Tim R-T-C

I'd be in. I've got lots of postwar props but need to check build dates before deciding on a model (or three) to make.

True. Unless of course you use Hotmail, Gmail or any ISP email address...

From a business perspective, I can see why email is being moved away from. - So many message disappear under spam filters. I have had innumerable conversations affected when one message simply disappears into the ether. - Too easily used by scammers. A whatsapp shows you a person's real phone number. A Facebook message lets you view their account. - instant replies and updates on whether a message has been seen and read.

The restrictions are likely to have been imposed, probably by public liability insurance firms. There was a post earlier this year regarding the IPMS Bolton show and the long list of requirements they were given to be able to run the show there. No doubt people would have tried to blame the club if they went ahead and ran the show with these requirements.

Although it comes with some nice decaks, the Valom kit is very basic and a bit naff. Platz made a better version which I have ordered a few of to use the decals on, so got these Valom kits going spare. A rather optimistic drawing! Basic interior and gappy fit. Time to get some putty...

So I was idling online a few days ago and saw this amazing Texan display routine from 1993. So since I did originally sign up to this GB, I thought it would make a perfect quick entry with one of the Valom kits I have in the stash. Now oddly there are no photos I can find of this plane online in this scheme. From the nose number 87 I assume it is c/n 88-9551 which has a few pictures including this listing where you can buy the real thing! https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?category_level1=Single+Engine+Piston&make=NORTH+AMERICAN&model=SNJ+4&listing_id=2392484&s-type=aircraft So for now I'm going off this screenshot from the video.

Mecheria Airfield, Algeria, November 1963. During the Sand War against Morocco a MiG mechanic tries to scrounge spare parts from a supply truck without much success... The first military act of a newly independent Algeria in September and October 1963 was to defend itself from incursion by Morocco over disputed border territories - like so many post-colonial regions, once purely administrative and so vaguely defined boundaries became matters of national pride and identity. Algeria's nascent air force included MiG-15bis donated by Egypt (probably of 1955 Czech origin) and Mi-4 helicopters, some from Egypt, others delivered in crates from the USSR. The Tom Cooper book Showdown in Western Sahara on warfare in this region has a photo during this conflict of MiGs and Mils based at Mecheria Airfield, so that is what this scene is based on. At the southern edge of the inhabited coastal region of Algeria, the airfield was built and used by French colonial forces and I have found some photos of a well established airfield in the 1950s, but from the accounts in the book it was largely abadoned at the time of the conflict with minimal facilities. The MiG is the excellent Eduard kit with AK aluminium paint and decals lifted from a pair of MikroMir Yak kits. The Mi-4 is from the Eastern Express kit - the military boxing but with the cheat line decal from the civilian boxing. Not the easiest kit with a lack of locating points and a lot of buttress joints. The figures and former French military truck are from Arrowhead Minatures. Come discuss post-colonial conflicts with me in the thread So completing four vignettes for this GB. Thanks to all involved.

One of the last colonialisations of the Scramble for African was the Spanish move in the early 1920s to conquer their protectorate region of modern-day Morroco, although far less known today than the Italian moves in modern day Lybia and East Africa, it was more consequential - bringing on the political crisis that led to the Spanish Civil War. Brought on by attacks on Spanish possessions by the Berbers of the Rif Mountain region, the Spanish went in with the same colonial mindset of superiority over native forces that had doomed so many other colonial armies down the years. Poorly trained Spanish conscripts were massacred, culminating in the Battle of Annual which saw over 13,000 Spanish soldiers killed or wounded and the forces in the country retreated to the small Spanish coastal exclaves. With French support, including the provision of FT-17 tanks, a giant amphibious landing led to strong pushes inland and the eventual defeat of Riffian forces. Like the Italians in Lybia, the Spanish used severe tactics including aerial bombing and chemical attacks against the civilian population. This scene shows a Bristol F.2b on reconnaissance patrol landing near an advancing Spanish column to update them on Berber positions. The plane is the Valom F.2b with decals from LF Decals. I couldn't find specific images of the planes in operation in Morroco at this time but this is correct for 1925 and the type was definitely in service there. The kit went together quite well. The brass struts were solid and easy to place, but the tiny bits of styrene holding up the lower wing were never going to hold, so I fitted hidden supports. Some AK pencil weathering added dust effects. The tank is the Brengun all resin FT-17 painted to a profile from a Polish FT-17 book with a whitewash scheme presumably for use in the mountains. This went together very nicely. The figures are a Kallistra Belgian WWI cavalry set, with some suitable adaptation to their hats to represent the Spanish uniforms of the period. Come and discuss the legacy of late colonial expansion in the thread

Tobruk, Lybia 2017 A pair of LNA aligned Lybian Air Force planes are prepared for ground attack operations. The planes are the Eduard MiG-21 MF with decals from the recent bagged edition, alongside the resin Heroes Models SF260 Warrior. The 260 is a great little kit although I didn't do it justice with slightly fogged canopy and grainy paintwork. Still got 2 in the stash fortunately. Technical support is provided by three 3D printed vehicles from Butlers Printed Models which are a little rough but provide some great weapon options. The figures are actually WW2 figures from Arrowhead Minatures. Come drop some insults in the thread

Lovely work and great idea.

I do love the Italian anthem. Always brings back memories of motorsports and the classic Ferrari Schumacher era.

I do love a nice post-war scheme and this looks really interesting. Are the XVIs are externally identical to the IXs?

Lovely work on a great looking Thud

A lovely build of an interesting scheme.

"Step out of the vehicle..." You arrive at a checkpoint somewhere in the disputed territory of the Lugansk Oblast, late 2014. The infamous Little Green Men have taken over this after the local volunteers running it enjoyed the local самогон rather too much. The inspiration came from the Miniart Ukranian road sign collection - the plastic barrel, drinks cans and bottles are theirs too. The figures are Zvezda Models 'polite people' which went together very smoothly. I used a Plus Models resin roadblock and ETA diorama graphics for the magazines.

The Su-25 was built for this GB! I've got a few in the stash with full loadouts in the kit, so count me in.

I use the Tamiya light tarmac, it has a fine grain texture which works well in 144th and if you blend with acrylic paint you can adjust the colour easily. Some of the concrete texture paints are far too coarse for this scale.

Perfectly timed with completing my Algerian MiG-15. Fortunately still got plenty in the stash for this GB and Sundetail have just announced a resin engine too, so that will add an interesting extra element.

I've got some etch Zero Length rocket launch stubbs for a Wildcat (did the Hellcats ever carry these?) and I've decided that an upside down scene like this will be the only good way to show them off. Seems to have been a regular occurrence on carriers.

Phew, finally finished my last vignette. It has been a really fun GB and great support from the hosts. Still got the parts for an Eritrean and Zimbabwean scene, but I think I'll hold those until time allows in the future.

And finally my fourth GB entry is complete! Mecheria Airfield, Algeria, November 1963. During the Sand War against Morocco a MiG mechanic tries to scrounge spare parts from a supply truck without much success...

Love the Eduard MiGs and you're making this look superb.

A beautiful scheme on a very well finished model

Last bits

The DH89 is a beautiful plane and very nicely finished here.