TimB

A beautiful model of the old lady, and one to be proud of. The finish is particularly good, and it matches my memories (including from a flight in one too) Regards Tim

Very nice. I like the subtle weathering, which is much more realistic than some, given how clean the USAF ones were kept. Regards Tim

Hi, Ossington, sorry I can't confirm the serial but from one other photo it looks like a 08 at the end, so you are probably right. The exercise was in May 84 if that helps. Regards Tim

Paveways were also used on Maple Flag in 1984, with designation from a Canadian Kiowa. It was partly successful... Also note a speedtape and double bond leading edge repair. To add to the stores list, ACMI pods were used at Decci and Maple Flag. Regards Tim

When's it going on Grand Designs? That is some pretty awesome work! Regards Tim

Thanks, all. Wish I had taken a few more photos at the time... Have a good New Year. Regards Tim

Thanks Selwyn. I think I may still go with the soft top as I've photos that show the number plate from one on a site at Osnabruck in '85. One of the rate occasions we "deployed" to an airfield. Regards Tim

Thanks, tweeky. I suspect it may have been because the soft tops had better visibility with the top down. I'll cut the cab down to a soft top, then. All the best Tim

Hi, all, I'm trying to convert the CMK Unimog to an RAF one as used on the RAFG Harrier Force in the mid 1980s. Does anyone know if the hard top Moggy was used on the HF sqns, or were they all soft tops? I have a faint memory that the hard top ones were usually restricted to bomb dumps, but those brain cells are not very reliable. I only have a few pics from 4 Sqn and they all show soft tops, which will need rather more work on the cab. Thanks Tim

Wow, I had to double check a couple of photos that looked very like some of mine from visits to NASM! That is superb, especially the LM foiling. Well done again. Tim

Hi Jeffrey, what are you using as your slicer? I just have the basic Photon printer, and I initially tried the bundled software. I now use Z-suite, as it gives me better results. I have to scale the X&Y dimensions by 95% when using it, while the Photon software works at 100% in all three dimensions. With it factored, I can get close enough to use it for bearing housings and gears (it;'s not just for modelling). The Z-suite fails at some complex 3D models (so I have to use the Photon 'ware) but works well on the simpler ones. Trying different slicers may tell you what's hardware and

Hi Mike, which BERP was fitted to Lynx? I think the later versions had BERP III. BERP (British Experimental Rotorcraft Project) is a series of research projects. There is quite a lot on line on the BERP IV fitted to Merlin, and IIRC the BERP III was not much different in plan view but had a less distinct tip down turn and had fewer airfoil changes along the blade - which were hardly visible at 1:1. There are also some plan views of the BERP III. Exact dimensions and profiles are probably commercially sensitive. While I do not know the chord on the Lynx BERP blades, but suspect that i

In 1988 they were in pretty good nick, and were kept in good husbandry. I can't answer for what happened after my time... Regards Tim

Hi, Mike, do you have any drawings? I might try a quick draw (no charge) if the source info is usable. I've just drawn a 1/72 Navaho from plans, and am building the resulting print. Regards Tim

Dark Sea Gray is the correct colour. There was a small pool of aircraft rotated between the UK and the FI, all with that colour and additional modifications such as RWR which were not on the standard UK-aircraft. Regards Tim

Nice Gina. Really like the weathering and the cockpit. Regards Tim

Very nice, both build and finish. Looks the part. Regards Tim

For the Puma, the aircraft had a full rebuild and the rotables were all replaced. If I recall correctly, the Puma had no set airframe fatigue life limit. This was probably due to the design of the main structural items, and the replacement of most of these "on condition" at Major. Regards Tim

Hi Mike, how about this? Def Stan 02-127 ftp://ftp.iks-jena.de/pub/mitarb/lutz/standards/dstan/02/127/00000100.pdf . If Air requirements are anything to go by, the basics of Human/Machine Interfaces (ie how do we fit the people in) don't change much. Cheers, Tim

Hi Tommo, if you google, you will find all sorts of advice from brownish to blueish for the unflown shingles . Part of the problem is that old colour photos have problems rendering black. On my 1:12 version, I went for a very dark gray, then blended in a little bit of very dark blue. I would not make it metallic, as the surface was deliberately oxidised to improve its heat rejection and was uniform. After re-entry the colour was a dark gray, and a little less uniform. Regards Tim

If I recall correctly, it only opened when the LRMTS was in operation (ie ranging or receiving ground laser designator input. The erosion on the doors in flight was considerable, especially in rain or hail. Paint on the doors is easier to replace than optical glass, and closed doors were also safer from a laser safety viewpoint. It was quite hard to get the doors to open on the ground due to the number of safety cut outs. You do really not want to be shining a high power laser at everyone in the vicinity. Regards Tim

Very nice little GR3. Looks the business. Regards Tim

Wow. That is brilliant. An amazing piece of weathering. Thanks for sharing. Regards Tim

That is a very very nice Herc. The finish and weathering are just right, by my memory. A build to be proud of. Regards Tim

I can vouch for how effective they were. When the RAF Wessex got the yellow blades at SARTU (Valley), the fast jet pilots complained how distracting they were while hovering near the base. The effect of one blade going round was far more visible than the yellow or fuselage hanging below it. The main aim was to reduce the risk of airproxes (airmisses then) between SAR cabs and all the other airspace users. The main problem in use was to balance all the blades. Certainly on the Wessex, the position of the blade could be varied rather than have it fixed as I recall. As the blades were r