Bennygman

Tried that, but I couldn't find a magnifying glass with a filter thread! Currently trying to work, but in fact hopping around with anticipation...and it isn't even coming 'til tomorrow. Steve.

Hi All, In preparation for this year's assault on the airshow circuit I've just ordered a Canon 300mm f4L IS Prime lens. Reasoning was that although I lose the flexibility of my zooms and may miss some shots as a result, the image quality of this lens is apparently very good, or as one poster put it ..."Quality vs Quantity". Having looked at last years shots, most flying pics were taken at 300mm which was a bit 'soft' on my 70-300 zoom. Hopefully the prime will improve on those at the long end and I still have my trusty Dynax 7D and 70-300mm combo for runway / taxying shots. All very exciting - just wanted to share it with a few like-minded souls (if only to prepare me for when the girlfriend finds out . First test will hopefully be at Biggin this weekend ( I say hopefully because of the dubious weather forecast). Anyone else going? Steve.

Paul, this may or may not help, but I was having just the problems you describe with my Iwata too. My solution has been to get the larger nozzle (.5mm rather than the .35mm it came with) and since then it's worked beautifully even with Acrylics. My Xtracrylics even go on glossy now rather than the matt effect I got before which I assume was due to too high a pressure being required. The penny dropped when I read a post on ARC that mentioned that the small nozzle is really designed for artists inks - even thinned paint is much thicker than that. I think the replacement nozlle. needle and cap cost about £26 in total from Airbrushes.com. As for cleaning, when I looked through the small nozzle after spraying it was always blocked until I cleaned it out, the larger one can be seen through straight away. I've been using a long thin brush loaded with Cellulose thinner to wash it out then drying with a scrunched up corner of a paper towel. Touch-wood, it's worked without a stutter for about six weeks now, obviously the paint flow is higher and needs getting used to, but being able to work at lower pressures without clogging means that close/detailed work should still be possible. I've got a vietnam camo F-105 coming up which should be the acid-test! Steve.

I can recommend the Detolf - got a couple from Ikea a couple of weeks back. Very good quality for £34 each, me and the missus put 'em together in about 25 mins each and they feel like they could withstand a small bomb blast. You can get an extra lighting pack too, but the dopey woman in the store sold us the wrong one which dosn't fit into the hole in the top. Fortunately it comes with a blanking plate 'til we can get the proper one. Only thing I'd say is that it'd be nice if there was maybe one more shelf with a smaller gap between them, but the models look great in all that space and light. I'm hoping they'll take a 1/72 Lanc or 1/32 Mustang, but each shelf will comfortably hold 4-5 1/72 prop fighters or 2 1/48 equivalents without being too cramped. One other thing is that they're not dust tight, they have about a 1/2 inch gap at top and bottom (and no, that's not just our assembly work! ) Oh, and they come with [sic] an 'anti-toppling device' (piece of cord with a screw on the end), but they feel pretty stable to me. Steve.

Nice one Will -like that a lot. If anyone's interested here's the link to some pics of the Ramsay flight in [sic] a 'supersonic' 'Harrier' jet (don't know where to start on how wrong that statement is), including a shot of Will's jet. http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/F/...fword3_raf.html I can however recommend the recipe - made it last night and it's fantastic! Say what you like about Ramsay , the boy can cook. Steve.

3 sqn example from last week, the guys I met suggested it was fairly new to them... Steve.

She's a beaut Phil - great job mate! Steve.

Looking really good there Karl - great job mate! I know what you mean about being scared with your first airbrush job. It's silly really 'cos you can just do it again, but you SO want your first one to be good, fortunately yours is. As for mine? Well ... that's enough about me! Steve.

Looks like a cracking job to me - well done mate. Steve.

Jake: cheers mate, sorry we couldn't get the group visit sorted out. I didn't have high hopes for the GR4 shot, but it was such an impressive sight I had to include it. Nev: I'd like to say it was due to good planning and a detailed network of contacts - but in truth I was just a right jammy B*****D Geoff; looking at your location I'd say you know your way around CBY? (came through Sleaford on the way up). Re the dust spots, a mate has recommended something called (I think) green sensor swabs? Apparently you apply a liquid, let do it's work then take it off with a clean dry swab. This guy is pretty obsessive about his kit, so if he says it's easy I'm inclined to give it a go. Steve.

Yep they are (though somewhat intermittently) check out the Hobby link Japan web site for current availability. Steve.

Looking very good Phil' Steve.

Thanks guys. I'm not aware of anything happening on those dates Kev', the only scuttlebutt I picked up was that the Spanish are back for a proper exchange visit in June and that there is a similar exchange planned for possibly 2008 with the Italians, but not sure if they're coming here or the RAF's going to Italy. Judging from what I saw and the locals describing it as 'a bit quiet' I'd say that if you avoid Friday's you'd get a fairly decent show. Pays to take a book though as there were some fairly lengthy gaps between the action. Fortunately there were a few people to chat to yesterday. My next planned trip is to Lakenheath on June 22 to hopefully see some Spangdahlem A-10's. Dean, I noticed that, but only after I'd posted it. Most of these were taken with my girlfriend's Dynax 7D which only has the odd spot. The 20D is almost out of action until I can get some sensor swabs. Steve.

Well, as the RAF kept playing silly buggers with the Jag retirement dates and upsetting our plans for a meet-up I took myself off up there yesterday to see what was what. To say I had a good day would be an understatement. Weather wasn't the best, but at least it didn't rain at all at the base. On arrival around 08:30 I was directed to the 25 end and sure enough the caravan was there and the lights burning indicating I'd come to the right place. Quite a few people around waiting for the Spaniards but I managed to park in the layby by the traffic lights (in the middle of a huge puddle - glad I bought hiking boots!). I set up shop at the fence in the farmer's field and waited...and waited...we got some based movements, then at about 11 the Spaniards taxied out... Some more base gear then the Lossie Tornados went out to play, arriving back in impressive style... After lunch 41 sqn got into the act with some Tornado action... rrrrrrrRRRRRUMBLE!!! This has to be experienced, when the afterburners kick in you can feel you internal organs rattling A few more base Tiffie movements, then the highlight of my day, three Jags making their way out of the HAS complex... 3 ship departure... Now, I don't consider myself no nancy boy...but I had a lump in my throat thinking they were off to the knacker's yard...but I was wrong. The fly out had been scrubbed due to the weather at Cosford and these three came back later in the day. By then the light was a bit pants though so I won't bore you with the arrivals. Must say the 6 sqn guys were quite friendly, returning waves and such. What a day. Thanks to Dean (J35 Draken) for recommending the field, I didn't get to point R after all - the field seemed to be fulfilling mt needs quite nicely. The ground was a bit soft for a ladder with my weight on it so these were mostly shot through the chain-link fence in the interests of safety Hope I've not killed anyones dial up connection, as this is a longish post I've not posted any based tiffies, but there are a few if anyone wants to see them. Steve.

Nice one! Cheers Sean. Steve.

Thanks Sean - care to share the pic' with the group? Steve.

Nice one Phil - I know what you mean about those nose intakes, those and the main intakes are the only dubious parts of the whole kit fit-wise. Nice to know it wasn't just me. Steve.

Nice pics Kyrre - I especially like the Texan/Harvard and the abstract shot of the Swedish Roundel. Sometimes close-ups are the way to go, there's a wealth of textures and details to be found on parked aircraft (especially if the weather is against you). You made the best of a bad day. Steve.

Nice How does it go together? I've been meaning to get one of these as a kind of 'where it all began' type thing. I like the figures in classic pose, will you be replicating the photo as a diorama? Completely unprompted by me, my girlfriend took this pic' at Old Warden last year which I think echoes the Wright's first flight quite nicely... Steve.

I have a 'vampire' box in front of me now Robin - unfortunately full of spare stores rather than kit . I nearly bagged a couple of those as they were also re-issued recently but I was suffering from 'spending guilt' at the time and passed on them. Steve.

Thanks very much guys - appreciate the feedback Would I sound like a poser if I said I had three more in the loft too? I can recommend this E-bay seller for good service from the US (don't all rush at once) : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fujimi-F-4-F-4M-Brit...VQQcmdZViewItem. He used to have the 'yellow bird' boxing too but it looks like just F-4M's now. At about £17 a pop inc' shipping the price is comparable to what I paid for the new ones last year. Another tip is to keep a look out on the Hobby link Japan site. I don't know if the last re-issue was imported into the UK or not, but I got mine from HLJ and I've never had a problem with them either. They were listed as a limited re-issue but were available for around a couple of months. I had mine on pre-order having been alerted by SAMI's news pages. My plans for them are two grey/green camo and a Navy bird from 'the Ark' Gary: go on - you know you want to... Will: yep 19 sqn from Wildenrath (having moved from Gutersloh in the '80s). Mark: Cheers mate, this was a bit of an experiment and make it up as you go along effort. I used grey rather than black for the wash but it still looked a bit stark so I took a bit out here and there. It still looks a bit much in the close up but the other views look ok to me. The pics in the Airdoc book suggest that the cracks were literally beginning to show on these old airframes, and I've definitely erred on the side of caution with the weathering - some of them in the book are filthy (eg the one on the cover). Steve.

Hi all, I'm guessing Fujimi's superb Spey Phantom kits need no introductions around here! This was a dream to put together with no filler at all needed for the wing/fuselage joint and very little elsewhere. Another nice touch was when I got to the tailplanes and foud they were a firm push-fit at exactly the right angle - lovely stuff. Decals are from the kit, which was the recent 'last British phantom' re-issue. Only additions were the LAU-7's from the spares box as the kit only came witht the air-ground attachments. Finish was Xtracrylix and Alclad, with panel wash and weathering using artist oils (thanks to Zeke for some advice there). I tried to base the weathering around pictures in the Airdoc RAFG Phantom book (which is a great and recommended squadron by squadron reference). Excuse any weird reflections, these were taken in my new display cabinet. Steve.

have you been hanging out with Richard Gere again?

Like Gary, I use coat hangers, but what I do is cut them off either side of the 'elbow' so that what you have is a very thin pair of tongs, efffectively. The beauty of this is that they're both quite thin (for getting into any available hole - leave it!) and also quite springy, so they want to spring back into shape and grip the model from the inside. I've got one up the pipe of my Phantom at the moment, if I think of it I'll post a pic' tonight. For props I find a largish brush handle is good as because of the taper it can be inserted 'til you get a nice snug fit (I Said - LEAVE IT! ). If need be a bit of masking tape can be wrapped around the tool to aid things here. the only word of caution is to make sure not to use too much force and break apart a finished seam - go on ask me how I know Steve. PS Mike, that's a pretty fine looking Spitfire there. I also wanted to build the E28 but was put off by the critical mauling it got when it came out, do you have any views on the kit?

I'm with Kev' on this one - that's exactly how I do it. I find I can get pretty much the exact consistency I want that way and the paint and thinners get well combined in the cup. The only exception being the addition of Alclad and thinners, where I use one of those plastic dropper things from Little cars.com. Anything else is too thick and the droppers are a bugger to clean out before they gum up. Steve.