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ckw

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Everything posted by ckw

  1. I think the best way to search britmodeller is to use Google search rather than the site's own search facility. If you add the filter site:britmodeller.com To the end of your google search, results are restricted to this site. So you can use any of Google's search features with this - so for example "making display stands for ships" site:britmodeller.com Will search for the exact phrase in quotation marks Actually that search doesn't work so I assume the phrase as I typed it doesn't exist but making display stands ships site:britmodeller.com will find the posts which contain all those words anywhere in the post Cheers Colin
  2. ckw

    Iconic Intros.

    Many years ago is saw a documentary on the CAF (I think) which had a brilliant taxi and take off sequence of a B-25 IIRC to the sound of Shine on You Crazy Diamond. Made a big impression on me at the time, but I've not been able to find it since. Cheers Colin
  3. ckw

    Iconic Intros.

    Being locked in a room with it on a continuous loop. Cheers Colin
  4. ckw

    Iconic Intros.

    That was my original reaction to rap but think of it as poetry .... really no different to beatniks of a previous generation reciting Ginsberg to the beat of bongo drums. Nothing changes. At my age, I'm never going to be a fan - much of the language is alien to me. Of course its supposed to be .... but some of it is worth taking some trouble over as it is an insight into a different culture. And its something the kids can do themselves without needing to buy or learn an instrument. Of course a lot of it is objectively pretty awful - but so is a lot of pop music. I'm always amused by old editions of top of the pops - most of the songs from any given week were total dross and have been thankfully long forgotten. Cheers Colin
  5. ckw

    Iconic Intros.

    I understood this was introduced many years ago to defeat those of use who copied songs to tape from the radio. Seems hardly necessary there days, but I guess it's all about the DJ as a performer in his/her own right. Cheers Colin
  6. Well I've received a fresh tin of RLM 72, and it is certainly green compared with the old tin of grey paint. Tempting to put a sealed tin aside to see what happens in 30 years, but I doubt I'll still be around to complete the test. Cheers Colin
  7. ckw

    Iconic Intros.

    I'm sure that was said of youth in 1922 or for that matter 1822. I seem to remember reading something about Socrates making a similar complaint! I think it has been shown that most people form their musical tastes in their teenage years. And part of that process is creating your own identity, which in most cases involves being different to your parents. Part of that is selecting music their parents don't like. It is also true that music evolves to suit the delivery medium. Early 60's albums were little more than a collection of singles, and it was only later in the decade and into the 70s that the potential of the LP changed the type of music produced. It only seems natural that with streaming becoming the predominant delivery vehicle music would evolve to better suit the way it is consumed. I think anything but the most simple of tunes and melodies is an acquired taste - and of course tastes change. I find it hard to believe now that a 15 minute guitar or drum solo was something I enjoyed listening to. I also suspect that (perhaps thanks to rap), the words of the song have been come more important to teenagers than it was in the 70s, so again the music changes to suit. Cheers Colin
  8. ckw

    Iconic Intros.

    It is a feature of the current recording industry that intros are 'discouraged' - streaming has meant you need to get to the meat of the song (ie the singing) ASAP, otherwise people skip to the next song. https://www.prsformusic.com/m-magazine/news/streaming-making-pop-songs-faster-shorter-new-study-reveals Anyway another couple that deserve mention ... - Baker Street (Jerry Rafferty) - Another Girl Another Planet (the Only Ones). My idea of the perfect pop song. Contrary to the modern trend, it has quite a long intro for a very short song - perhaps one of the longest intros in pop as a percentage of song length. That is of course excluding The Intro and the Outro by the Bonzo Dog Doodah Band! Cheers Colin
  9. I certainly hope so! You can pay £6 for a single bottle of 'good stuff' or get 10 tubes of store brand for £1 in discount stores. One difference I have found is that if mixing with talc to make filler, the pricier glues give you a practical working time before going hard. The cheap stuff goes solid the moment you add the talc. Cheers Colin
  10. A couple of months ago I airbrushed a Do 17 using Xtracolor RLM 70 and 71. When compared to other models, the colours looked a little 'faded' and the contrast between the two was less than expected. I put it down to something I did, and anyway, real paint fades in the field anyway. Move on to last night and I started to paint an He 115 using unopened tins of RLM 72 and 73. These tins had been purchased in an earlier modelling life (25 - 30 years ago) but I'd never got round to using them. The paint had no colour at all and came out as shades of grey ... and not even greenish grey! So my question is, can colour fade from enamel paint in a sealed tin? (Note that the paint was perfect in every other way apart from colour). If so what is the shelf life for a tin of enamel paint? Of course it is also possible I bought tins which had been wrongly labelled by Hannants, though I'd never had that before. I'm not bothered by the loss of these two tins - I've ordered replacements - but recently I have started buying multiple tins of the same colour (due to suppliers running out of stock and reduce postage costs), and some of these tins may remain unopened for some time. Cheers Colin
  11. Yes I've had a couple of antenna wires fail at the attachment point after a fairly short period (maybe a year and a half). Models kept out of direct light. I used cheap Poundland superglue .... maybe that was the problem as I have since discovered not all superglues are the same! Cheers Colin
  12. I've always used the Tamiya or Mr Hobby paint jars - glass is easy to clean and non-staining. You can buy the Tamy jars separately as 'mixing jars' but they're exactly the same as the jars that come 'free' with the paint Cheers Colin
  13. Very similar story to mine. However, I got 2 airbrushes with the compressor. One of these failed quickly (seals disintegrated when using cellulose thinner to clean) while the other still works fine. So I guess the bottom line is that there are some good compressor & airbrush deals available, but you may find you'll need to replace the airbrush in a short time. On the plus side, having gained some experience you will have a better idea of what sort of airbrush you want as a longer term investment Cheers Colin
  14. Sorry, can't see that page (probably because I'm UK and the links is Oz Amazon) This is what I use ... https://www.cowlingandwilcox.com/mediums-varnishes/154-winsor-newton-galeria-medium-matt-varnish-250ml Gloss and Satin are also available. Cheers Colin
  15. Although I am a user of enamels for normal painting, I have never been satisfied with enamel varnishes. The Humbrol Clearcote was probably the best I used, but I found that Satin and Matt could be inconsistent in the sheen produced. Like many others I've moved to Winsor & Newton acrylic and find their matt varnish very consistent and easy to apply. I have used it on Colourcoats. Another benefit is that the acrylic finish acts as a protection for underlying enamels if using oil based washes etc. Cheers Colin
  16. How much/little it contributes to climate change is probably irrelevant - but the 'optics' aren't good for a council that is stating a commitment to zero emissions. I would image there are also security considerations ... an airshow would be a very visible target for 'Stop oil'. Even if the venue is secure, their road block tactics could cause chaos. Cheers Colin
  17. I would try the sticky tape without the alcohol first. I think there would be some risk of damaging the paint underneath, In my experience, future on decals was not enough to prevent them lifting when masked! Cheers Colin
  18. A late follow up on this topic Leaving defective kit to one side, both mechanical disks and SSDs WILL fail. Its just a question of when. Mechanical disks are hard to predict as something can break at any time. SSDs on the other hand are more predictable if you can find out how much they have been used (they have a life expectancy based on the number of writes performed). Happily SSDs keep a record of how they have been used. I found a free utility called CrystalDiskInfo https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/ which generates a report on any disks on your system, along with a health status. In the case of SSDs it looks at (among other things) the number of writes. Cheers Colin
  19. To my mind what you want is an archive, not a backup. Backup systems are about secure storage which may change (e.g. the contents of a database), possibly frequently which introduces a whole bunch of additional factors which I don't think would concern you. An archive, on the other hand is a write once then (hopefully) forget setup, so performance is not a big issue. I would opt for mechanical disks, and you don't need to shell out for fast ones. If you want to be extra safe, buy duplicate drives and store them in separate locations (to protect against fire, lightning strikes, flood etc). Cheers Colin
  20. Just looking at my bench now, I would add from my most commonly used tools - - fine saw blades (I'd take these instead of sprue snippers if forced) - a scribing tool - a good quality fine, flat file (I wouldn't count sanding sticks or sheets as a 'tool' as there are consumables - ditto cocktail sticks and cotton swabs) Cheers Colin
  21. But isn't this pretty well the case of the 737 Max? As I understand it software flaws (possibly in combination with inadequate training) effectively allowed the computers to crash the aircraft, despite the pilot's best efforts. I think your argument regarding liability is exactly why we will be required to become dependent on AI to 'do our jobs for us' - aircraft crash from time to time, whether from human error or a technological failure. From an actuarial point of view, the human element is harder to predict and quantify ... and can never be eliminated. Computer based systems may fail (and probably because of human errors in design/coding), but bugs can be fixed. I think we will continue moving towards complete computer based design/production/operation from conceptualisation through to production and operation. It will not result in incident free operations, but those incidents will be much more quantifiable - costs of foolproofing everything will be balanced against an acceptable cost of failure. BTW - I don't think this is a 'good thing', but an unavoidable evolution unless we abandon our current socio-economic models. Every civilization to date seems to have contained the seeds of its own downfall. We appear to be committed by the fundamentals of our current civilization to eliminate the human factor where possible, and I don't see how that can be changed - the genie never goes back in the bottle. Cheers Colin
  22. I get where the OP is coming from. While not disagreeing with any of the answers, it is true that aeronautical design has evolved from inspired hunches to computer (and budget!) driven optimisation. If we look at, say WWII single engine fighters, while the general layout is similar, the Me 109, Hurricane, Spitfire, etc. are quite different solutions to a similar problem. It would be interesting to see what would happen if you took the specification for the Hurricane and Spitfire and stuffed it into a supercomputer - with parameters for materials and production methods of the time - and see what emerged. Would it look like either aircraft, a bit of both, or something very different? And if you could then build and fly it. how would it compare? Cheers Colin
  23. Of the 2 I would say colourcoats are the better option for brush painting BUT as you are not in the UK, getting hold of them may not be so easy ... and certainly expensive! I'm not a fan of brushing with acrylics - obviously it can be done, and done well but requires a different methodology to using enamels. Recently I have tried a couple of tins of Revell enamel - simply becuase they were the only thing available locally in the colours I needed. Pleasantly surprised - a bit thick, but easily thinned, Brushed very nicely. Of course having only tried a couple of tins I can't comment on the consistency of the product. Cheers Colin
  24. i don't think either company have done themselves favours by, in the case of Revell, reboxing other company's kits which can be far below the standard of Revells best or, in the case of Airfix, reissuing old (sometimes very old) kits which are often shelved alongside their more recent (and far better) kits. I could see that a novice, unaware of these practices could buy one of the poorer kits and get a negative view of the brand in general. Cheers Colin
  25. The problem is that as readers we are very good at seeing what we expect to see rather than what is actually on the page ( have a look at https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/jumbled-words-letters-puzzle-cambridge-a6889811.html) This makes proof reading difficult. A long time ago I had a part time job proof reading theses (not a lot of fun!). An old hand passed on a tip to me - read it backwards! Because the words are then out of context, you can't read what you expect to read so typos become much more obvious. Cheers Colin
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