roym

And two different hemispheres..

Quite a bit. But I'd say at least nearly half the population would prefer the border in the sea over one reappearing on land and an increasing number of the other half too. I can explain this better if you pm me as putting it here will fall foul of the politics rules

My bad, not being entirely clear. An Post won't be collecting VAT on GB shipments to Italy. It's referring to An Post deliveries in ROI FROM GB only. An Post from ROI to Italy or EU will be as they are now. I'm not aware of what arrangements Poste Italiane S.p.A have with in/out post from GB but i would think it should be similar, but the article is only referring to post going ROI-GB, GB-ROI and NI to ROI. The fact NI is going to stay in EU SM & CU is why there are possible differences between how ROI handles this compared to the rest of the SM and/or CU.

That'll be that nasty new Kent Border!

Well, some clarity, at least in 2 of the 6 possible directions of travel. https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2020/1229/1186872-an-post-brexit-plans/ It does confirm letter post will not be affected in either direction (good news for decals and PE?) It also refers to parcel post, but parcel post and small packet post are two different things, though usually confused to mean the same. I'm not clear here whether the report knows the difference or whether both are affected in the same way. Disclaimer; this only applies to post in/out of ROI with NI or GB. ( An Post doesn't deliver to mainland EU!)

My understanding is there shouldn't be, not NI to ROI or EU as you are still in the single market, definitely NOT NI-GB, and also not GB-NI as long as its staying in NI and not going further in to ROI. That was the whole point of the protocol (at least until it was going to be broken in a limited and specific way). However the GB-NI one will have more paperwork to police/verify that it's staying in NI. How thats going to work I have no idea. (If there was any chance it could get into ROI I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole). A good comparison here is Airfix/Hornby and Revell. Both have production bases in China , and others elsewhere. For Revell it's in Poland, for Airfix its in India. Both had head offices and production facilities in the EU, now only Revell does. Will this have a detrimental effect on Airfix with regards to any new toolings and trying to get CE quality/safety approvals for new products? Not suggesting for one minute they won't, but the cost and paperwork is something that will put them at a disadvantage to the German outfit? Tony Connolly from RTÉ does some excellent reporting on lots of these issues and helps to make sense of a lot of this stuff in plain language. He's definitely worth a following on Twitter and the RTÉ site. A rare thing these days, a journo who just reports the facts with no bias.

Yes thats my understanding too, until everyone knows for sure no-one will chance anything. The NI protocol is supposed to ensure seamless transport between NI to ROI and NI to GB, but not necessarily from GB to NI. However, its so complex and the fact that the IMB was looking to break the law threw everything up in the air, again.

Acknowledged and sorry but I couldn't think of a shorter way to answer Graham's question. We now hand you back to our regular scheduled incoming nightmares.... If anyone ever figures out the answer to the following; Are private sales from me in EU to you in a third country affected and if so, how so? Are private sales coming from you to me? More relevant, are retail from either a shop or cottage industry producer in UK going to be treated as third country as is currently the case with ROW purchases? If so the limit looks like the price of a single decal sheet plus postage before getting hammered.

The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 is what happened. (Slight thread drift follows...) If your a Gaeilgoir you can refer to the country, or island, as Éire or Éireann, (depending on syntax, and with a fada) though on the use for the island, this tends to upset some in the North East of said island. Almost as much as hearing British people call the country 'Eire' does to the rest of us. (And its Éire, btw). It has fallen out of use pretty much here since the 50s. It's generally considered as a derogatory way of addressing the name of the country when spoken by a British person, so is usually taken as an insult. Only exceeded in offence by British referring to the country as 'Southern Ireland', as no such country exists since the 20s. A bit like African Americans and a certain word. We can, we don't, but don't you dare.... Funny, we (the EU) now class GB (but not NI) as a third country. Its all in the language, eh?

So, in light of the Christmas Eve drama and hullabaloo in Brussels, does the fact a deal has been agreed make any impact on this issue? Or on me buying or selling kits to/from GB? (NI not affected, at least for us in ROI).

Yes. Or rather the 'imaginary-friend-Adolf-Hitler'. I think he also directed an episode or two.

Yes but not always. Sometimes I even get to use it to close a discussion. However, the uganaut from season one has given her the killer blow to use. 'I have spoken....'

I've loved it. It's Star Wars, its not meant to be taken seriously.... Look, he's basically Clint Eastwood in space. Roll with it.. That being said, its the best instalment in the franchise since Empire Strikes Back. Definitely superior (and more entertaining) than the last 3 movies imho. It helps that SWMBO (whos not a Star Wars fan) is also thoroughly into it so we have something to watch together. So much so that the phrase 'this is the way' has become the defacto way to settle any arguments in my household. Usually to my detriment....

That Revell looks ok actually. On a par detail-wise with the old Airfix/MPC and probably a better fit. About the same size too? Don't like the hinged canopy though. As long as the shape is OK and not obviously wrong its a runner. Pity the FM is so expensive and rare. 1/72 would look good next to all my aircraft.

Thanks Mike. Are both the Bandai and FM available in 1/72 or only in 1/144? I'll check out the Review of the Revell. Its the only one I'll have any hope of getting locally, even that is not guaranteed..

Hi all, Is there a comparison article anywhere on the different Slave 1 kits? I built the old MPC/Airfix one way back, can barely remember it tbh. I gather the Revell is a similar (box scale) size. I also see kits from FM and Bandai, are these the same tooling? Yes I've been watching (and loving) The Mandolorian.... This is the way.

Hi Eamonn, its sheet 72-16. Long out of print but still turns up from time to time. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/max-decals-7216-irish-air-corps-update-2004--130445

Godspeed....

I'll take one!

Hi bentwaters, can you pm me an email address. I've found a couple of photos on FB of these aircraft.

Given the fact that still, at this point, even now, there is no clarity as to what trading conditions are going to exist after Dec 31st this might all be moot. However as the NI protocol suggests that NI will still be defacto in the SM & CU, any trade going between GB & NI may (or may not!) be treated as trade GB-EU. So that may no longer be an option. The general consensus here in ROI is that it won't be. However, we still don't know for sure. As it stands this is the only confirmed info I have so far, from Anpost.com "Will duty and taxes apply to all goods received from the UK? If the EU and the UK don't reach a customs agreement, goods coming to Ireland from the UK may be liable for duty and taxes except for: Items with a value less than €22 Gift items worth less than €45" A safe bet would be that the reverse is also likely...

I also got one of those. Worked grand for about 5 minutes and then blocked up. Took it apart to clean it and found that what I think was the needle seal (inner of two just behind the forward chrome part, that the head is screwed onto) was made from some clear jelly like substance that was disintegrating. Can you let me know whats in yours?

I did, it was an Aztek! I liked the fact I could use a small (tiny) gravity feed cup for weathering and a large syphon feed glass jar for big areas, on the same brush. And it was light. And able to spray Zero paints. And 10 mins later acrylic. I did get a cheapo chinese side feed cup/jar jobbie off ebay but haven't used it other than testing. (It was bought to see what a "conventional" brush would feel like). It looks suspiciously identical to a Sparmax DH-115 or DH-125. What I've discovered, is it's heavy! And even more so with the braided hose and quick release connections... Also, it seems to have a limited spray pattern, what I would call medium to heavy, but that's probably the origin of the brush and it's price point more than anything. I haven't tried anything harsher than IPA and some revell Acrylic in it yet though, through what is labelled as a 0.2 needle/nozzle. Also has a 0.5 set and something inbetween that's not labelled. I suppose what I need is one that's a gravity feed with changeable cups, or at least a 10-12cc one. Large and small needles/nozzles. Easy to clean and get parts for. Or alternatively two reasonably priced brushes. I could stretch the budget to about €300 for two good ones. I'd like to keep it under €230-250 for one. When I started the options available here (interweb still in it's infancy) were Aztek (lots of value for the reasonable money), or Badger (reasonably priced) or Passche (expensive). Now the number of brands is mind blowing as are the various styles of brush. Anyine use the trigger-type?

Thanks for that. That's news to me. All my old info on Badgers etc showed rubber washers and seals. I'll keep the 3 Azteks until they are all dead but what would the collective recommend for a brush that can do 1/12 car bodies with Zero paints/lacquer, 1/72 aircraft with enamel and some weathering on 1/700 ships with acrylic? And doesn't take 30 mins to clean after a 2 minute spray?

Azteks are the marmite of airbrushes. Love em or hate em. I bought one (a 430) 20 years ago as a starter brush and after 4 or 5 years it lost pressure. As there was a lifetime guarantee I sent it back and they replaced it with a 470. I've still got that one and since bought another (as a backup, as I do some commission work and so can't be without a brush) and rescued a 470 metal body from someone else who was getting rid of it. I still love the simplicity of use and cleaning and that's mainly why I've never moved on. When I got the metal body I noticed that it was screwed together so I opened it. I didn't think I could open the plastic body without breaking it (but I was incorrect there..). Its a relatively simple mechanism but in order to make it live as long as mine it does need to be stripped and serviced every so often. The head does get gunked which stops it opening and closing properly and needs a deep clean every so often. The early models had metal fittings for the trigger/valve mechanism but the later ones are plastic which can break. I've been successful in repairing broken ones with some modified staple wire. The real weak point is the air valve itself. It is simply a tapered rubber tube that is closed with a pinch mechanism in the air valve housing. This way of controlling the air has a great feature that I have not seen in any other double action brush. The air pressure is "linear", in that you can control the pressure from zero to whatever the pressure regulator is set to, by increasing your "press" on the trigger. Every other brush is only ever fully "on" or "off". The down side of this is that eventually the rubber will pierce where it is pinched and I've never been able to find or bodge a replacement. Once this goes the brush is useless. I've tried a couple of inexpensive brushes from China, but as I use everything from acrylic to cellulose (and everything in between) the rubber washers don't last more than a few painting sessions. The fact that I have 4 formerly working brushes here that are now useless because i sprayed cellulose paint has stopped me from buying anything else besides another Aztek. The aztek is impervious to any chemical I've put through it. Its a general purpose tool for sure, not for superfine work, but I love it. What am I going to do if I can't use cellulose or lacquer in a conventional brush without having to replace washers every couple of weeks?