John Tapsell

I made my regular trip up to London on Thursday for another RAF Northolt photoshoot.. It's one of those events where you have little idea in advance what is actually going to attend. Stuff gets announced and then cancelled, dependent on servicability and operational priorities even as late as on the day. Plus, the organisers sometimes have something special they haven't announced, but Thursday was a good one. It was a helo-heavy event this time. This is probably the last time we'll see an RAF Puma at an event because they are on the verge of retirement, but it was great to see o

Thanks - It was pure chance I caught the MH-47 as I wasn't aware they were in the UK last year.

Same here - the weather may not be as extreme as you guys get but the season will kick off in early March with a night shoot, followed by some time at our holiday place in the Mach Loop once the holiday park re-opens.

I have problems with my mojo. It has a habit of running off and hiding in other semi-related hobbies. Years of experience suggests that following my mojo around is the easiest way of keeping track of, and making best use of it 🙂

That pretty much confirms the issue I think. My 200NH is perhaps 15 years old and I disassemble it regularly for cleaning. Many thanks - I will see if I can order some replacement washers. On the other hand, it provided a perfect excuse to purchase a new airbrush 🙂

It would depend on how obsessive the tariff imposer wanted to be. The finished product is usually the item being taxed. In our case, the sprues in a box would usually be considered 'components' and the 'product' is not 'complete' until all the components and been placed in the box. It would be quite normal for every different part of a product to come from outside the country of origin and all the company did was put it l together and ship it out. (using the plastic kit analogy the sprues, decals, instructions and even the box might each be produced in different countries but be brought

Thanks Andy for the kind words. I know many of the current Farnborough crew - top blokes all. I am told that once you are a Farnborough member, you never truly (are allowed to) leave the Branch. 🙂 1988 would have been Stoneleigh days - coincidentally also my very first 'Nationals'. If memory serves, Stafford's theme that year was 'Dakota and Friend' (I built a SAAF Dak and Herk pair as my contribution). Yes you are indeed correct. The 'black' squares are negative images of a contemporary map covering both sides of the channel. It was Don's fault for thinking of the

The outcome is pre-ordained - Josef Franitsek won of course (whilst flying for a Polish Sqn) 🙂 We do play a partial game of chess through the day on this display and ask visitors to suggest the next move. However, we realised we have to balance that process against the need to keep enough pieces on the board to have maximum visual impact for the whole day.

Back in November 2024, my local IPMS (UK) Branch (aka Chapter), put on a themed display at Scale ModelWorld in Telford. Nothing unusual in that - many UK Branches do the same thing for Telford every year - some as general displays of what they've built and others with a specific theme. Our 2024 display was always meant to be a one-off thing and was themed around the Battle of Britain portrayed as a chess game. That was the initial idea back in 2022 but gradually the concept expanded to include various supported models and scenery. We agreed beforehand that the whole display would have a c

Thanks Habu. I didn't need the soapy water to find it - could feel the cold air against my hand when I was working round the compressor to check for leaks. It's not a lot, and virtually silent, but enough to be obvious once I looked for it properly. 🙂 There are three joints in that area - one either side of the moisture trap and the one on the narrow end of the hose adaptor, so I'll use the tape on all three, just to be sure. However, soapy water is definitely on the agenda for checking whether it's resolved the issue.

Thanks guys. I disassemble my airbrush at the end of every session and clean it (and the siphon pipe) thoroughly with lacquer thinners and brushes. Just done so again and there is no evidence of paint build-up. However, some careful investigation has identified what I think is a small leak between the airbrush hose and the air outlet on the compressor. The badger air line requires an adaptor collar to fit the outlet and that's where the leak seems to be occurring. I'll remove the adaptor and try some PTFE tape wrapped around the outlet thread. If I'm right, that should

I've been using a typical AF186-style compressor (sold widely in various branded and unbranded versions) with integrated air tank for a few years with no issues. However, the last few times I've used it, I've noticed that the airflow is no longer smooth. I'd expect a degree of 'pumping' if I was using a compressor without an air tank, but I'm not sure why I'm getting that effect when I'm pulling air from an air tank rather than directly from the compressor? The air tank does not appear to be leaking and holds pressure. The compressor also cuts out when it reaches the set pressure l

I have to say I'm very impressed with your security detail - my security detail tends to be a bit more, errr, fluffy... My entire modelling room measures around 9x8 feet so the workbench is small by comparison

You and me both 😁 Thanks for the kind words on the photos.

A few taken at RIAT last year of an RAF 617 Sqn aircraft. The sun really highlighted the panel detail and layering.