spruecutter96

Cos it would have looked like a strawberry ice-cream cone, you mean? Thank god it didn't have two large, circular fuel-tanks at the base... Chris.

I tried watching the sequel again on Netflix recently. I think I lasted about 20 minutes and found something else. Definitely one to see at the cinema, preferably first time around. Do "big" films have to be so blimming long? Chris.

"Wake up, it's time to die!" "Him say you Blaid-Lunner, Mizter Deckard!". "It's not easy having an itch you cannot scratch", "I want more life..... Father!" I always thought that the original, not-suitable-for-a-family-website-like-this-one, final word of this line was a great deal more appropriate for the situation. Surely, Roy had a great number of reasons to despise Tyrell and he would want his creator to be terrified before he meets his end. I guess that the change of dialogue makes it more suitable for telly. They changed it in the 1990's and it ain't as good. Thanks for sharing your build with us. I love the idea that not mentioning the name of the film anywhere on the box or instructions meant that Fujimi avoided paying heavy licencing-fees to the film-company. Cheers. Chris.

Oh yes, it is, indeed! Chris.

A lovely collection of "whirring-thing" images. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

If the turret-baskets are filled with enough machine-gun ammo cans, water jerry-cans, spare track-links and other stuff, could it not be argued that they will form a kind of "soft" applique armour on their own? As I understand it, some modern anti-tank rounds are highly dependant on immediately striking hardened steel to be fully effective - shaped charge rounds are one type, IIRC. When you look at images of M-48's and other AFV's in Vietnam, the crews seemed to go out of their way to cover the whole turret in as much extra gear as they could - I've always assumed it was to make their rides as "RPG-proof" as possible. The M-113 APC was hideously vulnerable to RPG's from what I've read and the crews were very keen to beef up its defences. Apparently, a lots of GI's flatly refused to ride inside the M-113 - they rode on top of the vehicle instead, rather than get trapped in the burning hull after an anti-tank attack. The Israeli version of the M-113 had some very substantial side armour added, which I think was filled up with sand-bags. The Israelis have a reputation for giving their AFV crews as much protection as possible - they knew their personnel were their most valuable resource. Conversely, in the First Gulf War, many M-1 Abrams crews removed a lot of the soft stowage from their turret-baskets, as they found that RPG's would often set fire to the items being stowed and caused a lot of additional issues. The ex-Iraqi T-55 "Enigma" now on display in the Bovingdon tank museum has a number of custom-built armoured boxes grafted on to its turret and sides. I seem to remember that these boxes are filled with thick, high-density rubber pads. How much extra protection this provides, I have no idea. I'm guessing the Iraqi army judged it to be a worthwhile exercise. Cheers. Chris.

I spent about six hours at the "Big D" yesterday. My left arm is now a rather angry pink colour as a result (and I had sun-cream in my camera-bag.... what a blimmin' numpty I am!). Chris.

Good to hear about the showers. If the BBC Weather site is to be believed, tomorrow will be very damp indeed.... Time will tell. Chris.

Excellent work! I love all the stowage on the turret. Looks very realistic. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

Oh Dear. That really doesn't bode well for the weekend. Considering how, in previous years, the car parks are close to being full by about 10:30. Have the weather-forecasts scared people away, I wonder? Chris.

I think there must have been two Lightnings sitting in the open near the A1. The one I used to see was maybe 20 minutes drive north of the Black Cat roundabout. That's a distance away from either of these towns. Chris.

I remember seeing this as I headed up the A1, probably during my early days of travelling to the IPMS Brampton St.Ives model-show. The last year I saw it, I seem to remember that most of the fuselage-panels had been half-inched (possibly my memory playing tricks with me, though - it was a long time ago). Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

Ian Fleming described JB as a "gentleman thug". Chris.

Thanks for the information, Stu. Unfortunately, I know virtually nothing about 3-D printing. I will pass this info on to onto my friend. Cheers. Chris.

I would be pretty surprised if they would be allowed to have a Lightning flying in the US, particularly considering the fate of the Thunder City one. Having said that, I wish them all the best in their endeavours. The EE Lightning is one of my "bucket list" airframes to see flying - seems very unlikely now. Chris.