Bennygman

Cheers John (and Nick). I have a week off in October so I was planning a mid-week trip then. Mind you, at 15 seconds someone walking past the camera might not even be recorded . Sounds like The Graham White factory is first order of business when I get there. I must get that mounting plate for the tripod soon - in addition to needing it for the trip, I have completed builds to show off! Steve.

Not bad at all, the camo on the Frogfoot looks pretty good and the Matchbox Skyhawk came up very nice. For the undercarriage legs and bay you may like to try a thin wash of black or dark grey to pick put the details and give more of a 3-D effect. This will be especially apparent on the Crusader and Skyhawk and will break up the pure white look of those areas. You can use enamel or acrylic washes, but I tend to use decent artists oils thinned with turpentine as they look 'oily' (funnily enough) which seems appropriate to these areas. You want to start with a gloss surface or the paint will stain, which isn't necessarily what you want. How thin is something to experiment with, but basically you want it so that just touching the brush to the part will let the wash run into all the nooks and crannies leaving the raised parts the original colour. You may need to do this a couple of times to build up to an effect you like. Another advantage of oils is that as they dry so slowly you can remove any excess with a cotton bud or similar. Another option for light coloured bays is to first paint them black or dark grey, then 'mist' some light coats of the desired colour over them, again gradually building up the density of the desired colour. By applying light coats you'll leave some of the recessed areas in the original darker colour giving a shading effect (essentially the same as pre-shading the camouflage). This is one to practice on a spare model first as the exact amount of paint required will take some practice (I'm still working on it myself, so I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert). Try to spray from the direction the light will be coming from to enhance the effect (this can also work great with cockpits). The pre-shading and wash techniques can be used together to good effect, just experiment 'til you get a look you like. As always I think the 'less is more' rule applies here and as they always say, when you get to the stage of "I'll just give it one bit more" - that's the time to stop! Have fun, Steve.

The tragedy is the thread started with such promise Steve.

On the face of it yes. I've just finished reading an excellent book called 'Beyond the secret missions' which contains some excellent pictures showing how much variation there could be in the black colouring especially on some of the older machines. If you really fancied a challenge you could try re-producing the layer of dust on the Duxford one, maybe using the 'leave it on display and let nature take it's course' technique Thoroughly recommend the book by the way, if only to realise what a potential death-trap the machine was. Also discovered that the first SR-71 I ever saw at Mildenhall was lost at sea off the coast of [i think] Thailand (after an unplanned and rather rapid descent) a few years later. Steve.

Superb thread Brian - certainly a few silk purses from sows-ears there! Len; was that the 'Spitfire Parade' pt1 (1/72) article from MAM? If so then I've been re-reading it just this week. It should make an excellent addition to the site. Steve.

You know? I've been thinking that ever since I went. Excellent pics John - the First Wellington pic is just superb, reminds me I must go back there for a day of Photography soon. Steve.

Don't be downhearted mate, they're certainly good enough - excellent in fact. Problem with UKAR is probably just the volume of traffic, there's so many great shots posted there that sometimes a thread just gets overlooked. there's a difference between looking and thinking Wow! and actually taking the time to post a reply. At then end of the day it's what you think of them that matters, and I'd say you should be proud of them. I too am interested in the kit you're using, and where some of these were taken. In particular the banking typhoons - is that the next road over from the farmer's field/layby as they turn onto the approach? Must get up to CBY again soon, I bagged a couple of Spanish Tiffies last time. Steve.

You'd probably be ok in a couple of hours, but unless you're really feeling impatient I'd leave it 'til the morning - be like armour plate by then. Steve. PS any 5.1 / DTS track on the heroes DVD?

They're definitely doing it at the RSC in Stratford at least - got the newsletter at the weekend. Definitely want to go see that. Steven Moffat would indeed be welcome. He seems to be one of the few writers who really understands the 'Time' bit of 'Timelord', both the ep's you quote made excellent use of the idea. As an Aside I watched 'Blink' again the other night and it still scared me! As for a rest, well Season three was weaker overall I thought than the preceeding two. Yes it had 'Blink' and the 'family of blood' two-parter, but I thought it was very uneven. Much as I hate to say it (as I'm not really a fan), I think they missed Billy/Rose badly. Having recently watched re-runs of season two her chemistry with the Doctor was amazing and although Freema did a great job, I think something was missing. If a break gives more time to plan a fourth season return to form then I'm all for it. Steve.

Absolutely right. Great photography is all about access and opportunities, without these you just can't get the shots. Cracking set again and you're right to be careful about protecting such a fantastic privilege. Steve.

Sorry to break up the 'Armorer's party' , but that's a cracking job of a really lovely kit. The crew figures really add to the overall effect. Steve.

Just a quick addition to my earlier post. RAFDEC quotes DMB as FS 35109 (but see John's post above), and LMB as FS 35164?, which isn't overly helpful Sounds like John has the better ideas. Steve.

This is just too damn spooky! I received a Rafdec sheet only yesterday and was about to ask about the 'blue Blenheim' featured on it. I've found the above comments very interesting - thanks guys. The RAfdec sheet quotes FS nos for the Med' blues, but I can't remember them off-hand. Steve.

Very nicely done I particularly like the shading/wash work in the undercarriage bay. Nice one. Steve.

Nice pics Bob - the Gret War team are...err...great aren't they? Sorry to hear it didn't work out for you Nick. The best places for pics at Duxford are at either end of the field where they bank over you head onto the display axis. At the Land warfare hall end you could find yourself Ducking! In general though the layout of the field makes it a bit of a pain for photography and I can't imagine it was any easier with the family in tow. Old Warden will generally be a lot closer than Duxford (especially if you set up about 20-30 yards to the right of the tower) and a much more relaxed atmosphere. If you get the weather for it there's nothing quite like it. The weather looked better than I had feared, we even got a few sunny spells in Baldock. Saw the BoB Flight (I assume) Spit' and Hurri' heading down the A1 about 14:45. Steve.

Yep, know what you mean there. My first such attempt was adding etched flaps to an Italeri C-47. It took me age to pluck up the courage to cut the wings as I was sure I'd do it in the wrong place. That was a much simpler job on a considerably cheaper kit though, so I can only imagine your nerves about the Phantom! Looking good though - keep us posted. Steve.

Klear is great for assembling the instrument panel 'sandwiches' that you sometimes get with etched sets, but for metal on metal I'm not so sure. Probably ok for dials which just have to sit there, but depending on how the column goes together it may not be suitable as it will have no real strength if the contact area is small. How about slow setting (30 second) superglue - Slo-Zap I think it's called, or 5 minute epoxy (not tried the latter yet though). You probably know, but if it has enough flat surface area normal superglue will bond etch instantly giving no 'wriggle room' (hence my stealth pilot will have to tilt his head slightly to look through his HUD!!) A trick I picked up recently is to use a small blob of blu-tack on a cocktail stick for handling and positioning tiny parts. Worked a treat for positioning the vents on my Stealth, just don't get glue on the 'tack as it bonds like a bugger (won't showing any pics of that particular vent!). Looking great so far, etch can be a right pain, but the results, as you are showing are well worth the effort . Steve.

Hi Guys, This is probably going to be too late for you to see it, but having checked the forecast (grey, overcast) and verified it by looking out the window (only 15 mins from Duxford), I've decided against going today. Hope you have a good time and I'll look forward to some pictures, Steve.

Just incredible pic's mate - and well done for making the most of the opportunity. That last shot of the two Rafales is just gorgeous - get that framed and on your wall!! Steve.

So, anyone else going then? So far I think it's me, Bob (the buckler) and Nick (Dylan the rabbit) meeting by the coastal defence guns at 12:00 on Sunday. Any more for anymore? I'll be the 'chunky' guy with the grreen Lowepro rucksak and probably a hannant's carrier bag! Steve.

I think the word that came to mind was 'inspirational' Steve.

Yep - it'll probably be my last show of the season. Weather's looking ok at the moment - 20C and sunny intervals, not bad for Dux as the sun starts off in your face then moves around and down to the right. Trying to remember if they've got a Bristol fighter there, tucked away in the corner of one of the hangars. If so then I might get some walk-around shots for the Eduard one I dug out of the loft last night - thinking of joining the GB. Steve.

Hi Nick, You're spot on the right kind of range (not a photographer for nothing, obviously ) Here's a few for reference (apologies to those who've seen 'em before) 1/50... 1/60... 1/125... 1/200... 1/250... Depends also on the speed of the prop. It'll be running faster in a flat out pass than it would at ground idle for instance. Faster speed = more blur for a given shutter speed. Take the first two above, the Bearcat is a slower speed but the Mustang has more blur, the Bearcat was taxying in whilst the Mustang was doing a run-up prior to departure (it was pretty windy!) I generally default to 1/250 for airborne pops as I find it gives the best compromise between some prop blur and a nice sharp plane. Usual approach is get the 'banker' using this setting then start experimenting on the other passes. Steve.

Make sure you hold the part NOT the fret while cutting (easier to find an airborne fret). Alternatively attach a ball of blu-tack to the part while cutting so it's less aerodynamic! Steve (who learnt the hard way).

Which is great for a flying display because it boosts your apparent telephoto power, but sometimes a little frustrating in a crowded static park where you need the wider end. IS (especially) and L are both worth it - but it's quite an investment. What I've found is that I could occasionally get a pin-sharp image with one of the plastic kit lenses, but IS and L certainly increase the number of occurences by a considerable factor. Steve.