JohnT

He was spotted in a branch of the supermarket Morrisons and chatted away to staff. Seemingly here to do a short film on the Frederick Forsyth short story The Shepherd. BBC report here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-60980390 Looking forward to seeing that and I wonder how well they can do it

Nice pics on there. I often wondered if the rear end on the outside of the Danish F-100's what was it like on the inside !! And does that also go for the EE Lightnings too? It would explain how many Frightnings were lost to engine fires !

I'm not so bothered about the Typhoon paint job or the "flowing flag" design per se but it looks wrong there on the Falcon. Having peered at it a while I think its the proportions between the paint job and the airframe. If the flag design was smaller and only on the tail and not painted over the upper engine it would look better - maybe?? I guess UK Aerospace dont make business jets anymore

I am old enough to have been in a couple in the 50's and early 60's as a kid. My uncle was a motor engineer and when I moved to Selkirk in the very early 80's there was still an old fashioned garage there complete with old style showroom in front with all the old British manufacturers company crests in etched glass on the quarter lights above the main windows. The abiding impressions is one of age, oil spillage, the mixed smell of fuel, oils, metal machines and a sort of concrete/brick dusty decay. Health and safety were non existent and overalls were one piece and got changed once a year if needed. The Selkirk garage did have (and still has!) an inspection pit but its now a concrete one. As @dcrfan says neither had a "ceiling" - both went straight to the roof and very freezing in winter so hot air blowers arrived in the eighties. I think guys just froze before then. I've been in a few since where they obviously date back. Not a lot has changed though the floors have a finish on them now instead of bare concrete and the overalls are clean. In them all there was a back area which look like a cross between a junk or scrap yard where every old tool under the sun and parts would be kept - often in oils rags. So I'd say Mike @bootneck you need to make the place look incredibly cluttered, loads of benches with vices and metal working kit, drills, laithes burnishers etc and none of them clean. Imagine a real film of oil smeared over everything. If it was painted red then it looks black like it was in a fire ! And just loads of stuff all over the place in some sort of order that makes sense to the owner but not to anyone else ! Oh and old tyres too and old Castrol signs but they cant look new - have to be old - say 1930's and a bit battered and rusty Hope those musings help

I for one will welcome the 1/32 Do 17. The others look interesting as well but the Dornier completes the availability of all the main types from the Battle of Britain era. Perhaps looking to the slightly supporting actors we might one day see a 1/32 BP Defiant and a Blenheim? I don't imagine there would be too many howls of protest at either if offered. Nice also to see a 1/48 Marauder - a much overlooked machine in lager model scales with only the old Mongram kit at 1/48 I think? I always thought HK Models might take it on in 1/32 given their product line.

Absolutely! Right on the money Arguably no model is ever “perfect” Even if totally duplicated in 1/1 scale it’s still only a replica. So do what you enjoy for you

On the subject of the bombsight I read somewhere that some bombaimers used chinagraph markings on the Perspex and a measured piece of string to triangulate the home made sight. I never understood how that might work on a night raid though. The movie was typical of it’s time and a pretty good film for the 1950’s particularly given the bomb casing and workings were classified and not available so the film makers had to do a best guess construction

That’s a very handsome kit there and extremely well done LukGraph. Of course seeing the lovely parts it’s made me somewhat itchy to get hands on one. Very envious of you you lucky chap. Enjoy it but we need a wip or else

Dave Parkins did/does a full set with resin nose etc not sure if it’s available though

Not my area but recalled this which indicates that there was a change to the paint scheme over time. https://www.key.aero/article/starfighters-new-colours-revealed-spain edit:- I'd go with the grey from photos I have looked at. The finish is very uniform but that could be aluminium paint as they did on the F-105. On balance I'd say grey but wonder if they were in aluminium early on and later painted in grey

as in Sir Sydney Camm "All modern aircraft have four dimensions: span, length, height and politics. TSR-2 simply got the first three right."

Not to mention giving us on here a good chuckle because we never do anything like that ……… Glad you found them even if they weren’t lost really

I wasn't sure either to be honest as rigging scares the life out of me

Er. Ok then

I have a few WW1 things in the stash where the rigging is a bit scary. Maybe this might be the impetus I need? If the rigging gets too much I can always run away and do The old Airfix tank I do have an Albatross I want to do with a twist as it were

Thanks for sharing the photos. The Buff landing into the sunset could come right off a magazine or calendar. Nicely done

Shock- horror. Breaking news. Model company announce proposed release of model in scale they normally manufacture and no more details. So unless they were totally stopping production altogether it’s business as normal then You know I realise just how much I miss the days of walking in to Woolworths or the local model shop thinking if maybe I will buy another Spitfire to find out of the blue they have a 1/72 Storch, Liberator, Shackleton or WW1 1/76 tank just in that week with no advance warning other than a quiet word to retailer and now selling like hot cakes. Plans quickly changed and a dash home to start. I recall all of those events clearly in my modelling life but not the modern product announcement and online purchase that followed. Still that’s progress.

Mike - do you want to rewrite that post?

What a good idea, well executed and deserving of that silver. Like @One 48 I was looking for Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan and Ernest Borgnine to appear in miniature

Oh I am looking forward to this one. Great to see the one that got started with son before he lost interest going to good use.

Hope Mrs Taxi makes a full recovery and the chemo does the business. These things put all the rest into perspective. On the subject of old buildings I really love them but they are not energy efficient. My mum and dad’s Victorian terrace where I was brought up had no central heating and impersonated a passable fridge in winter. My dad was a keen and good diy man. One time we papered the ceiling of the living room. It was a high ceiling so we used two big sets of stepladders with a wide plank between. At ground level the room was cold and up on the plank near the ceiling we were sweating like two pigs with the paste drying out in double time. It was then I realised where the heat was going that the coal fire pumped out.

I must say that having just built a brand new house as a self build taking the insulation to the required standards plus a bit eg triple glazing rather than double etc. the heat retention is mind blowing. When the painters were here they asked for doors and windows to be open in winter as they were sweating with no heat on at all. I suspect this is the way forward but there is still problems with older properties where modern hi tech is not 100% compatible with older structures I'm still going to have a healthy electric bill though.

was that when they drove an Audi from London to Edinburgh and back on a single tank of fuel albeit filled to the top of the fuller pipe? Or was that another time? edit - I think that was on BBC Top Gear

Most likely he had either just got his insurance renewal premium or the bill from the garage for the service and belt changes.

I know that feeling only too well too !