Alpha Delta 210

I have finally received my letter from Traplet and after a quick call to them have arranged a refund of my outstanding balance.

I used Halfords FIAT Red Orange for my 1/32 Red Arrows Hawk.

The regular Halfords primer is cheaper than their plastic primer and I have used it without incident many times. I understand that the plastic primer is for use on plastic parts of a car, such as a bumper and therefore the primer needs to "flex" with the panel. Stay dry and get spraying!!

Thanks Jimbuna. I have been onto American bases before, but forgotten how much like "Little America" they were! (Taco Bell etc!) The base has all the facilities of a small town. Our USAF guide told us that on average, 40 babies are born each month at the base hospital! Thanks Parabat. We certainly did have a superb time. Glad you liked the pictures. The best part of the day was crawling around the Eagle with no ropes, no cones and no limits (apart from no pictures in the cockpit!)

Beautiful model! This is the first big Revell Hawk I have seen in the very attractive early red/white/LAG scheme.

Thanks, Ørjan. It certainly was a great experience and the Americans were great hosts. To be able to crawl around under an Eagle without restrictions was fantastic. The only area where photography was forbidden was the cockpit. As a modeller, this was a little disappointing, but just to see the cockpit was a privilege. Sorry to hear that you didn't see any action, Chris. Our view was from the balcony of the squadron building which was some distance from the runway. I wasn't able to pan the camera, as there was just a small gap in the trees, so I couldn't see the jets coming. I decided to use a fast shutter speed, which removes the impression of speed, but at least I got some images! It sounds like you got the visit that we were expecting, encompassing the tower and radar room. Our visit was however restricted to a base tour; the "planes on sticks" (as our guide described them!), a visit to the 493rd Squadron building and the highlight for me - crawling around under an F-15C!

Hi I have just returned from an excellent visit to RAF Lakenheath organised by the Friends of Duxford. Here is a photo-essay of the afternoon....

You've done a great job on the Tiger. I love the subtle weathering. Did you apply the camouflage freehand with an airbrush?

That's a great-looking Tornado. Can I ask which paints you used, as the colour looks spot-on to my eye?

Thanks Daniel, I'm glad you liked them. I was very pleased with the Buchon shot. That show was my first proper outing with my new lens.

Great to see it finished. For such an apparently complex scheme, the decals perform well, don't they? I would certainly use Syhart again.

Go for it!

Excellent news, Cliff. I'm pleased you're happy with it!

Very, very nice Chris. I bought a few of these kits cheaply but had read that it is not a very good representation. You have proved them wrong!

i am a subscriber and really enjoy the magazine. A real shame to see such a quality publication go. As Mike says, will the subscribers be reimbursed for unpublished issues?

Thanks for the kind words, chaps. It was certainly one of the best and varied Duxford shows that I have attended. I noticed that soot build up as well, Jeffrey but I don't know if it is normal.

Hi Glenn The kit goes together quite well, but I did have problems with the wing to fuselage join on the right hand side and also the underside. Both area required filling and sanding. I'm not sure how old the original tool is, but it is not up to the standard of the latest offerings from Airfix. Having said that, it is light years ahead of the Premiere Tucano that I built a while ago!

Well done Al! Looks much better than my black one! I must do the red, white and blue one as well! How did you replicate the MDC on the canopy?

I have heard from Vince at modelsforsale.com that the prizes have been posted to Cliff B and PHaTNesS. Many congratulations once again to both of you and my sincerest thanks to Vince for his support and generous donations.

Great shots, Paul. I don't know about you, but the Norwegians were the highlight of the day for me! It was billed as a flypast, but to get four or so formation passed then the bomb burst was a real treat.

Here are some of my shots from a great show on Sunday. As ever, the light was a bit tricky... And finally, for Ørjan:

.... not to mention nasal and ear lobe hair!

I went for these from Amazon for £2,54 including delivery. I might even use them to pluck my eyebrows.... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005W2YIBS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

Thanks for your kind words. Get the pair!! They are still available when I looked on the Airfix website yesterday. I put one in my basket, but terminated the transaction because there was nothing else I wanted that would take the total over £25 to get free delivery!!

Ooh, I might have to track down a pair of those!