tonyot

I`m really glad to hear that as I`ve been feeling rotten for pointing out that this lovely model may have been incorrect,....plus I`ve learnt something too, Jobs a good un, Tony

If you can afford `another' horse and contemplate 10 acres of land next door,.....then surely you can buy both? Cheers Tony (in a Lancashire terraced house with a tiny paved back yard and a small dog as we cannot afford or accommodate even a single horse!)

Hiya Mark, Thanks for your kind remarks,......glad you like them. It isn`t a dumb question at all,.......if remember correctly I think that the Light Stores Carriers came from the actual Special Hobby Roc kit, but they can also be found in the Tamiya Swordfish and on a brass etched fret from MDC which is for their British WW2 Weapons set, and this originally came with their excellent Swordfish kit and is well worth buying, it also has the bomb racks on it. There may have been some more kits released since with LSC`s too,...........I`m thinking of mounting a set on my Magna Sea Prince because as you probably know they were used well into the post war period. The small bombs are Cooper bombs and came from the Aeroclub white metal range although quite a few WW1 British kits have these on the sprues too. All the best Tony

You are right that 801 NAS was put under the control of Coastal Command but I seriously doubt that the Skua`s and Roc`s were repainted in the TLS! Every photo that I have seen suggests that they retained their S.1.E scheme with the addition of Black and White undersides which had been applied during the Norwegian campaign but since then they had roundels allpied to the undersides, a yellow outline to the fuselage roundel and a fin flash. Here is my 1/48th scale model of a Roc which was used during this period, when as well as fighter patrols (where a Roc shot down a Ju 88) the Rocs and Skuas also carried out dive bomber attacks too,....this aircraft being involved upon an attack against German gun positions on the French coast; Here is Skua from the Norwegian campaign; And just for interest,...here is a Roc engaged on night operations over the Channel,......presumably against German E Boats; Cheers Tony PS- I meant to add that Skua/Roc units were still carrier units even though it was detached to the RAF, they had been involved in the recent Norwegian campaign and would re embark to go to sea again shortly after the French debacle.

Hiya John, I didn`t even know that John Adams was doing a Canberra nose conversion,....I want a few of those,....and I`ll be following your build closely, Good Luck mate, Tony

Fantastic scheme and a lovely model to boot, Cheers Tony

Very, very nice indeed,......you`ve done a cracking job on that, beautiful finish. Cheers Tony

What a fantastic job,....one of the best little Chippies that I`ve ever seen,...the canopy makes a lot of difference. Cheers Tony

I think that I know which photos you mean now,.......if there are three of them together with a low camo demarcation line then I think that they were later than the Dunkirk era and may have been from a second line unit? Cheers Tony

That's a really nice Dak,.....we`ve had her over the house a few times too and she did a very spirited (and low) flypast at Elvington when we there as well! I remember seeing her in raspberry ripple colours from Farnborough during the 1980`s and while on exercise on the local training area we saw her land only to have one u/c leg retract and the wing was dragged along the runway,....very sad, but I think a replacement wing was taken off the Dakota outside the Para Depot at Aldershot and she soon flew again. You`ve done a great job, the Olive Drab looks just right and I love the Loadie looking out of the Para Door,....brilliant stuff, Cheers Tony

That's `Mighty Purty' and looks like a real Mustang,...nuff said really,.....superb! Cheers Tony

That is very nice indeed with a lovely finish, but did the Saudi`s operate Lightning`s with the smaller belly tank and cannons in the nose? Cheers Tony

Very nice,.......I`ve been admiring your Hurricane models,....it was the most important Allied fighter of the war in my opinion and my favourite aircraft too, so I may be rather biased. Could I just add though,.....L1963 was part of the initial batch of Hurricane Mk.I`s and would have been built with a fabric wing! However,.....many were re winged with metal outer wings and this may have been the case (without seeing a photo of the real thing I cannot be sure) and judging by your model it must also be one of the earliest` in service Hurri`s' to have the Rotol prop fitted, so maybe it had a refurb after leaving 87 Sqn for 43 Sqn? Whatever the case, it is a fine memorial to Sgt. Toogood who appears to have been another victim of the canvas lined rubber tubing used to provide oxygen to RAF aircrew at high altitude which was prone to blockage due to ice build up caused by condensation. Many Hurricane`s in particular were lost due to this problem along with their pilots and it only ended when the ribbed style of tubing that is still used today was introduced, having been copied from Luftwaffe flying gear. All the best, Tony PS- This crash is mentioned on page 49 of the Osprey Aviation Elite book on 43 Sqn and it details the crash site as being Broomeyholme Farm near to Congburn Dean in case you didn`t know the exact area of the crash.

That looks very nice

Oh I can well imagine that Health & Safety, Cutbacks and Civilianised Contracts all had a part to play,......but it still doesn`t alter the fact that the present day Armed Forces appear to have no pride in their appearance anymore! The current US style combat uniforms look like a sack of potatoes and as for the Navy,.....HMS Daring appeared in Oz for the RAN Birthday Party to represent Britain looking like it had just taken part in the Falklands War, what with rust streaks, paint chipped away all along the water line and a huge black mark on the side caused by an over enthusiastic US Navy tug at Pearl Harbour! Worst still,....it was opened up to the pubic looking like this,........so paint brushes and paint mustn`t be carried in the paint locker anymore,....or were the matelot`s just too busy having their run ashore to carry out such menial work? Perhaps the MoD should form a regiment of Polish immigrants to perform all of the menial duties that our current servicemen and womenno longer see fit to perform (tongue firmly in cheek here!)? I dare say that the guardroom at Lyneham is another one to be manned by MoD Plod and the civvy Guard Room Corps or whatever they are called, with no actual regular servicemen carrying out guard duties anymore and no Provo Sgt responsible for the general cleanliness of the place. Standards have definitely slipped and it cannot all be blamed on Health & Safety etc,.........the pride seems to have gone? Cheers Tony

I`m really looking forward to this boxing of the Firefly and the box art is stunning! Cheers Tony

Hello Paul, Yes there were still quite a few fabric winged Hurri`s around during the B of B,....the most famous being the one which is currently hanging in the Science Museum in London, Cheers Tony

Stick it out Neil,......it will be worth it! If you feel like throwing them at a wall,..count to ten and remember how many people are looking forward to seeing these two beauties finished,......... they will look great alongside your Whitley, Cheers Tony ps- You`ll be starting an Airfix Hampden next knowing you!

Oh dear,....we`ve all been there soI feel your pain!! Cheers Tony

Aw,.....well take some more pics then Lee,..you cannot leave it like this now,.....WE WANT TO SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!!! Cheers mate Tony

British Phantoms did fly from US Navy carriers so you would be OK to mount one on the Italeri US Navy deck section, Cheers Tony

I`ve just seen some great photos from the RAN Birthday Party which looked like a great fleet review but I was quite shocked to see how grubby looking our own HMS Daring appeared to be,......she was basically inxxxxxx state! There was rust everywhere, paint peeling along the waterline, patched paintwork and a large mark on her side towards the stern.......I cannot believe that they opened her up to the public looking like that,.....a brand new ship too,.....have the modern RN no pride nowadays,...or have defence cuts eaten into the paint brush and pot of paint budget,.....what a poor do. Fair enough, a ship gets mucky at sea, but when representing our country at such a prestigious event I would expect the lads and lasses on board to get her looking spick and span again,.....she would have been in the old days. Are the current matelot`s too busy having runs ashore to have any pride in their ship? It seems to be a trend in the entire British Armed Forces at the moment,...come on folks,..pull yer finger out!! Cheers Tony

Nice Pics, the airshow looked great and the ships from the RAN Birthday Party were very nice too, but I must apologise on behalf of Great Britain for the state of HMS Daring,......she is in poo-poo state! Rust everywhere, paint peeling along the waterline, patched paintwork and a large mark on her side.......I cannot believe that they opened her up to the public looking like that,.....a brand new ship too,.....have the modern RN no pride nowadays,...or have defence cuts eaten into the paint brush and pot of paint budget,.....what a poor do, Cheers Tony

It was always immaculate when I saw it `during the day' in the 80`s & 90`s, but then the services had a bit of pride in their appearance back then, it seems to have gone to rat s*** nowadays,.....fancy letting your gate guardian go as manky as that, it is supposed to be the public entrance to the establishment,.....the last few Station Commanders and their WO`s must have been slacker than a prozzies noo noo! Disgraceful,........ it shows a disrespect to the people who used to operate the Comet from the station, Tony PS- Have you seen the state of the flag post and the rust pouring down the sign,.....again,..its outside the guardroom,.....these should be immaculate,...don`t they have people on `Jankers' anymore to bull up the guardroom and the surrounding area,...OK not the entire Comet though,.....not unless they had been particularly naughty.

Cheers for that,.....I tried to buy the Airfix Collectors kit featuring the 6 Sqn Hurricane Mk.IId at SMW on Saturday as I really want to build the one with the badge under the exhausts but as I wasn`t I Club Member I was politely told to sling my proverbial hook,...oh well! All the best Tony