Jetblast

If it was styrene, I would have it in the blink of an eye. However considering I have never tackled anything in resin before, it would be a pretty expensive way of learning - I should really get round to attempting something simpler (& cheaper) in resin so I can get a feel for this medium.

I had noticed that some Toymaster stores were pretty heavily stocked with the TSR.2 in 1/48 - They have a website with a store directory & some are quite close to you, it migh be worth giving them a bell. TOYMASTER

I don't think you need worry about that - The postie / courier would probably manage that first!

Yes you can, but no matter what you use it will have a slight dulling effect on the chrome.

Regular tube glue or liquid cement fitted with a thin applicator tube are what I have always used - you get used to working with them. Although more recently I have been using some of the weld products like Ambroid Pro Weld & Tenax in long seams or areas where they are just better than the usual suspects.

As has been said, Harder & Steenbeck are a well respected brand & offer some airbrushes that would suit you perfectly. The Evolution 2 in 1 would do what you need & more. It's a well engineered airbrush that is exceptionaly easy to clean, it has needle options from 0.15mm to 0.6mm & has various paint cups & feed adapters available.

Do you know anyone with an ultrasonic cleaner?

3M Wet or Dry, Micromesh & the occasional flat/needle/diamond file

A few times on canopies with feint frames I have done this - Wrap the canopy top / outer tightly in paper (you may need more than one part depending on the curvature/s) & rubbed over them with a soft pencil to get an image of the frames, Put some overlapping Tamiya / whatever tape down on a sheet of glass or a flat plate (like you eat off), Tape the outlined piece of paper over the laid down overlapping tape, Using a new blade cut out the individual windows & applied them leaving only the frame remaining. This method worked well on the 1/72 B1-b, which was proving difficult to mask due to the frame lines being very feint & the upper windows having quite a difficult curved outline.

Try HERE

If it's been left that long without being cleaned, I would be tempted to soak in a strong solvent irregardless of the seals & get a seal kit for the brush as well. A seal kit wont cost very much & I would imagine that the current ones may not be in a good state anyway.

I have a bottle of the old which I am running down & haven't used the new stuff yet - It seems to be getting very mixed reviews from "just the same" to "pretty useless"?

This is what to look for in the UK & you should be able to get it easily in supermarkets or whatever;

You could add some Tamiya Flat Base (X-21) to your Klear / Future. It airbrushes just the same a straight Klear / Future.

Yes, you would be correct on that one.

It's quoted at 45dbA (not 42), as it is by the manufacturer Here. If I had some measurement equipment about, I would check / verify this, but I don't.

you could do worse than a Harder & Steenbeck Ultra , which would give you a very fine beginners brush for less than £70.00?

You could also consider this; Air Tank

Brake fluid will work, but be carefull not to get it on anything else. You can also try oxy-clean if you have any.

One of the downfalls of having an intake configuration like so - I guess those EJ-200's are complete toast. Do you think the extended probe is in any way connected to the front gear failure - on the same hydraulic circuit or something?

Top quality vid - appreciated.

Gas cylinders (CO2 type as opposed to propane) or diving tanks are also useful, although heavy in comparison to an extinguisher. Again it depends on what you can get your hands on easily.

I would suspect the Ripmax would be noisier than the other two you mention. The other two while not quiet, are not outrageously loud, although probably not a great idea if you plan to use it at night when things are quiet & people in the house may be in bed - like has been said, vibration is a concern as well as noise. Some piston compressors are reasonably quiet, but to get to the "next level" one of your options is a compressor with a refrigeration type compressor like THIS

If the canopy has a frame which stands proud, you can do it a panel at a time using Tamiya tape. If you use a toothpick or similar to press the tape right into the edge, you can then use a sharp craft knife blade to cut against the frame - pressing in with the toothpick lets you see the edge you have to cut quite clearly. If the edges are not very pronounced, after you put the tape on you can rub over it with a pencil to show the lines & then cut on them. If you are looking for Parafilm M, Flexible masking tape, Frisket film or Tamiya tape, we stock them all. Parafilm M is quite tricky to get used to, but ours come with full instructions. Happy masking!

Heat shrink tubing can be used to good effect as masking here as it can be had in some pretty small diameters & can obviously be shrunk to size without much difficulty.