John Tapsell

I'm not a regular aircraft builder (primarily an armour modeller) but have developed a yen to build a Finnish Hawk Mk51 in 1/48. I think I'm looking for an earlier rear fuselage profile, but other than that I'm fairly clueless about the best kit to use as a starting point? I'm also unsure whether I want to build one of the older camouflaged aircraft or a more recent overall grey aircraft - probably an earlier example. Any advice much appreciated 🙂 Regards, John

The latest RAF Northolt event took place last Thursday - the 30th event they have held (averaging two per year). The restored Belgian SAS Minerva Landrover was a nice bonus. Note the green starting to show through on the Royal Navy Merlin HC4 'Junglie' - a clue to it being an ex-RAF airframe. The Sea King is the subject of the recent Airfix 1/48 scale kit. The lit cargo bay is an A400. The Irish PC-12 carries a 100th Anniversary Irish Air Corps scheme and references their WWII 'emergency' camo scheme and markings.

Vaguely related - I've started trying out various free VPNs rcently and whilst using either of the two that limit data to so many GB per month I can access ARC with no issues. However, when I use another VPN that offers unlimited GBs, I get blocked from ARC on the grounds that it is a file-sharing site (but I appreciate it could be the underlying forum platform being used, not ARC specifically). I've not had the issue with any of the other modelling sites I frequent - just ARC.

Can't comment on the paints but the RAF Merlins I've seen were generally an olive drab shade and I'm not convinced FS 34079 is a good match for that. All the RAF Merlins have since been transferred to the Navy as 'junglies' - cargo/transport/assault assets. The Danish Merlins were initially a funky metallic green which would be much harder to match 🙂 These images all date from 2006.

Thanks both for the images - I'll add them my own references. Gino - thanks for the dimensions especially. I have a 1/35 Hellfire missile that I was going to use to 'size' a crate, but having actual measurements is a bonus. I've constructed enough scale ammo crates in my time so these shouldn't be too hard.

Not entirely sure where the best place to post this question was, but it's probably more helicopter-related than most other areas. Does anyone in the hive mind know whether a mainstream or aftermarket producer offers 1/35 scale hellfire missile transport cases? I can find aftermarket missiles but not their transport cases. Any assistance much appreciated. Thanks, John

I feel more comfortable working in a single scale because I do a lot of scratchbuilding of components and my brain has become calibrated over the years to the sizes and proportions. If I build in a different scale I find it more difficult to gauge where I'm at. About 10 years ago I did transition to a smaller scale (from 1/32 down to 1/48 because of lack of space) and it took me a couple of years to retrain my instincts to work in the new scale. That said, many of the guys in my club build in multiple scales scales depending on what they are inspired to build, so there is no 'right

But he always failed... 😁

Airfix have today announced a new tool 1/72 Me 410, but what's really surprising is that this isn't a future release - it's an immediate release and is already with the vendors at this weekend's Scale ModelWorld event in the UK.

Dan - thanks very much for taking the time to share this information. It is much appreciated. My knowledge of F4s and M113s is purely that gathered over many years of building models of both types (especially the M113 family). However, to have both involved in a single incident piqued my interest. It's a depressing case to read because a moment of poor judgement was all it took to cause so much tragedy. Out of interest, can you recall whether it resulted in recommendations or changes to operational procedures at the time? Thanks, John

The most recent RAF Northolt Night Photoshoot offered some nice opportunities with a different layout to vary the lighting effects too. The helmet belongs to one of the PC-21 crew.

Thanks - photographing under floodlights is always a bit of a challenge (tripod and very slow shutter speeds) but that's why I enjoy it, very different approach to my usual airshow methods with high shutter speeds and big lenses

Looking at the airframe below, I think it's an optical illusion caused by the undersides of the wing sloping upwards at the tips (top surface is flat) Photos are mine BTW.

Have a chat with Paul Smith from the IPMS (UK) NASA Special Interest Group. The SIG have an extensive selection of information on all aspects of the NASA programmes so should be able to put together a possible hit list of aircraft/airframes. (surprised you haven't mentioned the 747/shuttle combo - but it is a bit of a beast to store/display) When I spoke with him on Sunday, Paul was focused on the 'vettes driven by various astronauts - but we also talked about M113s. The SIG contact details are available on the IPMS UK website (scroll down the list to NASA) - https://ip

Just as a random aside, the Royal Navy and Royal Marines refer to their transports as Junglies. However, the army have long referred to RAF Wessex and Pumas doing a similar role as 'cabs' (you call a cab when you need one).

A Andy probably has a better take on this but I think this particular airframe was an anniversary scheme. However, I believe it reflects the use of arctic camouflage when Junglies were deployed to Norway on a regular basis for exercises.

As Andy explained, they are/were the troop transport/utility variant of the Westland airframe.

Don't forget that the NVA also used ex-German 88mm flak guns (supplied via the USSR) - supposedly around 70 pieces were supplied in the 1950s. Whether they were still relevant in the mid/late 1960s is another matter..

The obvious candidates would be Danny Coermans (DACO) or Sylvain Hautier (Syhart) but I've run a quick check on their websites and can't find anything. It's possible that they did a sheet that is now out of print but as previously noted, I'm not very knowledgable on the F-16 market (like them, don't build them).

Final random selection of tails. The Dutch J-008 has full colour and greyscale versions of the tail art on either side of the fin. A couple of different Danish options and finally a Dutch F-16 with 'Diana' artwork.

Arctic Tigers (Norway). Note the single-seater has full colour artwork and a different tiger on each side of the fin. The two-seater has the grey tiger and the same artwork on both sides of the fin.

Solo Turk wingman - It's really subtle but I liked the wolf's head on the tail fin.

Dutch display scheme (Orange is the new black...)

Belgian Display Scheme FA-110

Italeri offered this scheme in 1/48 scale, but I'm not sure I've seen decals for the wingman. The filler on the fairing would definitely lose marks on a contest table though!