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to a new area of Britmodeller that we've been pondering for an absolute age, but have only just gotten round to making, after engaging with two members that also have manufacturer hats that caused some confusion in the Rumourmonger area next door, which was originally intended to be a member driven area for finding out about new products. This one's going to be uncluttered by guesses and surmises, and has instead been developed with manufacturers in mind, to allow them to post their new products, to ask us what we think, and ask for assistance from the vast collective expertise of our hobby (self excluded - I know nothing!). The topics here will be started by accredited manufacturers (not shops, traders etc.), who will need to register as such by dropping me a PM and telling me which company they're involved with. We'll then switch their membership category over to the newly minted Manufacturer type, which will give them the relevant permissions to start a topic to let us know what they're up to. Us members will be able to reply, but crucially WON'T be able to start topics and muddy the waters with duplicates, wishlists and so forth. Obviously it's a work-in-progress, so we can expect some teething issues, which we'll do our best to get out of the way quickly, but we anticipate it being of great use to those manufacturers and product developers that take advantage of it. We've only got two members converted as yet, which are @petr@SpecialHobby and @Jan Polc, but we'll have more in due course, and will be inviting people as and when we remember. My memory is poor, so if we don't invite you from the outset, don't get upset, just drop me a PM and I'll go and add you in just as soon as is practical. Peace out

This just in from Mike @ Lone Star Models, via our member Boyd Waechter It should please helo builders everywhere, as I recall some of you that were lamenting the passing of Cobra Company not too long ago Mike West, owner of Lone Star Models (Sugarland, TX), has just announced he has purchased Cobra Company lock, stock, and barrel. For those of you who do not know this company, it was owned for 25+ years by Chris Miller of Crofton, MD. and produced resin detail sets in all scales. Essentially, Chris was a competitor of Mike's, though they produced a different line of products. Cobra Co. began life selling update and detail sets for helicopter models, but as the years went by, Chris expanded the line to include a lot of 1/72nd scale aircraft interior sets and he even produced a line of products for 1/144th scale airplane military models. In January, Chris decided to sell his company, after which he and Mike went into negotiations until an agreement was reached, minus the silicon molds which Mike did not want (worn out). Mike bought all of Chris's remaining stock, the masters, the name, and all computer equipment. For now, he plans to keep the products under the Cobra Company name due to product recognition, but they will eventually be phased into his catalog under the Lone Star Models brand. Essentially, this purchase will just about double the size of Lone Star Models. Mike is now listing for sale the remaining stock under the Cobra Company button on his web page, www.lonestarmodels.com. Mike is now in the process of examining each of the masters he purchased and will shortly begin making molds for all of the 100+ sets Cobra Co. sold. Mike does take PayPal to make payment as easy as possible for oversea customers. Like he does with Lone Star Model products, Mike will be selling all of Cobra Co. resin sets internationally at no additional costs other than shipping. There is no minimum amount that you have to purchase. If you have any questions or want to inquire about the availability of a particularly set, Mike can be contacted at [email protected].

Well its started, see link http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/billionaire-entrepreneur-to-start-mining-the-moon-for-gold-and-platinum-by-end-of-2017/ar-AAmytLD?li=AA59G2&ocid=spartandhp Anyone who doesnt recognise the moonbase photo LOL put your hands up Chris

Afternoon all, I bring sad news unfortunately, text extracted from an SPT Facebook post: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A statement from Dave Woods, Chairman of Trustees - Shackleton Preservation Trust (reg charity no 1020951) Legal owner of Avro Shackleton WR963/G-SKTN I first got involved with Shackleton WR963 in late 2008 just after ownership had been taken back by Mike Collet following the failed attempt by ASCET to return her to flight. The aircraft had three engines present at that time, and numerous systems damaged or non-functioning. My first job was to remove the front spinner from the No3 engine which I managed without breaking anything, then shortly after as WR963 looked in a bit of a state the decision was taken to repaint her. The then Chairman (John Cubberley)knew well of my modeling skills and asked me to head up the painting team which I was happy to do, I just approached it like a big Airfix kit. The final painting was completed over the course of five days and has lasted well since. Over time I established a good working relationship with the managemaent at Coventry and Mike Collet in partiicular as we are both northern boys . When the SPT Chair's health took a turn and he decided it was time for him to step down I was invited to join the board of Trustees and later to become Chairman, this job involved steering the activities of the Trust in maintaining and operating WR963 on behalf of Air Atlantique, and raising enough money for the project to be self sufficient. Mike must have been impressed as in 2011 he asked me to take over the running of Air Atlantique's "Airbase", who would turn down that opportuity? Not me - so I said "Yes please!", and we did rather well at it. Then in 2012 it was decided that the whole of CAF would be moved to a new facility in Cornwall. Mike at that time realised that moving the Shackleton and Nimrod was really not an option, so on being called to the office one day he offered the Shackleton to me. Had I declined WR963 would have gone up for auction, and YES this would have also included the scrap man. What would you do, buy the aircraft that by now you have worked on for a number of years, or say "No thank you," in the knowledge that she could be turned into scrap? It was bit of a no brainer for me really, so I bought it - out of my own pocket I might add. Some of you may ask why I bought it myself and not on behalf of the Trust, that is simple, at that time the Trust did not want the liability that may have come with the purchase (indeed there were howls of horror from the other Trustees when I proposed handing it over to the Trust), as this may well have included insurances and parking fees which are substantial for an aircraft of the Shackletons size and the Trust just did not have the funds to cover this. Things were working well as they were, so I saw no reason for things to change so WR963 continued to be maintained and operated by the SPT as Mike had set up and all were happy with that arrangement. A few months later when Nimrod XV232 failed to sell, the transport cost was found to be atronomically high, and the aircraft was deteriorating rapidly, Mike asked me as Chairman to take it under the wing of the Trust on the same arrangement as WR963 had enjoyed, in that the aircraft would still belong to Mike but we - the Trust - would maintain and operate it. This the Trustees were happy to do as it would give us a nice little collection in its own right when all the other aircraft had departed, we would still have Shackleton, Nimrod and Shackleton Mk1 nose all together. Time passed and we had highs and lows, members of the crew came and went as they do, then came 2015 and the Vulcan To The Sky day. The week before this saw WR963 up on jacks to change the brakes on both wheels to allow us to taxy on the day, it was a damn near run thing but we did it in front of the biggest crowd seen at Coventry in many years. We followed this up in April 2016 with a taxy run with paying passengers onboard, the first time this has been done EVER!! The Trust at that time was solvent with plenty of cash in the bank, what I didnt know was that things were about to change and I'm afraid to say not for the better. WR963 became unservicable and remains so to this day. Where did it go wrong? At the beginning of the year I asked the crew to hit all the usual sites with messages pushing the Hanger Fund and the names on the bomb bay doors, they didnt want to do it, why? They were worried that it may be seen that we were spamming people. Thinking I may be pushing too hard and with my wife's failing health taking more of my time, I decided, wrongly, to let them run things largely their way. Things fell away further and faster than anticipated. A small group of the newer members for whatever reason felt that they needed to have private meetings to which the Chair and members they didn't favour were not invited. The whole thing degenerated into a Saturday morning "boys and their toy" club and not a group of like minded people with a common goal. Things I asked of them as Chairman of the Trustees of SPT in an attempt to try and halt the decline were ignored. Little to nothing has been done with the Heritage Lottery Fund Application which would have given the trust £70,0000 development funding , the "Friends of WR963" has been run down and ignored with no updates and newsletters since the first one under the new Membership Secretary, so that is another source of funding gone. The result? Since the middle of May we have had just £338 in donations. There can be no doubt that the unservicability this year, little to no income from events (such as monthly public engine runs) combined with the huge expenditures has killed SPT. If we didnt have the Kickstarter funds the Trust would be out of funds completely now. The majority of the newer members treat this as if it is of no concern, the only idea that was brought up to raise funds is to scrap Nimrod XV232, I have to tell you that as long as I draw breath as Chairman I will not allow this. To add to my stress level, this year new untrained members of crew have been put in positions on board the aircraft for private "test" runs when I wasn't on site. Not only is this poor behaviour from a safety point of view, it equates to some £3000 used in fuel this year alone for private - not public - "test" runs. Given I am the culpable person in that my name is on ALL the insurances, if there had been an incident and someone was injured or killed I would be facing criminal charges despite being 100 miles away at the time. Speaking as the owner of the aircraft would you allow this to continue? I am no longer willing to let this happen so I have with the greatest reluctance removed ALL the insurances on the aircraft. The SPT is now so divided that I doubt it can ever be brought back together. Weighing up all the above I feel I have had no choice but to call time on the work on WR963, and look to her preservation for future generations above all else. As such I have to say that that brilliant dream of flight for the Shackleton is now gone. Kind regards to all Avro Shackleton WR963 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I can't think of the words to adequately describe how sad this is for UK aviation Sam

news from the Aoshima facebook. Link with more photos: https://www.facebook.com/Aoshima.Bunka.Kyozai.English/posts/1072048049472427?notif_t=notify_me_page full list of releases: All Japan model & hobby show announce items - 2015 OCT/NOV/DEC: 4905083014165 [DEC-NEW] 1/24 FD3S RX-7 IV type PATROL CAR JPY 2,800 4905083011690 [DEC-NEW] 1/24 IMPUL 30S (Y31 CIMA) JPY 3,000 4905083011683 [DEC-NEW] 1/24 K-BREAK 18CROWN HYPER ZERO CUSTOM Ver.2 JPY 3,000 4905083010747 [DEC-NEW] 1/24 LAMBORGHINI SESTO ELEMENTO [OVERSEAS EDITION] JPY 4,200 4905083010761 [DEC-NEW] 1/24 LAMBORGHINI SESTO ELEMENTO Detail-Up Parts [OVERSEAS EDITION] JPY 1,800 4905083014172 [DEC-NEW] 1/24 SUBARU SAMBAR FIRE ENGINE JPY 2,800 4905083028544 [DEC-NEW] 1/32 ICHIBANBOSHI FURUSATOTTOKYUUBIN TSUITOU JPY 14,800 4905083010655 [DEC-NEW] 1/350 I..J.N SUBMARINE I-175 JPY 3,600 4905083011423 [DEC-NEW] 1/48 THUNDERBIRD No.4 JPY 4,800 4905083012062 [DEC-NEW] 1/72 CHEMICAL FIRE PUMPER TRUCK (OSAKA MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPARTMENT) JPY 2,500 4905083012079 [DEC-NEW] 1/72 FIRE LADDER TRUCK (OTSU MUNICIPAL FIRE DEPARTMENT) JPY 2,600 4905083017838 [DEC-NEW] ARPEGGIO ARS NOVA 1/700 BATTLESHIP HARUNA FULLHALL TYPE JPY 4,200 4905083017821 [DEC-NEW] ARPEGGIO ARS NOVA 1/700 BATTLESHIP KONGO FULHALL TYPE JPY 4,200 4905083011577 [DEC-NEW] INITIAL D 1/24 RIN HOJYO SKYLINE BNR GT-R(NISSAN) JPY 2,600 4905083011560 [DEC-NEW] INITIAL D 1/24 RYOSUKE TAKAHASHI FC3S RX-7 (MAZDA) HAKONE BATTLE VERSION JPY 2,600 4905083027387 [DEC-NEW] PRE-PAINTED 1/24 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR LP700-4 MATTE BLACK (FOR OVERSEAS DISTRIBUTION LIMITED) JPY 5,600 4905083011386 [DEC-NEW] PRE-PAINTED 1/24 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR LP700-4 ORANGE PEARL JPY 5,600 4905083011393 [DEC-NEW] PRE-PAINTED 1/24 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR LP700-4 WHITE PEARL JPY 5,600 4905083051269 [NOV-NEW] 1/24 LB WALKS HAKOSUKA 4DR JPY 3,200 4905083051276 [NOV-NEW] 1/24 LB WALKS KEN&MARY 4DR 2015 VER JPY 3,200 4905083025864 [NOV-NEW] 1/24 TE71 COROLLA SEDAN 1600GT LATE Ver. JPY 2,000 4905083027332 [NOV-NEW] 1/32 KODAIRA DUMP TRAILER JPY 6,800 4905083051252 [NOV-NEW] 1/32 SHIINA LINE EXPRESS RYOUMAGOU JPY 6,800 4905083010389 [NOV-NEW] 1/700 SUPPLY SHIP MAMIYA&U.S.S SUBMARINE SEALION JPY 3,600 4905083017791 [NOV-NEW] ARPEGGIO ARS NOVA 1/700 BATTLESHIP HIEI FULLHALL TYPE JPY 4,200 4905083017845 [NOV-NEW] ARPEGGIO ARS NOVA 1/700 BATTLESHIP KIRISHIMA FULLHALLTYPE JPY 4,200 4905083012321 [NOV-SPOT] 1/24 AOI OGRE AN-21 AERO BOOST MODE JPY 2,600 4905083005712 [NOV-SPOT] 1/24 AOI OGRE AN-21 CIRCUIT MODE JPY 2,600 4905083005729 [NOV-SPOT] 1/24 NU ASURADAAKF-0/F(2022VE.R) JPY 2,600 4905083007648 [OCT-NEW] 1/12 Honda CB400FOUR JPY 3,200 4905083007662 [OCT-NEW] 1/12 Honda　CB400FOUR Photo-Etched Parts&Metal Sticker SET JPY 2,200 4905083008546 [OCT-NEW] 1/24 ROJAM 21 CROWN ATHLETE (TOYOTA) JPY 3,200 4905083008522 [OCT-NEW] 1/24 ROJAM 21 CROWN ROYALSALOON (TOYOTA) JPY 3,200 4905083027325 [OCT-NEW] 1/32 2ND DOKURO MARU JPY 4,800 4905083011430 [OCT-NEW] 1/700 1/700scale BLUESTEEL I-401ARSNOVAMODE JPY 5,900 4905083009758 [OCT-NEW] 1/700 IJN KUNIKAWA MARU JPY 2,800 4905083010303 [OCT-NEW] 1/700 U.S.S AIRCRAFT CARRIER WAS &I.J.N.SUBMARINE I 19 JPY 3,800 4905083010310 [OCT-NEW] 1/700 U.S.S.AIRCRAFT CARRIER WASP PHOTO ETCHED PARTS SET JPY 2,000

a new Hasegawa leaflet: http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/hp/2015ajhs/2015ajhs_scale.html http://www.hasegawa-model.co.jp/hp/2015ajhs/2015ajhs_chara.html

Our friends at True-Earth are expanding their TRANSPARENT FILTERS range, for more creative options Two more colours in the SCRAPING PAINTS range And they have updated the free download e-book COMPENDIUM It's really nice to see a company producing free literature and "how to" information to accompany their products Click on any of the pics for links back to their home page.

Our friends at Ultimate are at it again! Not content with producing the best thinners and airbrush cleaner for just about every brand of acrylic paint in our modelling universe, some really cool sanders, they've now decided to start offering model kits for the discerning buyer. Not your mainstream run-of-the-mill kits you can find everywhere, but more left-of-field that you might not see very often. They've started with Tarangus (see their announcement here), and will be broadening the range as time goes by. They've also got something new to bring to the market this quarter, and Lee is being very cloak-and-dagger about it, so I can't wait to see what it is! Meantime, you can check out their competitive pricing of Tarangus and everything else by clicking their logo below

We've had ZM's latest newsletter in, and for those of you that don't subscribe to paper mags, here's a copy. The star player is of course the Ho.229, which we reviewed here a little while ago, and is most definitely worth the fuss!

New 1/72nd KP Models (http://www.kovozavody.cz) Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2013/09/06/kovozavody-prostejov-tiskova-zprava/?lang=CS V.P.

1/72 F-14A Tomcat (Tentative) 1/72 F-15E Strike Eagle (Tentative) listed here: http://www.tamiya.co...12THS_index.htm

Our latest newsletter is now available with details of new arrivals this week including the Airfix 1:72nd Swordfish and Revells 1:72nd Boston Mk IV / V which arrived late this afternoon. Click here for this weeks newsletter We are also starting a new weekly specials list which offers 100 different items per week at a discounted price. This week we have items from Academy, Airfix, Eduard, Hobbyboss, Revell, Trumpeter and others with up to 35% discount applied. Click here for details of the weekly specials The weekly specials as the name suggests will only be available for one week and then every friday night a new batch of 100 items will be posted up. These specials should also be available from your normal supplier (if of course they are one of our customers!)