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1/24th Blackburn Buccaneer S2B, 208 squadron


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Actually she's there bolstering up the staircase..stout woman, can trace her family tree back to the cretaceous period !, stood rigidly to attention proudly donning her siren suit and unfurled Union Jack !

As for Stuarts nefarious activities...hmmm, worth a shot...... ....Doublewood.......double snigger....

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I had been gobsmacked by the quality of the seats Andy. But...

On reflection I've decided that you've missed off the characteristic grubbiness of the bottom yellow/black bang seat handles :) (caused IIRC by nervous fingering whist wearing grubby leather gloves).

:)

Well - I can't think of any other criticism and a constant unremitting diet of (albeit well deserved) praise just aint healthy........

Added by edit. Just had another thought. I bet the back seat handle was really grubby. I know that If I'd been a Buccaneer Nav - sitting in the back of some sprog pilot flying low level over the sea in goldfish bowl visibility - I'd have been nervously fingering the black and yellow handle........

Edited by Fritag
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I bet the back seat handle was really grubby. I know that If I'd been a Buccaneer Nav - sitting in the back of some sprog pilot flying low level over the sea in goldfish bowl visibility - I'd have been nervously fingering the black and yellow handle........

....and a set of worry beads...!!

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Ha thanks Steve, you're quite right...I haven't got around to any of the serious weathering yet, just trying to work out where everything goes !, My good friend Nigel FH used to fly Javelins and Hunters and also said of the seats 'they just doesn't smell right................'where's that characteristic aroma of fear !!', and after staggering around the sky in a Javelin for an hour or so in a constant state of panic I know he's speaking from experiencel !..............hmmm I'll see what Baldrick can come up with !

I know that If I'd been a Buccaneer Nav - sitting in the back of some sprog pilot flying low level over the sea in goldfish bowl visibility - I'd have been nervously fingering the black and yellow handle........

I think you could well be right...one hand on the radar stick and the other glued to the ' kindly leave the premises in an unseemly manor' handle........especially with spray from the briney sploshing up onto the sides of the canopy....

I've been busy finishing a few other things off ready for the Brum show on Sunday but did manage to crack on with the inner plate detail on the main gear doors.......a few photos when they're on and fitted..

Cheers all,

Melch

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General sah

Repoting for duty...was duly waiting for my ship back to Blighty when some top brass knob ran over me ......Haig or something his name was,anyway he looked damn silly with two pencils up his nose and his pants on his head...but as he leaned over me to check i hadnt damaged his car,he told me to report back to you so here i am sah minus a leg and i lost the bullet with my name on but otherwise fighting fit....cup of tea sah?

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Just had another thought. I bet the back seat handle was really grubby. I know that If I'd been a Buccaneer Nav - sitting in the back of some sprog pilot flying low level over the sea in goldfish bowl visibility - I'd have been nervously fingering the black and yellow handle........

I recently re-watched the DVD of the BBC Sailor Ark Royal 4 documentary from the late-70s - which was probably the single biggest influence in my wanting to become a Naval pilot. It was filmed very near the end of the FAA F4 / Brick life, so by that time quite a few of the crews were RAF. There's a classic scene when 809 are embarking off Start Point, and there's some poor sod trying to get stop the jet from floating at the last minute and missing the wire. He does eventually get it on, but only after doing 4 or 5 bolters and being threatened with diverting ashore if he misses this time. At the end they interview the pilot, who sounds all blasé ("never in doubt" etc. - exactly what I'd have said!) but his sweat-stained hair tells a different story! The thoughts of his long-suffering Looker were not recorded. And this guy was, it later transpires, a 3rd tour Buccaneer pilot, so no mug.

I always had the utmost admiration for anyone who sat in the back / on my left (depending on aircraft type) for my deck landings / controlled crashes. No bang seat for them, and nothing to do except try not to crap themselves as I wobbled a Lynx around trying to get it onto Type 22 at night. Having talked to some of the Shar pilots from 801 during my first tour - many of them experienced Aussie A4 pilots, so no green-horns - about the workload involved in getting a single-seat jet back on deck at night with no diversion, I just know that I'd have exceeded my mental capacity somewhere downwind, before even starting the approach!

Respect. It's bad enough being the guy waggling the sticks; sitting there waiting for the trained monkey up front to cock it up must take nerves of steel...

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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Crusty, thanks for repotting yourself...very circumspect of you fella. If you must get run over by someone then why not make it a top brass knob, such as Field Marshall Sir Dougie' don't turn your back on me' Haig, .KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE, MOT and sidecar , why I myself was recently run over by Field Marshall Lord Hubert 'daddy' Plumer, an esteemed honour you'll agree, so much so that I insisted that he reversed over me too ! oh and I found the bullet with your name on it and will dispatch it to you post haste, (courtesy of Martini Henry...first class, no need to sign for it, you'll know when you receive it)...

Turbine man, thanks...good lord, you must have been at a loose end !.......

X-FAAWWWAAAFFU, ah Sailor, what a series.. funnily enough I was watching some YT clips recently, mainly for the Gannet/Bucc bits...great stuff. I recall well the scene you mention, and loved the reaction of the captain and surrounding 'types', scenes straight from Blackadder...'yes, yes, that's much better, he's getting it, yes, too high, not too much power, yes, yes, ah...............right, well 7 or 8 goes is quite enough..... As you say the driver looked a tad worn out when delivering his monologue and I bet his back seater had quickly taken himself off to the bar, via the shower and khazi, not necessarily in that order !.....

Here's the clip,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bW7tjy7AOk

Must admit the back/side/below seaters really were/are to be admired, especially if you didn't have the means to do anything about the madman at the helm !......landing anything on a pitching deck with low viz at night isn't exactly run of the mill stuff, amazing skill....

Back to the Bucc, I've managed to finish the main gear doors....originally I was just going to scribe the resin with the various panels but on closer inspection of the real thing I noticed that the panels are really quite prominent and so decided to panel them with 0.5mm sheeting.........these took a lot longer than I planned, due to smoothing the resin/plastic bond along the seams, (when one is closed up another hairline crack appears somewhere else). Eventually it all came good.....hooray !

Here are the main panels cut to shape....

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Panels in place. I used Gator glue for this as it's damn good stuff and can be used in little sections to ensure a good bond...CA wasn't an option as it needed a lot of fettling and I didn't want excess glue to deal with too)...

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Once dry all seams were treated with Mr dissolved putty, (catchy little handle !), left to dry in the sun before being primed with Halfords finest, ideal for this job.......first run, light coats,

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Then heavy top coat and a lot of Micro meshing......

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Once dry more detail will be applied, rivets, etc, then the top coat mix of light admiralty grey/lag, before the weathering with MIG pigments and oils begins...

Cheers all,

Melchett...

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Andy I did reply to you but it couldn't have gone through when the site went down....

The He-111 is on my desk slowly being done but very slowly I may add. Working a lot at the moment doing leaflets and working to try and grow the business more.... got some big plans coming up so it's all hands on deck. Will fill you in at SMW(?) if I don't see you before.

Great work too mate, would love to be at this stage with mine, but it's just not possible yet!

Radders.

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Thanks fellas, Pete..yes I know !!...apparently it's hotter here than Scotland, would you believe !!!.Dark smoke...this is before they went over to smogless diesel, though it's hard to make out with all that clag !

Radders, glad to here the 'einkels still going strong.....good luck with the business mate, after all the hard work you've all put in you deserve it....

Hopefully I'll catch you at Brunters again, if not before, see what's going on.......but if you feel the need to fill me in at SMW then feel free, however I'll put up a good fight ! :P

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That's the very clip! The DVD I have also has a "Sailor 5 years on" show, which I'd never seen before. The pilot in question had left the Air Force by then and was flying Sruggs Megajets somewhere, but he did say that the kindly interview by SPLOT was all for the cameras; once they'd gone he got a right going over. I met that SP somewhere at Yeovs early in my career, and I can well believe it!

Those doors are simply awesome.

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once they'd gone he got a right going over.

Now that doesn't surprise me at all......you could see the forced smiles and sense the rampant teeth gnashing ! there must have been a sense of dread and impending doom in that front seat every time he bolted....'wonder if anyone's looking' ? backseater probably had his arms crossed, (one hand on the lower grab handle) thinking............'now this has got absolutely nothing to do with me.........thank God !'

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Once dry more detail will be applied, rivets, etc, then the top coat mix of light admiralty grey/lag, before the weathering with MIG pigments and oils begins...

Cheers all,

Melchett...

Looking forward to the weathering/pigments/oils tutorial :) (notebook ready)
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Thanks chaps,

Rob, Mr Dissolved Putty..(kinds sounds like Mr Men on acid !) is great stuff...for narrow/hairline cracks. It does shrink and it can be a bit disappointing when you see all the air bubbles appearing along the line you've just spent so much time filling, however a further swipe of the stuff with a wet finger or cotton bud always sorts it out.

Steve, that's a little way off yet as the build will now take on somewhat biblical proportions....the suicidal masochist in me has just ordered a few packs of Archers resin rivet decals (0.14) as I just can't leave the back end of the fuselage, gear doors, air brakes and ailerons smooth after close inspection of Colin's Bucc at Bruntingthorpe. Being a subsonic beastie it has row upon row of the blighters all over the gaff !.... This will increase the build time dramatically, (not to mention the effect on my eyesight !) but I think it'll be both necessary and worthwhile........bear with me, I think we're going to need a bigger boat !

General 'Insanity' Melchie

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Thanks fellas, Pete..yes I know !!...apparently it's hotter here than Scotland, would you believe !!!.Dark smoke...this is before they went over to smogless diesel, though it's hard to make out with all that clag !

Radders, glad to here the 'einkels still going strong.....good luck with the business mate, after all the hard work you've all put in you deserve it....

Hopefully I'll catch you at Brunters again, if not before, see what's going on.......but if you feel the need to fill me in at SMW then feel free, however I'll put up a good fight ! :P

We'll see about that :fight::P

Not sure I can do CWJ as much as I would love to, it's bank holiday weekend and I'm sure I'm busy :rolleyes:

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True Rob, it's great stuff though, I've learnt that if you take your time, kick back, have a brew, chuck some Satriani on the old turntable and apply a little at a time, then it goes on just fine...

Radders, I'll send my batman round first thing to sort out the arrangements for the duel...........it'll be handbags at dawn !

Can't you give yerself a day off for good behaviour !......I told Colin that we'd be there man, delegate !!

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General, if that truly is a piccie of young Radders' girlfriend, and not some rubbish he pinched off the Intertubes, I respectfully volunteer to be his stand-in for the weekend. No need to thank me, always willing to do my part.

Yours, etc.

Jason

P.S. When I referred to the rubbish young Radleigh might have pinched off the Intertubes, I want it very clear that I was referring to the photograph, of course, and not his no doubt charming lady friend. No need for another duel!

Edited by Learstang
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That is indeed Lady Radders Jason......as you can plainly see she's busy licking him into shape ready for the 'big push'.

I shall of course pass on your request Q/22324/4 (stand in for tactical assessment) to him immediately though I expect that the short answer will be along the lines of Q/3776788/7 (duel with Armstrong Whitworth 4 pounder cannonets at dawn).......! Your gratitude will be held in abeyance pending the result of your autopsy report......

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Just a quick word

Nice to meet the wheel bay doors yer Generalship, I hopes they made it safely back home without being scoured and stressed by extra kits bought from the lorst and founded

Nice to meet yer Lordship too sirrah

(Oh yes, the doors, absolute loveliness in plastickery, absolutely)

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Thanks Bill, great to meet your good self.......had a spankingly good time in the hallowed depths of Brumshire ! made even better that we walked away with the 'Best Table' gong....put up job some say but I know better, (bank transfer on its way) !!..our stand in commander in chief pocketed the said gong and I'm sure it'll turn up on Ebay at some point, (well he is a copper !).............

I'm glad the doors passed muster and more importantly that you didn't drop 'em in your cup of rosie lee !...No problem getting them home old fruit as no models were purchased from the 'perdu & farnd' on this occasion, (by edict of Lady Melch on pain of death !).

Thanks for hooking me up with Les too.....nice to finally meet him, his help with the Overstrand will prove invaluable......

Hope you found yer way home Bill....... ....now that I know what your handle's all about !! ;)

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Just a quick word

Zip. That's a quick word. (Sorry!)

General! Your attention to detail, no matter how small or hidden continue to amaze ( re your skill) and frustrate (my missing mojo and lack of skill!).

Roll on The Great Day when it's revealed in RFI....!

Trevor

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