Col.

Well if you crack on and finish that Sea Hawk (or the Valiant ) we'll tell you how wonderfull you are all over again. Alright?

This from a man who has how many kits on the go at once!?! Guess you could always start another. Or find a part of the Valiant that needs painting perhaps?

Got all the best chat-up lines ain't you.

Speaking as someone who has three in the stash, I for one would be most interested in that.

The Aeroclub pilots arrived on Friday along with all the other goodies I ordered. These guys are tiny! The pose is similar to the bods you used to find in some Airfix 72nd kits, you know the ones who could fly anything from a C-47 to a Puma with their legs crossed and one hand on their lap. Needless to say I'm half way through modifying one to fit with a razor saw and microscopic blobs of Milliput. I'll post a photo once I get him finished.

Thank you for telling the story of these aircraft Miroslav, such a shame none survive.

Just get on with it lad, I for one want to see you finish this kit as you've done a cracking job so far and don't mind if she's a couple years out. Besides, for all you know she could have still been wearing those colours in 1960

Yip, got to agree with you there Nev. Best build of a TSR-2 I've seen so far.

Got to love a Banff Mossie, she looks lovely Drewe Think I need to add one of these to the stash.

That's a new one on me mate, never heard of this machine before. Looks like a nice kit. Were they still in service at the start of WWII?

Nice work so far John. Can't for the life of me figure out why we don't see more F-111s being built.

Clever idea Graham, this is going to look awesome when she's finished.

Nice collection Fred. You can never have enough SHARs!

Know how you say you're feeling ill just now Mike, it's not a mental illness by any chance is it? Come to think of it, is you're coat a nice white one with lots of straps and buckles and long sleeves that wrap around the back to save you hurting yourself?

Thanks mate, and yes it is! As for the Firefly, she languishes in a corner of the wooden chest I use as a modelling bench and storage area taunting me every time I open it. The Hunter should help me get back the enthusiasm to finishing her. Don't worry mate, I've got good eyesight! Also, I'm building this one in-flight with a clear rod up her backside so no need to try and pack weight into that tiny nose area. I couldn't sleep last night after the race because the adrenaline (well, did get second place!) was still high so worked on a bit longer. Mainly to remove the dog-tooth from the wings and re-shape the jet pipe.

Go show us a picture of the set when it comes David, I'll been thinking about one of those for a wee while myself.

Having pretty much given up wrestling with the Airfix Firefly for the time being I thought it best to tackle something a little less, how shall we put this...demanding, frustrating and just downright pish. So without further ado I cracked open Revell's 144th Hunter and got started. Here's what you get in the box. The parts are nicely moulded and contain an amazing amount of detail for such a small kit but I just couldn't help myself. A rear bulkhead and sidewall ribs will help add a bit of interest to a cockpit which should remain visable through the clear and reasonably thin canopy. I've ordered some of Aeroclub's 144th pilots as I want to build this one in-flight but they're taking a while to come. As of now I have the fuselge halves together with the Brake parachute housing sanded off and the exhaust packed with some filler to allow modification to the small bore of the earlier Avon engines. Only a little filler was needed on the seams and to cover the positioning holes for the link collectors. I've also got the two wing halves together in preperation for modifying the leading edge tomorrow.

Fair enough, good save mate

Good point about the panel under the tailplane Jen, I'd not taken that into account. Having opened a new window so I can look at the photos and reply at the same time (Obsesive, me? Nah. ) I have to say that panel seems particularly light even under the shadow of the tailplane and there appears to be something writen on it. Could this be some form of data panel in another colour, such as white perhaps? It's not blue, that's for sure. It's such a pleasure to have a civilised debate like this Just think, I could be painting or working on one of my own models right now but instead I'm away to search the internet for info on an aircraft I have no intention of ever rendering in either paint or plastic

I had read that he and another pilot were shot for that. Kinda brings home the reasons why war, while hell, is sometimes a necessary evil. I was going to argue that the lighter tone near the wing root could be a reflection from the yellow of the nose but having looked at the other photo showing the wing upper surface there is clearly a two-tone scheme going on there. As for the upper-fuselage spinal strip, I'm still not convinced. Have a look at the cockpit door in the other photos. In one there looks to be an S-shaped line while the other shows nothing. I think the worn and battered nature of this machine could account for some of the tonal variation seen throughout the fuselage. As you say, she was popular with the test-pilots and looks to have had a hard life. In the end I have to hold my hands up and admit I know nothing about Luftwaffe aircraft and their colours, far less those used for test purposes.

On the subject of topside colour-schemes, I'd say it's a single colour without variation based on the various photos, just as with the P-38. I take it you feel the same Jen, or have I misinterpreted you? The one thing I did notice is just how battered the lower rear fuselage looks on the port side between the codes and the leading edge of the tailplane! What the hell were they doing with the poor thing?

Wow, 16 less teeth and a banjo and you could be Britney Spears old neighbour

I'd say the final photo shows a Spit in it's standard RAF scheme with Luftwaffe markings painted over the RAF ones, probably because they wanted to get it tested ASAP. As you say, bugger all help with reference to such a heavily modified airframe as the 'Messyspit' (cool name by the way Jen ). There is a lot of evidence to suggest most captured aircraft had their undersurfaces painted yellow to help identify them as test aircraft and possibly avoid being shot down by so-called friendly-fire but there are also exceptions such as the B-17. Have a close look at the leading edge of the rudder in your first photo. The tone is exactly the same as the underside of the airframe in that area. Now look at the underside of the elevators, they are very dark due to the shadows and lack of light in that area. One would assume a light colour such as yellow would reflect a little more light but this is clearly not the case here. Now to add one more consideration to the confusion. I would think the yellow and light blue used by the Luftwaffe at the time are very close in tone, thus it will be very difficult to differentiate between the two from black & white photos. If I were you I'd go with the yellow as the most likely option and challenge anyone why argues to provide positive proof to the contrary. If they do it's not impossible to re-spray her at a later date. Edited 'cause I can't spell for toffee

Hmm, off-hand I'd go for the EDSG as well. That's what every other FAA machine of that and subsequent eras seems to have been painted with only a few exceptions. Sorry mate, I know that's not what you want to hear but at least it's easier to fix now than later.

Lovely. Always a pleasure to see a well built and finished Harrier Bill