Bennygman

My Viper arrived yesterday - I can confirm all the good things said about the service from Starship modeller. I'd buy with confidence again. Steve.

Nice one Mike - I'll be watching this one. Yes, 50 quid is quite intimidating, but having missed the Grand Phoenix issue I had to get one for my 'Tomcatters' collection. To be fair, it does contain pretty much everything you need, including the exact correct decals in my case, so I'm quite happy with it. Mine is the 'compact' short-tail version, so probably only 13 inches long (though it comes in a surprisingly small box - you'd almost think it was 1/72) . My model was supplied by Alistair at A2Z. Steve.

Yes, but it really puts it into perspective when you suddenly realise where the runway actually is compared to where you'd guess it was at the beginning of the clip. Truly amazing, but I think as a passenger I'd have been happy with a weather divert in retrospect. Steve.

Excellent!, I got an e-mail saying mine was posted Last Monday (25th Feb) so it should be inbound soon. Me and the girlfriend have been having a bit of a BSG marathon this week (Season two - "Pegasus" (possibly the best hour of SF TV I've seen), "Resurrection ship", etc,) so I can hardly wait. I'll look forward to comparing build notes. Steve.

Just been checking Hannants Friday update (Eduard Hellcat's in btw). I see that Eduard have released no less than eight sets for the F-100, totaling a cool £100 (ish). Now that's a lot of etch even for a fan of the medium like me. I'd sure like to see the result if someone else has a go at it though. Steve.

Thanks very much mate - the Aeriel shot was beyond the call of duty, but it helps a lot . Not sure when I'll get up there but it's only an hour away. I'll be sure to post the results. Thanks again. Steve.

Great shots Marcus, I love the heat exhaust - really brings them to life. Could I ask a couple of questions please, as I'd like to take a trip to Cott' this year. Assuming these were from outside the fence, whereabouts on the Thunder and Lighnings map were these taken from? What sort of focal length? Over the fence? do I need a ladder? Is Cott' an everyday action kind of place like Conongsby, or just luck of the draw? Apologies for the slew of questions, but it could be the difference between a 'recce' trip and actually getting something to show for it. Cheers, Steve.

Did he fly in the shuttle, or was that Glenn? If so, then that'd be a nice scratch project to cap off the collection Also commanded a F-100 squadron out of George AFB (I assume as a flyer). Steve.

Hmmmm, if there's an IS option available I'd strongly recommend going for that one. It made a hell of a difference to the results from my Canon. Steve.

It certainly looks a good'un, I was pleased with my ancient Fuji digi some years ago. The only thing I'd re-iterate from Mental's thread the other day is to try it out before you buy on line. Sometimes a camera can just feel 'wrong' once you get it in your hands, e.g when I tried the EOS 350D it was so small my little finger literally had nowhere to go on the grip. The other thing to be careful of with Bridge cameras is shutter-lag if you want to use it for moving subjects. On my old one you'd press the button and the viewfinder would go black for half a sec before the shutter fired. Made it almost impossible to photograph moving subjects properly. That was some time ago though, Jonathan can probably advise as to whether his more recent model did this too. Steve.

I really can't imagine any sleight was intended Ian. Cards on the table here, I'm probably never gonna build a wif, but some of the ones I've seen at Telford and the like are certainly eye-catching and have even made me smile at times. It's just another genre IMO, no more or less important than any other. I'd have thought this was an ideal set-up whereby, as Mike says, the wiffers can party to their hearts content, anyone who really hates the idea can ignore it and the rest like me can nip in and see if anything catches our eye. At the end of the day it's not the genre that keeps, me coming back its the workmanship on display, which is why I regularly check the ship and armour forums even though I rarely, if ever, build one. Steve.

Ok, I haven't really got the hang of the 'in progress' thing as it's almost done! A bit of wire and an oil wash adds some interesting if not particularly accurate main legs... Seeker nose improved using the 'clear plastic lump' method. These macro shots aren't overly flattering are they? Something I noticed is that when I applied the oil wash over the Modeldecals it seemed to soak in in some places and wouldn't come off - haven't noticed that on any other decals. You can see the effect here around the rescue markings. Bit of a bugger but not a total disaster with the normal eye... A bit of oil staining around the rear fuselage... And a couple of overall views of where we are at the moment... Just the wheels and fragile bits to go, should be done by the weekend. Steve.

Just received my postal charge and paid up. Thanks for your help guys - another one ticked off of the 'wanted' list. Wonder if it comes with decals for 'Sheba's' bird! Yum, yum and indeed...yum. Steve.

Well, that Nimrod shot proves the Tristar was no fluke! Excellent Stuff. Steve.

I really like the B&W P-39 and Mitchell in the DX set. I know what you mean about the expensive glass. I couldn't really afford it either, but I 'accidentally' bought one anyway . Steve.

You pay for my car mate and we've got a deal! . I'm gonna be looking for a 70-200 2.8 IS L and a body for it ...in about three years! Steve.

Rechargeable batterys - most Digitals accept these as standard. You should get a set + charger with the camera. Typically a better and cheaper bet than ordinary batteries. Charge and life times vary. My old Fuji took about 3-4 hours to charge and lasted 2-3 hours of shooting. My Canon 20D charges in about an hour and two of them will last a whole day of shhoting at an airshow (and then some). Zooms and focal length: the longer the focal length the closer it appears to bring the subject into the frame, making it appear magnified. As a guide your eye sees at (about) 50mm, anymore than this and you're bringing it closer than normal (useful for flying shots), anything less than this and you're seeing a wider view than normal (useful in a crowded static park). Optical zooms are genuine mechanical devices that 'see' a more magnified image and reproduce it accurately. Digital zooms take the optical image and 'enlarge' it (not sure how) typically introducing noise and loss of resolution. Spastical - I'll leave that one to you . Steve.

Yes, I think the built-up one looks pretty good. Personally I think it's a bit dull looking shape-wise (a more functinal looking Eagle but without the shapely curves), but I expect I'll be gagging for one after seeing it do it's thing at Fairford. Steve.

I had one like that before I went the DSLR route - it took a good picture with a lower spec than this one. The only thing I'd say is that mine suffered from 'shutter lag', i.e. a delay between pressing the button and the shutter firing. Not a problem if you're using it on a tripod for model photography, but a right bugger if trying to capture a moving target. This might be something to try in person before you buy on line (This is one of the few things Jessops is great for). Rich (PHREAK) can probably advise on the current models as mine was from five or six years ago. I always find this xX zoom business misleading, surely it depends on where you start from? e.g. if it starts at 10mm eqivalent then its 10-100mm, if it starts at 35mm than its 35-350mm which is a completely different beast (but maybe I have the wrong end of the stick?). Mish is quite right to be wary of digital zooms too. I notice that in the write up it says that sharpness is better at close quarters - again good news for model shots. The sample shot of the watch looks pretty good. Steve.

That Tristar pic is a real stunner! Steve.

Thanks Jeff, I'll keep my eyes open. Steve.

True, but if my life depended on it I'd rather have her in my corner than Dirk Benedict. The new 'Boomer' is a big improvement too, but in an entirely different way I've been looking for one of those old Monogram kits for ages now, anyone know if it will be coming to the UK or do I need to order from the US? Steve.

Not that I'm aware of, though from what I've seen the black sun kits look rather nice, but tiny and comparitively expensive. Steve.

If its halfway decent I need one of those right now - my all time coolest spacecraft. Steve.

No I'm not, and if she does display this year I'm gonna look a right bloody hypocrite snapping away like mad along with everyone else. But, I have a really bad feeling about putting money into this. When it flew last year I was amazed and delighted, and surely that alone was a pretty massive achievement, but the finances don't appear to be particularly sound. There seems to have been a number of last ditch appeals for funds over the years which doesn't inspire confidence, it gives the impression of being run by passionate enthusiasts rather than practical businessmen and always being 'on the edge'. There's nothing wrong with passion and having a dream, not to mention getting it this close to reality, but surely you can't go into something like this without a major sponsor to cover the 'get her up' costs so she can (maybe) start making money to repay the sponsors who've fronted up. Sorry to sound like a boring accountant (theres a reason for that), but something like this has to be based on a rock solid business plan, not a hopeful estimate. Please don't think I'm knocking anyone's hard work or that I have the faintest idea how to address any of the problems I raise, it's just the impression I get from the news that is released. Fingers crossed, Steve.