David M

Is the IPMS Race SIG still functioning? Are their magazines available somewhere on line? If not does anyone have a copy of their magazines? Two more to add to the list of possibilities, sadly no longer available: Fisher Pattern's two 1/24 Bugatti 100s, one "curbside" without engines or engine bay details, the other full detail. Among the best resin kits around and sadly lost to the California wild fires a couple of years back.

No. I think you mean Richie Ginther. It is certainly him wearing his distinctive silver and black helmet.

Blimey! Three Aussie Davids in a row! I have A J Jackson's 'Blackburn Aircraft since 1909' which covers the Dart and Blackburn in the usual Putnam style with small but usable drawings and informative text. I also have Putnam's 'British Aviation the adventuring Years' which has passing references and a few images...including one of a civilian float equipped Dart that would float Moa's boat. David M

Marklo, Great start! Stumbled across another pic of the beast. Go here: National Library of Australia do a search for 'Crome Collection' and plough in a few pages or (faster) do a search on their site for Quadruplane. But be warned: there are pictures of the Supermarine Night Hawk quad which is even weirder/cooler and possibly tempting... DM in Oz

Are there any replacement tyres for the venerable Merit 1/24 Cooper 500...or any that might work? Outside diameter is 25.3 mm, width 6.2 mm, OD for the rims is 16.2 mm.

Paul, There were several C-46 CAT liveries: NM with two black cheat lines and trim with red lettering and logos and an 'inverted' version of the same, i.e. black overall with NM trim, lettering and logos, white roof over NM with gold or yellow cheat line and dragon, plain NM with black trim and lettering and logos, NM with a white roof and sides with blue cheat and red arrowhead. None have been issued as decals as far as I know but wouldn't be hard to do in this age of graphic software and decal printers. PM me if you need images. David Sydney, Straya.

Odd...worked fine to my POB in Oz.

The LukGraph site includes Australia in the delivery destinations pull down menu at checkout when I tried it...and seemed happy to take the PayPal for both the kit and delivery (10 Euro).

Has anyone got a Heller 1/24 Trefle and a digital caliper handy? I need to check the vertical dimension of the front axle beam. Had a brain fade and started cutting mine down to make an "I" beam...without measuring said dimension. Must be getting old!

QANTAS

For what it is worth, CAC Mustangs built for the RAAF had filled wings up until A68-120; thereafter the wing filling was deleted and A68-121 to A68-200 were delivered unfilled ex-factory. It should be remembered that the CAC airframes were built at a slow production rate post-war primarily to keep the skilled workforce intact. Hence they had a better fit and finish than those off the NAA wartime lines and thus less need for the filling and this may have contributed to the decision. There was a cost saving benefit - probably the main reason behind the decision - but it anticipated no material performance advantage. Either way, it is hard to pick out panel lines on these late production CAC Mustangs unless the images are both close and sharp.

My bad, it is the UH-4 'Commuter'...and I am still looking for drawings or indeed reliable basic dimensions!

Huge respect to hsr and HITC for producing such great models from Unicraft porridge. Lacking their determination and patience I think I will stick to my decision to scratchbuild a UH-4...surely it must be easier? A decent set of drawings would help...so far nothing from the Hiller Museum.

Thanks to you all for your feedback. There are photos on the net that appear to show the masters for the HU-4 and in light of your advice they don't fill me with much joy. I had hoped that the Unicraft kit would be a decent starting point and save a bit of time but it seems like the reverse would happen. I will run away from this kit and take a crack at scratch building one if I can find a set of drawings...hopefully the Hiller Museum will be able to assist. Incidentally the Hiller Museum is a cracker and well worth a visit. Again, thanks David M Sydney, Straya

Not sure if this is the right place for it... Has anyone bought or (better yet) built one of these? If so...are they any good?

Thanks Richard, I missed that set and it will at least be a good start. I suspect that I will need to sort out a custom set for the additional bits. Thankfully I got to crawl all over it recently and remembered to take lots of shots of the markings. Regards, David Sydney, Straya

I have searched but have not found any decals for any of the fire spotter Broncos in 1/32... a couple in 1/48 but nothing in 1/32. In particular I would like to model N4150DF at Hollister in Cal Fire colours...any suggestions would be very welcome. David M Sydney, Straya

Thanks guys, I tried the foil method without much success (probably too big to be manageable) and the Molotow also works but highlights every little imperfection at this scale...and I am not the tidiest of modellers. However, I have found a new trick and solved my dilemma...a while back I tried Hasegawa's Tritool film in Mirror Finish but could not get it to lay flat on the styrene sheet and gave up. I have been using their Light Gunmetal film on the disc brakes without problems and realized this morning that the imperfections were actually bubbles of air under the film. Pealing the film back a bit then gently pressing toward the lifted edge lets the air escape: perfect flat mirror surface...YAY! Very forgiving stuff and much easier to use than Bare Metal. Again, many thanks, David M Sydney, Straya

I am doing a 1:6 bike and would appreciate any suggestions about what you are using to make mirrors; I need a pair and have the housings but cannot seem to find any mirror finish that has no grain/texture. Chrome Mylar was my go to in the past but no one locally seems to stock it. TIA David Sydney, Straya

Thanks Alan and Rob, Confirms what I thought...seems to be my task in life to find subjects in scales that demand weird engines. Got lucky and found a 1/32 Honda generator (thanks Shapeways!) for one project and was/am after the Norton for a Cooper 500. As not much of the thing will show a bit of scratchbuilding looks to be the way to go...

Are there any Manx Norton kits in 1/24 out there? There seem to be plenty in 1/9 and in 1/12 but so far I cannot find any in 1/24.

Dear Sir Peter, Please listen to the pleas and entreaties of your acolytes and addicts: they need a 504. I for one have a 547 triplane awaiting at least a couple of kits. Your humble servant, DM

Take a look at Rob Bentley's site (RB Motion); he has lots of useful stuff including rose joints and rivets to replace the chunky Bburago blobs.

What the good Puff said! AFTER the 504...