Jon Kunac-Tabinor

Hi chaps- please do let us know if your subscription copies haven't arrived. We can feed this back to ensure it doesn't repeat. We did indeed change our fulfilment company for subscribers as we felt that in the long run it would provide a far more efficient level of service- especially to Europe. I'm sorry if there's been the odd hiccup as the first issue has gone out with them, but it should settle down now. I suspect that the long long Easter weekend just beforehand may also have just added its own twist too. I'm also glad the tribute to Valeriy was well received too. War always takes the kindest and best first. cheers Jonners

HI, please can you edit your post and make clear you that mean the Scale Aviation Modelling International ( aka 'SAMI') Facebook page. SAM - Scale Aircraft Modelling is owned, and successfully run and published, by an entirely separate company - Guidelines Publications Ltd. We are no way linked to SAMI. cheers Jon Tabinor

I'm obviously slightly biased here, but I would say that there seems to be space for both 'online' and 'onpaper' still. The diversions and byways that online build threads can meander down are, of course, part of the charm, and can be entertaining and informative too. They can however also add length and often some amount of tedium to proceedings, especially if things boil over or become so totally off topic as to confuse. There is also the issue of potentially interesting threads that go on at a pace for a while and then simply die because the OP has lost interest in the build or just can't be bothered to post (and it can be arduous to try and maintain a constant flow of updates). The print magazine still presents the reader with a complete, self contained article, that's hopefully edited well to make it germain and engrossing. At SAM we prefer articles that have as much work-in-progress as possible because we are aware that online can often be a better place to post large numbers of pictures of the finished model, and we'd rather use the space we have to tell a more balanced story. The quality of the article can only ever be as good as what's submitted, although (and I speak from experience) while it's impossible to make a better model for them, it's perfectly possible to polish a contributors words. If the modelling is good then the text can always be made to match. That's kind of what the editors job is - along with selecting the articles too - it's to ensure that a contribution is displayed to the readers in the best way. People often say they are no good at writing and that's what puts them off submitting items to a magazine: but if you think about it - that should put people off posting online too. You shouldn't let it though - we always say 'just tell us what you did and why'. We can then make that into an article. At Guideline Publications we always pay, and pay on time. And we always publish, and publish on time. That's why we have a queue of people that want to write for us, and what we print is interesting. I'd say it's better to have modelling available over a range of media than try and limit it to a few. Each has its advantages and each has its limits. Don't let a few rotten apples put you off either- you also get them online anyway just as you do in the real world. cheers Jonners

Hi all - thanks for the info - so this is what I've gone for. Cheers Jonners

Hi chaps, editing Model Truck World means I'm late to reply here, so my apologies. I've asked the question as posed by @Nobby Clarke and Gary, the Editor, says that the Vallejo colours quoted are selected by the profile artist. They come from Vallejo's catalogue and in the artist's opinion represent best the subject he's illustrating. What essentially the endorsement is saying is that 'if you use Vallejo paints, as many do, these are the colours available in their range that our artist recommends based on his research for the subject in hand.’ Advertising revenue is an important part of keeping affordable print on the newsstands, and we value our connections with the many companies we work with. Author, Paul Lucas, has no input or connection with the paints quoted. As mentioned previously, his research is based solely on source documentation and any colours he quotes are from the RAF's Vocabulary of Stores. I hope that answers the question. Paul, you can still get the article in the PDF download version of the magazine: https://pocketmags.com/scale-aircraft-modelling-magazine/december-2021 cheers Jonners

That's lovely. I'll drop you a line about buying some. Have you contacted SAM about reviewing them? cheers Jonners [edit- I just bought some via your ebay shop! ]

Thank you! It's such an under investigated area that I'm sure there are more colour scheme tangles to be undone fro Korea, and as you have pointed out elsewhere, the F-86A remains bafflingly united too. I suspect we have more chance of an injection Yak -9U first! Many thanks Jonners

They have an Ebay shop that they advise UK purchasers to use- but the price for 1 set plus postage and duty was almost £30 A little like Jon below I was worried that the kit parts and Ali's 3D printed ones weren't correct as most photos in that area are indistinct. These really do show the dampeners as baffles more than extended exhausts - so a very big thank you! Jon, be careful trimming them from their support forest - especially the forward baffle attachment- they are also a tight fit into the exhaust recess too- so a gentle sand helps.

Hi all, I'm building Modelvit's lovely, if fiddly, new kit and this aircraft is one of the options. The kit omits any colour spinner front and forgets to tell you to paint the prop tips yellow, but the big thing is that just before they were used over Korea, there's a set of BW photos showing this machine plus others in flight and 390 has a pair of parallel, oblique fuselage stripes which look rather natty. The internet and previous kits seem to have settled on these being red with either a dark red spinner or a blue spinner font. BUT- and I know all the provisos of BW photo interpretation – the photo shows the tone of these strips to be very different from the red code next to them, and the closest tonal match on the image is to 'Dotty Mae' FQ-394 - of which a colour photo exists showing a medium blue single fuselage stripe and spinner. So the question is - what am I missing that everyone else has gone with red stripes? I can literally find no other sources of info. cheers Jonners the occasional

Sadly very difficult to get in the UK and if you buy via the ebay site its will expensive because of shipping and import charges. But they are Beautiful though! Jonners

To be honest, web and print work in conjunction a lot of the time. Long detailed online build threads are great, but they go off topic (sometimes for pages); the builder goes quiet, gets side-tracked in a new project, or just gives up. When they work though they are like expert monographs. Print magazines don't do this, of course, but at least you know you will get a full article with a start, a middle, and an end! The death of print has been prophesied for years, and yet still it goes on. It is at least a mature technology that can be read anywhere, whereas online evolves continually leading to problems of just where to access these builds- forums, social media, blog etc. At the moment content is mostly free, but we are starting to see the first hints that some of it will go behind paywalls as expert modellers start to decide that they can perhaps make a living from being online as well as in print. I say enjoy it all. Cheers Jonners

At Guidelines Publications, the best way is to email one of us with a couple of pictures, or message us via the Facebook messenger app. Please be aware that we sometimes can take a wee while to get back- especially if you email outside of what might loosely be called 'work hours' or at the weekend. We tend to prefer articles that show the whole story of a model build, rather than just pics of the finished kit. This can of course make it difficult to submit an article of an already finished model without knowing that, but pictures of a finished model will at least let us see how you build and paint things. If in doubt- just email or message though. Cheers Jonners

Oops! corrected and thank you for spotting that. cheers Jonners

Hi chaps, I know I'm a bit like an absent tenant nowadays – but as this is my 'ancestral' home I'm hoping you will be happy to see this years output. Many have appeared in SAM because that's my day job, but theres still a few managed for me'sen. In no particular calendar order here they are: Eduard's 1/48 Spitfire 1 from the box, in Al Deere's markings 1940. The Airfix 1/48 Blenheim Mk 1 night fighter turned into a bomber, with a Gaspatch Vickers VGO and decals from print scale for a 45 Sqn machine 1940. Azur's 1/72 Martin 139 WH-2 bomber in ML-KNIL markings of 2e Afdeling, Vliegtuiggroep III (2nd Squadron, Airgroup 3), early 1942. S-Models 1/48 vacform Vultee P-66 Vanguard in Chinese Nationalist markings. Hasegawa 1/48 Hawker Typhoon with Ultracast Tempest tail-planes, Eduard Tempest MkIII RP rails, a Brengun etch radiator set, lots of scratchbuilt bits in the pit, UC bay, wing tanks and modified RPs, the top nose profile improved with a cut-in old Eduard Tempest top cowl and Aviaology decals for 'Sharky' from 245 sqn, Germany 1945. This was a recovery effort for something I started years ago, so I'm pleased it finally made it! Roden's 1/48 T-28C Trojan converted to a Fennec in Armée De l'Air markings of EALA 03/009 at Bône in 1961 Algeria from Berna. Modified cockpit, scratchbuilt French gun pods and top cowling cooling intake. reskit wheels. Special Hobby's 1/32 Whirlwind finished in Operation Starkey Dieppe markings as a 'Whirlibomber' flown F/Sgt George A. Wood 263 Sqn, with two of Tim Perry's splendid 250lb MC bombs under the wings. Special Hobby 1/72 Douglas B-18B of the 25th Anti-Submarine wing, USAAF 1943 Academy 1/72 PBY-5A, from VP-11 'Black Cats' USN, engaged in evacuating Australian troops operating behind enemy lines from Papua New Guinea, late 1943. Airfix 1/48th Sabre MK.6 converted to MK.6 with scratch-built slatted wings, sugar scoop intakes and a rebuilt cockpit. Finished as No.2 Sqn machine of the SAAF late 1950s, with markings taken from a variety of sources. Special Hobby's (Eduard) 1/48 Tempest II finished in Indian Air Force markings, probably of the Tempest Conversion Training Unit. Finishing the year as I started (properly) with a Spit. Eduard's new 1/48 Mk.Vc with a few mods to make USAAF machine of the 4th Fighter Squadron , 52nd Fighter group, Corsica late 1943 using Lifelike decals for James H. Montgomery's 'Impatient Virgin II' That's it. Not making it, but still in the game are Tamiya's F-16C converted to a F-16AM with BAF D-Day anniversary decals, Airfix new vampire being turned into a Mistral, A Tamiya Dewoitine 520 that's only half riveted, An F-104DJ that's about 25% built, and Tamiya's F-4B. Currently there's a Zero on the bench too Hope you like 'em! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. Jonners

As ever mate, I am in awe at your models. They are always well researched, well built, and your brush painting continues to look faultless. Moreover, you take the viewer on a brilliant trip around the oft less well-travelled roads of the RAF and Commonwealth air forces. A pleasure to see, and a very Merry Christmas to you! Jonners