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Scary Skeeter - Aeroclub 1/72


CedB

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11 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

And I was considering looking at a Volvo next - think I'll stick with Japanese (although they ain't as reliable as at one time....)

 

Keith

Bought a Volvo last year to replace a 24 year old BMW 5 series. Not regretted at all.

 

Terry

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50 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

And I was considering looking at a Volvo next - think I'll stick with Japanese (although they ain't as reliable as at one time....)

Volvo is far and away the best and most reliable make of car I've had - I previously had a string of Citroens (5 x BX, 2 x Xantia, 1 x C5), and they were generally great but sometimes expensive to fix, especially the C5, which in the year I owned it, was off the road more than on it...

....SWMBO insisted it had to go and no more Citroens, it had to be replaced by 'something reliable' - and there was a good reason why almost all police forces and ambulance services used Volvos back then (some still do, including D&C traffic)...

....so I got a 54-plate S40 2.0 (one of the very last 'old shape') that I had for five years, with not one single problem - then had my mid-life crisis, decided to get a convertible, and found an 09-plate C70 T5 Sport, ex-director's car with toys, one of only nine of its Spec to be registered that year...

....I've had it four-and-a-half years, only just passed 100k (69k when bought), and apart from a wheel bearing failure two years ago, never had a problem with it until now - so I've no regrets whatsoever, and SWMBO loves it:

spacer.png

(Some Swedish and Russian eye-candy, whilst awaiting the next instalment of the sweet not-so scary Skeeter)

Edited by andyf117
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45 minutes ago, andyf117 said:

(Some Swedish and Russian eye-candy, whilst awaiting the next instalment of the sweet not-so scary Skeeter)

I get to drive a Swedish Car with Norwegian eye candy. Wife is half Norwegian! Luddite at the controls of course .... 😎

 

Terry

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2 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

I get to drive a Swedish Car with Norwegian eye candy. Wife is half Norwegian! Luddite at the controls of course .... 😎

 

Terry

I drive an Earth car with Earthling eye candy, aka Mrs Martian/Trillion.

 

tr02.jpg

 

 

 

Martian 👽

 

PS: If there is sufficient demand, I will ask Mrs Martian if she will pose with Sarah-Jane.

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3 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

One word: Subaru Outback. Okay, that's two words …

TR7, one word, three words or three letters whichever way you look at it.

 

Martian 👽

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3 hours ago, andyf117 said:

I've had it four-and-a-half years, only just passed 100k (69k when bought), and apart from a wheel bearing failure two years ago, never had a problem with it until now

 

I've got an 09 plate Suzuki Grand Vitara, bought off my son in 2014 since when I've put about 2000 miles on it and he about the same when borrowing it for use as a works truck when doing his house extension! Now up to 115000 miles and until the radiator failed last month (£300 inc labour to change) it's been ultra reliable. Only failed one MOT and that was for a wiper blade that I really should have changed myself beforehand! Next MOT is next week and if it passes that I'll keep it for another year despite hankering for a change! I do fancy an XC90...

 

3 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Norwegian eye candy. Wife is half Norwegian!

 

My great grandad was Norwegian. I'm certainly no eye candy....!!

 

Keith

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You blokes with your fancy cars. I’ve got a Honda Civic 2.2i which is nearly 14 years old. It’s been extremely reliable with only normal wear and tear issues, apart from the front badge which is in a sealed unit which runs across the width of the nose, and fell into it after about three years. Shortly after,  Honda started sticking the badge into a recess on the outside of the unit. When I spoke to them they told me that it was just a ‘ cosmetic ‘ change and offered to replace mine for 300 Euros. The badge is still sitting in the gap below it’s mount!

 

John. :dog:

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2 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

You blokes with your fancy cars. I’ve got a Honda Civic 2.2i which is nearly 14 years old. It’s been extremely reliable with only normal wear and tear issues, apart from the front badge which is in a sealed unit which runs across the width of the nose, and fell into it after about three years. Shortly after,  Honda started sticking the badge into a recess on the outside of the unit. When I spoke to them they told me that it was just a ‘ cosmetic ‘ change and offered to replace mine for 300 Euros. The badge is still sitting in the gap below it’s mount!

 

John. :dog:

John are you, a 'plastic modeller' telling us that you cannot open a stupid Honda piece of plastic and relocate a drippy badge?

 

Shocked, shocked I am

 

Tell you what take it off and send it to . . .

 

Ced, he'll sort it for you.

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14 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

I drive an Earth car with Earthling eye candy, aka Mrs Martian/Trillion.

tr02.jpg

ye gads, whats the hangar time - flying time ratio of that one?!

 

 

Some great modelling skills being displayed here @CedB, lovely fine work on the little Skeeter.

Edited by 71chally
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3 minutes ago, 71chally said:

ye gads, whats the hangar time - flying time ratio of that one?!

Once you have tackled the issues caused by the original build quality, or lack of, and got the mechanics restored to the proper design spec, hangar time is surprisingly low. The main issue in recent years has been the government's insistence  of higher levels of ethanol being added to petrol. This rots rubber components which has resulted in the fuel system having to be rebuilt, using ethanol resistant materials.

 

Mechanically, the car is pretty much in new condition and since I recently got the fuel system overhauled, she goes like a rocket, to the point that I am almost having to learn to drive her all over again. She seems to like Shell V Power fuel best and if you put that in, she goes even faster. On the other hand, if you cruise at 55/60 mph on a long trip, she will give you 45 miles per gallon easily. I still need to re-upholster the seats and get a small amount of bodywork done but apart from that, her ongoing restoration is complete.

 

Martian 👽

 

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On 22/02/2020 at 12:17, Martian Hale said:

Once you have tackled the issues caused by the original build quality, or lack of, and got the mechanics restored to the proper design spec, hangar time is surprisingly low. The main issue in recent years has been the government's insistence  of higher levels of ethanol being added to petrol. This rots rubber components which has resulted in the fuel system having to be rebuilt, using ethanol resistant materials.

 

Mechanically, the car is pretty much in new condition and since I recently got the fuel system overhauled, she goes like a rocket, to the point that I am almost having to learn to drive her all over again. She seems to like Shell V Power fuel best and if you put that in, she goes even faster. On the other hand, if you cruise at 55/60 mph on a long trip, she will give you 45 miles per gallon easily. I still need to re-upholster the seats and get a small amount of bodywork done but apart from that, her ongoing restoration is complete.

 

Martian 👽

 

I remember when they introduced the DH TR7, it was and to my eyes still is one of the best looking cars from the 70’s and 80’s.  I was that impressed with it I went to the NEC Motor Show even though I couldn’t drive! Couldn’t get near it! 

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Right, I'm back! I'll post an update on my 'adventure' in a minute but first a catchup…

I've been in Brittany in a nice hotel but their WiFi was pants so just 'reacting' over the weekend… now I'm back on a proper keyboard I can reply properly :) 

 

 

On 20/02/2020 at 11:45, Heather Kay said:

Quite. I had one of those, and it used to hunt up and down, by about 20°C either way, rather than stick at the set temperature. In the end, I went "pro" and invested in some serious German technology.

You can never spend enough on good tools Heather (as I'm learning to my cost - more later). My soldering station seems to be fine, once it's plugged in properly! 🙄

On 20/02/2020 at 12:38, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

A Ferrero Rocher advert for the modern age: “Mr Ambassador, wiz zees deep you are rilly spoiling urs”

(MDP dip) - certainment mon ami, only zee best for BMers :D 

On 20/02/2020 at 13:54, limeypilot said:

I find it easier and more controllable to apply Mr Dissolved Putty with a small paintbrush. As it starts to set you can pull it into shape, useful for small knobs etc!

Totally sandable too, I've used it for years for the coaming around open cockpits.

 

Ian

Thanks Ian :) I'll try that later.

On 20/02/2020 at 15:29, andyf117 said:

Soldering irons with displays to show how hot they are, or even just with knobs and a red light?

Mine has a handle, power lead, and a plug. No fancy display, no knob to twiddle, no red light - not even one of those springy cone-shaped things to stick it in...

 

On the rare occasions that I actually used it, I think it suddenly leapt from 'barely melt an ice-cream' to 'thermite lance' in a mere nano-seconds...

....'cause the solder would sit there unyielding, then suddenly drip like molten lava - and whatever I was attempting to join invariably fell apart later!

 

 

Prime 'Fnnarr' material in some (most) of the first part!

Fnaar! Thanks Andy :D See above - if one's going to do serious soldering with different solders the temp control is essential (it says here…)

 

On 20/02/2020 at 15:44, Spookytooth said:

I know the feeling, trying to solder with a spade is not easy.

 

Simon.

On 20/02/2020 at 15:45, andyf117 said:

You've got an electric spade?

On 20/02/2020 at 15:47, Spookytooth said:

Might as well be LOL.

 

Simon.

:rofl2:

 

On 20/02/2020 at 17:42, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

No, that’s Ced.  Mohair suit, too; he IS Bennie & The Jets

On 20/02/2020 at 18:42, andyf117 said:

You read it in a magazine?

Ah, Elton, classic :D 

 

On 20/02/2020 at 22:20, hendie said:

 

Ced you might get on a bit better if you add some water to that sponge. 

It will still clean the tip though I keep some fine wire wool for that.  I use the (wetted!) sponge to wipe of any excess build up of solder on the tip

 

 

On 21/02/2020 at 00:41, The Spadgent said:

I thought that. 🤔 you do wet them don’t you? 🐳

Thanks hendie and Johnny - keep it wet (fnaar!) - got it :) 

 

On 21/02/2020 at 00:43, The Spadgent said:

Great work, brass and all Mr B. Colour me impressed. 👨‍🎨

 

Johnny

On 21/02/2020 at 09:10, perdu said:

It is The Way…

Thanks Johnny and Bill, still learning :) 

 

On 21/02/2020 at 16:01, andyf117 said:

In a further development, took a call within the last hour saying the PDM is now fixed, so "everything on that side is now working again - but..."

On taking the car for a test drive, there were a couple of sudden losses of power, wild battery charge level fluctuations, and then trouble starting the car...

....apparently traced to the CEM showing corrosion (some "green pins") - to have it replaced would be a further £860...

....I've never experienced any power losses, or issues with starting - so for now, it's being 'cleaned up as best they can'...

Andy - sorry to hear about the further car woes but I hope you get it sorted - she looks lovely (and the car!) :D 

Bill should know - he's a nice man, a very very nice man :) 

 

(More car discussions… thanks Keith, Michael, Terry and John for keeping the thread going :) )

 

On 21/02/2020 at 21:12, Martian Hale said:

I drive an Earth car with Earthling eye candy, aka Mrs Martian/Trillion.

 

tr02.jpg

 

 

 

Martian 👽

 

PS: If there is sufficient demand, I will ask Mrs Martian if she will pose with Sarah-Jane.

I've seen Sarah-Jane 'in the flesh' (oooer Missus) and she is a beauty :) 

 

On 22/02/2020 at 12:00, 71chally said:

ye gads, whats the hangar time - flying time ratio of that one?!

 

 

Some great modelling skills being displayed here @CedB, lovely fine work on the little Skeeter.

Thanks James - really appreciated :) Still some way to go and plenty of time to mess things up…

 

 

Right, caught up.

So where have I been?

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Brittany with some old friends we haven't seen for a while.

Overnight ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff.

 

49583427357_4746132f63_z.jpg

 

Nothing like being rocked to sleep on the 6" wide top bunk. 

And why do they make the steps on the ladders so sharp? Hard on the old feet :( 

 

Nice hotel in Sainte-Marine with lovely views of the estuary:

 

49582695233_2c0cc2f6e7_z.jpg

 

… but the weather was, how shall I put it, damp?

 

49583191351_26be855a98_z.jpg

 

Yesterday was wet. Definitely wet. And windy. But hey, there were some high spots.

Like the biggest Isle Flotant I've ever eaten:

 

49583427502_92869cb39b_z.jpg

 

…and of course plenty of other good food and beverage.

 

We also saw some typical French eccentricities, like this…

 

49583427267_bdd8e4e07f_z.jpg

 

What the…? It's a clock Jim, but not as we know it.

Concarneau was worth another visit to see the fortress (and its shops for the ladies) but is there a large population of pet hens?

 

49582695023_aeb3946190_z.jpg

 

Poo bags for hens??!! 

 

My search for round-nosed pliers proved fruitless so I ordered some on-line and they were waiting when I got home:

 

49582695378_fbaf2deaa0_z.jpg

 

Excited, until I opened them:

 

49582695093_58eb346884_z.jpg

 

I was kind of hoping that the jaws would meet and not be bent.

What you get for less than £4 I guess.

I'll wait for the square nosed ones to arrive tomorrow and they'll go back.

See comment to Heather about spending on good tools.

Rats.

 

Hopefully some modelling soon - thanks for waiting! :) 

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A tale Ced

 

We would love a tale

 

Do you have one for us

 

Ah yes, I see you do

 

Damn this impertinent impatience...

 

 

The pliers could be rescued but probably not without leaving wear marks

Dammit

 

😕 

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Well if that tale's not enough Bill I did find out that my mate, the old Navy Nuclear Sub Engineer, had flown Wessexeses when he was a young officer!

His Dad also flew Seafires for a bit but had a long career on Barracudas!

I have one of those in the stash so I've asked him to look out his, and his Dad's, log books so I can model something close to home.

 

Great stuff :) 

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Thanks Bill :) 

I need to find that link to the categorisations again but, like most 'pilots', he doesn't even know what mark or variant it was! Cuh!

The closest he could get was 'the ones they fly Marines in'. I think he said from Coldrose?

 

 

Anyway, the other pliers arrived just now thanks to the postie:

 

49583759037_883d5afa16_z.jpg

 

49583029428_3e58c7189c_z.jpg

 

They look useable so I went on to Amazon to return the round nosed ones. 

Guess what?

They're refunding the £3.68 and they don't want the pliers back!

I'll use them 'for rough' but I do need another (better) pair for those tiny loopy jobs.

More later…

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1 hour ago, CedB said:

Andy - sorry to hear about the further car woes but I hope you get it sorted - she looks lovely (and the car!) :D

I got the car back yesterday, after 12 days - but had to wait around for another hour after initially having it handed over, because of an ever-so-slight technical hitch...

....insofar as my key (they'd had the spare) wouldn't work because of 're-coding' - fortunately I'd automatically gone to use it, rather than the spare they'd handed back...

....would have been annoying if I'd got all the way home, and then discovered it! That additional software download was 'free' - should hope so, I'd just paid nearly £1300...

1 hour ago, CedB said:

His Dad also flew Seafires for a bit but had a long career on Barracudas!

I have one of those in the stash so I've asked him to look out his, and his Dad's, log books so I can model something close to home.

Didn't ex-FAAWAFU's dad also fly Barracudas? Sure I've seen him mention it somewhere - perhaps you two should compare notes...

10 minutes ago, CedB said:

I need to find that link to the categorisations again but, like most 'pilots', he doesn't even know what mark or variant it was! Cuh!

The closest he could get was 'the ones they fly Marines in'. I think he said from Coldrose?

Junglies were the ones that carried Bootnecks - but from Yeovilton, rather than Culdrose...

 

Edited by andyf117
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1 minute ago, andyf117 said:

Didn't ex-FAAWAFU's dad also fly Barracudas? Sure I've seen him mention it somewhere - perhaps you two should compare notes...

Flew IN Barracudas, yes - he was an Observer.

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Nice little holiday Ced! I'm heading to Brittany in July, looking to buy a retirement home. Any places you can recommend? 

Oh, and that pic is a river mate. They do tend to be a tad damp!

 

Ian

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3 hours ago, andyf117 said:

I got the car back yesterday, after 12 days - but had to wait around for another hour after initially having it handed over, because of an ever-so-slight technical hitch...

....insofar as my key (they'd had the spare) wouldn't work because of 're-coding' - fortunately I'd automatically gone to use it, rather than the spare they'd handed back...

....would have been annoying if I'd got all the way home, and then discovered it! That additional software download was 'free' - should hope so, I'd just paid nearly £1300...

Flippin' 'eck Andy… but hopefully the end of the saga? :) 

3 hours ago, andyf117 said:

Didn't ex-FAAWAFU's dad also fly Barracudas? Sure I've seen him mention it somewhere - perhaps you two should compare notes...

Junglies were the ones that carried Bootnecks - but from Yeovilton, rather than Culdrose...

 

Ah, Junglies… I obviously need to pick his brain some more :hmmm:

3 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Flew IN Barracudas, yes - he was an Observer.

Thanks Crisp - still counts eh! :) 

3 hours ago, limeypilot said:

Nice little holiday Ced! I'm heading to Brittany in July, looking to buy a retirement home. Any places you can recommend? 

Oh, and that pic is a river mate. They do tend to be a tad damp!

 

Ian

Thanks Ian :D 

Ah, well, it's all nice really but I guess it depends on what you're after? Certainly the house prices looked 'reasonable' to us, but then we're comparing it to Bath…

We were on the coast south of Quimper, Benodet area. Lots of boats but on the Atlantic coast which I think can get 'a bit windy'.

I would make sure you find out what's 'seasonal' - some of the places shut over then winter and it could be a bit TOO quiet!

6 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Ced, for tools like those round nose pliers it's worth a look in Hobbycraft in the beading section if you're passing there - they are a bit more expensive, but you can at least see what the quality is like.

 

K

Thanks Keith, good tip :) 

 

 

I finally got the top frame and ring fitted:

 

49583914068_eed9e9e626_z.jpg

 

49583914018_2b44e4cee5_z.jpg

 

Broke the solder join so CA'd in place; hopefully it will hold when I pull that Tak off :fingerscrossed:

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It held, phew!

Still almost impossible to photograph though:

 

49586879051_7ca9229323_z.jpg

 

I've sanded the controls too:

 

49586872486_21e1126a87_z.jpg

 

Also almost impossible to photograph.

 

To progress I need to sort out the i/p.

I've done a design in Silhouette Studio and printed it out:

 

49586861686_77d1144f2d_z.jpg

 

Closer:

 

49587109082_6a1f0ac9a1_z.jpg

 

Guess what.

It's tiny.

3mm high.

 

Now then, I have been trying my best with this one but for goodness sake, 'proper modeller'?

Have you seen The General's?

 

DSC_0289_zps228cd8ef.jpg

 

(Hope you don't mind me posting that Melchie)

 

I mean, how the heck?

I'll stick that paper to some card and see what I can do, but I'm not promising anything…

AND he said "There's more wiring to go on yet and I'll be making up a further front panel for the Airscale dials and glazing later..."

Oh good grief…

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