John Tapsell

It's not clear from your post how you are sourcing the artwork for the decals (third-party artwork or designing your own)? For me, getting the artwork correct and designing at a high resolution are essential criteria before I even look at printers. Poor artwork will produce poor decals, no matter how good the printing method is.

I had a chance to speak with a friend this weekend - he used to hang bombs under Jags. These are some things he commented on. The Jaguar ground crews referred to the rails on the inner pylons as 'beams' - they might have had a formal designation but he couldn't remember (bearing in mind he left the RAF in the late 1980s). However, they were unpopular with the crews because the beams flexed in flight, especially when loaded with ordnance. Therefore they were not often carried. During Operation Granby (Desert Storm), priority was given to ordnance over fuel tank

If you don't already have it, this link might be useful: https://combatace.com/forums/topic/99016-sepecat-jaguar-dual-bomb-rack/ Photos below might also be helpful for details (taken in 2005).

Thanks Gabor, That a really good explanation and I don't mind a MiG with stars on it so I might explore that option. I've been hunting through my old airshow photos but the only MiG-21 examples I came across were three photos of a Romanian LanceR. I'm sure I have a few others but that would mean hunting through even more photos (such a terrible task... 🙂 )

I recently picked the Eduard Weekend version of this kit up at a price I couldn't resist. I am aware that the nose profile is wrong for a bis and that I can find an aftermarket solution if I can't live with the kit error, but it raised another question in my head. Instead of the bis variant, can I build a slightly earlier version of the MiG 'out of the box', based just on the sprues that are in the box? I don't mind spending a a bit extra on alternative markings but I'm not especially interested in shelling out on significant resin extras. A related question is to ask what

The Turish F4s are at RIAT this weekend (Royal International Air Tattoo - at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire) - a pair of Greek F4s are also in attendance but they arrived just as I was leaving, so I was only able to snap a couple of hurried and distant photos of them as they did low passes before landing. The two images below are seriously cropped and 'soft'

Randomly, I was looking at a pair of Turkish Phantoms earlier today...

I used the Lucky Air (14-21 days) option (to the UK) - it took a few days longer but I'm not complaining. My order also included a period of shipping from China to HK and was for items defined as 'in stock'. Allied to that I was able to purchase a kit I thought I'd missed out on and that would not be re-released. so I'm a very happy bunny. All I have to do now is find the time to build one or both of them 🙂

Well, my order turned up today - ordered 7th June and arrived 3rd July. That's within the sort of window I'd expect whenever I order from overseas A pair of these have now been added to my stash - I plan to start one of them after I've finished the two projects currently on my bench.

NATO three-colour camo doesn't use a flat black - NATO Black is an 'almost black', not a pure black. The Germans designate it as RAL9021 but the French operate to a different paint standard - MAT 2636. Officially, the French colours are: Vert Fonce IR 34X3 Brun Terre IR 30X0 Noir 3603 In terms of 'accurate' colours then that's also a matter of debate. It also depends on whether you prefer acrylic paints or enamels (or lacquers), because that will impact on what is available to you. French versions of the Green and Brown colours have a richer hue than those used

I don't tend to order frequently from Luckymodel, but never had any issues with receiving what I've ordered - sometimes it takes longer and sometimes it's quicker than expected. Shipping times are less important to me because I always have other projects I'm working on. I currently have a couple of kits on order from Luckymodel - the 'new' (re-released Skunkmodel) R11 fuel tanker. They will arrive when they arrive.

By the time of D-Day, the Stirling had been largely (completely?) replaced by Lancasters and Halifaxes as a frontline bomber so they were used as glider tugs and also as paratroop and transport aircraft for much of the late-war period.

Thanks Gabor - I'd looked at almost every other aircraft or helicopter but never considered the Mi-8 family, despite them being probably the most common aircraft/helo in Russian service! I agree that the position of the tow bar looks very unusual, but that is what appealed to me. The next task is find some plans or dimensions of the towbar - or does one already exist as part of a 1/48 kit or as an aftermarket option? I can't see it in the Temp Model range and they seem to have the most varied range of Russian aircraft support equipment. Thanks again for conf

The APA is a starter truck, not a fuel truck (commonly made mistake) 🙂

Slightly (only slightly?) left-field question for those of you with a knowledge of modern Russian/Soviet aircraft. Hanging off the side of this Ural APA truck is a towbar. It's clearly a lightweight towbar but I cannot work out what it would be used to tow? Obvious options would be some type of helicopter or light aircraft but it looks different from those used to tow Mi-28s for example. Most Russian towbars seem to have a two-wheel dolly mounted partway along the bar. It looks like it might be extendable and has castor wheels on the ends of the wheel clamp forks. Nothing I've found