Cheers Martin, much appreciated, even the captions! I'm now slowly recovering from Contrail Scapa-induced PTSD - Plastic Traumatic Stress Disorder...
Jon

I've just caught up with this, Kevin, and it is looking really good. I've gone the opposite way with my Airfix Puma and decided to build it more-or-less OOB as an antidote to fighting an utterly rubbish vacform kit, plus the aftermarket resin SAAF sandfilter which would be quite nice if it actually fitted. I've used the kit side doors but tweaked them and replaced the rails, although yours looks far nicer than mine. It's currently sulking in the desk drawer until I pluck up enough enthusiasm to fettle that sand filter!
Jon

Great results for Adrian and Kevin (nice prize, Kev!) and a really enjoyable show...helped by wearing an extra layer! The club display got plenty of interest, especially (it seemed to me) Keith's small-scale models. The Halifax tour was a great privilege and I was also fortunate to be able to achieve another ambition and try the Dragonfly cockpit for size!
Jon

A fantastic selection of models there, folks. A great effort all round. Apologies again for absence - I was 'unavoidably engaged' in the sim at Farnborough. I'll be there next month (and tomorrow at Elvington).
Jon

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£2.00 on competition entries.....................................
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Under the circumstances, they should have given you a refund!

A bit late, but this is my first recent opportunity to be sitting at a desktop PC. Let's give it a go...

Quote from: Bob C on October 14, 2025, 11:37:05 AMLooks like it was a great show, and everyone enjoyed themselves. I wonder how many purchases you all made.

Bob c

Apart from a new cutting mat, Bob, nothing! An impromptu tutorial from a certain Mr Adams on using a draughtsman pen to create a scale wing rib effect has reminded me that I find scratchbuilding far more satisfying than building kits...plus some of the kit prices brought out my inner Yorkshireman!!
Jon

If I could work out how to insert photos, I'd add one of the full tabletop and another of the whole display with the hall in the background...

Jon the Technologically Challenged

"What ever do you mean? You mean you actually read the label about the Politician!
For those not in the know, the Politician was involved in the film Whisky Galore."

What's next on the production line? The SS 'Cabinet Minister'? 

Some really nice models there, guys. Apologies for absence - shift work again! (Next month too...)

Dave : did you include 1/700 whisky bottles? I couldn't make any out on the photo!
Jon

Excellent! That looks like a good spread of models, and some well-deserved accolades for Kevin.
Jon

Thanks Martin; if only I'd had your camera to capture the look on Dave's face after one of those "highly entertaining exchanges", your end-of-year caption slides show would be complete!

Quote from: Bigkev on August 03, 2025, 07:44:23 PMWell, I've got to try and make a decent job of mine now.
Are the 'Bucket intakes' the same as the dust filters fitted to a HC.2 Puma?
Kevin

Similar, but not identical. The RAF filters had a ring intake at the front around a central circular solid 'dish', whereas the front of the SAAF intakes were solid 'bullets'.

The 'Westland Bump'! I've not heard it referred to as that before! I'm sure you know, but it was there to accommodate the third generator that powered the sonar kit on the naval variants. This genny wasn't present on the RAF SAR variants, so it was just a bump over an empty space.

The only time I ever saw a completely clean RAF Sea King was when I was the Valley Flight Commander and the engineers had spent a whole weekend fettling one of the cabs for a visit by the Prince of Wales. It was immaculate and looked...completely wrong. They got sooty (more so on the starboard side than the port side), grubby (especially the one that looked like someone had tried to Scotchbrite the tail section) and generally grotty (hydraulic runs were commonplace), and often the only way to get them properly clean was to use solvent. The OCU aircraft were usually the worst: when we got one from St Mawgan they always needed some serious work to look presentable. Having said that, I think the aircraft you're modelling was 'by Royal appointment' so some light sootiness from the starboard exhaust in particular would be appropriate. For an in-service aircraft, a perfect finish would be completely inaccurate!

Excellent! I'm now the proud owner of an Airfix Puma too. My intention is to build it as a South African Air Force machine for which I've purchased an Air Graphics bucket intake filter set.
Jon