nheather

I don’t think so https://airbrushes.com/parts_info.php?cPath=400_217_300&products_id=21056 And if you could I would imagine that the price would be almost the same as a new airbrush. In fact you might find the airbrush on discount somewhere so it would be cheaper than a replacement body. Once you have got the bits out I imagine that the threads on the body will be fine - they will be tougher than the metal used on the nozzle. Cheers, Nigel

Would you be running the game from a PC or just using the processor and memory that is on board the VR headset?

Are you asking about Virtual Reality (VR) simulators in particular or just simulators in general. Cheers, Nigel

Couldn’t find anything at all except this BM thread then I realised there is a typo in the thread title - it has 15 when it should be 16. But even when corrected, I could find articles and pictures but no interior shots to speak of. There do seem to be examples in museums so the photos may be out there. Cheers, Nigel

Started to see some teasers for this new drama done by the makers of Peaky Blinders series due in Autumn this year. Looks interesting.

I have built a few. They are a weird scale, specifically for 28mm war gaming which makes them about 1:56. Being wargaming models they are generally simplified but I would say that they are at the more detailed end of the wargaming models - for wargaming some have a little bit more detail, some that is unlikely to survive much handling. If you are looking for plastic display modelling, rather than wargaming, I would be inclined to look at 1:48 as they tend to have more detail and oddly are often can be found cheaper than the 1:56 wargaming models. Sometimes you can even find 1:35 models cheaper. For example, a Tamiya 1:35 Kubelwagen is cheaper than a Rubicon 1:56 Kubelwagen - and a lot more detailed. The Rubicon plastic is also a little strange. It seems to be a very slightly more flexible and more resilient than the usual polystyrene - I sort of like ABS. Tamiya extra thin will usually bond the plastic but sometime it resists. Rubicon recommend a weld type glue called Plastic Magic. If you go to the Rubicon forum you can see all the instructions and that will give you idea of the detail and complexity. http://forum.rubiconmodels.com/index.php?board=5.0 In summary, as wargaming models they are very nice, as display models I would look at 1:48. Cheers, Nigel

Note that he says that he wants to include the box in the display cabinet too - it may be that the box dictates the size of the case more than the model. Cheers, Nigel

Nice, makes you realise how tight a fit the Merlin is on the deck. An inch or two forward and you risk a main rotor strike, an inch or two back and you risk a tail rotor strike. Must take some real skill to land that thing on a pitching deck. Cheers, Nigel

Just watched it - a very grim event indeed. Cheers, Nigel

Yes they do, though many won’t be aware and many won’t comply. GDPR covers the processing of the personally identifiable data of EU (and UK because we kept it after Brexit) nationals. It is the individual that is the decider not the country in which the data is processed. So if an Australian business or website processes the data of a German national then they have to comply with GDPR. That’s the law, how it could possibly be enforced is quite another matter. Cheers, Nigel

Yes cookies are annoying. Firstly, websites are required to present cookies as ‘opt in’, that is by default they are off but you are given the option to turn them on - in my experience very few websites, even those from trusted companies and organisations, actually abide by this - even those with a good and easy user interface start with them turned on and you have to turn them off. As others have said, there are essential cookies, those that are required to make the website session work, you should still be able to decline these but the website would be within its rights to say you can’t continue with your visit. But how the cookie option is presented varies greatly, including cookies other than essential already rejected you just have to click save a set of cookies already accepted but there is a ‘reject all’ button, then click save a small set of cookies already accepted, you have to reject the ones you can and then click save a large set of cookies which you have to reject individually and then click save no option to reject cookies, just an external link to a description telling you how you can block all cookies in various browsers - this is all cookies not just the ones for this site so rarely acceptable no options at all, just a message about cookies and an accept button The problem is that many websites earn their keep by referring your data so it is not in their interest to follow the rules and make it easy for you. Some of the tricks they employ are Save doesn’t save. You are put through a lot of effort to reject cookies, you hit save selection and the next time you visit you have to go through it all again. They make the ‘accept all’ button much more prominent than the ‘save selection’ button. It is very easy to go through all the hassle of rejecting individual cookies and then accidentally hitting the ‘accept all’ button. Legitimate interest - to me this is the most insidious. It seems to have been introduced as a way of bypassing the law by introducing the idea that it is legitimate for them to pass on certain data. This is not correct, they still need you agreement but they get it is a very nasty way. Firstly, you are shown cookies which are usually manageable to regency but there is often a ‘partners’ link lurking not very prominently. Click this reveals all the partners that they send to, often hundreds of entries. Each has the cookies rejected but each has its own legitimate interest setting which much be rejected individually - we could be talking hundreds of clicks. And of course none of this is saved so you have to go through it all again the next time you visit.

Been reading that fuel rationing is on that cards, diesel at most risk possibly as early as April, but petrol at risk too. Cheers, Nigel

Let’s be honest no company lets its IT people out of the cellar 😀 I’m an IT consultant myself so I can say these things 😀 Always the same, visit customer, check in at reception, wow this place is fancy, look at this atrium it’s fantastic, you get walked past fancy working areas, you keep walking and walking until you eventually arrive at the windowless dungeon where you will be working. But seriously, the point I was making is that I was surprised at how small the operation is. Checked on Wiki and they have 191 employees which is a lot smaller than I was expecting and then when you take out the management layer, sales and marketing and the reps I can’t imagine there is much left - very small departments I imagine - the IT team is probably two people (in the basement). Cheers, Nigel

Yes it is their usual slyness - rather than saying your package is going up by £x or y% they increase each individual part by £1. They must think people are stupid and will think (it’s only a quid) rather than look at the combined increase and saying “blimey, that’s over 10%”. One interesting one is that they have had the strange ‘you have to pay extra for HD’ but now they have added an ‘and you now have to pay extra for UHD too’. I might drop that - for me the UHD offerings are quite limited (admittedly getting better) and although I can see a picture quality improvement it isn’t “Wow!” plus it isn’t supported on Sky mini boxes. And that has tripped me up a few times, recorded a programme, it automatically selects the UHD version, decide to watch it in bed and get the ‘sorry you cannot watch this’ message. Sure I can download it again from the mini but it is a little annoying. Some increases Signature +£1 Cinema +£1 UHD +£2 HD +£1 Cheers, Nigel

I think other businesses are going to be at risk of collateral damage. Sure we can look at how we can use energy more efficiently but you can only do so much at the end of the day we are a captured market. I am very fortunate that I can afford these hikes but I can imagine for some they are going to be crippling. I just got a letter from Sky (yes I am fortunate and can afford Sky TV) all about their price increases from the 1st April - they are quite high and coupled with coming to the end of a ‘deal’ my subscription will leap up. Sure I can probably negotiate another deal and before this energy crisis I would have done so with little to no thought, but now, even though I can afford it, the energy crisis is making me think “do I really need Sky TV, am I really getting value out of it”. As I said I am in the fortunate position that I can afford these increases, but many cannot and I can imagine many Sky TV subscriptions getting cancelled to pay for energy increases. I have used Sky just as an example, there will be any number of expenses that we can cut back on - the poor on hospitality sector was just beginning to get back on its feet but I fear this could be the ‘Sucker Punch’ as they sell luxuries that consumers can choose not to take in times of need.

Yes I was looking at spares, screens in particular and I can get the Mars 3 screen considerably cheaper than the other two. Cheers, Nigel

Okay we all knew it was coming but it can be hard to visualise it until you see it in real terms. Yesterday, after receiving an energy statement, the first since November because I was with one of the failed providers got transferred over to another and it took months to sort out, so no proper statements. Last year I was paying £162 a month, £1,944 a year. Yesterday I had to pay £1,000 to cover an underpayment for Dec, Jan and Feb. And change my monthly payments from £162 to £350. And chances are that won’t be enough as there are more price increases to come. Certainly hits home when you start paying actual money rather than hearing about it on the news. Cheers, Nigel

There was a BBC programme and what struck me most was how small the company was. I was struck by how few employees there were but I guess it makes sense as most of the stuff is done in China. Also I suspect the programme stayed away from the more mundane side of warehousing and distribution. But there didn't seem to be that many technical people, mostly sales and marketing people. Cheers, Nigel

Depends in which Sky system they have. If it is the new Sky Q then the equipment is owned by Sky and they absolutely do ask for it back when you cancel the service. If it is the older systems then they tend not to ask for it back and you can continue to use the viewing card for FreeSat only. Note you won't get any of the recording functions so it is a pretty poor solution in my opinion. Cheers, Nigel

When looking at the print surface area and working out the size of the pixels the three all come out about the same but the Phrozen has square pixels where’s as the Elegoo and AnyCubic are slightly rectangular. Is that a factor to consider or is it a case that the pixels are so small (circa 35uM) that it really isn’t noticeable whether they are square or off-square. Cheers, Nigel

Apologies I have asked this question before that technology has moved on a lot since and now that I am ready to buy I think it is worth asking again. My main purpose would be wargaming miniatures (figures, vehicles, equipment, scenery) in a range of scales from 15mm to 28mm. My son would probably be interested in fantasy figures, most likely 28mm. Also I should not overlook the hobby element of it. Last year I was tracking the Elegoo Mars 3 and then when it really counted forgot about it and missed us on the great pre-order price. I then got very interested in the AnyCubic Ultra and although I was a little sceptical of the claims I did try to join the KickStarter but got caught up in the fiasco and my pledge never registered and by the time I had realised all the good deals had gone. So I decided to wait to see whether it really lives up to the bold claims. They are just starting to arrive now, early days yet, but from what I have seen so far the results are poor and I’m rather glad my pledge didn’t go through. Money is not necessary an obstacle but at the same time I don’t want to spend more than I need. So printers I’m looking at include Elegoo Mars 2 Pro - 2K Mono, £222 Elegoo Mars 3 - 4K Mono, £303 Phrozen 4K Mini - 4K Mono, £311 Phrozen 8K Mini - 8K, £579 AnyCubic 4K Mono - 8K, £263 AnyCubic Ultra - ??? So my thoughts. Still have an eye on the AnyCubic Ultra but I suspect that it is going to be too expensive and I don’t think it is going to live up to expectations. And although I don’t think I need a big build plate, I think the Ultra one is too small. The Elegoo Mars 2 Pro, interesting price but the newer 4K printers are not much more and I feel I should be giving it a miss. The Phrozen 8K looks lovely but I think that £579 is more than I should be paying given my needs. So that leaves me with the AnyCubic, Elegoo and Phrozen 4K offerings. They are all of similar price and size and I imagine that they will all perform pretty similarly. So it might come down to quality and maintainability. My uneducated perception is quality-wise it goes Phrozen is better than Elegoo which is better than AnyCubic. So I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. Cheers, Nigel

Looks fantastic to me.

Bikes are not really my thing but I can appreciate good models. All three are very good, my favourites are, the Triumph first then the BMW and then the Harley. As others have said, the rust on the Triumph especially on the exhaust looks fantastic as does the leather on the Harley. The only improvement I would offer is the MG34 on the BMW - it looks too silver especially at this scale, I feel it should be a blue/black colour with a metallic sheen and slight wear. Cheers, Nigel

I can see that side hatches would be painted white/ivory on the interior - after all they form a considerable part of the turret interior so being painted white/ivory would aid visibility. But it makes sense for top opening hatches to painted exterior colour - my understanding is that opened white/ivory top hatches would stand out like a sore thumb to overhead aircraft. Cheers, Nigel

This may apply equally to aircraft too but I can imagine less so as aircraft were generally maintained in better facilities. I have always wondered about tank markings, the national markings, regiment markings and unit markings. Where and how were they applied. With decals we are used to seeing them really perfect, sharp and distinct. Some of the poorer attempts have the decals applied over weathering and floating on top of rivets and panel lines so they look like stickers. But even where the decals have be softened to comply with the bodywork and weathered on top they still look like they were perfect once. But how were they applied in practice. I can imagine national markings (like the German Balkenkreuz) might have been applied at the factory but I assume the regiment and unit markings would have been applied in the field. Would they have had spray equipment or would it have been brushes and templates or even freehand. I imagine the big unit markings that you see on German and Russian turrets would often have been brush painted and would have been less then perfect with rough edges and paint runs. And if stencils were used (for spray or brush painting) would there have been gaps in the numbers and letters to aid the stencil. For example, letters and numbers with enclosed holes (like 8, P, A, 6) often have gaps where the material that holds the mask for the hole is. You don’t often see that in decals. Anyone have any insight about how markings were actually applied. Cheers, Nigel