Bennygman

At last, a sensible idea Today's question; To whom?

Was seriously tempted by one of these at Waddo last week. Due to the crap weather I spent a while taking walkaround type pics of the static A-10's - lots of lumps, bumps, wheels, weapons etc. those things have an enormous amount of kit bolted on / sticking out. Just need to get some Astra decals for a 'Spang' but can't decide whether to go for broke in 1/48 or wait for the little one. Incidentally I was listening to the very crowd-friendly pilot who was selling T-shirts, answering questions and doing a very good job of suddenly going deaf when someone asked about details of the weapons systems. Steve.

I have a jar of thinner/cellulose/acrylic/alclad/enamel waste building up on my workbench and was wondering what to do with it. If I take it to the council tip will they accept it and will they charge to dispose of it? I'm guessing the cellulose in particular would be classed as a hazardous chemical. Other thought was to find a friendly company that has to dispose of lots of the stuff and ask if I could 'tip it in' with theirs. Not talking a lot here, just thinking about it before it builds up too much. Any thoughts? Steve.

Yeah, having been there the day before I decided I'd seen the best I was going to get so I cut my losses and headed home. Not a waste though, I spent a couple of hours shooting detail pics of the F-15E, A-10's and The Navy Wessex in the Falklands enclosure and I finally met a forum member in the person of Vince from 'Models for sale'. Only a brief chat as I thought I'd better let more paying customers into his tent out of the rain, but I did relieve him of a Fujimi 'Romanian Mig-21' and 'Top Gun' A-4E, so at least that's two he won't have to cart back home. I guess most of the traders will be cursing the weather even more than the enthusiasts. Never did find the Heritage Aviation stand though, despite making three circuits looking for it . Steve.

I went down for the arrivals day on Friday. It was a bit threatening as I drove up, but by mid-morning it was just the odd shower then sunshine all afternoon - I even got sunburnt! Still a bit gloomy when this beast departed... Excellent way to clear off the runway though... A few British Classics... Some nice foreign visitors... A great pairs arrival by the Chinooks... My first chance to shoot a Puma in action... And maybe my last chance of a Jag... We know how the show turned out ... but at least I got this one before the heavens opened too badly... All in all A good weekend, even if I was away by 11:30 on Saturday. Steve.

Nice pics. I always like the head-on with jet exhaust in the background and yours is superb! The nice thing about Duxford is that you never know what might happen. I went a couple of weeks ago and got a Spitfire and the Catalina displaying. Steve.

And 4,3,2,1 .... cue Mentalguru...

Would I be right in thinking a coat of Future/Klear could be used as a barrier if you're nevous about overcoating? I've heard about it being used as an undercoat for Alclad so I'm guessing it's pretty resilient. Steve.

Great Work Grant. Having just read through your thread from beginning to end the transformation is quite amazing I love these silver jets, just something so 'right' about them. Got a couple of the meatboxes in the loft but I'm not sure if I'm man enough Steve.

Quality - nothing else to add. Steve.

I guess because we get allocated one demo per year. 2005=F-16, 2006=F-15C, 2007=F-15E - possibly A-10 in 2008?? Steve.

Sorry mate, I believe she's heading home immediately afterwards. Apologies, Steve.

Cracking job Mate. Nice pics too - I must get me some daylight lamps so I don't have to sod about correcting white balance all the time. Looking forward to the Mew Gull. Steve.

I got there at 08:00 yesterday and was the only one there. Base started up at about 08:30 and people gradually began arriving. When I left at about 10:45 I'd say the viewing area car park was about half full. Don't know if you know the Heath, but the A-10's are arming on the far side of the field, so they appear from around the corner to the right of the viewing area (behind the derelict farmhouse?), which means they are a bit closer than the Eagles. 300mm on digital plus a modest crop did the trick. I was standing by the security gate when asked to move back to the viewing area which has apparently been happening a fair bit just lately. I had planned to cross back under the lights to shoot the recoveries, but the locals were saying they stay out for up to two hours, so I thought I'd save that for next time. First wave went out about 09:40 to 10:40, apparently there is usually another towards late afternoon. NB this is what I've been told, there is no legal recourse if you end up photographing tumbleweed Steve.

Waiting for their runway to be repaired so they can go back home to Germany.

Bonzer pics mate! The Hornet is a real stunner ... for that one especially. Love the Roulettes shot too and you'll make plenty of friends around here by posting meteor pics. More, More... Steve,

Had a couple of hours at Lakenheath this morning on the off-chance the 81st would be out to play. As it turns out I saw more A-10's than Eagles. Only problems were the vicious heat-haze and a USAF policeman who (very politely) pointed out that I wasn't authorised to be where I was and would I care to return to the viewing area . What I thought was good though was that he arrived as the A-10s taxied out, but waited in his car' til I'd finished taking pic's before asking me to move. Don't know if that was intentional, but if so then what a top bloke! Steve.

Like the guys said Jens, behind and to the side as the day goes on. The only problem you might have is that from about 3-4 o'clock it is quite side on, putting half of the display into a silhouette. To some extent you can overcome that by going to the Western end (where it's also a lot quieter) and shooting towards the East. What it also means is that as the static stays open 'til about 20:30 you can get some lovely setting sunlight on your static photos too. Everybody keep that Mike's right about the need for sunscreen! Steve.

Very good point Chris, bound to be popular. And the theme would encourage me to get on with my Hase' Dambuster. Steve.

Nice one Dean - I particularly like the close up of the Canberra cockpit, and the Tornado is seriously spooky looking. Great work on that one . I tried the same shot but I was a bit (ahem) premature, and just got a really nice shot of the smoke! Oh, well, three more chances to get it right What was your shutter speed on the Wokka? I struggle to get any rotor blur so I've now decided to use a higher speed, get the fuselage sharp and crop in to lose the rotors. Sometimes works, sometimes not. Steve.

cheers for the info Dean and Gary. This time around it's a bit of a recce' on the Friday (where would you rather be; work or RIAT?). Might be interesting if the T-birds are practicing...I'll take whatever's going Steve.

And Me! Sounds like a mass 40th celebration at SMW then. Have we got enough for a splinter group yet? Steve.

Not this year, It'll be P&V East on Friday, general admission Sat/Sun and P&V West on Monday (as long as they're departing to the West). Tried P&V West for the first time last year and it was great with the stuff from the 'exotic' pan (Turks/Greeks) taxiing out nose-on and then side-on and then everything just about in range as they climbed out. Did the three days last year but thought I'd add on the Friday to save the long journey down on the main show days. Have you had any experience of P&V East? I understand it can get a bit 'lively' down there . Not sure what to expect so I'll get there early and see what happens. It'll be my first year for Waddo arrivals too, so quite an adventure in the next few weeks. All we have to do now is for the same weather as the last two years Steve.

Only just noticed this one Graham - very nice build indeed. And ONLY three months? That's not an overly long time for a build of that quality. I wondered if I'd see you around here eventually Steve.

It'll be my pleasure mate - but don't tell the others or they'll all want one! Steve.