Bennygman

No worries mate, not sure if the 350D is still in production, but drop PHREAK a PM, it may be he has some second-hand ones around from people who've upgraded to newer models. Just don't let him talk you into a 1D Mk3 because; 1. It'll cost a bomb 2. I'll be insanely jealous Steve.

You know that's a film camera , right? The LCD refers to the settings display rather than a reviewing screen. That said, I used to own one pre-digital, and it took a great picture even with the 'plastic' kit lens that came with it. Until I got a wide-zoom for my 20D it was my weapon of choice for statics. Also incredibly lightweight and easy to use and gives you access to the entire Canon lens range should you so choose. I think the digital equivalent would be the 350D. Steve.

That's an immaculate finish - always nice to see a well-made Matchbox. I can only echo what's been said about the figure painting, you seem to have captured more detail than is actually there. Steve.

Excellent collection - I especially like the vicious look of the third one down; the 'penetrator' I presume? Steve.

What an excellent demonstration I'll have some of that next time. Steve.

Sunday's looking good for a meet-up then How about 12:00 by the coastal defence guns (can't miss 'em). Also conveniently located near to the 'great British banger' and coffee / burger stalls usually. Porky Steve.

Another vote for the swingy-wingy-thingy Steve.

Hi Nick, I find that this stuff seems to be a lot thicker than normal Xtracrylic paint so I tend to thin quite heavily or else the brush is always clogging. I tend to use Xtracrylics thinners rather than water but I'd say a very rough ratio would be 50/50 for my use. As always, do a trial run on something unimportant. Steve.

Which I think is quite important on the Hobbyboss Mustang. I seem to remember from when I built it that the clear part is just the clear part of the canopy, i.e the framework is moulded into the solid fuselage piece. Unlike most canopies therefore you won't have the luxury of being able to clean up the cut and paint over it. Also means that Hobbyboss's claim that the canopy can be posed in the open position isn't really accurate without an awful lot of (probably unsucessful) surgery. Apart from that though it shouldn't give too many problems and is a fine choice for your first kit build. Let us know how you get on. Steve.

Thanks Gene, no there are none here. There were a couple on ARC but only of the earlier stages in the painting process. I'll dig 'em out and start a seperate thread in Ready for inspection' so's not to clog up Gary's thread. Steve.

Very nice - some excellent etch-work there Steve.

Yep, and Waddington - three of the 'greys' IIRC. Great pics Kyrre - especially like the shots of the Migs just leaving the runway (Tiger F-5's not bad either ) Steve.

Most Excellent! Steve.

Definitely in for this one - subject to be decided, but probably more than one engine. Well done Wayne, Steve.

The Magna conversion parts are a bit 'industrial' looking in their raw state in my view, but I've no reason to believe that it won't do the job after some clean-up. The guys in the links above sound pretty pleased with theirs. Just don't expect CMR quality for the fairly hefty price-tag. Steve.

Have you seen Eduard's news page? Apparently (and I just repeat what they say) they were caught out by the demand and are pulling out the stops for a second run, I think around November time. Might be worth getting a pre-order in for the second batch. Know what you mean though - the Spit' 22 was sold out before I even knew about it. Steve.

Sunday sounds good to me (often less busy too). Only depends on the weather, having been to one Dx show that lasted 30 minutes and one that didn't start at all (apart from a Chipmunk going up to look for clear sky, and failing), I'm a bit nervous now :-). Vulcan comment wasn't too serious, I think we're looking at next year. If it had been attending I may have stayed away as Dux would be a nightmare with the turnout that would have caused. Lineup does look quite good - be even better if they could do what they did a couple of years ago and get the Red Bull Matadors (Paul Bonham & friend) possibly the best civilian team you could hope to see. Steve.

Hi Nick, have you been to Duxford before? Usually there's no problem, but at Legends this year they'd changed the layout of the pay-booths on the Airfield side of the road. This meant that I arrives as normal at around 07:45 and found myself in a queue on the A505 which hasn't happened before. Hopefully they'll go back to the old layout, and for the September shows it probably won't be as busy as Legends anyway. Legends is also usually the only show where there's a chance of selling out so again for the September shows you should be ok buying on the gate (note, if the Vulcan is about all the above goes out the window , but I believe it won't be happening). As has been said, if you haven't been before then you can easily fill the time waiting for the show to start around 14:00 by having a good look around the museum. There's also usually a large selection of model and other traders to have a nose around. Depending on the weather I may well be going too, if so then it would be good to say hello to you and any other Britmodellers attending. Steve.

Hi Gary, and as Mike says Welcome to Britmodeller. My resin experience is also pretty limited but I did make a passable job of CMR's Typhoon Mk1 at the first attempt. Generally it was a nice kit and I can't remember too many problems that weren't of my own making. One thing I do remember is that the cockpit was a little reluctant to fit into the closed fuselage. It may be worth trimming things a little to get everything to fit snugly, but you'll find that out with some dry-fitting as you go. Other than that the only real problem was the vac' canopy which took a lot of fairing in but again probably down to me at the cutting out stage. Theonly other thing to think about is that as you're assembling most if not all of it with superglue, the dry fitting stage is essential to make sure everything sets up squarely at the first attempt. Here's how mine turned out... With almost three times my total modelling experience I doubt you'll have too many problems. Overall I'm quite a fan of the CMR range and if they weren't so expensive I'd probably have the lot by now as the subject matter is first-class and you get a wealth of beautifully moulded parts for the spares box. Good luck with the Spit' - post plenty of pictures if you can. Steve.

Looks very interesting - think I'll be getting at least one of these. Thanks Graham, Steve.

Re point one - should have guessed you'd have it covered . Just remember that Alclad is all about surface preparation. Compared to that the airbrushing bit is good fun. Re point two - sounds like madness to me. Steve.

I like to try and have them at different stages of completion. Then, say I don't feel like getting the airbrush out I can do some cockpit building, or if I'm feeling too clumsy for etch, I can fill and sand, or spray some paint. Doesn't always work though - My Do 335 and Hurricane reached completion almost simultaneously so I'll work on the stealth 'til the fuselage is closed then make a start on the Meteor interiors to get things spaced out again. PS Col, if that Hunter is High Speed Silver you might be better off with some Tamiya AS12 or Xtracolour High Speed Silver itself. The Alclad might look too metallic for a painted finish. Only slight problem is that I read on Hannants site that the AS series of paints as well as some others of Tamiya's had been suspended from UK sale due to a labelling issue - bit of a bugger that. Steve.

Great job Karl - construction looks flawless and that's one extremely smart paint job. Steve.

that'll be the paint fumes again.

All of a sudden I'm really glad you're in Cyprus Steve.