Harry Lime

Most of the HAS Sea Kings were RAF Blue Grey finished and the HC4's (the Commando assault version) were finshed in RN Helicopter Olive Drab. However, as is always the case, you can't beat researching the particular airframe you're building, just to dot the I's and cross the T's!

If your pressure guage is still giving the same readings, but you're not getting the same when spraying, then the fault would seem to lie somewhere btween the guage and the nozzle. you could try some of these suggestions, 1. Replace the air hose as the old one may be leaking. 2. Replace some/all connectors for the same reason as above. 3. Strip down and thoroughly clean the nozzle of your airbrush. Hope these are of some use to you.

If this is the case, we need to press our political masters to get the funding and procurement issues at the MoD sorted and in double quick time. If we want to play at being the world's Policeman, we need to have the capability to do that. But then if(as was stated in a national newspaper the other day)they're going to pay £22 for 65p lightbulbs, it's no wonder they've no money to buy kit to equip a proper airforce!

Hmmm. Anyone else get the impression that the UKMOD's Rivet Joint programme might be slipping a little bit behind schedule?

Outstanding effort there! Nice, clean, sharp looking model. I've always wanted to do one of these myself, ever since I started browsing through my Dad's copies of Scale Aircraft Modelling when I was a lot younger than I am now. Only problem back then was that everything I needed was beyond pocket money and now everything I need is beyond what I'm willing to pay on Evilbay! Oh well, guess I might just have to go old school and think about cracking out the balsa wood...

Smash moulding, aka poor man's vac forming, is something I use now and again. Either use the kit transparencies or make your own mould, heat up some clear plastic over a candle until it starts to go floppy and then smash your mould/canopy through it until you have what looks like an uncut vacform replacement. Once it's cooled, you just treat it like you would any other vacform canopy. A couple of points, 1. It takes a while to get the melting point/ignition point just right. It's not uncommon to set your plastic alight, much to the chagrin/amusement of any family members watching! 2. Don't hold your plastic too close to the candle/gas ring or you might find your new canopy has a smoke tint to it. Hope this helps, Mark

Outstanding tip, thanks for sharing that one with us!

Looks like my model making renaissance continues apace with Airfix's renaissance! That certainly looks like it'll build into a nice representation of the Harrier and I'll definitely be handing over my money for one. Dare I utter such heretical words as to say it might be better than Hasegawa's Harrier II kits....

Now I hope it wasn't your cash she was spending!!

Seahawk, The caption to this photo as it appears in Squadron/Signal no145 does indeed place it Stateside, specifically "over the Ohio countryside". And yes, that pilot does seem to be wearing some form of non-standard flying helmet!!!

A resin 1/72 SR53 later in the year? I think I know what the wife'll be getting me for my Christmas!!! But if I can bribe you to produce it earlier Colin....

iang, the photo appears in Squadron/Signal's F4U Corsair in action no 145. It was copyrighted/printed in 1994, so is probably long out of print by now, however I can give you some info from the caption as it appears on P24. It is credited as coming from Goodyear via Nick Hauprich and states that KE340 was BuNo92146 and that KE349 was BuNo92425. the caption also dates the photo to 3rd July 1945. Regards Mark

A couple of suggestions that I find useful when doing small black markings on stuff. Apply paint with a cocktail stick or use a fine tip pen. The pen tip works pretty darn well with stuff like striped warning panels and bang seat handles.

Seahawk, you clearly know your onions! The scoops omission was a bit of a schoolboy error. I have to say, I didn't look as far ahead as KD8xx serials as my build is in the KD4xx range and therefore I assumed that all FAA Corsairs were without the rocket rails. Just goes to show the old saying is true, "Never assume, it makes an bottom of u and me!"

Good morning from this side of the pond! FAA Cosair MkIV's were equivalent to US FG-1A and FG-1D aircraft built by Goodyear. Going by the info in appendix 1 in The Time Capsule Fighter, the FAA Corsairs did not have the rocket stubs, but did have provision for the centreline bomb rack and, on later production batches, the two wing bomb mounts only. The other major difference on FAA Corsairs, Mks II to IV, is the clipping of 8" from each wingtip to fit in the hanger decks of RN carriers. Regards, Mark

Basically what GCN said is bang on. I don't use acrylics, but the principles are the same. Try dropping the pressure to around 10 psi and keep your airbrush moving over the model at all times when spraying, and always start and finish spraying OFF the model. Don't get p!"£$ed off if you don't get perfection first time, it ain't as easy as it looks. The first time I cracked out my airbrush, the finish was awful and I was soon reaching for the oven cleaner to strip off the paint and start again! If you can work out where you're going wrong each time, you can sort out your technique pretty quickly and once you nail that finish all the frustration, hassle and swearing soon becomes a distant memory. Now I find airbrushing an absolut joy and I wonder how I ever managed to paint a lancaster without one as a kid.

If it's just one more needed to be deemed a group, then sign me up! I think a shiny silver one in SEAC markings would look pretty sweet on my shelves.

At the risk of controversy, some sources in the press have conjectured that we won't be getting F-35's and will in fact be procuring Super Hornets instead. So, for all the Whiffers out there, anyone want to do an 899 NAS one with an Op Herrick load out?! As for answering the original question, internal carriage of weapons is the order of the day to improve the stealth characteristics of the plane, so have at look at what the F-22 carries, and you could hazard a reasonable guess as to what the JSF'll be toting.

My living room and balcony overlook the approach/climbout for Aberdeen Airport. Most days we've got a succession of various versions of SuperPumas flying out to the rigs, the Air Ambulance flying in to ARI and if we're really lucky, the odd Sea King HAR3. As for fixed wing stuff, it's mostly civvy stuff(which I have no idea what they are!!) with the occassional Tornado, Typhoon, Hawk and up until recently, the mighty Nimrod leaving it's dirty great exhaust stain across the sky. A sight that shall be sorely missed.

Well, billybookcase, I've moved over from hairbrush to airbrush and I've not looked back. Don't expect miracles first time out and persevere if you don't get the results you want. Don't forget, if the finish isn't what you were after, there's always a can of Mr Muscle oven cleaner on standby to rub it out and start again. I'm still learning the basics, but with each project my confidence grows, the finish improves and I like the results more and more. In a nutshell, take the plunge and you won't regret it! As for raising the money to pay for it, have a gander in the stash and see what you can do without/won't ever get round to building and stick them on fleabay.

Umm, one further point. In the title of your post, you say you're doing 92 Sqd's phantom. If so, that one was actually serialled XV408 as XT899 was the anniversary mount of 19 Sqd.

The colour is indeed Roundel Blue, BS381c:110 in a satin finish. Xtracolor do it in an enamel, but if it's not in the Xtracrylix range, Humbrol 25 is an almost identical match and is available in acrylic.

Evening all, It seems we are all in the same grid square as each other and seem to be plumping for GSB for hubs/struts/wheel wells. All my reference materials for the Corsairs in FAA service strongly back this up. I've pored over Detail&Scale, Squadron/Signal, The Time capsule Fighter and various internet sources and I'm pretty happy to say you should plump for GSB, I know I have.

Morning Modelldoc. The article I was referring to is in the July 2006 copy of Flypast. Contains a lot of photos of 100 Grp B-17G's as well as a colour profile of one from 223 sqn. Seems the basic mods you'll need to do are to remove the chin turret and replace with a radar/radio fairing and remove the ball turret and blank over the resulting hole as well as some scratch built ABC aerials. Hope this helps Mark

HHHmmm. I seem to recall there was an article with some quite detailed operational info in a copy of Flypast magazine not so long ago. As I keep stuff that might come in handy for future projects, I know I'll have it filed away with other "useful" stuff. I'll have a look for it and let you know if it's any use to you.