canberraman

F-32 A lovely series of shots from one of my favorite UK air museums. Thanks for sharing. Mark

Gents, Thanks for the comments and support, it was indeed a very enjoyable occasion. Evalman, in response to your questions, yes we were allowed off the coach to shoot the gate guards. When we were in th3 3(F) hamgar complex it was fortunate that one or two of the based Typhoons were taxying past while we were there. I must have left the event before the 11(AC) Sqn special arrived , b****r!! Regards all Mark

Here's a few shots taken at the most enjoyable RAF Coningsby Enthusiasts Day - Jun 15th 2012, ahead of the base families day on the 16th. Despite the dire weather predictions, the rain stayed away and the sun shone for much of the day. The event provided an ideal opportunity to see most of the sqn aircraft as well as the less widely viewed gate guardians. Enough of my rabbiting, on with the show. Star visitor Hawk T.2 ZK022 in the IV(AC) Sqn centenary markings The home team Typhoons and Tornado Based BBMF Spitfire LF IXC MK356 29 Sqn gate guard Lightning F.3 Former 3 Sqn Harrier GR.3 Main gate guards, Phantom FGR.2 and Tornado F.3 Thank you to RAF Coningsby and the station personnel who facilitated this excellent event! Thanks also to you for looking. C&C always welcome. Mark

Looks like Airfix.com already have them in stock as they are advertising them as newly released. Box art certainly looks nice! Mark

Looking mighty fine Jabba, the different coloured darker panels add interest to the scheme. I'll hopefully be at the stage you're at by the weekend Mark

A lovely Vanguard Raif! Come on Airfix, surely it's high time this beauty was re-released? Mark

Jabba Here's a picture of the Conways in an RAF C.1. I reckon LAG wouild be a good match for the interior casing. Mark

Looking really good Jabba, reckon you're on the home straight! Mark

Thanks Jabba! Yours is too I should add. Regards Mark

Thanks AC! Don't panic, don't panic! There's 6 weeks left I think we'll be alright! If the weather stays like this then I won't be expected to do the garden so more time for modelling Will hopefully apply first coat of grey primer today. Pix later. Cheers all Mark

The long Jubilee weekend has been a good opportunity to make some progress on the first of my VC-10 builds. Since I last wrote I have substantially completd the model with wings affixed to fuselage, engines positioned and cemented, and tailplane added to tailfin. I have also made a number of other refinements necessary for the unique C-1 variant which I will describe. The broader chord Bra.z leading edges were fixed to the main wings using CA glue. Since I last built a VC-10 I remembered not to cut off all the resin stub as this pads out the Airfix wing and makes for a smoother aerofoil shape with resultant less filling and sanding. The broader chord leading edges jut forward of the fuselage so this gap was fared in with Milliput and smoothed with a cocktail stick. The wing fences were made from plastic card cemented into a razor saw incision cut into the correct places. I used one of my Corgi diecast VC-10s to get an approximate wing fence shape which I then refined using a scalpel and sand paper. Green putty was used to fill any gaps and then I proceeded to rescribe the wing panels with my Tamiya scriber. On the underside of the wings Airfix mistakenly have added a number of access plates which need to be sanded smooth as they should only feature on the uppersides. Another failing is that Airfix have missed off the flap actuators where the wings join the fuselage which I crafted from Milliput and then sanded to shape. There is a conspicuous lack of panelling and surface detail on the Airfix fuselage, particularly on the undersides. From plans and photos to hand I rescribed the missing main undercarriage doors and a number of other panels. It was also a test of trial and error to get the right alignment for the Braz Conways being that they sit slightly nose up and the stubs are angled upwards towards the powerplants at the fore end. These were fixed with CA and the gaps filled first with CA and talc and then later with green putty. There is also a curious flat blister on the starboard pair of Conways which I fashioned from Milliput and will sand to shape. With wings affixed to fuselage and tailplane stuck in place, most of the major construction is done. I added a vent pipe to the tail APU and also the prominent ledge near the rear cargo door. Some of the scratches and gaps were filled with Tippex or more green filler. I then proceeded to sand the model smooth with a fine grade sanding sponge. Final stage for today was to give the '10' a thorough wash in warm soapy water using a toothbrush to remove any residue from the engraved lines. We're now nearly at the point where we can start slapping some paint on! Thanks for looking, good luck to all other VC10 STGB builders. Mark

The most pressing need IMHO is a decent bubble canopy Canberra B.2 in 1/72. The B(I)6 was OK in many ways but needs a new forward fuselage, better cockpit and engraved lines. Some other suggestions: A new Lightning F1/f3, Javelin, Jetstream and as a special treat please down scale the lovely 1/48th Sea Vixen! Mark

John You're on the home straight! Your Lincoln is starting to look magnificent, your patience and hard work have really paid off. Well done, a model with a history and one to be justly proud of. Mark

Sheer class Nik! A fantastic detailed build and beautiful photography of my favourite Canberra. Simply divine! Mark

Jabba I think you've done a good job on your Conways, they look fine to me. I have to say aligning the Braz engines is not easy as the mountings cant both downwards slightly towards the rear, and upwards at the front toward the engine casings. I used the Corgi diecast C.1K to help set mine up so I hope Hornby have got it right! Good luck with the build. Mark

The Leuchars/Lossie Typhoon Wing will consist of one more sqn after 1(F) forms up this year. I don't know which one it will be but I should think 43 and 111 are both in with a shout. It won't be 56 as that is one of the reserve sqns at Waddington. Mark

Martin That idea for adding the front lights in place of the unflattering dimples is ace! Hope you don't mind but I'll copy that on my pair of 10s. Interesting observation about the fin bullet as well. I'll also look at my reference materials a bit more closely and perform some similar surgery! Your build's coming on a treat btw! Mark

JB A smashing pair of Hunters in what are most eye catching paint schemes. Well done! Mark

Rare visitors at Mildenhall today were no less than 10 F-16C/Ds from Polish Air Force 6 ELT. In arrival order they consisted of 4055, 4060, 4059, 4083, 4061, 4043, 4054, 4077, 4078, 4081. All had the nonconformal fuel tanks fitted. The aircraft were completing the first leg of their journey from Poznan/Krzesiny in Poland to Nellis AFB Nevada where they are to compete in the next Red Flag exercise. They also brought with them a C295 and C-130 in support along with a pair of USAF KC-10s for AAR. Rather unluckily for the several hunderd photographers assembled on the Mound, the sun stubbornly refused to appear as each jet landed. Typical! Hopefully it might be out if/when the aircraft return via the UK at the end of the exercise in a few weeks time. Thanks for looking. Mark

Hi I did a walk around on an RAF sentry a while back. Some of these pictures might help. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...1&hl=sentry Regards Mark

Enzo You would indeed be correct in that assertion. All the Supers and the RAF C.1s had the extended leading edge. Braz do these as a conversion. Good luck with your build Mark

With the Hunter STGB out of the way, there's finally been time to start work on the first of my two VC-10 builds for this STGB. Although I'm building RAF C.1 XR807 as seen at different stages during her working life, I decided to begin with the latter version, the C.1K tanker/transport of 101 Sqn. Using the Airfix K.2 Tanker as the base kit, there are a few modifications necessary to make a C.1. As many of you will know the RAF C.1s were something of a hybrid amongst VC-10 versions being that they used the shorter 'standard' VC-10 fuselage (albeit with the inclusion of a large cargo door), and the tail fin, wings and more powerful powerplants of the Super. Some radical surgery is therefore required! First off I removed the centreline HDU from the K.2 fuselage as the C.1K only utilised the wing mounted Rushton pods. The hole that remained was fared over with plastic card, smothed over with Milliput and then sanded to shape. The engine mountings were also carefully cut way and the resultant gaps backed up with plastic card and filled with Milliput. (The Airfix mountings are the wrong shape and at an incorrect angle of incidence for the 'Super' Conways, which I will replace with the nicely detailed Braz resin aftermarket extras). The fuselage windows were blanked off from the inside using thin plastic card. These were then filled with a mixture of Milliput and model filler before sanding smooth. The Airfix VC-10 tail fin and T tail lack the detailed recessed panel lines and fuel cells seen on the C.1 and Super variants so these were carefully scribed and the rudder hinges added. Others on this STGB have commented about a poor fuselage fit on some Airfix VC-10 kits and occasional gapping or a step which occurs towards the rear, so I have tried to alleviate this by adding a number of plastic card tabs along the fuselage join lines to provide strength and a larger mating surface when time comes to cement the two halves. The next area to receive my attention was the wings. I began by rescribing the panel lines, sanding back the gently raised lines of the original. The wing tips are also rather too thick in 1/144th scale so I sanded these from the inside to make them a bit more refined in appearance. The wing leading edges were carefully removed using a razor saw in preparation for replacement by the broader chord Braz parts used on the C.1. At this stage, also using a razor saw, I made a narrow cut across each wing in readiness for fitting a pair of inboard wing fences. The outboard fences nearer the wing tips were also cut away as these are not a feature of the C.1 and Super VC-10. The Braz Conways and leading edges were washed in warm soapy water and then dry fitted. Looks like they will fit without too much trouble when the construction begins in earnest in the next instalment. Thanks for looking and good luck and best wishes to everyone who is participating in this STGB. Mark

Paul J, Daniel, Another couple of beautiful builds for which you should be rightly proud. Mark

That's looking good Jabba, a very tidy build so far. Once the Braz engines are on it makes a massive difference to the overall look. Keep up the good work! Mark

Sorry to hear about the STGB withdrawal but fully understand your reasoning. Relationships are too important to spoil for a model, however attractive (that sentence doesn't quite sound right but you know what I mean Take your time and do that fabulous Hunter justice. It'll be all the better for waiting. Mark