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Thanks, Roy, but I have not been able to find anything on line indicating that Riko were the manufacturers. Thanks for your help, John

The Whirlybits resin sponsons are excellent, I got some late in 2015. Roger Evans will be pleased to take your order, I'm sure. The only price list I seem to find on line is dated 2014, but I am sure it has been updated recently: http://www.whirlybirdmodels.com/img/Product%20Range%20leaflet%20-%20Nationals%202014%20A5%20-%20v2.pdf When I ordered my bits (I also got some DH 88 stuff at the same time) I emailed Roger first to check on availability and price and then orderd after he had confirmed it was in stock. John

Some ten years ago a friend of mine presented me with a clear, flexible 1/24th body shell for a slot car he was about to build. He asked me if I could paint it for him in the correct Mk1 Lotus Cortina colours. It took me a while to discover that it was best painted on the inside of the shell, not the outside and most definitely not with Humbrol. A few weeks later I gave him a body shell that was the best I could do with Pactra and brushes. To my amazement he was quite impressed. After this Christmas he asked me if I could find out where he got the kit from because he could not remember. He suspected that it came from a small one-man-band in Germany as a body, separate chassis, axles and wheels, motor and pick ups. He completed it a year or so ago and has raced it but it is seemingly a great rarity. Fellow slot car enthusiasts want to know where he got it from. Mk1 Lotus Cortina PTFE or whatever flexible clear plastic body, 1/24th scale. Not the usual 1/32, I would have never managed to paint that properly on the inside! Apart from one supplier in Australia (Pattos or some such) hours on the internet has not yet found any other such 1/24 body shells or even complete kits Does anybody here have any recollection of a European supplier of something like this just after the millennium? Thanks, John

Kari, This British website may be worth a look: http://ajaviation.co.uk/pegasus-models/ They list the BE2e Pegasus kit but you will have to ask if it is available. Kingkit in the UK also have it listed but with no price given so it is not in stock with them. John

Richard, this link will explain all: http://www.freelists.org/post/jhb/Tiger-Moth-GANOD Of the images of G-ANOD on line, one has the 601 'badge' on the fin but another does not. Hope this helps, John

From the WWII Missing-lynx site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNGO1YFKtQ0 Presumably an Advanced Landing Ground being built and then used, worth a look. John

This be it; 75th anniversary special markings, unfortunately not the rouge er blanc ordinaire: http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48298 John

Thank you, Andre. That has been very helpful. I have discovered that there was allegedly a set pattern for the two colour blue/sand camouflage. It was one pattern with four variants; the pattern with blue/sand or colours reversed to sand/blue, then a mirror image pattern again with blue/sand or sand/blue. I still cannot make this fit the images I see, but I suppose that there was the local variation that you show with the three colour Mirages. Just like on the real thing, brush painting and you make a 'small error' so the paintwork changes just a bit from the proper plan........room for interpretation! Thanks again, John

I am looking at a couple of Israeli Dorniers and trying to sort their camouflage schemes. Ten Dornier 27s were delivered in October 1964, colours unknown, and camouflaged in blue/brown uppers and grey undersides in 1967. Was this to any standard pattern? I get the impression that this scheme was randomly applied, but there are few images of these aircraft from that time. Later they and the other Do 27 deliveries were repainted in the three-colour brown/sand/green scheme but once again images on line and in books indicate that there was little standardisation. This also seems to be the case with their rather more elusive big brother, the Dornier 28. This was bought in smaller numbers but its intelligence role made it rather shy; most images show the later plain sand topsides. Later aircraft, particularly the fighters, seem to have relatively standardised colour schemes, but the older second line aircraft seem to be almost individually painted. Can anybody please help with any more information? Thanks, John

Gentlemen, I have spent some hours fruitlessly seeking the Britmodeller link where I found some remarkable informaation from Edgar that just may be helpful in this discussion. When It appeared I copied information from two documents from it and now have failed to find them again. However, this link provides a clue: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/76391-raf-late-war-camoflage/page-3 Nick Millman refers to the first document from WR Merton on 17th Sept 1942 about 'chalking' on a Whitely bomber and asking for Dr J E Ramsbottom at RAE to look at one on loan from 612 squadron currently at the RAE. This referred to repainting a small part of a 'chalked' upper surface TSS camouflage scheme and its markedly increased reflectivity. The response from Ramsbottom on the 25th September noted that the fading was indedd due to 'chalking' but also pointed out that washing with soapy water and a stiff brush followed by rinsing with fresh water restored the original finish BUT the original paintwork had whitened considerably. The dark Slate grey was between the original colour and Light Slate Frey and the Extra Dark Sea Grey was nearer to Dark Sea Grey. This was on Whitley Z9377, WL-M of 612 Squadron. How relevant this is to a canvas-covered Wellington wing I cannot say, but the finding is interesting and may well account for some of the variations in colour/hue/tone seen within a singlre print. Does this help or hinder? Clarify or confuse? You decide. John

Try your local library. Even if Cambs do not have it in their county stock then you can order it on an inter-library loan. It will cost something between £3 and £5, best book bargain for odd titles that you can ever get. I do lots of this through the Kent library service, they are excellent. Normally you get it for three weeks, but usually you can extend that to six. Gives you plenty of time to browse..... John

It looks like MERDC, an attempt by the US Army to produce a standardised camouflage scheme in about six or seven different sets of colours for use all over the world. The trials involved three helicopters a well as lots of different vehicles. This is the link to the PDF of the report: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/778726.pdf The illustrations start at page 34, there are shots of an AH-1, UH-1 and OH-58 on pp45 and 46. It was not a great success although there are many Greek military vehicles still in the scheme. I had a rifle pointed at me when I produced a camera and gestured to a soldier asking if it was ok to photograph his parked MERDC M38 jeep back in 2005. Obviously it was still top secret..... As far as I am aware only those three helicopters ever appeared in those colours. As to the colours used, this is helpful: http://gurth.home.xs4all.nl/afv/merdc.html Google 'MERDC' and there is a lot out there, but the PDF is the only site where I have found reasonable images of the helicopters. Hope this helps, John

Wow, that was a fast response! Thanks, that picture is of her going down to New Orleans to be put into the sea in December 1942. She was built at Manitowoc Shipbuilding company in Wisconsin. She was launched in April 1942 and did her sea trials in Lake Michigan. She then had her periscopes and part of her sail removed and was sent south in the floating drydock. She was built with the propellor guards as in the photo, but I suspect that they may have been removed later in her career but cannot find out when. She was only finally scrapped in 1960 after four years as a training boat from 1956; I believe she was mothballed for some years before that. As to having a set of 'bolt-on' guards, I can see the logic but it must have been a right performance to fit and remove without actually harming the things they were meant to protect! This is a vanity build, Peto is actually my name (sadly I do not even remotely resemble a slender fish....too many beers over the decades) but it was a fairly successful boat during its wartime campaigning. I think I will cheat and go with unguarded and naked propellors and remember to add the second Oerlikon on the cigarette deck.......forgot to mention that in my first post. If anybody else can add to this I will be pleased to learn more, thanks, John

I am building a Gato class submarine from mid/late 1945, SS-265 Peto from the Trumpeter 1/144 kit. I have the armament (20mm Oerlikon, 40mm Bofors forward, 5'' gun aft) and a good idea of the bridge/shears arrangement. However, the prominent propellor guards are a mystery. Most of the images I have seen of late-war Gato boats show no guards visible when moored, but some do. I saw one reference, years ago, that they were only fitted when moored (which seems to be unlikely) but their presence is not consistent. Can anybody enlighten me, please? Would the Peto have propeller guards or not in late 1945? Or is it yet another known unknown to savour..... Thanks, John

John Rawlings 'Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons' has a starboard side view of this aircraft on page 86. It isn't very large, It sort of matches the colour profile. No front turret, just a perspex dome, 'stickleback' radar masts, "A' in dark tone (tonally much closer to the roundel blue than the roundel red so I am not convinced that it is actually red as shown) forward of the roundel, "WV' in a very pale tone (probably light grey) aft of the roundel, grey/green camouflaged fin and a rectangular window above the wing trailing edge, not the usual semi-triangular one further aft. There is another glazed area on the starboard nose between the cockpit and the bomb aimers panel. It has a normal tail turret. The serial is above the tailplane in light grey on the upper fuselage camouflage. My varifocals and the eye of faith make me think it is W5733, as listed below! Rawlings gives the following code/serial combinations for 172 Squadron Wellington VIIIs: W5733-A; BB503-D; ES986-F; HF828-C; HX396-J; HX599-J; HX653-L; LA998-F; LB114-K; LB216-W. These are from April 42 until February 43. I hope this is helpful, John

Start here, Sniper: https://fyldebbmfund.wordpress.com/gifts-of-war-presentation-spitfires/ Find the name then the serial number. I assume it is reliable, it seems to be very comprehensive. There is also a book with similar information, I belleve. Then go to: http://www.airhistory.org.uk/spitfire/ From this incredible labour of love you can look up the serial number and find out a huge amount about the history of each of your Spitfires. This will include the squadrons on which it served. From then on Google may, or may not, be your friend. Good luck! Oh, and my son works in Derry so I have a small interest in this one, too. John

Dear Ian, you have a PM with more information. I hope it is helpful, John

Try here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/36473-bristol-bloodhound-missile/?p=386500 Probably the best source I ever found on how to make the Airfix kit look good, or just make you save up for the Flightpath version! John

It would be churlish to vote when your suggestion makes me wander off into whimsy. The Sea King with its boom and fuselage and the centenary of 22 Squadron prompts me to suggest that they illustrate the event with a depiction of Pi to one hundred places. 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510 58209 74944 59230 78164 06286 20899 86280 34825 34211 70679 The originators of the 22/7 marking would, I think, enjoy that bit of silliness. Why, even their Airships may eventually see the joke. John

Ian, my old Prune, Rawlings Coastal, Support and Special Squadrons has an entry for 244 Squadron. Under Blenheim IV (April 42 - Jan 43) it gives P6931; R3705, G: Z7418; Z7580; Z7629, L; Z9724; Z9735; Z9815 Blenheim V (Oct 42 - Mar 44) it gives BA163, C; BA390, A then later L; BA430, X; BA481, F; BA540, P; BA677, H; BA862, M; BA938, R; EH337, K; EH348, N; EH404, O. From Feb 44 they began to equip with the Wellington XIII. I will look through to see if I can find any images ( I have the big Blenheim book by Graham Warner on loan from Kent libraries at the moment, a lot to look at!) Cheers, John

Iain, this link may be helpful: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234942579-asr-spitfires-revisited/?hl=walrus#entry1348669 Edgar produced an entry in that thread that means red is the colour for 277 Squadron, as I and others had suspected. My Defiant will have red codes! Later on they went to yellow, as Edgar tells us. John

There is another part of the array that most people miss. On the front of the upper wing, just above the fuselage, is another part of the system, the first picture here: http://thebrigade.com/2013/08/21/looking-back-at-the-fairey-swordfish-bomber-37-photos/ Sorry about the few non-Swordfish pictures, but after an hour of scouring the internet that is the best image I can find. Often that is the only indication that radar has been fitted as the censors remove/cover up the Yagi aerials on the struts but miss the bit on the upper wing. Some aircraft still seem to retain the upper wing aerial even if the Yagi array has clearly been removed. John

You might find this website helpful: http://www.aircrew-saltire.org/index.html All manner of things about aviation with a scottish flavour...... They may be able to answer your question. all the best, John, a Kentish Man (or a Man of Kent, I care not which) of either French or Spanish ancestry.

For the Vietnam era I believe the USAF military police used the early M113 and M113A1 and the V-100 as the XM706 and XM706E2 variants, along with the usual M151 Mutts. As far as I know the weaponry was generally the same as used by the US Army and Marine Corps. The USAF never had its own organic equivalent of the RAF Regiment charged with airfild defence (or defense,,,,). A few links: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/182507-v100s-and-their-crew/ http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/coldwar/US/Cadillac_Gage_Commando_M706.php http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?34462-V-100-with-M-60-Searchlight http://militarymashup.com/m706-v100-armored-car.htm http://www.usafpolice.org/tactical-vehicles.html Hope these are useful, John

If anybody is looking for this kit, or some 'Revival' Ferrari kits then my local model shop in Faversham has some in stock. The Hobby Shop http://www.hobb-e-mail.com/ No connection other than as a very satisfied customer. John