JohnT

JPG or article and plans on the way anyone else wantee?????

There was an article on the F3 with plans and model reviews a while back in one of the modelling mags. I can't recall which one but it was headed "The Mighty Fin" if I recall correctly and I have a copy in the mag boxes in the garage. Happy to dig it out and photocopy it for you if you pm me contact details John T

just a big thanks to Trev for the article which arrived today - good bloke John

I tend to agree with Mike on this one. I can see where Dave is coming from though. My take on it is that we all can't be experten on a particular type as work, family and Gods knows what else stops us so until someone points out that a particular model is deficient in some respect then a kit basher like me probably does not have enough access to the real thing/books/plans etc etc etc to know any better and will then be content with what he has but also will look to make changes once the issues are pointed out. If this was say, golf, and we were doing it all for fun as opposed to say professionally, we would rejoice in a decent round even though the pros would still be light years ahead of our slashing efforts. So lets be happy in what we do and also keep Dave happy by not using the dreaded ILLA... phrase

Hi Mark yes please - anthing would be brilliant and meantime a big public thank you to Tony for the zip file of pics which are more than helpful Its going to be an expensive round if we all meet up !!! John

Thanks for the responses chaps. Really appreciate the offers of help from Phat Trev and TonyT. Trev has arranged to send me some articles - big thank you and certainly a pint at least in iou. Tony - I would really appreciate the pics if poss. IOU a pint too ! regards and thanks to all John

Hi chaps I have 2 Aeroclub Hawker Demons in the stash and want to do a Hart and a Hind in 603 City of Edinburgh colours. I don't think that there are 1/48 Harts and Hinds in production or even available from the sellers who specialise in old models long OOP. I have ordered a book on the Hart family from Amazon which will hopefully contain lots of info but has anyone attempted a conversion in the past and have any tips or advice on things to watch out for ? Brian Redpath sent me a disc of pics from his visit to the Shuttleworth and the Hart photos are inspirational - thanks again Brian. As usual any help/ guidance would be appreciated. John

Dave thanks for the above post. I'd prefer to do an operational mark. I'll send you a pm. The thing I love about BM and this hobby is the way numpties like me get help to turn out something passable thanks chaps JohnT

I was lucky enough to have dinner with him on Saturday night. It was quite funny in a way. I sat next to him and his wife and wanted to talk planes. he discovered that we had been to the same school and that he was brought up in the same Borders town that I lived in for many years and wanted to talk school and Melrose ! He showed quite an interest in coming to the FP dinner next year. A lovely man and charming wife. His talk on Sunday about the British Miles Supersonic project and his comments on the Me 163 and 262 were incisive, thoughful and authoritative. If Carlsberg made the ideal weekend........................................ JohnT PS why has he not been favoured with more honours than he has been?? OK he is not a party supporter with a fat donor chequebook but surely if ever a man deserved recognition for what he has done?? The Yanks have him as the only non US citizen in their USN hall of fame !

Good idea I was just thinking that if the Black Buck Boys could have read Sharkey Wards comments on their efforts they might have used him for a little inter service rivalry target practise/ proof of concept first ! Mind you he was only saying what many in the FAA were thinking with some justification even if he was a wee bit harsh. I think he missed the "you do what you can with what you have" prospectus and was not overly generous to the RAF boys. Anyway are we going to see this soon ??

Were you thinking Argentinian carrier or Royal Navy ?

just a public note to thank Andy who sent me a HUGE list of alterations to turn this inaacurate plastic into something decent. I am due you a pint my friend. JohnT

Congratulations to all I was there when my wee boy was born and learned a whole new respect for the ladies !!!

Hi Tony sorry for the silence. The answer is "yes" and also "No" ! I did get there eventually with family digital camera. What I found was that most of the interesting exhibits have been overly crammed into a very dark hangar to make way the the super dooper Concorde exhibit which just about gets a huge brightly lit hanger all to itself with bags of room. Some of what we wanted is just about touching and the hangar was like a black out was in place I had heard something to the effect that the management of the Royal Scottish Museum don't care for military types that much and are happy to prejudice their military exhibits accordingly. Don't know it thats just unfounded rumour so large pinch of salt to be taked here please. And Concorde might be more to do with money/"bums on seats" Anyway our camera just was not up to it. I have some pics which I will glady send out for what they are worth but the hangar was pitch black so you get the front of subject quite well done but the rear is like a black cat at night in the coal shed. Dear old auntie sadly passed away and left me a bob or two which hopefully will be coming through in a month or two so I plan to get a better digital set up and one that can cope with such variations - the photographers on here reading this please feel free to pass on recommendations and also comment. Meantime we have a nice traditional SLR Nikon and plan to return to try and repeat the pics with a better film type camera, then scan the prints and see what we get. Its taking longer than expected because Sue has promised to let me have Matthews small bedroom as a study/modelling room but only after I redecorate the guest bedroom for him and the downstairs sitting room as a guest bedroom. Still be worth it in the end. I will try and get back fairly soon though and hopefully if its a nice day as opposed to total gloom and rain as was last time, they will open the end hangar doors and let som daylight in though i don't recall them doing that with that particular hangar in the past By the way the attendant confirmed they don't allow anyone into the Vulcan cockpit due to health and safety on the ladder in and out. Do I have your e-mail address - pm me with it and I'll send you what I have thought , as I said its not at all great John

Hi Andy That would be very much appreciated. I suspect that I will live with quite a lot on this one through sheer ignorance whereas I'd bin a plane with similar type problems. Still might be a challenge and if all else fails my 4 year old can inherit it as a fun toy after I build it - one way or the other ! regards John

I have not done a tank before except for several OOB builds of Airfix stuff when still at primary school and kits came in bags ! I always fancied the Chieftan though as looking purposeful and a quality piece of kit. The 1/25 remote radio job from tamiya is back doing the rounds and Graham at Relish has a good deal on. Not enough to tempt me but then I saw one on Flea Bay so I bid a lowish offer and got it at £80. I hope thats a decent buy Trouble is all I know is that its a model of the prototype and otherwise I know He Haw about AFV modelling. I can't see any reviews by Googling. Any thoughts about where I might find a Numpty's Guide to AFV modelling? Or maybe advice as to how to upgrade to an operational in service tank. I see there are a couple of real ones up for sale but buying one for research might be a tad OOT. And I'd never smuggle it past the wife into the garage On the other hand she wants to change her car for a 4x4 as we live in the country and she does not like driving in the snow etc - maybe I should suggest this http://www.milweb.net/webverts/49351/ its got a decent top speed, 4 wheel drive and road presence, No?

You are on Steve !

Ah ha ! Sounds like they are having fun. They are still at it after 90 minutes constant. Not overhead but local. Pity its dark. Sounds like Tornados or similar

Thanks for all the input guys. Its responses like these that never cease to amaze me. The depth of knowledge is only matched by the BM'ers willingness to share it. I have bought five lottery tickets and if I win the big one I'll pay for you guys to have a week at the US archives to have a rumage through them !! JohnT

Any idea whats up? Sounds of fast jet aircraft for at least 50 minutes. Constant and can't see anything so a way off from sunny but dark Oxton - 20 miles South from Edinburgh city centre. TD2 postcode if that helps

Is this where I find out how big a warning you get for starting fights in the playground? I think I saw a "lets not get started on that one" type comment a while back. I am doing some preliminary research into a 603 City of Edinburgh RAuxAF line up and have most of the models in the stash already so I was looking at finding a bit more about the squadron from the very good 2 Vol history and on Saturday I bought the Osprey "Malta Spitfire Aces" book. The consensus seems to be that when 603 embarked on the carrier Wasp for Malta they were painted in a disruptive camo pattern. The photos in black and white show it quite well but you can't say if it was sea temperate scheme or desert browns. The Osprey book says it was the desert scheme of Middle Stone/ Dark Earth/ Sky blue. The squadron history acknowledges that it might have been the temperate scheme but against that the authors reckon that the photos available do not show the aircraft being hoisted aboard with the leading edge yellow strip on mainplanes and sky band round fuselage that would come as standard with the sea temperate scheme so balance favours them being painted in desert camo disruptive pattern. They also speculate that there would not have been the urgency to re-paint aircraft already in a disruptive grey pattern but there woud be if they were in two shades of brown and comment was that an if order came through to re-paint while on board before flying off in a blue/grey scheme (as possibly it was thought that the Spitfires would be spending most of their time over water) the blue/grey scheme would have been better to conceal the aircraft. No one seems to know for sure if the re-paint order came before the Wasp left the Clyde and if paint was taken on board for the purpose of a repaint or if supplies on US navy non specular sea blue presumably already on board had to be used if the order came through after sailing. (? Would Wasp carry enough paint in stock store for such an extensive re-paint as a matter of course?) I think the most likely consensus view from the 2 books is a the aircraft were embarked in a disruptive scheme - which one probably does not matter that much if painting a Spitfire in its arrived condition though patches of original paint scheme showed through on some aircraft round serial etc which were not over-painted. b many if not all were re-painted in some haste while on board with a paint colour thats anyones guess - depending on whether the paint was embarked in haste too or was already from an on board stock . c the paint didn't wear well when in service on Malta and looks like all sorts of fading and wear seems to have taken effect So - can I use any blue/gey paint I fancy then ? !!! And do I get a warning for starting something? Have ready just in case One final passing thought - a strange precursor of the hurried paint job done on the SHARs for the Falklands War. It might be interesting to compare the 2 scenarios re rough re-paint, paint from store, etc JohnT

Lovely job and thanks for reminding me of something I had totally forgotten about - my uncle built me this kit in what must have been about the late 1950's - damn, just given my age away again !

As one lens user to another Dan I just hope you don't start work before putting your lenses in and then mix up the cases ! Red eye or what ! JohnT

Nick I pulled the book and had a look as its years since I read it and memory fades. There is a short Chapter on the RAF clandestinely using RB45C's from Sculthorpe and another on Canberra flights. It suggests that 540 Squadron did the overflights and that a/c wh726 was involved. The only pic of acanberra is a generic shot of the underside of wj819 PR7 pulled away from the photo plane regards John

Hi Nick I,ve a copy of Spy Flights of the Cold War I'll pull it tonight and pm you if I find anything interesting - or will post as well if of general interst regards John ps when do you get your exam results??