MikeC

I use books, magazines if available, and the web, but am definitely a bibliophile first and foremost. Just finished reading Barret Tillman's Forgotten Fifteenth and am very tempted to repurpose one of the Mustangs in the stash. Which just illustrates that I get inspiration from books before starting a model as well as info during the process.

Nice Pony

It's nothing to do with the auto stop-start on mine, a 2020 Ford Puma. I still have the ability to cancel the auto stop/start manually. They told me that I probably wouldn't notice when the electric secondary motor kicked in, and they were right - I don't. Where I see improvements is in the fuel efficiency: I routinely get over 50mpg on a longer journey, something I've never managed before. OK, the mpg is slightly lower in the winter, that's understood and accepted. It's fun to drive, it looks good, and it's far from "useless".

I have a mild hybrid - an "overgrown starter motor" (as it was described to me) to assist the petrol engine. It charges itself as it goes, and you cannot tell when it kicks in. That will do me. I'm convinced that full electric powered by a battery is an interim solution, as it does not make its own power as an ICE does, it uses stored power that has already been generated. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm thinking fuel cells are perhaps the way forward. We'll see ...

Always good to see the "RAFwaffe" represented. (Yes, that was the unofficial title of 1426 (EA) Flt.) A fine model

Well, I must admit to being one of those. But on the other hand those late-war Luftwaffe schemes with mismatched pre-painted panels and sections are rather fun to do, so never say never.

Indeed, me too. I can save my money for ... ... the Allison Mustang series which really must be in the works ... mustn't it ... However, it is practically guaranteed money in the bank for Kotare- they can overwhelm us when they're on a sounder financial footing.

I can relate to that too. A little care in assembly saves a lot of filling. Also related is the discovery that if you have to force a fit and clamp it severely, you're only building stress and potential problems into the model, and need to work on fit a bit more.

Eclectic and interesting, and all well-built and finished.

How much has my technique changed? Totally! It has been a gradual evolution over many years, starting with (like many) sticking plastic together with tube cement and just adding transfers (no decals in those days). But I can pick out two big step changes that made a huge difference. The first was, in the late 1960s, discovering AIrfix Magazine, and realising that one could take these kits to another level. The second was in the late 1990s, when I switched to predominantly 1/48 and bought my first airbrush, a Badger 200: the combination of doing both around the same time just seemed to take things to another level.

Interesting background to a good model.

Thanks Pete, and no swipe intended, it's just the result of a career in IS/IT in an environment where security matters. Nothing personal

+1

Very nice Indeed, it's certainly an innovative presentation.

That' a quality model!

That's really lovely. Well done.

Special Hobby have done a Tempest series - let's just concentrate and send them Typhoon vibes ...

Well done Wilson Max, wondered when you'd spot that one.

No, but now you mention it they do look similar. This is the late great Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring from Dad's Army (a programme that is practically engraved on the DNA of we Brits "of a certain age"). Father Brown is Mark Williams, perhaps better known as Papa Weasley in the "Harry Potter" films. Two excellent actors.

Not forgetting "I think you're entering the realms of fantasy there, Jones!"

Since records began for me in 1995 or so, 243 in various scales. Many of those have since been disposed of, with fates ranging from an appropriate museum to the bin. For 1965-ish (when I started) to 1995: no idea!

Nice model of a relatively rarely-modelled variant

Still hoping for a P-51B/C - not a Spitfire, but it does have a Merlin.

Coming on nicely.

That's prompted me to recall something else about modelling: it is a source of learning. Even a failed build that ends up in the bin will teach me something, even if it's only what to avoid next time I attempt that kit. It also taught me something else: back in the day, the old Airfix instructions were narrative form, and generally used the correct terms: I learned a lot of aviation terminology from them, not least the correct names for the various parts of an aircraft; and, of course, the historical narrative contained in the instructions.