Kiwidave4

You can make any Mk from a Tamiya kit, just depends on your skill/budget! So far I have two Mk2, one Mk5, a Mk11 and a half built Wedge. To go back to a Mk2 or forward to a Mk5 entails some relatively easy scratching. On vehicles with side skirts I retain the kit rubber band tracks but for the Wedge I have a set of Tacom 35068 which I found to be good.

What's the difference between a cavalry horse and a draught horse? One darts into the fray. The other delivers beer.

Very nice. You are building up a fleet! As a young apprentice lad I worked on some of the Skyliner conversions. The end result was quite something in the day, especially the re-modelled interior which made it look more like an airliner and less like a railway carriage.

I know that the little lights on the wingtips are called navigation lights because the pilot gets to where he is going by steering between them.

What a lovely Goldie! Opting for a race bike was a good decision, you have really captured the look of a typical 'Clubmans' machine from the period.

I no longer believe anything I see in the newspapers....unless its fish and chips. And then I take it with a pinch of salt.

I knew you would say that! As David says in his original post there are plenty of photos of Conquerors that clearly do not have DBG extinguishers. That does not mean that DBG was not the official colour, it simply means that there are other 'right' answers. I have no doubt that the period when bull was fashionable could have contributed to the use of colours other than DBG. The point is that other colour/colours were used, and there is plenty of evidence to support that fact. As a civvie building armour I have always taken great pains to get things right, and have discovered by doing so that 'right' is not always the 'official' way. If I was to build a model of a specific Conqueror, at a specific time, using reference photos that clearly show red extinguishers, should I paint them DBG because that's what the regs said? Or should I make an historically correct replica? Thats the real question.

Having just recently completed three different Conqueror builds I have spent a fair bit of time poring over contemporary photos. There were of course different extinguishers on Conqueror (and other Post War tanks). The Graviner methyl bromide extinguishers fitted to the front bins of the Conqueror may have been DBG at some time, but most of my ref photos show them to be a different colour to the tank, and the contemporary colour images show a bright red; - even an orange colour, but we must take into account the colour film of the time and years of image reproduction. The neck was natural brass, although I know from first hand experience that in aviation use these extinguishers also had (non-passivated) cadmium plated necks well before the time Conqueror was in service. The Pyrene carbon tet extinguishers fitted to the rear bins were brass bodied and from my civilian experience left the factory in matt black finish. Seems reasonable to assume that when supplied to the MoD they would also be in matt black or perhaps the contract would specify DBG? Like most 'correct colour' questions there is probably many right answers!

If you watch 'Jaws' backwards it becomes a heartwarming tale about a shark that gives disabled people arms and legs.

Having my ears syringed was one of the most painful things I've ever done. I can now hear my wife.

Heard a 'different' engine note this morning and just got to the window in time to see a Percival Proctor pass immediately overhead. Believe there are two or three airworthy examples here but only personally know of the one based at Hood. May have been it as we are not a long way from there as the Proctor flies. Makes an old man happy to see an aircraft that I can instantly recognise!

When I started this thread I did mention that I was not sure if I had another model in me. After my last update in January I tackled the sideskirts but by the time I had them sorted and was confronted by the tow cable clamps I suddenly lost interest. So the poor little thing has been sitting neglected waiting for the day when I can muster up some enthusiasm. Unfortunately the jobs that need doing are ones I dont want to do! The engine deck mesh covers, the aforementioned tow cable bits and the headlight assemblies are the major jobs. The other stuff is really just fiddly bits like the drivers hatch stay and guides, rear view mirrors and the like. I have gathered six potential crew members and a choice of heads/headgear but I am hoping to get some definitive evidence of the gear they would have worn before tackling them. So I decided to assemble the bits I have got in the hopes that it may just give me a push in the right direction. Decided the Tamiya driver deserved change from being stuck to a sprue so let him give it a go but resisted the temptation to go Brrmm, Brmmm!

Thats nice, and my favourite Victor scheme. As a young aircraft mad boy growing up in St Albans we lived under the approach path to Radlett. The Victor captured my imagination then and is still my favourite military design. It looked pretty futuristic to a small boy, and six decades later looks pretty futuristic to this old man!

The title of the thread caught my eye as the RNZAF operates NH90 and we do have a bit of a history with bad purchase decisions. According to Wikipedia we have the highest hour NH90 due to the types high serviceability rate!!!!

For much of my adult life I've been obsessed with Herons but never seen one. I've read about them, watched films about them, I've walked the rivers and estuaries for miles, spent weeks in hides, still not seen a Heron. Finally this week I decided I would abandon my fruitless pursuit of Herons and move on. Still, when I look back on the Heron period of my life....I've no Egrets.

The Beastie Boys have written a five part anthology. Parts A to D are free, but you have to fight for your right to Part E.

I let my house out to a soldier who told me he was a major. Now that he has done a runner owing me three months rent I know he is a lieutenant.

Nicely done. An aeroplane from my past - I spannered on one at Luton Flying Club in the sixties but did not know Chathams had operated them and have never seen one here. It seems at least one of everything gets to NZ!

In my neck of the woods the footwear in question is known as a jandal, so basically the joke - I use the term loosely - only works in the UK. While we like to claim the jandal as a Kiwi original I believe they were actually designed by a Frenchman - Phillipe Fallope.

This weekend various RNZAF aircraft have been overflying parts of the country to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of its formation. Today the Heritage Flight went from Ohakea to Christchurch in the South Island and back to Ohakea. We were on the schedule but had no idea what route they would take over us. So we stood out in the back garden from about ten minutes before the allotted time and were pleasantly surprised when only a couple of minutes late they appeared flying directly at our house, then executed a turn almost overhead before departing the area. Flight comprised the Avenger, two Harvard II (or whatever they call them!) and a Spit. Sorry about the pic...an iPhone is my only camera these days.

A few years ago I invented beach footwear for people with one leg. It was a flop.

Thanks, sorry I missed your reply earlier. Yes I managed to find sprue shots and instruction sheets online and it looked pretty crude. If I was looking for a big project I might be inclined to tackle it but I was wanting a simple quickie in time for my son-in-laws birthday.

Thanks chaps. After posting my question I finally found some sprue shots on the Net which give me some idea of what I would be starting with - looks like it could be a lot of work!

Although I have modelled most things in my life it is fifty odd years since I last built a motorcycle - the Protar Manx. These days I am very much an armour modeller but whilst browsing our local online auction site I spotted a Honda CB1300 which just happens to be the beast my son-in-law rides. Thought I might get one and build it for his birthday, but have no experience of the Fujimi kits and wonder if any bike builders have an opinion? The specific kit is #141565 - the faired version of the CB. Thanks in advance and anticipation!

I dont buy much these days but BNA is always the first place I look. They usually ship orders the same day as they receive them and their pricing is good.