IainMackayDall

At some point I''d like to do a 1/32 LVC marked spitfire. Any Decal sets out there that would cover this one?

The 3 hatches? I'm guessing one is the tunnel to the rear pressure cabin, I believe it was on the side, not central like the B-29 and also pressurised with the cabins. But the other two? Any ideas on which one access what? My guess is that the higher one accesses the forward turrets? and the lower one the bomb bay catwalk and also to the wing roots. The whole craft would have to de-pressurise to open these hatches.

As one of my D-Day family connections. The first was that my Father was an RN Lieutenant Engineer on a US built LST. and the second more poignant link is this one below. ( it may interest some of the many Canadians here ) My mothers twin sister, Nancy Mackay ( my Aunt), was one of the WAAF plotters at Biggin Hill, While there, She met and became engaged to Lloyd Chadburn, Wing Commander Lloyd Vernon Chadburn. Chadburn was the decorated RCAF air Ace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Chadburn. in 1944, he was sent back to Canada for a War Bond drive. Unknown by Lloyd, Nancy was pregnant with their child. As they did then, the RAF would assist by sending any pregnant girl out to one of their RAF medical homes to have their child, and arranged any adoption. Lloyd, or “Chad”, returned back to the UK and tried to contact Nancy at Biggin Hill. due a series of errors in communications, someone on the other end of the telephone line, told him, that Nancy had since married a Naval Officer. ( there were two Nancys in the WAAFs plotting pool at Biggin Hill ) In the lead up to D-Day, Chad was appointed wing commander of Number 127 Wing RCAF On Tuesday 13 June 1944, Chadburn's Spitfire collided with a Spitfire flown by Frank Clark of 421 Squadron. http://www3.sympatico.ca/angels_eight/421black.html https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2847750 https://acesofww2.com/can/aces/chadburn.htm For the child, only later in the 90’s did he realise his paternity. For me, this Aunt, (my mothers Twin), always very fond of me as I grew up. I only discovered recently, that my name, was the same she also gave her son before he was adopted out. This real son, under a different name, grew up to become a UK nuclear sub physicist, never quite made the family connections until later in his life, and once connected could never resolve it enough to prevent his own suicide, although, before his death he attended memorials to his father in Canada and also got to fly in a fly passenger in some Merlin engined aircraft. I have found a great 1/48 scale model of one of Chads Spitfires, by Serge Dompierre http://www.hsgalleries.com/gallery04/spitfirevbsd_1.htm

How about these, Boeing has excelled here with the nose. The Farman Jabiru has both looks and name to match. But back to Boeing. I still maintain if they had given the X-32 a more aggressive look, they could have won theat contract

Was it not nicknamed the flying T*t by those transported or having to fly it..

I thought the Short Seamew was a contender, that or the caproni-stipa flying barrel. But this one gets my vote.. another Shorts build from the UK. The Short Sturgeon S.B.3

I love the detail of the cables under the pilot seat for the stick controls. No one will ever see these details other than us.. in this group when this model is shown, and all sealed up during some a comp show. But, we have all seen, that this detail is there. So it does exist is our collective minds, and will live in all our future modelling desires.

Of course if any are fans of Hayao Miyazaki Studio Ghibli animations, worth watching fo a lot of invented seaplanes in Porco Rosso flown by the Sky Pirates. Miyazaki has a fantastic museum built in Tokyo, that is worth the visit. Their shop had a big ( must have been 1/32 ) resin assembled resin model of the Red Savoia S.21 Sea Plane for sale, to big to fit in any Sydney bound luggage.

There is a 1/48 scale edition by Fine Moulds !!

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a30025520/dubai-police-tesla-cybertruck/

Was the SM-79 commercial version configures with all the military gun ports? I see there is a SM-75 without any, plus some one out there has a 1/72 model version, but I have not seen any 1/32 examples

We have a few operating on Sydney Harbour, they all have 3 bladed props, but I have seen some with 2 blade props, not sure what the difference is. Also dual column or single switchable column? Are you planning a military version or a commercial craft?

Savoia-Marchetti SIAI S.21 Sea Plane. and this related beast if we really want big Savoia-Marchetti S.55 double hulled flying boat

Some of my most memorable books usually are found on travelling through various countries. I was in Laos 3 or 4 years ago when I picked ip a copy of "The Ravens, Pilots off the Secret War on Laos" by Christopher Robbins it certainly explained a much more complex picture and history than I had realised. https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/ravens-of-long-tieng-284722/ Having visited the Udvar_Hazy Centre in Washington DC, and seeing the restored Silverplate B-29 https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/boeing-b-29-superfortress-enola-gay I then found a copy of "Return of the Enola Gay" by Paul W Tibbets Spent a whole day at the Udvar_Hazy, so much to see and photograph there, along with talking with some of the guides and hiring their histories. oh back then, Some great Space exhibits there, plus, I had the chance to see the Apollo 11 being restored, prior to going on it anniversary tour. Lastly, following on from Apollo 11. A book I found by accident, but had only just got around to reading this October, and fatefully just as the announcement came of the death of Alexei Leonov. The Book is "The Two Sides of the "Moon" both crediting David Scott and Alexei Leonov. I know Large Scale Modeller does not have a slot for Space models, but I grew up in the 60's and had build that Revell Gemini kit, along with Airfix Apollo Saturn 5 models and as many Apollo kits as I could get my hands on ( as a youngster can get growing up in the UK ) I do get around the missing space model range by just building them in Lego

I've always been curious about these Liberators of the 380th Bomb Group of the American 5th Air Force along with B-24’s on loan to the RAAF that were flown out of Corunna Downs, a secret airbase located in scrub and spinifex country, about 35 kms south west of Marble Bar in "The Pilbara" area of Western Australia. The aircraft carried out numerous bombing raids on Japanese bases and shipping. The Corunna base was officially closed on January 14, 1946, it was never mentioned during the war in press or in any radio reports. There's a B-24 being restored down in Victoria at Werribee: http://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-restorations/werribee-b-24-liberator-memorial-australia-open-house-may-5th.html