JohnT

Fantastic Just enjoy and send to a hot underground location with anyone who dares criticise what you do with your time and money BUT I JUST HAD A HORRIBLE THOUGHT SERIOUSLY When I bought a large number of signed and valuable aviation prints and a couple of originals I had to declare them as a potential "collection" and have values done for house insurance otherwise in the event of a loss by fire, theft whatever I would not be covered. So PLEASE - all of you who have a valuable stash, check your house contents insurance and, if in doubt send details to the insurer IN WRITING and get a reply IN WRITING. If they telephone to say its ok ask either for a letter or send them a letter recording the terms of the call. Otherwise the conversation never happened - trust me on that ! Although the kits will be under the limit watch the small print in case the Insurer says that as a collection they value over limit and therefor void the policy. Possibly the whole policy !! I have had clients with losses issues over the years so watch the sods. They will bin the whole policy cover and hand you a cheque back for the premiums if they can get away with it - and usually they can because of the oddities of insurance law which is different from the normal legal position sorry to go on but something for everyone to think over and maybe check out? regards John PS Mods - worth warning members more generally? a thought

and Cooper State Models Blue Max kit available from Kingkit at £21.99 plus posts from what I see on his site hope that helps pics available from linky below http://wwi-cookup.com/sopwith/snipe/kitreview_bmsnipe.html regards John

I think the rationale is that if the bomber is even just a little faster it can route away from known fighter bases and even though the fighter is still faster still it has to travel some way to catch the bomber. If the speed differential between them is not that great then there is a chance the fighter will never make up the distance. Cold War spy overflights to the USSR were planned on that basis I think? Was that not one of the reasons the Canberra, Buccaneer, TSR2 and V Bombers never had any defensive arms and just relied on electronics? The trouble with the plan is that if the fighter jocks get a new bird thats a quantum leap then it rather leaves the scheme exposed and vulnerable and it was not introduced widely in WW2 because of the concerns re rapid development of aircraft and the worry that the germans would and could develope a fighter that was much faster thereby leaving the bombers totally defenceless when interception takes place. John

Col, Christian, Andy, Den and Nigel many many thanks chaps Zip lock bags it is and then to lever arch I have the plastic bins too so I'll put them inside that as well regards John

Hi guys looking to pick brains please Due to circumstances I have not been able to find build time for many years but that is slowly changing. I have bought over 200 models meantime in the stash which are carefully stored in my integral garage on some good quality shelving. The garage has always been dry -since built 20 plus years. But in the last week or two I have felt it a little damp and noticed that some paper work nearer the door being - well limp ! Decided to move the decals out all the boxes - includes after market decals bought to use instead of kit ones. Any do's and don't re storage methods? I'd thought of buying a good quality ring binder - lever ach thingy and 200 plus plastic sheets to slip each sheet into. Should I move the instruction sheets too? Any horror stories to avoid? Any advice much appreciated (Yes Yes - I know "Get on and start building !!") thanks John

On BBC Radio 4 tonight at 2002 and the for 7 days on I Player The story of Russias Night Witches aka Stalins Falcons Female fighter pilots in WW2 worth a listen while modelling something?

At least a few I think David the Air Britain Washington file has photos of WF497 of 15 Sqn code LS A serial white on black WF498 Code LS B same scheme the rule seems to be that if the aircraft had been painted black underneath that the way it came There's a good photo of "Forever Amblin" nose art. The aircrat is WF503 of 90 Sqn 13 Dec 1951. Nosewheel door overall red. The 3 panels over which the US had painted the aircraft name have been "scrubbed" to remove it but "Forev -and the first "half" of the next "E" is clearly still visible. The next panel was scrubbed clean and the third shows "LING" stained onto the metal. A good pic of the first Washington delivery with WF437 still sporting USAF serial codes 469680 landing with one prop (inner stabd) feathered and oil streaming everywhere from under the cowling John

ditto ditto Can any maritime specialist say if they are easily backdated to their Jutland config? My grandfather was a boy sailor on Malaya at Jutland and would like to do one for obvious reasons. he didn't get killed only because an officer told him to leave his post and run a message to another part of the ship. When he got back she had a direct hit in his area and his mates were simply gone. There was doubt after he died whether he was on Barham at Jutland. He served on both but from what have read Malaya took some big hits so I am guessing it was her thta he was on at Jutland. JohnT

Hi I have the same plan in mind and have an Air Britain Monograph publication which covers the aircraft in RAF service in great detail and loads of pics. You might still get a set of decals in 1/48 K4/19 Kits at War which might still be available. Send me a pm if you want any info or maybe copies of specifics. Actually thats an open invite chaps as long as we don't infringe copyright and its just for personal research purposes JohnT

Isn't that what the Football Club Chairman says about the Manager the day before he gets sacked?

Heard Sir Christopher Meyer on BBC Radio 4 Start The week this am on way into work and he said something which made more sense than most things re what we do usually and pertiment to this abject nonsense. I was driving and therefor only half paying attention but I think the gist of what he was saying was that we need to identify what our national interests are. Once we have done that we should then put policy and hardware into place to prosecute those interests. What we tend to do is leave the various Government Depts, Foreign Office, MOD etc to do their own thing far too much and as a result we fail in our prepartion and planning. Sounded about right and would explain this fiasco over the carriers, JSF, as well as Trident, Eurofighter Typhoon - need I go on? On a previous post I said I wondered if only two carriers were enough and were not three the minimum for force credibility? But one ! What about the need for 2 decks to have an alternate landing deck if one goes down? Or do we only go along with our European allies and share with France? Too bad if they veto our Foreign Policy a la Iraq and leave their carrier in port. (ok bad choice of example but you see where I am coming from!!!) One is a waste of money as it normally can't do the job on its own without a divert land base or other countries carrier in anything like a real war situation or so I would have thought.

Humbie is about 10 minutes from where I live. My Mum was a girl with my Gran out in the streets of Edinburgh when they reckon they saw the 16 Oct chase across the skyline. (Her other claim to fame was being in the same class as Sean Connery!)

You are welcome When I was student I worked 2 summers at Edinburgh airport for BA and then Scotia Airport Services. Giving my age away it was at the old Turnhouse and I was on and off Trident3's, Vanguards, Britannia, F27's and the saturday DC3 Fun and games with the short runway in bad/wet weather. I recall we once sent a Trident with almost no fuel on board off to Glasgow to top up with fuel there as it couldn't get off the short Edinburgh runway with enough fuel to get to Heathrow! Tony's right about the FAA - I noticed that too but tucked in the text is the proviso "in British airspace" From memory a wee while later they clobbered some He 111s and that was the first to be brought down on UK soil. Some houses got peppered with .303 when a Spitfire sprayed a 111 over the district of Portobello wile it was beating a retreat. JohnT

BBC running news item on the first German a/c to be shot down by RAF in WW2 destroyed in British airspace that is. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_...and/8306768.stm lets hope Fl Lt Gifford gets his Memorial erected JohnT

Sorry if this has been done beofre but East Fortune Museum have a quality 360 degree interactive look round in colour of the cockpits (front and rear) of their Vulcan - the Black Buck/Rio one They also do the Jaguar, Comet and Concorde interiors too along with a couple of educational interactive games for the kids - well thats my story and I am sticking to it link:-http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/museum_of_flight/360_degree_cockpit_views.aspx enjoy JohnT

suppose just suppose they do produce a Valiant, and have the Vulcan on sale too would it be too much to ask that they also produce the lovely crescent wing one too....................... and maybe even offer all three in an all white scheme boxing along with a re-issue of the Bristol Bloodhound set sorry just slipped off into a dream while dozing there... JohnT

Great watch as was written recently how typical of us Brits - first time we get the FAA first rate fighters and strike aircraft and helicopters in their history capable of taking on anyone anywhere and then we axe the carriers - Duh! JohnT

some pretty neat work http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8303567.stm tricky! well done lads JohnT

just for their looks 1 Victor (straight out a Dan Dare comic) 2 Vulcan 3 Sea Vixen 4 Lightning 5Hunter 1st Sub Bucc or Harrier JohnT

If going on sexy looks only and non RAF so I can't say Victor and Vulcan or Hunter 1 Hustler 2 Vigilante 3 Early Mig 21 4 XB 70 Valkyrie 5 Tu 22 Blinder 1st sub off the bench - B47 Stratojet 2nd sub F104 Starfighter ah nostalgia ain't what it used to be John T

I saw him interviewed several times on television and he struck me as a decent man. If I recall correctly in one interview he talked about a time when a train carrying his wife (she might have been pregnant?) and child (children?) were attacked by Mosquitoes and they were hurt (grievously I think) and he did so without rancour or any hint of bitterness. (Memeory fails me in the detail) Rather just left the impression that it was war and these things happen sadly. I wondered if he didn't like war very much. If the chap was as he appeared I'd say he was a decent type and I am sorry to see him pass away

I understand the surveilance was to be through 360 degrees this web page gives some useful insight with the usual caveats as to accuracy of content http://www.spyflight.co.uk/Nim%20aew.htm JohnT

Hi Dave as you know I am doing a couple of these as part of a wee pet project so will follow where you lead ! keep up the good work ! regards John

I don't want to add something off thread but this might help Steve in a round about way. If the cost of some equipment is a bit steep for some of us and the others probably wouldn't use it that often anyway is there any scope for modellers like myself paying a fee to other modellers for assistance in say moulding a part for us using their expensively bought equipment that might end up paying for itself? Then Steve gets helped out and Mike gets the dosh to buy his wunderworkshop. Suppose the down side is Mike working all hours for us lazy gits though! Mods please move to another thread if this is too off topic JohnT

just saw this and thought what an amazing story. http://spitfiresite.com/reference/camoufla...e-galitzine.htm Wonderful material for a film. Anyone know any more about this guy? sorry if this has been covered before JohnT