My stash just grew again 2025

[Weaver]

Don't forget, they bought Magisters instead of Jet Provosts, and all the same arguments could apply to that choice.

Decades ago, in the 1990s, and the year that the IAC Silver Swallows won the best foreign aerobatic team trophy at IAT, I chatted to their Crew Chief about the display magister they had there. He reckoned that the fact the Magister had two engines was a factor in their choice but he also allowed that '......politics came into too, for sure.......) 

There was an article about the IAC Magisters in August's Aeroplane magazine. According to that, they shortlisted four types in 1973: Magister, T-37C, MB-326 and Jet Provost T55. Only the Aermacchi and the Fouga were evaluated however, which says to me that they'd taken a policy decision in favour of tandem seating. They subsequently signed a deal a year later for six Magisters with Aerospatiale. These were refurbished second-hand airframes. Four of them had formerly served with the Austrian Air Force since 1959, before being traded back to Aerospatiale in part payment for Alouette III helos when the Austrians switched to the SAAB 105 in 1972. The other two were part of a batch of six originally destined for Katanga in 1961. Four were delivered, but the last two were blocked by a UN embargo. Ironically, this makes them sister airframes of the Magisters used to attack  Irish UN troops at Jadotville.

Reading between the lines a bit, I suspect that the price of the refurbished Magisters was the deciding factor. The Magister was also one of the earlier jet trainers into service and scored a significant number of export orders, so I suspect there was a larger pool of second-hand aircraft around by 1973 for Aerospatiale to refurbish and re-sell than for the others. The MB-326 was the newest of the four, so initial customers were probably still getting their money's worth out of them at the time.

The IAC also replaced their Chipmunks with Italian SF.260 Warriors, so proximity of source obviously wasn't an issue there, and they'd also been flying Alouette IIIs since 1963, so they had a pre-existing and satisfactory relationship with Aerospatiale.

[scooter]

Right. If the republic can't be arsed to a cheap(ish) Lightning, then who can? European air force only, and Scandinavia are out (They're all getting Drakens.. ) (also, I would have needed a set of minuscule Irish roundels which I don't have..)

Grand Duchy of Fenwick, Fredonia, Andorra, Monaco?

[Weaver]

Right. If the republic can't be arsed to a cheap(ish) Lightning, then who can? European air force only, and Scandinavia are out (They're all getting Drakens.. ) (also, I would have needed a set of minuscule Irish roundels which I don't have..)

Note that nothing I've said rules out Irish Lightnings, it's just that proximity of manufacturer probably wouldn't be a big factor. You could easily concoct a backstory in which random events (a undetected Tu-95 crashes in Ireland, for example) changes the Irish public's attitude to defence spending and allows the government to raise the budget.

The Lightning's forté is point air-defence, so anybody on the Cold War "front line" would possible: Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Greece? Mind you, Germany and Italy would probably go for Gucci Lightnings, not cheapo ones (a Luftwaffe ICE-upgraded one from the mid-80s is on my to-do list).

Austria would be another possible, although they'd have to have a change of defence policy similar to Ireland to make that doable in the timeframe when Lightning's were available. Actually, there's an angle: Austria was banned from having any kind of missile by post-WWII treaties and had to get special permission to buy 2nd hand Sidewinders to put on it's Drakens in order to deal with airspace incursions during the Yugoslavian Civil War in the '90s. If they'd decided they wanted a high-performance jet in the late 1960s but were banned from having missiles, they might have chosen four-gun Lightning F.2s (possibly 2nd hand from the RAF) on the basis that the performance would get them close enough to anything and four ADENs would definitely guarantee a kill. Then by the time of them getting permission for AAMs in the mid 1990s, Firestreak and Red Top would be long gone, so Sidewinders would be the only viable option. The Airfix Lightning has the option to build a four-gunner too...

[scautomoton]

The Post er person(?) has just delivered Shimomura Alec Shokunin Katagi 200 size stainless steel file Shine Blade B (try saying that five times fast!) that I ordered from Ebay a couple weeks ago. And while I've not properly used it in anger I gave it a quick rasp over a spare resin part I had to hand. All I can say is wow! Why have I not bought some of their kit earlier?! It wasn't cheap, but then first impression is I've definitely got value for money with this.

Oh, and the Seller sent a thank you card signed by hand, and randomly, a Pokemon collectors card. Perhaps my daughter will find a use for it...]

Also delivered; a couple pairs of different cutters since I keep blunting mine by cutting steel wire...I mean rod...

[Charlie_c67]

Right. If the republic can't be arsed to a cheap(ish) Lightning, then who can? European air force only, and Scandinavia are out (They're all getting Drakens.. ) (also, I would have needed a set of minuscule Irish roundels which I don't have..)

Austria? They were offered the ex-Saudi ones after all...

[Weaver]

Right. If the republic can't be arsed to a cheap(ish) Lightning, then who can? European air force only, and Scandinavia are out (They're all getting Drakens.. ) (also, I would have needed a set of minuscule Irish roundels which I don't have..)

Austria? They were offered the ex-Saudi ones after all...

Oh yeah, I forgot about that! I knew there was something more to Austrian Lightnings!

[Gondor]

The Post er person(?) has just delivered Shimomura Alec Shokunin Katagi 200 size stainless steel file Shine Blade B (try saying that five times fast!) that I ordered from Ebay a couple weeks ago. And while I've not properly used it in anger I gave it a quick rasp over a spare resin part I had to hand. All I can say is wow! Why have I not bought some of their kit earlier?! It wasn't cheap, but then first impression is I've definitely got value for money with this.

After reading this recommendation I have ordered one.

[Charlie_c67]

So a nice little collection from the Abingdon show...
1/72 Hasegawa Cougar F9F-8
1/72 Airfix Dominie T.Mk 1
1/72 MPM Meteor PR Mk.10
1/72 Amodel Yak-27R
1/72 Academy A-37B
1/72 Emhar F-94C
and finally the lesser spotted 1/72 HA200 Saeta (was especially happy to find this for only a tenner )

[PR19_Kit]

A nice vintage haul there Charlie! 

[George the Cat]

From the IPMS Brampton show today.

1/72 Special Hobby Junkers Ju388K/L
1/72 Italeri H19 Helo

And some aftermarket bits.

[Weaver]

From Airfix (remarkably quickly since I only ordered it Sunday night):

1/72nd scale Avro Vulcan B.2

 

[Gondor]

Received this afternoon from eBay

1 x 1/72 Amodel 7233 YaK-130

Gondor

[chrisonord]

Received this afternoon from eBay

1 x 1/72 Amodel 7233 YaK-130

Gondor

I built one of those a while back, they are not the easiest of builds, like anything Amodel, but they look good when done. Be prepared for plenty of sanding and test fitting.

[Captain Canada]

I had to drive to London, ON, for a drug and alcohol test. So I popped into AVF Hobbies for a look around. Walked out with 4 bottles of Tamiya acrylic, some Tamiya cement, and 1 1/144 scale Academy/Minicraft EC-121. It was 24.99 so why not lol

[Weaver]

I had to drive to London, ON, for a drug and alcohol test. So I popped into AVF Hobbies for a look around. Walked out with 4 bottles of Tamiya acrylic, some Tamiya cement, and 1 1/144 scale Academy/Minicraft EC-121. It was 24.99 so why not lol

Did the drugs and alcohol pass your test?