sweier

Oldish news now. RAAF F-35 A35-009 was delivered last month, and with A35-010 will transit to Williamtown in late November or early December. Both are allocated to 3 SQN and will be followed by eight more during 2019. The first eight aircraft A35-001 to A35-008 will remain in the USA and follow at some point when deliveries are well advanced and the RAAF is ready to take on all of it's own training and conversion load Shane

You took Google's word? I know it's the accepted story in North America, but picking the middle of summer (the solstice) as the start of summer makes absolutely no sense. Uh. Maybe you should have read on. Even Wiki has it right. It's not germane to the subject in hand which is better measured in terms of continental drift than ephemeral stuff like seasons Shane

Who is arguing? Close your mind. No new information required. Shane

Well, no it doesn't. In Australia at least it's reckoned to start on the 1st December. Many other countries also use meteorological reckoning. There's no real consensus on the starting dates of the seasons around the world. Some countries use astronomical reckoning, some use meteorological reckoning, some allow for seasonal lag which varies by geography. It makes little sense in Australia calling the solstice - the longest day with most solar radiation - the "beginning" of summer when it's already been baking hot for weeks, and less still in tropical areas which don't have summer/w

Antonov AN-124 load of F-35 ground equipment landing at RAAF Williamtown today. First RAAF F-35s due later this year. Things are moving along. And not a word from Kop and Goon. Shane

I'm very doubtful that you saw a Tornado with JASSM loaded. More likely what you saw was Storm Shadow which is similar and is what they said was used Shane

Hmm. On the basis of Jonathan Mock's post and yours quoted second (above) I wandered off to my local and bought the new kit (A06015) and while I was there the owner very kindly allowed me to look in the others on his shelf. All six were - as near as I can tell - of exactly the same standard. To say that your original post is misleading is being too kind. It's nonsense on every point. But, of course, we are all entitled to our opinions, so you are welcome to yours. i just hope that readers take the time to look for themselves and discover what your opinion is worth to them, because

Kit # ? Or a scan of the box? This looks like one to avoid. Unless you have the *old* kit. Shane

But I will add them to the list if someone will educate me about the options! That's what the thread is for, it's not just my personal ranking it's supposed to be a community thing. Sort of an FAQ, since I've seen a crapload of "which kit should I get for this aircraft" question and I don't want to have to wait 30 seconds between attempts to refine my search for them. :) Okay, I'll take a crack at starting this F-102 Meng, hands down. The only alternative is Hasegawa, but a very old kit which was a putty hog 20 years ago. F-10

This was ALWAYS a risk when this style of forum became available, and the owners Balkanised the site to there and back. It inevitably leaves those in more niche interest areas looking at a blank wall - excepting their own post from 2014 - and only those modelling in the major genres satisfied. Breaking those up too makes matters worse with little real benefit and the loss of the opportunity to "cross fertilise" (learn special techniques which may apply only to a few of your own models, but all of those in say, a vcar or train forum) Things will ge t worse. As noted, this and other forums

FWIW the landing gear doors are probably parts manufactured elsewhere and not yet completed using the new coating. You will also see it on fins - made in Australia - and weapon bay doors for a while. This was also made clear in the original LM presser (which, infuriatingly, I can't find, but I'm looking!) Shane

https://a855196877272cb14560-2a4fa819a63ddcc0c289f9457bc3ebab.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/17563/f35_weekly_update_4_13_17.pdf

Not unless they over painted the 3Sqn RAAF markings with USAF ones it's not Shane

As you say. Different textures. Not very obvious though. In fact, invisible in this shot Shane

Photos of A35-003 in final test show some of the light coloured RAM areas persist, but the bulk of the airframe is monotone. This is almost certainly because various sub assemblies will have been completed before the change of process - for example, fins which are made in Australia - and on final assembly the aircraft is sort of half way to the new standard. A35-003 is the first of eight deliveries to the RAAF in the USA this year, two will fly out to Australia late this year for local acceptance and testing in 2019 with the remainder of the squadron's planes to be delivered in time for IOC

... the same colour overall (excepting things like the refueling door outlines) is how they'll all be eventually. I have read a Lockheed Martin press release which says that older airframes would be brought to the new standard over time. Shane

New wings, fuselage, details. Mmm. Maybe Shane

You're well behind the times. RoG became independent of Revell USA in 2006. Hobbico bought back Revell Germany in February 2012 - followed by the rapid disintegration of Revell Germany's position. Shane

A replacement for the dodgy Academy kit then https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/new-for-2018/hawker-hunter-f6-1-48.html Shane

The hobby here is growing, and a big part of it is *cheap* kits. Kids don't need 1/32 super kits. A nice new mould Airfix, Revell or Hobby Boss kit can be had for barely over A$10, which these days is chicken feed, and provide enough fun for the duration of most kid's attention span to be good value Shane

Witless forum software, assuming that it's a racist slur for an Asian person. Not sure what it'd make of the many Japanese ships with that word in their name, or any of the other dozen or more uses for the word which aren't anything of the sort. Shane

Shhhhh! The Kiwis have a new Defence minister with a stated interest in reinstating a fast jet element to the RNZAF. Keep quiet and one never knows, we may be able to sell our little brothers a few cheap second hand bugs as well - I have read it discussed in several places on the net already ;-) Shane

Close. The first of the RAAF aircraft to be handed directly to the RAAF is A35-003, which is in flight testing now. That and the next seven are o be released to 3 SQN RAAF in the USA during this year and the first pair will be flown to Australia late in 2018 if ADF schedules are to be believed. I have a lot more faith in them than Canadian purchasing, but sh!t happens. Shane

Not really new. Posted here months ago, including a photo. However *these* photos are new, and excellent Shane

My GOD! My old Service Dress uniform is back in style Shane