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Tim

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About Tim

  • Birthday 08/08/1962

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    Sheffield
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    Planes (who knew?!)

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  1. Think I'll pop over to Waddington if the weather's nice - it's only an hour away. Dunno about Fairford - rather depends if they get anything worth going to see - I have a feeling they won't in which case I'll save my thiry-odd quid for some plastic! I've kinda given-up on air shows - I was lucky to have been at lots of the really good shows back in the 70's and 80's so shows these days are a bit of a bore in comparison - same old stuff again and again. I inevitably spend most of the time looking round kit stalls but as these have dwindled recently, even that little pleasure is being denied! Oh well, I'll wait and see what unfolds - maybe something interesting will pop up as the year progresses, you can never tell, besides, it looks like there will be more than enough kits to keep me (and everyone else) busy - plus I got more soddin' books to write aaargh!
  2. true - the London show is a bit of a waste of time. I remember when we used to send an IPMS delegation about twenty years ago, but we stopped going because it was such a waste of time (and IPMS money!).
  3. Thanks for the photo - that's an even older image than the one I had, before the tail went red! If anyone spots a picture of her in the ripple scheme but with the probe fitted, do please let me know. Okay, she's in the Boscombe Museum with the pointy nose fitted but I'm sarting to wonder whether the probed nose was ever carried at any stage after the ripple paint was applied. Unless anyone spots a photo to indicate the contrary, I'm thinking that the stubby nose must have remained in use throughout this period?
  4. ...because it was a former MRF aircraft - the other Varsity being a run-of-the-mill CFS machine.
  5. It does leave you feeling kinda sorry for MPM - can't see that there's much point producing their F3 now unless they pack it with resin extras and etched brass. Guess that's what happens when you advertise a new release years before you actually produce the kit. One assumes that Academy will also do a F1/3 of some sort eventually, so it'll be a straight fight between them and Trumpeter. Hopefully at least one of the kits will be excellent! Now all we gotta do is wait for someone to produce a really good resin T-bird conversion! Javelins? I would think that subject is dead and buried considering the various kits that have already been produced, and which didn't sell all that well. As for Shackletons, I'm amazed that nobody has tackled it yet - it ought to be a good subject for Trumpeter if they're confident enough to produce a Gannet, but then, the way things are going, maybe Airfix will look at it before too long - hope so anyways! Sometimes I wonder if the idea of a Hastings or a Varsity kit isn't quite so absurd as I've often thought - let's face it, they'll be running out of subjects to cover soon!
  6. Museums do tend to vary in terms of attention to such details! For example, the folks at Southend know that Vulcan XL426 looks a bit silly in the wierd paint scheme it currently has, but as they rightly say, it protects the airframe and it's better than leaving it exposed to the elements, and the paint was free! Newark seem very unpredictable - on the one hand they've done a lovely job on restoring the Varsity but they do some odd things, like having a rare Canberra T19 in 7 Squadron markings - they proceed to paint over the lovely tail badge and slap-on 85 Squadron markings, but don't bother replacing the dayglow stripes. Then they stick-on tip tanks which the T19 didn't even carry! Then there's the former French T-33 tarted-up in Thunderbirds colours - I mean, why?! Still, I guess one has to be grateful that any aircraft survives the scrap man and makes-it to a museum. Not that this is any guarantee of safety though with people like Cosford (who dispose of the sole Vulcan B1 when they can't be bothered to restore it), Duxford (who chop-up a unique Varsity because "they have another one") and of course Hendon, who can't be bothered preserving one of only two Beverly transports and would rather have a plastic Spitfire and Hurricane. Sometimes these muppets make a complete mockery of the whole concept of Museums and preservation!
  7. Well as I said previously, I personally think it's entirely reasonable to only produce sufficient kits to meet demand (plus a few extra) so I just hope Hornby turn-out to be good at predicting the right figures. My gripe was that there were rather less TSR2's than required, but if this deficiency is being addressed for the Nimrod etc., then that's fair enough I think. Have to say I'm also doubtful whether the Canberra will sell all that well. Okay, I'm sure it will be popular (I want a good few!) but I can't see how it will be sufficiently popular to be sold in a different way to the Nimrod and TSR2. It's all very well saying the Canberra has export potential but I'm not convinced that there's much significant overseas interest for it other than in the USA (the B-57 kit). I would imagine that anyone in any other country who has an interest in Canberras would have already snapped-up a CA kit. It's all very well to think of all the Canberra's export successes but in terms of kit buyers? Peru? Venezuela? France? India? Hmm... I wish Hornby well with their efforts but I hope they don't get their fingers burned with the Canberra. As has been said, there's 72nd scale ones on the way too, and the CA range is still around...
  8. I'd also be inclined to pose the question as to whether Panther could produce a Gannet that actually looks like a Gannet? From what I've seen and heard, their previous efforts have been a bit hit and miss - mostly miss!
  9. Speedy, if you ever get a chance to snap the a/c in the museum, or scan any shots, do let me know as I'd love to see a shot of her with the other nose. When I (finally) get around to doing a model, I want to build it with the pointy nose, but so far the only photo I've got is when she was grey with a red tail grrr!
  10. To be honest I can't think of any scale drawings of either aircraft which would be worth using as a useful reference. They've all been a bit dodgy! Where's Alf Granger when you need him?!
  11. Actually, if that's how Hornby propose to handle things, I think that's fair enough. Seems entirely reasonable to produce enough kits to satisfy demand plus a few more for good luck. One assumes that they didn't apply this policy with the TRS2 though - hope they get the stock business right before the bigger version comes long! Suppose the only downside of this approach is that the Ebay sharks will still be snapping-up kits ready to sell them at twice the price in six months...
  12. Worth remembering that photo reproduction can be a bit subjective colours-wise. Signal Red (Red Arrows Red) is quite orange-ish but only in comparison to Post Office Red. Also worth remembering that on the ripple Phantom (as with all other "ripples") the roundel/fin flash red is still the darker shade. If you're aiming for standard A&AEE markings and you ain't gonna do the whole Wilf Hardy sticky-back plastic circus clown, you'd have to make yourself an A Sqn badge for the fin. Wish somebody would do this as a decal so I can use it on a Phantom and a Buccaneer. If any decal manufactuer fancies a go, let me know - I've got a close-up photo of the badge! PS - anyone ever find a photo of said machine when it had the airspeed calibration nose fitted? It had two interchangeable noses but it only ever seemed to get photographed with the stubby Tacan nose once it was painted up in ripple colours.
  13. Think Jonathan has a good point there - hope Revell weren't being that cynical though but it would explain their shameful act. Of course, this means that as they also re-popped the old Shackleton, there must be a load of new Shackleton kits on the way too... I won't hold my breath!
  14. Roland, we all already know that the MRA4 programme is behind schedule - it has been ever since it started. Ignore the hype and the political point-scoring; it is going to enter service, and not far off the currently-projected schedule by all accounts. As for the Airfix kit, I entirely agree with the previous posts - if some model magazine allows the implication to be made that the kit is in some way deficient, then shame on them, but I'm sure we see the wider picture. It's a Nimrod, and everyone that has seen the sprues or the built-up tests shots think it looks excellent. I gave it a close look too at SMW and it looked very good in my opinion apart from the flight deck glazing area which looked a little odd, but having seen photos of subsequent models, I think the builder just hadn't done a very good job of that bit of the build. I think it would be particularly sad if anyone is churlish enough to carp at any aspect of the kit when we've been denied a Nimrod kit for so long. My only complaint has been at the silly "Limited Edition" way it's being sold!
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