cngaero

Glued to this one already Heather.

That's a lovely set of photos. Thank you for sharing them. I definitely feel a few Sea Herons coming on. Air Graphics have been advertising a new transfer sheet on the way covering British Military Aircraft of the 1960's, one option of which is a Sea Heron in that lovely fetching white, green and grey scheme pictured above.

Me too. Maybe it's a subject that could fit nicely into the Warpaint series.

I totally agree, a book on the subject would be great. Regarding the Queens Flight, as was and later the Royal Flight, there is a fairly informative book edited by Michael Burns titled "The Queens Flight, fifty years of Royal flying" and published by Blandford Press. There is also a set of markings by Airdecal (7204) covering a Gypsy Moth, a Fox Moth, a Dragon Rapide and two Herons, all of the Royal Flight. I'm not sure of it's current availability though. Chris.

That's a rather fetching scheme and one that I don't think I've seen before. Thank you for that, it's very much appreciated. Chris.

Thanks for the reply and the info on the book titles and the serials. The reason for my question was more in regard to the history of the use of aircraft and the variety of types used. I have photos of Wessex, Whirlwind, Hunters Sea Vampires etc already, but I'm curious to see what else is out there reference wise. I've just had a quick look on Amazon to see if they're available and find that I now no longer need senna pods. £148 for one title alone. Chris.

Could anyone point me in the right direction for info regarding the Royal Navy's Admiral's Barge aircraft? I think a collection of these, both rotary and fixed wing would look rather nice together. Chris.

The original Airfix Westland Whirlwind 1 (S55) had markings for a BEA aircraft, but would be difficult to find now. Additionally Whirlykit did a conversion which contained BEA markings, but I'm unsure of its current availability. Many years ago, S & M Models did a whole range of 1/72 British airline liveries of which, I think a BEA Whirlwind was one. The old Aviation Hobby Shop used to hold a good stock of these, but it has sadly ceased trading. An internet search a couple of months ago for another British civil subject, unearthed a small stock of S & M Models transfers being held by the Aviation Megastore. I've had a quick look, but there was no BEA Whirlwind available. The only BEA helicopter option was a Westland S51 Dragonfly. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Chris.

Thanks, for that information, I'd no idea that that was the story behind the photo. I knew about the crashes and inspected the wreckage a few years ago. I had assumed that the photo was to do with 72 squadron being based at nearby RAF Acklington. Cheers, Chris.

PM sent.

The de Havilland Rapide is one of my favourite aeroplanes. It was such an elegant aircraft, looking good from all angles. You've managed to capture all the charm of this icon of the golden age of British aviation. Well done Paul and thank you for sharing it with us. I would love to see more at some point in the future. Never say never. Chris.

Hi Paul, I'm so sorry to read of the sad loss of some of your relatives and that you feel that your condition has taken a downturn. You'll be doing the right thing by keeping on posting here on BM and I'll certainly look forward to reading your comments. You say that you'll still carry on with the hobby when have good days. That is certainly something to cling to and look forward to. In the meantime, I wish you well and look forward to your future posts and any RFIs you may refer us to. Good luck. Chris.

They look very good indeed.

It's always great to see a phine model the phantastic and phabulous Phantom, phlying in all its phinery and phinished to perfection. It's always great to see these classic kits being removed from dusty shelves and given the TLC that they deserve. Chris.

There's only one thing better than a beautiful Hunter and that's two beautiful Hunters. Thanks for sharing them here.

A lovely and inspirational story. I love following builds such as this, to me, they sum up what modelling is all about. Well done so far.

I got such a shock when I heard the news. Far too young to go. RIP.

Am I allowed to be a tad underwhelmed? I could think of a lot more deserving subjects both in 1/48 and in 1/72.

Now that hits the spot. You've done a tremendous with this beauty.

Mach 2, may a fair possibility in the future. Fingers crossed.

Nice find with some interesting footage. Thanks for sharing it

It's a great channel with a nice variety of films and TV programmes to choose from. My particular weakness is for the good old British crime films, they are a great excuse to leave the woes of the world behind for a couple of hours. Thanks for the heads up for Fireball XL5, that will be a must see.

The Aviation Hobby Shop, now sadly closed, used to sell an extensive range of 1/72 transfer sheets by S&M Decals of which some were dedicated to the Dove. Their range covered many UK based post war airlines. To the best of my knowledge, S&M Decals were produced by the late Mike Silk. Since the closure of TAHS, I have seen some of the S&M sheets advertised for sale from the Aviation Megastore. Additionally, Caracal did a couple of lovely sheets (CD72079 and CD72081), which were mainly military, with one civil option on each sheet. I would say that the Aviation Megastore would be your best option. I hope this helps. Chris.

Lest We Forget . They fought for us, they gave their all for us, let us never forget. May God bless them all.

Hi Mark, I can't help with your Hunter query, but with regard to the Lightning, as soon as I read it, a light bulb flashed in my little brain and I remembered reading somewhere that 92 Squadron had the tail fin and spine painted in ultramarine blue. I hope that helps and doesn't just muddy the waters. Chris.