Paulaero

Try Bicarbonate of soda instead of flour is rock solid

Really like theses , like so many they really take me back. looks like your kits have faired better than the Tucano I'm working on ….

Know exactly what you mean, I was a JP boy and grew up with them about every where in the 80's , never liked the Tucano as it came into service in 89 when the RAF fell out with me......

Steve just a quick one, as I am working on a Tucano at the moment, did you ever indulge in it and how similar was the Pits layout in comparison to the Hawk ? Paul

Thought you'd have been airborne long before the 74 rotated or are we talking a hot day curvature of the earth departure...….

That's very nice just look so right and your spot on with the thinking about not changing training colour schemes.

Now that's spooky as I thought the design of the A/C would suit some day glo, must have missed it have you a pic you can post ? Have spent a looooong time fitting these seats and these needed the most material removing. Have just dropped a Mk 4 into a new Airfix Lightning and it fitted perfectly ...

While the seats are drying I added the IP decals which actually performed better than I expected and added the Coamings Still doubt much of this will be visible through the closed canopy Some extra lead added, just in case Wings fitted very tight as did the tail planes, they were a push fit again may be down to this being a very early shot. So main construction complete, I know the seats and canopy fit so time for a little appointment with the sanding sticks when the glue dry's

Hi Steve, so far the only trap has been down to the age of the plastic , its so brittle while assembling the two fuselage half's one side broke behind the cockpit, hopefully the repair wont show...…. Paul

So with cockpit painted a suitable 'shade of grey' work commenced on making seats fit. Now the one problem with making scale accurate seats is they often don't fit straight in the cockpit as the kit makers cant make the tub's to scale. . Added to that over thickness canopy's and these seats have had to go on a severe bottom reducing diet... Thank fully I have one of those large file's that we all loved the name of in metal work and that made short work of sorting the seats. As you can see there's not a lot left of the seat pan, particularly the rear one . But they do fit now and so does the canopy And the visible parts of the detail look good Off to the paint shop for the seats

Tony, You have set off a cracking topic already with many memories both Good and bad that should serve to show some modelers that the A/C were part of life . I had the 'pleasure' of 2hrs of circuits and defiantly bumps in a VC 10, the day before my 16th birthday in 84 whilst on summer camp at Abingdon. It must have been the handling pilots first 'landing' as when he came back into the cabin for the first change over remember the loadie giving him the line " Did we land off the first approach sir, or were we shot down"...…. Like those Arma engines, if its not too late I would make up each side with the plugs having been caught out with a similar stretch conversion. At least then the joint will be top and bottom and could be filled with some plastic card, but I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. keep up the good work and stories, Paul

Love it !! , did exactly the same thing as an AEF staff cadet with my mate at Linton in 87 I think. Even the cook in the mess gave us a wink as we filled said sick bag with casserole, with extra carrots of course, When we extricated first cadet of the afternoon we put said sick bag into the webbing of his chute and he went along with it by soaking his face with water. Suffice to say a number of cadets ran from the building as we tucked in , well it was still warm and it was a great way to ensure there was enough slots for us to get the last trip of the day...……..

Don't know where you get a 1:1 scale tooth pick from !! That looks seriously good work bit of a wash to 'separate' the copper pipes maybe ??

Good job they weren't responsible for the use by date on the consumables ….. And by the way now have said Airfix Lynx and Belcher conversion , so will be knocking on your door for some Info soon ….

So, with the new Airfix Bucc on hold due to my 'mate', I decided to raid the stash to apply some newly released markings. This was along way down in the said stash.... I think this was the original release dated 1990 which is about right with them entering service in 89. (Where did that 30 years go ??? Brand new release at Telford, I had difficulty in getting a picture of these as the gloss carrier film is so reflective, which is more than can be said for the kit ones !! As Baldrick might have said, flatter than a flat thing on a flat day. Still they are nearly 30 years old and all I need is to coax the IP's off. Art work for said subject, having searched out ZF293 it looked to be quite a well worked A/C by the time it had these markings applied. Having opened the lid the nostalgia came flooding back just like the cracking builds of the classic US Navy kits, particularly as this was also moulded in white, well it was once !! I guess cream is more appropriate but the surface detailing is so fine,(open can of worms) but I guess this was one of the first mouldings. I think these are currently in the standard grey plastic if any one can confirm ? Now the Tucano has always been a tail sitter and the instructions state 7grms, but whilst removing parts from the box look what I found. Bonus, Now where did they appear from...... These are obviously the same vintage and are probably some of the first out but that means some where in the stash I have a kit with these and the U/C and prop set in.... So cockpit tub assembled rear stick appears to have gone AWOL - will rectify that but this is a build to show off the colour scheme One piece lower wing, again look at how fine those panel lines are Upper wings attached the plastic has almost a resin feel to it, not some thing I have come across before but then again haven't built many 30 year old kits ….. Canopy is nice and clear, just a dip in some Klear should do, cockpit tub off to the paint shop just aiming to get it the same shade as the IP on the Kits decal sheet More to follow