John Wolstenholme

Yes, I was also meaning the serial number on the seat. Out of another acft!

Chuck, wondered if you had seen this photo, may be useful for later on! http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8236/8580758192_fda3d70aa0_o.jpg Interesting when looking at the ejection seat headbox. Hell the Archer decals are pricey! Lovin' it. Cheers John

Finished the most difficult/tedious of the corrections to the tail boom. The differences are obvious from the white plastic infill pieces and to the underside. Depending on how your nerve holds (and patience) dictates how thin you get the plastic to receive the mesh. Still got to sort the ventral puffer duct and fit some internal bits. Yes, you should be able to see through both circular meshes.

Hello Jesse, just enjoyed looking through your posts. Great Eduard detailing to the burner cans and sure glad you went away from gold. Ejection seat covers look on the nose. I must confess I am surprised to see you using the kit cockpit, being a self-confessed sufferer of AMS. :D/> Keep up the good work. Regards John

Yes indeed, many thanks. As an added bonus my PM notifications etc are working again, which disappeared back in March. Perhaps the outage of these functions was an indication of things to come? :yahoo: (Thought I'd do a Holmesee) John

Well formed rear end Chuck. Thought I’d re-post your photo to avoid any confusion. Great detailing all round. Me thinks I’ll need some of those archer rivets for the GR.7. Have you put these straight onto the plastic, then sealed, or Futured first?. Cheers John

Big thanks to Neo, SB and any others involved. Amazing, it’s all there. Big enough pain backing up my own data let alone all the forums! Not a lot of progress, been having a bit of downtime myself! Looking at photos of the airbrake bay it is apparent the bay itself is rectangular and not the same shape/size as the airbrake i.e. none of the walls are flush with the opening. The kit detail to the roof is very good, so I basically retained this and modified to good effect. The front roof areas were ‘squared-off ’and the sides and rear worked to give a recessed effect. Kit hydraulic lines were

Gary, I cheated and punched something (not accurate) out of the Mike Grant instruments decal sheet. Better than a blank area!

Hi Alex. Thought I get some of these sub-assemblies finished. The NGB ‘net’ proved to be a bit more of a challenge and I forgot to remove the net surround within the bay before painting, but got there in the end. Started off with a perfectly white painted MGB. Looking at photos of the acft it really is dirty, presumably due to heating effects and ingest of dirt etc, even with the main doors closed. I didn’t want to totally hide the detail from viewing so went for a compromise of ‘grime’ vs visibility. Now this really tested my patience. Actually it was grim getting the grime.

Oh very nice indeed Marcel. This exemplifies the less is more approach. A real PITA how the MG legs attached, but you made a good save. How much bigger are the kit wheels relative to Mastercasters? Great angle Three and a half years, wow. John

Thanks all for your interest and to Smeders & Andy for adding the references for the CBLS and Mk.10 seat. Still think Wolfpack is the way to go until Aires/Quickboost does one. Not just the ‘fittings’, headbox is quite different, back pad …. It’s a lot closer without any mods. For us in the UK you may find this source for fine mesh useful for grilles etc. Prices a lot cheaper than what was available from Cammett. www.themeshcompany.com Thanks Jake, pity there is no Exposed Harrier :D. Finally got the MGB detailing finished, whilst ensuring the L&R sides would still fit. As with the

Hi Gary delighted to hear from you. I know what you are saying and entirely agree, but in this particular instance the problem was with my eyes requiring surgery. No I didn’t consider the Aires Mk10 for two reasons. Don’t think it is available separately so wouldn’t want to raid a cockpit set for the seat. Secondly and more importantly is noticeably different from the Mk12. Until Aires/Quickboost come out with a Mk.12, Wolfpack is the way to go. Regards John

Thanks Chuck, Andy and Holmes, appreciate the thoughts. Now I can see what I am doing thought I’d get back into the build with the detailed painting of the ejection seat. The Zotz decals weren’t of much use, so I used bits of these decals etc and the smallest letters/numbers I could find. The Zotz decal shows HAWK 23 for the seat (for servicing records) when it should be ‘HAF 0xx’. It’s also printed in black to be placed on the black headbox! The Airframe decals don’t provide anything, which is somewhat disappointing. Clearly I don’t know what the correct number was for this acf

Seems like there are other people with this problem. Did a search on the boards regarding lack of notification of PMs, replies to topics etc, I see this goes back to 2007. However in my case it has only been this last 4-5 months. Looked in the settings and all the right boxes are checked. The correct email address is shown in my account. Tried sending a copy of a PM to my email – nothing. Tried listing ARC as a safe sender in my Hotmail – nothing. Checked just in case I had somehow marked as Block Sender - no. Maybe there is no answer!

Hi Chuck, haven’t had experience of this myself, but Dad did some 27 years ago. They doped him up with pain killers, the only result was as you state. I decided to drive him 200 miles back to our place of origin to see an MD who was trained in acupuncture. We had previously used him and had confidence in his ability. Result for Dad, straight off all medication and cured the problem. Cause of his sciatica, don’t know but he hasn’t had it since. He did do a lot of running and walking at the time and for years thereafter. Worth a try if you find the right person. Good luck. John

Marcel, well worth the effort, you nailed it. Looking the business. John

Hi Chuck, coming along very nicely indeed. Don’t remember these sorts of problem with the kits I bought back in 2001. Could this be due (in part) to worn moulds? Guess it didn’t take to the end of the build to think differently! Who knows you may even do another Trumpeter kit. Remember if it isn't modified..... Regards John

Hi Marcel, as Chuck said the intake lip and intakes look the business. Certainly like the subtle ‘weathering’, panel shading effects and added detailing. Couldn’t help wondering why the ‘panel lines’ (?) forward of the fin LE intake are more prominent – my eyes are drawn straight to it. Not having seen a topside of this particular acft/time period maybe it is like that, rather than this: http://www.airfighters.com/photo_120886.details.large Roll on the gear and mission marks. :thumbsup:/> Regards John

Hello Laz, it has been said before When I thought the port and aft walls of the MGB were the most in need of attention I was clearly deluding myself. After removing most of the cast detail to stbd wall and some to upper front wall I started to re-detail. Overall it’s going to be a compromise as there is too much going on in there! I assume (not having seen photos) the bay is correct for the AV-8B II, but I am surprised there is such a big difference between the RAF and USMC! Due to ongoing problems I am unable to achieve the standard I require, so build will be suspended for a while.

Turned out adding the revised details was a much longer process than to remove the original. Having removed the lower ‘rods’ representing hydraulic lines decided the upper ones had to go as well. Not totally accurate but much closer than before. I think my eyes need a rest!

Maker, if you happen to drop by here, hi to you and thanks. I have been known to say if you think long enough about a problem a solution will come. So now having got an idea I am proceeding with modifying the main gear bay to look more like the GR.7. Aires said the bays are the same for USMC and RAF, clearly not. First phase is removing detail from port and rear walls which are most in need of modification. I’ll think about anything else when I have got these rebuilt. Thank goodness the bay is in 3 pieces otherwise this would be impossible.

Hi Martin [a] Yes, 5 min epoxy is the way I go. That's the plan, reduce width of leg mount to fit afterwards. Oh, did I mention the wheel hubs look like an artist's impression? I see the question of main gear doors has been discussed on Britmodeller: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/75270-harrier-gr79-configuration-when-parked / Seems they are opened manually to access weapons panel, but then closed afterwards. Sod, really wanted the doors open, but I guess unless you are doing a diorama with armourer performing this task it would be a no no. :(/>

Mike, as I recall it didn’t end that well for big John! :D Thanks Martin, Jeff, Andy, Chuck, Kristian, Marcel, Guy for dropping in. The Aires main gear bay is turning into a real downer. The gear doors are too small in length and width, rectangular with no cut-outs for the small leg door, gas bottles on the port wall, presumably correct for the USMC. Spent a lot of time fitting bay in fuselage to get rid of the horrible 1.5mm fuselage thickness for a good fit; looks like a complete waste of time. Looking at photos the main gear doors always seem to be closed, except for maintenance. You

Chuck, this works for me. First define the line with a strip of Dymo tape. Canopy needs to be grease free so Dymo tape doesn't move. The separation line, if not that visible, can be 'visualised' with some marks with a very fine felt tip marker. Then scribe whilst supporting the canopy inside with your fingers until you feel the scriber is almost through. Using a 5 thou saw blade the scribed line is easily followed for a clean separation, without injury. The remaining ‘edges’ were then removed with sharp surgical scissors cutting slightly wide; sand to final shape/fit by trial fit to frame htt

Steve, the older I get the more cynical and disheartened with humanity I become. This is a wonderful thing you are doing. Best wishes. John