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Hiya Pat, If it is of any use I wrote a short article on converting the Hasegawa Skyraider using the Aeroclub conversion in the December 2006 (Vol 5 Issue 12) issue of Model Aircraft Monthly, if you can get hold of a copy. All the best Tony

What a beaut.......well done! It's a Canberra that I`ve always wanted to model too but did not have the guts, a masking nightmare! Which kit did you use by the way? Well done again Tony

Well Done, Love Fleet Air Arm stuff and these are both great! I`ve never seen a Mk.I wearing codes like that before so which squadron does the Mk.I belong to and where did you get the info for the codes, was it a photo and if so where could I find a copy please? Really well done Tony

Hiya, It looks to me as if it is part of the wing of a Miles Martinet target tug or maybe even some other Miles aircraft such as a Master, I would check with the air museum at Woodley near Reading (cannot remember its name..sorry) who specialise in Miles aircraft and have a whole wing section from a Martinet to compare it with. Good Luck Tony

Does anybody know of any model shops near to International Drive as I`m off to Disney and MGM etc in Florida with the family and want to spend at least one afternoon doing something I want to do!!!!......I'd also like to continue amazing the missus by managing to sniff out a model shop in every country we have been to in the world so far!!!! Cheers in advance Tony

Hiya, Thanks for that, I`ve seen the article you refer to but was hoping somebody might have the definitive answer, if there is such a thing in modelling. Cheers Tony

Why don`t you call it the Sukhoi`Diana' , after the goddess of the hunt and in rememberence of the `Peoples Princess', that would get the numpties in the general public and the dear old British press behind it and loving it straight away....tee..hee...un pc!!!! Seriously though something beginning with `S' would sound good...Sukhoi Spear, Scimitar... but please not Spitfire, save that for the next all British fighter to be built...!!!!! Cheers Tony

Hiya Folks, I`m a part time armour modeller having a break from aeroplanes and want to build a British Priest of 1st Armoured Div in North Africa but can anybody tell me if the interior of the Priests would have remained in the US applied Olive Drab or if it would have been repainted in Light Stone, or similar, when the exterior was repainted by the British after the vehicle arrived in Egypt? Cheers in advance Tony

Hiya Martin, Thanks for your kind comments, to be honest thats about all I know too, apart from the yellow cylinders being the SAR gear which is dropped to survivors in the sea. I think that the white cylinders are either large sonar buoys, smoke floats or flares, but thats just a guess! All the best Tony

Hiya Tony, The stairs came from a Hasegawa Lockheed P-3 Orion which was built years ago in Norwegian markings as something different! All the best Tony

Well done Matt, great model and nice colour scheme, is this scheme being phased out already though? I thought that you would be the man in the know, Well done Tony

Hiya Gary, Thanks for your kind words. The main differences that I know of between the AS.1 and the COD was the deletion of the under belly radar and the addition of panniers under the wings to carry such things as mail and spare parts etc. There are probably others too but would more than likely be internal. I know that Model Art Decals are planning to release a sheet of COD Gannets in the near future with some excellent subjects on it if you are interested? All the best Tony

After the milarky getting my Nimrod photos attached to my last post, this is a tester to see if I can do it myself this time!!! There should hopefully be photos of my three 1/72nd Trumpeter Gannets below, one is a Carrier Onboard Delivery version with Magna Models panniers under the wings and the other two. an anti sub AS.1 and trainer have been converted using Alistairs A2Zee Models resin conversions, ie the Alley Cat wing fold and the FAA Models bomb bay and weapons load! Hope they appear now!!!! All the best Tony O 2nd scale

Thanks Ian, I`ll try that with my next post, All the best mate, Tony

Hiya Ian, Those are the instructions I followed and I still cocked it up...dohhh.... do the photos appear on the post before you press the button to send it to the BritModeller site? All I got was the line of computer scrawl that appeared on the page! You can tell I`m an ex Radio Operator, anything newer and more technical than Clansman and I`m lost! Thanks for your help Ian and to everybody else for their kind remarks...and yes the Nimrod is supposed to be Hemp! Cheers Tony O

Thanks for your kind words folks, phew.....I thought I might get slaughtered!!!! Has anybody else who has made a Nimrod noticed the dihedral of the wings starting to increase due to the nose weight in the fuselage dragging the fuselage down? Mine has and I wish I had put a spar inside the wings to keep them in the right place...something to ponder??? Also, can anybody please tell me how to post these flamin photos!!!! All the best Tony O

Thanks for doing that Ian, I`m obviously doing something wrong with the photos!!! Thanks for comment too... Cheers Tony O

Hiya Folks, This is the second time I have tried to post these photos, so hopefully it will work this time, I`m not exactly computer literate???!!! This is the Airfix Nimrod finished as XV244 `Battlestar 42' during Op Granby using a mix of the rather poor kit decals and the so much easier to use ones from Model Alliance. I have added some extra detail to the bomb bay using wire, scrap plastic and a scriber and reduced the diameter of the searchlight cover by nearly half by sanding it down and polishing it back to clarity again. It was brush painted using various sizes of wide brushes and finished in Xtracrylics Hemp and Humbrol Acrylic Light Sea Grey. As there are no pitot tubes (or whatever they are) on the sides of the fuselage belowe the cockpit the left over R.1 version antennas were cut down and used instead whilst stretched sprue was used for the projection (pitot?) that sticks out on the nose below the nose light and another was used at the end of the MAD boom. The towel rail antennas on top of the fuselage and on the bomb doors were replaced by less bulky looking ones from the spares box. I really enjoyed this model but pleae be gentle with your comments as this is my first completed model to be posted on BritModeller???!! All the best Tony O I followed the instructions too...never mind......no photos!!!!

Hiya Howard, Thanks for the offer, I know which article you mean but I`m past whittling away at wood nowadays, not enough time in the day and so many models to build..I`m sure you know the score! Anyhow I`d struggle getting the long nose boom symmetrical. However I do second the call for the Admirals Barge Sea Heron, what about a sheet full of Admirals Barges with types such as the Sea Prince, Sea Vampire, Hunter, Expeditor, Anson, I`ve even got photos from the Fleet Air Arm Museum of an Admirals Barge Dakota in overall silver with a stripe down the side and a white ensign on the tail!!!!! Cheers Tony O

Thanks ever so much for your help everyone, BOZ Pods it is then! Cheers and all the best Tony O

Hiya Again.... Sorry I`ve just thought of another..what about a resin conversion with long nose and radar pod above the fuselage with decals to build the Hercules W.2 that was used by the RAE and the Met Office, especially towards the end of its service when it had the big Met Office badge on the tail? I used to see this Herc flying regularly over Aldershot from Farnborough and also saw it at Lyneham quite a lot where it stood out from the crowd thanks to its long nose, bright colours and saggy wings! All the best Tony O

Hiya Gary, What about yellow codes for WW2 and Post War Fleet Air Arm second line aircraft types and the red codes with white outlines used on many first line types? Neither have ever been done before and as the FAA had so many weird and wonderful fonts a wealth of models could be built using them. If the yellow sheet was printed in white and black too there would be even more FAA and RAF uses as sheets like Modeldecal and Xtradecal don`t cover some of the more none standard fonts. Also- what about the Harrier GR.9`s (or even a T.10) of the so called Naval Strike Wing that are apparently flying with an 800 NAS badge on the intakes and 801 NAS black and white chequers on the tail? Hope these help, all the best Tony O

Sorry chaps by Gulf War 1 I of course mean Op Granby!!!Ooopes! Thanks for the advice so far but has anybody got or know where I could find photographic evidence?

Hello Folks, Can any of you well informed ladies and gents out there please help me out with a Nimrod query? I`m building the new Airfix kit as the MR2 `Battlestar 42' which flew during Op Telic (Gulf War 1) and want to fit the underwing ex Tornado BOZ pods and FLIR turret but cannot find positive evidence that these were available for service during the conflict on this version? I`ve read conflicting evidence about whether the Nimrod MR2`s deployed to Seeb had received this fit or not but the only Gulf War Nimrod that I`ve actually seen fitted with BOZ pods was a 51 Sqn R.1. Hope somebody out there can help Cheers and all the best Tony O

Hiya Giorgio, It was my articles that you read and yes you are right about the armour and seat looking like Interior Grey Green. I did not get permission to use the photos in the article until the very last minute so by the time I had noticed this the article had gone off to be printed, so it could not be altered. Having looked at the interior of the Seafire 17 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton it looks to have the bottom of the cockpit walls painted Interior Grey Green and the upper half in black, so maybe this was the case with this Spitfire 18 too, or maybe the armour and seat came from another aircraft? I believe that the specified cockpit colour was black but this was a time of transition ifor colour schemes both internally and externally and who follows specifications in the British Armed Forces anway...I know I never did as we used what was to hand! Hope this helps All the best Tony O`Toole