Troffa

Glad to be of help Anthony, your thread over on LSP is Phabulous! I will keep seeking a close up shot of the Canopies and will let you know if I hear anything more regarding this historic 70th Anniversary scheme. I will pass on your thanks to Jim, but hopefully he will pop by and see it for himself. Regards, Troffa

Alpha (XV571) as she appeared as she departed the paint shop- full story and Pic courtesy of former 43 Sqn member Mr Jim Evans follows: " ‘Alpha’ on the day we got her back from the painters on the Friday. I ‘project managed’ the task, starting from a bit of design. The Boss, Al Winkles, liked the idea of her being painted as a fighting cock so I coloured over one of the Sqn Prints. Meanwhile, Alan Carlaw or Dougald Cameron of Sqn Prints, submitted the design that the AOC agreed to. However, Al Winkles just told me to go with Alan’s/Dougald’s design, forgetting to tell me that th

Thanks for sharing that thread Anthony, I will have a cuppa and have a peruse through your exploits so far. One word of warning, don't put any names (Especially Wing Commander Brady's !) on the canopies just yet, as I was a bit off the mark with the Sqn CO- It was actually Wing Commander Al Winkles in 1986, and I have a request running with the Sqn association that will hopefully bear some fruit! I wonder what the market would be for an injection moulded 1/32 Scale F-4K/ M ?

The Cockerel was on both sides of the nose, having been displaced by the chequers on the fin. I'm going to ask about on the Sqn association sites to see if I can get a definitive answer regarding the Crew names. Are you doing the Wild Hare conversion on the Tamiya F-4J ? I look forward to seeing it on BM. All the best, Cheers, Mark

I don't think Alpha (XV571) had any names applied to the canopies in that scheme- this photo on Airliners.net just has the 'cut here' dashed lines around the perspex. None of the decal sheets of the period, or more recent releases have any crew names either. The Squadron Boss at the time was Wing Commander John Brady and he was a Pilot, so I would expect his name to be on the front seat but It doesn't seem to be present. His Wing Commander Pennant is visible, just above the Cockerel on the nose. Sqn Ldr Mike Pugh was the Bosses' Nav when XV582 (Foxtrot on 43 Sqn, and later 111's Black Mike)

£3.20 Later and I can confirm that it is a SUU pod.

Speaking from personal, if distant, experience- I would not expect a Phantom off to fire the SUU Gun to have the Fletcher tanks fitted, let alone an Acquisition round, so I'm not too sure what is actually going on in that photo, unless the aircraft is deploying somewhere for gun firing and is just carrying the SUU gun. Maybe a post on PPrune or similar Aircrew forum would elicit an answer. I will ask around.

The F-4M (FGR2) Phantom has the HF Radio antenna built into the tail fin, its the dark trapezoid behind the leading edge. That's a great shot of it in John's post above.

Delivered in 1999. Tokyo Police EH101 Delivery article

What a fabulous build- super subject. One of very few Civil Registered 101's and now she's in a museum.

A marvellous build of one of Yeovil's finest. Super finish and scratch building on display.

The second season hasn't aired yet, but the first was firmly from the US perspective, but the Soviets certainly play their part. As far as the clip above, I shall bow to your superior knowledge of Rooski Types, It's always nice to hear from someone who actually knows this stuff. I enjoyed the series, Have a look at season 1 and see what you think.

The F3 got chaff and flare buttons on grab bars fitted either side of the tv tabs. Dont fancy doing the wiring on the GR round the canopy hinge!

Nice spot on the canopy mounted 'joysticks', I have never seen those before. Interested to hear their purpose.

There is a set of Xtradecal X48186 for sale on that famous auction site, they are not mine, and £9.35 at the moment, includes an 892 machine along with a couple of RAF FG1. This is why I tell my missus I had to buy that kit/ decal/ detail set right there and then- you never know when they go out of stock!