Wumm

In that case, I'm in!

If this eventuates... Is it possible to bring mine over from the Resin Group build?

This is a little coincidental Rob, I only just had my Meng Komet kit out last night perusing the parts within, after Jim Hatch's recent build and with an eye to my next project after the Sturm Fw190. There are few fine builds of this kit about, but I notice they're mostly shown with all the panels open, and not buttoned up as yours is. Perhaps it's like the ZM Ta-152 in that respect, where it's meant to be built with everything opened up and doesn't fit so well if constructed in clean condition. Good luck pushing through with this one. S

Hopefully they do it justice. Like most stories, there are two sides to this one; add in the confusion of combat and the lines become further blurred. Tales of bungled planning, cowardice, murder but above all conspicuous gallantry. The passage of time and the later fight for (some posthumous) awards only adds to the controversy. And all of them most probably saved by a NZ Captain calling shot for Sheldrake, unseen some 4 Kliks away as the title suggests. Can't wait.

Eh, someone should have thought a bit harder about this. Those airframes are all in their late thirties, and not used to that sort of weather. Their noses will start to run, arthritis will start to play up, and that old Football Knee injury will give 'em gyp. It doesn't get that cold at altitude here!

Restorer's dream... Very rarely driven, occasional Overseas Deployment with only limited Strikes and the odd smattering of Collateral Damage. Mostly used on weekends, usually over a local Fete or a Formula 1 race.

They're older airframes, but have had very little use. And as they're neither powered by Wind, Solar nor their own sense of moral righteousness, there's no use for them here once the new Government gets sworn in next month.

This is yours Martin...? Even more beautiful! But this is another Bird; your Dora can be seen in the background, this one is on her back almost and broken.

Frankfurt am Main 1946... Wonderschön!

Casting simple objects is a relatively easy task once you become accustomed to the processes involved. Don't be too concerned about your early attempts not being perfect, as it's mostly trial and error at first. I would recommend starting with the Silicon or RTV side of things only until you can start to eliminate bubbles and cavities in simple one-piece moulds. Working quickly and mixing without too much aeration is vital for success and will become second nature. You can use basic household items like cups or small baking dishes to house your masters for mould making. The kind of two-part moulds and air / fill channels shown by Steve above may seem more like a cross between Alchemy and the Dark Arts, but is not beyond the scope of mere Mortals with patience and practice.

Posted in another thread recently, but some different shots... VH-OHU, one of 3 Beavers operating for Whitsunday Air Services out of Hamilton Island (HTI) out to the Great Barrier Reef. Formerly 54-1688 for the US Army and various other registrations inbetween. Has a somewhat checkered history; but she certainly has presence, especially barnstorming the beach with the Port wingtip 10 feet off the water.

We're just back after a week on Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef. Typically 28-29C° days with water temperature 24-26C. Currently 27C° here in Brisbane, with water at the Coast around 23C°. We expected the Autumn chill to have hit by now, but it's still nice for swimming. It's truly been the Endless Summer this year.

From the Estate of Steve McQueen

We also have Chicken Little Politicians here, as well as those at the opposite end of the spectrum. A happy medium would be preferable. Whatever the Climate is doing, and whether it's due to Anthropological behaviour, we're eventually going to run out of Gasoline and Coal. What to do then? What will happen to prices? Australia currently has about 500 years of Black Coal available for mining at the rate it currently requires, or about 100 years at the rate we're exporting to other Nations, principally Asian Countries. It's significantly cleaner and much more efficiant than the Brown Coal available to the new economies in Asia that aren't concerned about polution or Climate Change and aren't required to pay a Political cost to fuel their growth. The Chicken Little's here can't see that denying them our Coal only means more harm to the environment when they source it elsewhere. Converting it to Shale Oil isn't economically viable at the moment, but may become so in the foreseeable future, but there's also a political price to be paid there as well. Having resources at hand gives a Nation options. Having options at hand gives you choices, when other Nations who don't need to concern themselves with Political expediency come after your Nation's resources. I'm glad I won't be around for the Wars about to be fought when the resources start to run dry.

Yes, and it's been done more recently as well, in the guise of boycotting a particular brand for a day or weekend (BP, then Shell etc) to try to manipulate the pricing with people power... But it doesn't work and the Fuel companies realise this. It's like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic - it only shifts the problem, and doesn't create a solution. There's a particular Energy company here that offers a heavily reduced rate if you charge your EV at home and source your power through them (I think from memory it's $1 or similar for each charge). They can of course afford to do this because they have invested in renewable power generation, get a rebate from the Government for doing so, and these gains are paid for by Carbon Offset charged to Energy companies that either simply onsell power from the grid or don't own renewable infrastructure. So in short; those that can afford $50 thousand for an electric Hyundai Kona or $100 thousand for a Tesla are subsidised by those who can't afford an EV... And who won't be able to in the foreseeable future as electricity prices rise exponentially. And then somehow they expect fundamental change within a decade!

But what's the alternative? We're about to have a Federal election here in Australia, one of the major Parties is advocating for half of all vehicles sold in Australia to be electric-powered by the year 2030. At only around 6000 total electric cars in the Country currently (pardon the pun) and around a million ICE sold annually, we're going to need to increase EV sales exponentially by over 50% each and every year to get anywhere near that target... Without any infrastructure, charging stations, or trained Technicians to service them. The Greens have gone even further, by advocating for 100% renewable energy across the Country by 2030. So, no coal, no petrol, no diesel, certainly no nuclear. An explosive and fundamental change to our way of life, to arrest what they see as Human-induced Climate Change, while the Populus revert to a Middle Ages lifestyle and all sit around singing Kumbaya under smashed solar panels and gigantic rusted windmills as there'll be no Heavy Industry to be able to make new ones. The Federal Government have the power to encourage EV sales, by simply exempting them from the Luxury Car Tax; under which all EV's fall here as none are priced under the limit. But they won't do that; as it's the only way they will be able to generate any taxation from EV sales, as they don't use fuel so won't be subject to fuel taxes over the life of the vehicle. Apathy is a huge factor. Keep staring at the red lights of the car in front, you'll get home soon. If there was a War on, it would be a different matter altogether... Much easier to get people motivated that way. I sometimes fear we're all Frogs in a Saucepan that's just had a fire lit under it...

Perhaps... Ze Burger of Banff-ff-ff?

Back to the topic at hand... At least she has padding if she flips it.

How do you know her Snail's Polish?

I have something in mind now as well... Feeling quite inspired actually.

I have always wanted to visit, despite my grasp of German being alles Schwein. The speed differential cannot be much more than our M1 highway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast; where as a Truck Driver I must keep to the left two lanes no matter how slow the merging traffic is going... While others in the outside lanes often do 40-50 above the limit, with perhaps the possiblity of a fine in the mail a month later the only legal consequence.

Your Aussie accent sounds somewhere between James Coburn in the Great Escape, and Michael Caine in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels! However, after a couple of drinks, no-one's going to notice

Hmmmm... Rolled up tube makes me think of Shawshank Redemption... Big Pond leads to water, which wakes me think of Swimmin' Women... ergo:

Ok, I'll give you that one. You should always mount your Horse from the left. With the increase in "New Australians" arriving, notably from China and the Middle East, I see a lot more instances of cars going the wrong way down streets and around roundabouts. This lax standard of Licencing and Driver Training unfortunately mirrors the general decline in Policing.

Gaz, I'm on the roads in Brisbane all day in a 4.5 tonne Pantech. The things I see sometimes defy belief and would make your toes curl. In this particular instance it's after work, and I am stopped in a queue at roadworks controlled by traffic lights, on a single lane dual carriageway. The blue Commodore that can be seen in my drivers' side mirror, blew right past all of us on the wrong side of the road, and somehow missed colliding with anything oncoming as he did so... All because the Guy didn't want to wait 60 seconds.