Seahawk

Life could be so much worse: you could be on Tapatalk.

I've only used them once and had no problems. They even bedded down nicely over some pretty big rivets. However that was applying red and green over a uniform dark yellow surface so not a comparable experience. Before buying my sheet I looked up reviews on the web, which were disconcertingly mixed. Some people evidently swear by them and others at them. It seems to be pretty much the luck of the draw. Like you, I find "not applied over a gloss surface" a very unconvincing explanation.

Al Ross' book Anatomy of the Ship: HMS Cambeltown has several clear close-up views of both forward and aft decks of 4-Pipers (not just USS Buchanan/HMS Cambeltown). In none of them is any planking visible. In some of them straight ines can be seen: these may be the joins in the deck plates or possibly some kind of linoleum-like anti-slip material (did the USN use anything like Corticene?). I wish you joy in removing the moulded-on planking!

I'm assuming you just want to replace the running gear and tracks. For me, if you're starting from a clean sheet of paper, the only two shows in town are Heller and Dragon. Both are nicely moulded and both will leave you with a lot of valuable spares like lifting eyes, tools and headlight guards to either tart up your M36 further or to adorn other Sherman kits. Both seem only intermittently available here in the UK but the Dragon M4A1 Normandy boxing seems fairly easy to come by. On the other hand, if you can find one, the Heller kit is newer and about half the price (about £10 v about £22). Of the two Heller kits (M4 and M4A2) both have alternative sprocket faces (you'll probably want the plainer type), alternative idlers (you'll probably want the unperforated ones) and complete alternative sets of nicely moulded running wheels (you'll probably want the unperforated ones). The Heller kits also offfer a choice of 3-part , cast blunt cast and cast sharp final transmission covers. In addition the M4A2 boxing comes with 2 sets of tracks, (the T51 flat rubber pad and the T54 steel chevron types) whereas for some reason the M4 has only the rubber pad type. Of the other options the Airfix one is the newest but not as crisply moulded as Dragon and Heller, the detailing on the road wheels is simplified to perfunctory and, since it's based on the longer M4A4 hull, you'll have to fiddle around with the hard plastic tracks to get them to fit the shorter M36 hull. I've never owned an ESCI/Italeri Sherman but they date about the 1970s: even if you get one with the updated hard plastic tracks, I doubt if they would hold a candle in terms of delicacy of detail to the Dragon and Heller kits. I don't know much about the UM kits: from limited acquaintance they are not easy to build and the hard plastic tracks are a pain to assemble and look heavy (I have a UM M12 self-propelled gun, also based on the M3/M4 chassis. and intend to use Heller running gear on it). The suspension components of the Revell M4A1 might do the job for you but I wouldn't go out of my way to acquire this horrible inaccurate kit when similar (or less) money will land you a Heller one. Long long ago I was given an old Hasegawa Grant: the suspension didn't impress me then and I doubt if it has improved in the interim. My recollection is that the wheels looked overscale. You may want to check that out by comparing with the corresponding Airfix parts: whatever else one says about the Airfix kit, it is to scale! So, clean sheet of paper/ideal world: Dragon or Heller (Heller edges it on lower price, younger moulds and lots of spare bits). If you want to reuse what you already have, I'd probably go for the Airfix parts: shortening the tracks may be more or less of a pain than I have made out. PS I have just realised that I haven't dealt with the hull rear detailing, as raised by @Kingsman. I've never seen an Armorama Sherman so don't know how bad the kit is there. For complete accuracy you probably need to hold out for a Dragon M4A3 kit. However both Dragon and Heller will yield at least some parts to cosmetically enhance the rear of the kit eg axle mounts, tow hooks. HTH

It's the modeller's equivalent of writing a letter to Santa and burning it in the fireplace.

I have fifteen, mostly bought at below cover price (Blackwells of Oxford were doing them about 25% off, P&P free at one stage). If you haven't got much of a reference library, they are good one-stop- shop primers. They used be split about 2/3 history of user units/chronology of technical detail changes over time to 1/3 photos of built-up models and available kits/accessories. Somewhere along the line (in the mid 30s?) they changed the balance so the history and technical detail section became very perfunctory (in fact pretty useless) and the space devoted to photos of built models, available kits and accessories was expanded. I have limited interest in other people's models and Hannants' catalogue is a much cheaper way of finding out what kits and accessories are available, so I haven't bought a single one since the formula changed. From memory the Panzer IV one was issued before The Change but the Panzer I/II is after: I know I looked at it at a show and put it back because the content was so thin. So, early ones not bad, later ones marginal IMHO. And, if you are seriously interested about the subject, there are probably other books that would give better value for money. Either way, it's not too difficult to get hold of them at less that cover price.

Yes, looks even better in the flesh. For example, every one of those aircraft has etched brass canopy framing.

Not a sentence you'll use every day and one which that definitely needs to be read in context.

Didn't we decide a few weeks back that it was the Revell kit reboxed, like their "new" T34/85?

Maybe Tamiya Clear Orange? Enough to give an orange tinge without being too lurid? (NB a suggestion only: haven't tried it!)

I ended up replacing a load of features with corresponding bits from the 1960s vintage kit (driver and co-driver hatches (glaringly wrong: far too small), turret escape hatch, commander's cupola, turret vision ports for starters) before I could live it. In the interests of balance, if you are able to razor saw it off the top of the cupola, you will be left with the thinnest 1/72 scale AA ring I can think of.

Have just looked inside the Vespid box (720018). Markings options are all for SS-Panzer-Regiment 2 of Das Reich: 831 Spring 43, S33 July 43 and S22 Nov 43. All in standard 3-colour camouflage.

I’d be surprised if you hated anyone enough to want to offload it onto them. I bought the starter boxing cheap from Lidl last Christmas and the feelings of shame and self-loathing are still with me, rather like after you’ve succumbed to a McDonalds. The Vespid Tiger is very nice and comes with Feifels, smoke dischargers, mine dispensers, etc but be warned that it has a non-standard turret stowage bin peculiar to only a small number of early Tigers (the sides are parallel to the hull sides rather tangential to the turret sides). If you can hold off on scratching your Tiger itch, I’d wait a bit in the hope that they do a more standard one.

If my second ever ship model turned out like this, I think I'd be very pleased. Take a bow!

That's the 29 November edition. I have it and can send you scans. Do you need anything in particular or do you want all 12 pages?

Very nice. Excellent job on the cockpit. I think you made the right call re the panel wash - and in doing so have demonstrated clearly that Airfix panel lines are a lot more refined than they were only a few years ago.

Oh dear! Maybe it's just as well that they gave up on small-scale WWII fighters

Impressively thorough research.

+1 for cigarette paper. Much thinner and less grainy than tissue and, if dampened with water or thinned PVC glue, will bed down nicely allowing any underlying framework to show through.

Just arrived. 112 pages of Shackleton loveliness, including nice big photos, some in colour, for £1.99: what's not to like? Included a voucher for £1 off my next Key Publishing purchase.

Can we assume that this exciting new book by a distinguished (and distinguished looking) author will be chock-full of photos of the interior of the Shackleton MR.1, particularly concentrating on the nose interior?

Not just reduced from £7.95 to £1.99 but post-free as well. Thanks for the tip-off.

You might also still find the Revell 1/72 Cromwell IV around, which to my mind is the best of the small-scale choices and, given @Kingsman's comments about the 1/35 and 1/48 kits, maybe the best of the lot.

I think I'm way into my third reincarnation.

If you're like most of us, there will be no danger of you building them all during your remaining years on this planet.