photographed a 109 or Spook seem to make most sense. Given HK like BIG models and have kitted a lot of stuff never done in the larger scales my money is on the 'Toom.. but wouldn't rule out a Beau however IIRC the interior is as empty as their Beaufort... TT
  4. I mean, instead of the prop being at 90 degrees or 45 degrees which I usually do the fact that the top blade is at about 15 degrees looks great as it looks like it has just shut down- it’s a compliment not a criticism- you don’t see that very often!
  5. What a fabulous creation, execution and concept - clever display of the poster too - well done! TT
  6. The offset prop just finishes it off - perfick! TT
  7. Hi all, another from the bench with a civilian flavour - I know she's not a sexy Spitfire or menacing Messerschmitt so might be a bit boring for y'all but she is different! …first a bit of history from Wikipedia… IMG_5413 by Ben Brown, on Flickr In 1924, the Royal Aero Club organized a Light Aircraft Competition. £3000 was offered in prizes. An entry was made by Hawker Aircraft, which was a design by Sydney Camm (his first design actually), the Cygnet. Camm had joined Hawker the previous year. Two aircraft were built (G-EBMB and G-EBJH) and were entered in the competition, held in 1924 at Lympne Aerodrome, by T. O. M. Sopwith and Fred Sigrist. The aircraft were flown by Longton and Raynham and came in 4th and 3rd places respectively. In 1925, G-EBMB was entered again in the 100 mi (161 km) International Handicap Race, this time flown by George Bulman, who won at a speed of 75.6 mph (121.7 km/h). At the same meeting, the Cygnet came in 2nd in the 50 mi (80 km) Light Aeroplane Race. In 1926, both aircraft were entered in the competition piloted by Bulman and Flying Officer Ragg, taking first and second place respectively. The aircraft were of wood-and-fabric construction, the fuselage being four longerons-strutted in the fashion of a Warren girder. The wing had two box spars with Warren truss ribs. Initially the two aircraft were powered, one by an Anzani, and the other by an ABC Scorpion (both opposed twin-cylinder engines). In 1926 the engines in both Cygnets were changed to the Bristol Cherub III, another twin-cylinder engine. The airframe weighed a remarkably low 270 lb, and its weight when empty was only 373 lb. IMG_5414 by Ben Brown, on Flickr G-EBMB was kept by Hawker in storage until 1946, when it was refurbished and reassembled at Hawker's Langley Aerodrome. It was later transferred to their new facility at Dunsfold, where it stayed, being flown to various displays and airshows, until 1972, when it was transferred for exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon.[1] More recently it has been transferred to its site at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, where it can now be seen. Two airworthy replicas are on display at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Bedfordshire – this machine ‘EBJH was written off in a crash in 1927. When Avis released this kit last year I knew I had to get one. They issued three boxings with ABC Scorpion, Anzani or Bristol Cherub engines, which, means you get a slightly different amorphous blob to stick in the cowling, but otherwise apart from the decals the kit is unchanged. IMG_5415 by Ben Brown, on Flickr I am an Avis fan, if only for the fact that they release kits of machines no-one else will – and someone at Avis HQ has a soft spot for interwar civilian stuff – good work fella. Only one sprue, two decal options and some acetate screens make up the package. The kit has some really nice touches, fabric effect which IMHO is well done and a somewhat clunky cockpit which actually builds up to be a good replica of the original. Fit is where things are let down, the turtle deck needs a fair bit of fettling and filled and the two piece cowling is too narrow for the fuselage by a couple of mm, so I added a shim of plasticard. PPP was used round the tail feathers and lower wing join and cowling to neaten some small gaps. IMG_5416 by Ben Brown, on Flickr The wheels are nice, but the axle is at least 4mm too wide for the struts so needs to be cut down. One of the wing struts was creased and bowed slightly and there was nothing I could do to straighten it – in retrospect I should have made a new one. The prop looks chunky too but actually it is quite prototypical – just needs some swipes of a sanding stick. I added the screens as provided on acetate, they are too large I now notice! The pips and dimples are not helpful as if used both lower wings are mismatched in alignment. The engine comes in two halves inserted from outside, the exhaust pipe is integral but too thick to go into the hole in the cowl so I replaced that with lead wire and it looks a lot better. There are dimples for rigging holes which I enlarged, only to discover some are in the wrong place. By that stage I just wanted her finished so they were filled and I didn’t rig her despite starting – she is so small that any thread/filament I used looked grossly overscale (that’s my excuse!) Colour wise there is only one scheme- CDL - For mine she was sprayed with Rustoleum white plastic primer , Humbrol polished ally metalcote for the cowlings duly masked then some very thin coats of the recommended Humbrol 103 Cream to try and get some form of patchy translucent effect. Actually I think 148 Radome Tan might be better but my tinlet was dodgy… For the woodwork, Humbrol 110 wood per the instructions was used, then an overcoat of 1322 Clear orange. The trick with the latter is NOT to stir it but just use the pooled liquid at the top of the tin. When overcoated with Klear I think it looks quite good. The larger decals were trimmed of excess film and applied individually and I have to say behaved superbly with Set and Sol – I used Daco Red on the upper wing letters to let them sink into the aileron hinges – but overall was very impressed with them and they really make her pop. A single coat of Klear, over matt paint tends to give a good semi-gloss sheen. This took me a longer time than it should to complete as I lost my mojo a bit – not really the kit’s fault, just been busy! IMG_5417 by Ben Brown, on Flickr Kudos to Avis for releasing these though, they are delightful machines and look lovely when they’re finished. There is evidence here of real care and attention to detail – just 10% more work on the moulds and they would be absolute gems – much like all Avis/Amodel short run kits – and they ARE short run – 500 per engine issue - - also perhaps a bit pricey for what you get - at over £20… but as I said, I am an Avis fan and incredibly grateful that they, and others, escape the 109/P-51 treadmill and produce items like these. Here's a pic of the full size machine at OW taken at their recent model show: IMG_5191 by Ben Brown, on Flickr Until next time…. 1/144 Jetstream dual combo on the bench! TT
  8. Lovely work- I must admit after the success of the Ferret I wondered if Airfix might be tempted to do one of these
  9. Well it’s a difficult colour to pin down. Being invisible n all 🫡
  10. I'd put money on SBS doing a rigging set for this (and Eduard) which in 1/48 should make life a wee bit easier especially as the machine appears to be rigged with flat section wires
  11. I used Oasis stainless wire strips (80p from Hobbycraft) but SBS do an etch set for this kit 🫡
  12. sooooo I saaaid thank you for the plastic, the kit I'm building Thanks for all the files I'm using Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty What would life be? Without a model what are we? So I say thank you for the (wonky) Vampire For giving it to me
  13. Well despite all those people who seem to hate AZ/KP - (he'll be along in a minute) this looks really nice and a step up from some of their other models ! Well done! TT
  14. Thats a fair point - but Italeri added decal 'smoke rings' for their recent 1/32 Macchi, for example, I read a recent review -I think in AMW and they looked great - even Tamiya did a decal set for the splodges on their 1/72 Hien (albeit I think as an extra purchase) so it's certainly do-able and with advances in decal printing they perhaps would assuage any fears - It is a fair point though! TT
  15. What’s more apparent is that CA got the ‘swoosh’ right below the canopy sill- it’s much deeper than the PR one- I was looking at our Vampire XD599 today the white follows the swoosh. check out this wiki commons pic of her here- what are your thoughts? https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:De_Havilland_DH115_Vampire_T.11_-XD599-_(41728422791).jpg TT
  16. Huge thanks to our visitors and traders who braved the weather to attend our book and model sale today it was an amazing success! In particular though special thanks to all those donors across the Country who have donated books models and more to help us raise funds- without you there would have been no event so our sincere thanks- without you too we couldn’t keep opening! See y’all at Easter! All the best the SAM Team ps those traders who did attend said they did better than at the Peterborough show!
  17. Righto folks - whilst it looks like the weather gods are playing up for Sunday BUT the Sale will STILL go ahead - be warned though some traders may cancel at late notice... However, the Museum Book and Model sales will still go ahead if need be inside the Museum (we will dot the boxes of treasure around inside the Museum building for you to peruse and mug you on the way out) and we might be able to squeeze a trader or two inside...or even under the Hunter and Jetstream's wings... otherwise its out of the back of the car/van if its torrential or inbetween showers. Unfortunately its the nature of outside aeroboot type sales -we will do our best but suffice to say there is an awful lot of Museum books and kits to rummage through - remember the kits are at bargain (ie below ebay) prices) and the books are not priced - but for sale by fair donation so assemble a pile make a fair offer and off you go We're British - we will overcome! In the meantime please remember you're supporting the Museum which relies on donations to survive - oh and the event is FREE! Best wishes TT
  18. Thanks Pete - fingers crossed for a good day! TT
  19. Depends on which forecast - 'lay off them negative waves - its going to be a mother beautiful sale, and the punters are gonna be there...' Ramming speed Mr Chris(tian)! TT
  20. the plan is to crack on regardless the Museum book and model stall may be relocated inside the museum if it’s torrential and we may lose some traders to the weather but - be British’ ! 🫡
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