Selwyn

Guys and Gals, looking for a picture of a Sea Venom on the Catapult ready to launch, I am building a diorama of this and need a good reference picture. Selwyn TIA

Definately not the same as Tornado pylons! they are very different in size. Also The Hawk uses 119 Ejector release units (ERU) which accepts Bail type store lugs (These are the ones that are like screw in loops) wheras the RAF tornado uses Light Duty Ejector Release Units (LEDRU) that only accept MACE lugs which are like square blocks and do not require any swaybracing, so a Tornado pylon does not have swaybraces. Selwyn

Now thats Gorgeous! By the way my pet hate! its not the 315th Sqn. its Three One Five Squadron. in the RAF squadrons are never described as first or second or whatever. being the "three Hundred and fifteenth" or some such we leave that sort title of things to Americans ! Selwyn

Busdriver, I was just going to give you some info but "The Modeller" beat me to it! follow his advice and you can't go far wrong! Selwyn

Lovely tilly Busdriver! a great job, well executed. Unfortunately like many of us have done before (holding my head in hands as I speak!) you have fallen into the "follow the Tamiya painting instructions trap" which basically means you end up with a wartime built vehicle, with a pre war paint scheme, and mid war markings. All RAF vehicles post 1941 were painted an earth brown colour (not aircraft Dark Earth!) with either black or brown disrupted camoflage, this changed to olive drab in 1944 but they didnt go back to RAF blue until 1947-8. Please believe me I am not having a go at your fantastic build but trying to issue a warning to future tilly builders! Tamiya should be hung for their atrocious research. Selwyn

Keith In actual fact 14 cargo chains per container if I remember. but I am doing a copout as I am modelling it chains off ready to lift by gantry! Selwyn

Yes just like that! Selwyn

Is it me? After many years of model building it appears that I never realised that the top of the canopy opened on "car door" tiffies. And I can't recall any built up models of this aircraft ever depicting or having this feature. Have I been missing something? Or is it just not common knowledge? see link below http://www.flightglobal.com/imagearchive/I...lleryName=Photo Archive/1939-1945&Image=FA_18514s Selwyn

The British used the term NIV (and maybe still do, I left the service in the 1990's!), for items that have no officially designated Stores section and Reference number. Its usually applied to local purchase items. The organisation (Station/regiment/ command ) buying the item would give it a local stores reference number so it could be taken on charge and use the normal supply system for issue. so for instance HA/ NIV/386 would equate to the 386th local purchase item by that organisation. (HA?) So the paint was probably purchased/manufactured in the middle east. Selwyn

Keith. Not finished yet, Buzy building a container to put in the open loadbed. Selwyn

if i remember correctly there was something seriously wrong with the nose profile on this kit, thats why it didn't sell well, and was eventually converted to B57 Selwyn

I wouldnt trust this picture, it looks a bit of a "Mix and match" airframe, FAW 2 Booms and a Black FAW 1 Raydome. Could be a innapropriate colour scheme. Selwyn

looking for a model paint match for the khaki colour used on British army vehicles in WW1 Anyone help? Selwyn

Thats a pretty Paveway II a pity you didn't do one with bail lugs for use on Typhoon! Selwyn

Keith Not sure I understand what you mean by vertical straps, do you mean behind the cab? if so they were not part of the canopy system whatever you mean. To open the load area, the rear canopy was wound back over the front canopy(towards the cab! )using a chain system. The front canopy was permanently fixed. To open the canopy two crank handles were inserted onto square drives on each side of the vehicle at the rear, near the rear doors. the rear canopy was unlocked from inside the load area.(accessed through the rear doors) The TCHD could carry up to two containers, the first was dropped in and then slid back under the front canopy and then the second dropped in behind it. (obviously the reverse to unload!). Selwyn

Can anyone point me in the direction of references detailing what armour/vehicles were used by the New West German Army in the 1950's? Selwyn

The short answer is Yes! When I was stationed at Gutersloh in 1980/82 (4 AC Sqn) we would deploy to Decimommanu in Sardinia in Jan/Feb for Armament Practice Camp and we usually took the T4 to permit weapon delivery training, which would be fitted with 330gal tanks, with the 100 gal on the Outboard pylons for the ferry out/back. The 100gal tanks were empty (the outer pylons were not plumbed for fuel) and to get the tanks to fit to the pylon we would have to remove the two fuel transfer tubes that projected from the top of the tank. These were stowed in the aircraft for ferry. If I remember correctly we had an incident when the T4 was leaving Gutersloh one year as the engine "coughed" (birdstrike I think) badly on climbout. the pilot quite sensibly hit the clear aircraft bar to lose all stores and limped back to base with his dodgy engine. Unfortunately the two tanks scored a direct hit on a walled farm, and some happy German farmer had 660 gals of aviation fuel swilling around his farmyard. The RAF had of course to clean it up and had to remove the contaminated topsoil from the yard. When the workers dug down a foot or so in the yard they found a cobbled surface which helped matters as this enabled them to clean down to this level. When the farmer saw the cobbles he was amazed. his family had apparently had the farm for several generations and they had no idea that this cobbled surface existed! I believe that the T4 was also fitted with 330/100 gal configuration for the ferry, when they took part in Maple Flag 9 in Canada (Cold lake) in the early 80's. Selwyn ex 233 OCU / 4Sqn Armourer

As a historical aside, Its nice to see some great shots of the Beaufort under nose gun turret. This is the same turret as used on the Blenheim, that is so often mis identified as the Fraser Nash FN54. In fact the turret was designed by Bristol specifically for the Beaufort. As a under nose turret was urgently required for the Blenheim it was adopted for use pending the introduction of the specifically designed (for the Blenhiem) twin gun FN54 turret (thats the one with twin guns often misidentified as the FN54A. There was in fact never a FN 54A turret.) As it was both turrets were pretty useless anyway, as thet were difficult to sight (backwards!) and had a poor field of fire. they occupied the escape hatch on both aircraft and had to be jettisoned in an emergency............The less said the better! The FN54 was later developed further into the FN64 which was the Lancaster under fuselage mounting but its mounting was more commonly used for the H2S scanner. A few FN64 turrets were used later in the war when bomber command turned to daylight raids. Selwyn

Couldn't ell you which aircraft were fitted with blue Eric, but as all the equipment was fitted in one of the gunpods the only way of telling was if the gunpod had the wooden "bung" in the barrel opening. Selwyn

Nice build, lovely paint finish! wish I could get mine to look like that. As an aside and with no criticism intended whatsoever to the builder, can I just point out for all those accuracy freaks / rivet counters out there that the RAF Typhoon does not carry Paveway III or AIM 9L in service. Selwyn

To answer your questions; 1. Yes, they always carried 100gal tanks on the inner pylons. 2. 1000lb bombs and Paveways are different. 1000lb bombs are a free fall bomb. Paveway (They used Paveway 1 in the Falklands) is a kit that you attach to the British 1000lb bomb to make it into a LGB. They only used a few LGB's in the Falklands without much success as they did not have a proper way of designating/illuminating the target for the bomb. 600lb BL 755 cluster bombs were used a lot as well. 3. The rocket pods were not SNEB pods, but Navy 2" rocket pods. SNEB could not be used off carriers as the 68mm SNEB rocket was not adequately shielded, and the emissions from naval radars could potentially fire the rocket motors in the pod on deck,(not reccomended!) Twin store carriers were not used. In all the years I worked on GR3/& T2/4. as an armourer, I never fitted, or saw a twin store carrier fitted. 4. The centreline pylon would have either a bomb or a recce pod fitted. Selwyn .

An easy check for Harrier seats as compared to the Jaguar seat is the location of the Personal Equipment Connector (PEC, adonised green on the real seat). This is where the pilot plugs in his O2 and radio connections when he straps in. On the Harrier GR3, & T2/4 the PEC is situated on the seat side adjacent to the pilots right thigh. On Jaguar the PEC is located higher up on the opposite side adjacent to the pilots rib area.on the model seats it looks like a small narrow oblong box. Another thing is if you are going all out on accuracy is the seat strap system. in 1981/82 the strap system was changed on Harriers. The original system was a lap belt and negative "G" strap (up between the legs)that joined on a lap belt mounted quick release box, and two small straps went over the pilots shoulders attaching to his life vest /combined harness with Koch fasteners at the shoulder. The modified system did away with the Koch fasteners and introduced long straps over the shoulders attaching to a modified quick release box on the lap belt. a green foam back pad was introduced at the same time. Selwyn (ex GR3 Armourer 233 OCU/4(AC) Sqn)

The Skyflash was painted bs 381c 627 Light aircraft grey (matt) overall ,a 2" golden yellow hazard band around the warhead (just behind the central wings) and a 2" Brown band around the rocket motor the Raydome is matt white (unglased ceramic in real life). RAF sidewinders 9L were produced by a European consortium for NATO air forces and werte painted grey the same as USAF missiles using FS paints. Selwyn

The Sea Vixen is in stock at Airfix and available on their website. Unchain your Credit cards! Selwyn

The Colour used to mark practice stores is not Azure Blue. it is actually BS 381C colour 113 deep Saxe Blue. The Blue used to paint inert (not Practice) Blue Steel was neither of these colours, I believe it was BS 381C colour 172 pale Roundel Blue. Selwyn