23 7 August 2014

A Community Group Proudly Supported by the City of Whitehorse

Volume Issue SUN BR UE

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Sbca ulle C M go nid lle

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Feb 4 Aug 5Mar 4 Sep 2Apr 1 Oct 7May 6 Nov 3*Jun 3 Dec 2Jul 1 Feb 3 (15)

Jan 28 Jul 29Feb 25 Aug 26Mar 25 Sep 30Apr 29 Oct 28May 27 Nov 25Jun 24 Jan 27 (15)

President:tankbloke88@gmail.com

Secretary: Michael Howe 9874 5702mjhowe@ozemail.com.au

Treasurer: Frank Spinosa 98422085bigspin1@bigpond.net.au

Newsletter: Michael Howe 9874 5702essmc@ozemail.com.au

Ken Noble 5340-0605

Editorial

im Brimelow is indisposed this month Tso I’m producing SeamLines for August. It’ll be a bit ad-hoc as it’s been a while since I did this and I’ll have to dust off my old CorelDraw files, not to mention my grey matter...

Unfortunately it couldn’t be ready for printing before the meeting so there was no hard copy available. Sufficient copies will be printed and distributed by mail to those without an email address on file towards the end of next week.

Also, Roger Trewenack was crook and couldn’t make it to the meeting so the ‘Warbirds over Wanaka’ presentation didn’t happen either. A bit of a blow considering the work he’s put in. Fortunately Gary Zimmer came down to give us an entertaining sketch of his European trip.

Hopefully Roger will be able to show the photos at September’s meeting.

We wish both Tim and Roger a speedy return to form.

Michael

EVENTS & INFORMATION

*Monday

17th July 2014IPMS Swap & Sell

11th and 12th October 2014SAPMA Scale Model ExpoChristian Brothers College GymnasiumWakefield StAdelaide

25th and 26th October 2014Wings Scale Model Aircraft CompetitionAustralian National Aviation MuseumSecond AvenueMoorabbin Airport

8th November 2014Bayonet Military Model Club Competition and swap meetCnr Geelong Road and Farm RoadWerribee

St. Michaels Church Hall268 High StreetASHBURTON

N.B. We are unable to find information about this event and the venue (even on IPMS web-site). We believe it’s advertised on Facetube if you have access to that source.

Calendar

On The Table

Another of Pat’s dioramas - Bomb disposal squad with robot.

Andrew Liu’s Airfix Bae Hawk 120/128

Gary ZimmerDuxford is like an old Postcard from EuropeAirfx catalogue in 3D. You have to see it. or years I have always wanted to see the Tank FMuseum at Bovington, England, but never I will be writing up my had the opportunity or the time to go there. A visits to these museums friend told me about a conference in Sheffield, so over the next few issues. I thought I would make an appearance there as a While I was traveling I tax dodge and then go see the sights. As it k e p t t a l e s o f m y transpired, the dates didn't suit so I said bugger adventures and misadventures in a notebook, the conference, I will just go anyway. So it was a and I am at present translating 30 pages of biro bit of a leap into the unknown as I had no previous scribble to Word. If you want some bedtime experience of that part of the world. I have an old reading with the occasional rant thrown in, I am mate who always says if it turns to crap then it happy to send that via email to anyone who becomes an adventure. I don't like packaged requests it. tours, nor was I interested in seeing some piece

of scaffolding in Paris and other stuff like that. I If you were wondering how much money I blew, made the assumption that where I wanted to go the answer is not that much. The biggest cost was there would be a train station and a hotel the London return cattle class flights of course. I somewhere. It was all very much making it up as I

went along, but on the whole it worked out.

For years I have had an interest in the Winter War and Finnish AFVs, so it would be silly going all the way to Europe a n d n o t g o t o s e e Panssarimuseum at Parola, Finland. From all this came a plan, because they are, by Australian standards, close. More or less in between are some other interesting places, so that's what I did. I got to England on the first of July, then the next day to Bovington which is just amazing. One ferry, two trains, a bus and a long walk later and I was at Musee des Bl indees at Saumur, France. I didn't eat

had a Eurail pass, which worked in 5 countries any snails either. Eleven trains and 24 hours later and was worth every cent. In short, the whole trip I was at Deutsche Panzermuseum Munster, and cost the same as smoking a packet a day for 8 pressing on northwards I ended up at Arsanalen months. Now that I have been there and learnt a military vehicle museum a few hours out of few things and what know what not to do, I am Stockholm. After a flight to Helsinki, I took a train keen to go back in say 2017, definitely with a few up to Parola the next day. This was day 10. From extra stops such as Kubinka and the Normandy Helsinki I went back to England to find a mate in beaches. So here's my suggestion: if you’re Newcastle that I had been corresponding with for keen to tag along, start saving your loose change, a dozen years but had never met. This was my and lets get together and we'll come up with a only trouble with language because I don't speak plan. Geordie. Working my way south I got to a

thpaddock outside Duxford on the 13 , watching two dozen WW2 aircraft fly over my head. I went Gary.back the following day, it is full of incredible stuff.

POSTCARD

FROM

EUROPE

What the French resistance get up to, if they find a truck chassis and some metal plate.

even French, and Matchbox 1:72 Handley Page m u c h G e r m a n

a e r o n a u t i c a l HP-80 Victor – A Rambleresearch data was

distributed to British s WWII ground to its inevitable end in 1945 and manufacturers. Athe Wehrmacht bitterly contested every foot of

German soil, well-equipped and supported teams of P o s t - w a r, h u g e experts followed closely behind advancing Allied a d v a n c e s w e r e forces tasked with acquiring German weapons made in aircraft technology; be it research, hardware or even design, especially in scientists and technicians. Ostensibly the spoils were the 50's, possibly the to be shared among the victors but, more often than most intense period not, would actually be jealously guarded and spirited i n a v i a t i o n away to the country of those who them. technology since the Wright brothers. Weird and

wonderful shapes came and went, the sound barrier Naturally, Nazi Germany's investigation into finally fell and the jet engine, already dominant in the aeronautics was a priority. Research projects into jet military field, began to revolutionize air travel for the engines and rockets were well-developed and masses as the turbine quickly replaced the piston.certainly ahead of anything on the Allied side. The

Western allies and Russians raced to grab everything, To my mind one of the most dramatic examples of the and everyone, they could. As is well-known, Werner advances made in this period is the difference Braun and his associates made sure they would be between two aircraft, both designed and built by 'captured' by the Americans, no doubt aware that they Handley Page, both bombers designed for long-range could trade their knowledge and expertise for penetration raids on enemy cities and separated by protection from prosecution for war crimes. Those only some 22 years. Compare the Handley-Page HP-who fell into Soviet hands probably had less say in the 50 Heyford and the Handley-Page HP-80 Victor matter. British interests were also served of course, whose first flights were undertaken in 1930 and 1952

respectively. In the same length of time that ESSMC

has existed HP went from a twin-piston-engined

fabric-covered biplane carrying 1,598lb of bombs for

920 miles at 115mph at a maximum of 10,000ft to a

sleek four-jet-engined alloy monoplane carrying up to

35,000lb of bombs (or a nuclear device) for 6000

miles at up to 620mph and 56,000ft!

The Victor, like its compatriot V-bombers, the Vickers

Valiant and Avro Vulcan, was designed for one chilling

purpose; to deliver nuclear weapons into the heart of

the Soviet Union – a mission from which it was unlikely

to return even if there was anything to return to. The

Vulcan was designed after studying the ideas of

Alexander Lippisch (another American 'recruit') for

tail-less delta plan-forms for high-speed flight and it

seems the Victor's crescent-shaped wings may also

have been influenced by German research.

Nevertheless, it was, to my mind, one of the most

elegant aircraft ever conceived with its faired in

cockpit, swept crescent wings and that amazing tail.

Nothing looks like a Victor and it is one of the most

distinctive shapes ever to take to the air, especially

from a head-on perspective. It's very 'Dan Dare'.

The Kit Collector

Faded glory - boxtops of Matchbox Heyford & Victor kits. Cont. on page 7

well attended and it is THE MODELLING SCENE IN given publicity on National

MALTA TV and most of the local oon or later I had to keep my promise of keeping newspapers.Sin touch. A lot of things happened since I returned

to Malta in September 2013. The most important The second one was that decision is that I am now retired and have some free organised by the Malta time on my hands. Modellers Association. It

was very well organised I have re-engaged in Modelling. I am finishing an Avro but again a lot of recycled Arrow (Hobbycraft), finished two JS tanks (Airfix), models.finishing a Gee Bee aircraft (A Model) which I had

bought in Adelaide last year. I also built a URAL 35A The third one, whose annual show is actually currently Command Vehicle which I had bought from the on, is the Association of Model Engineers. There are a Victorian Hobby shop in Melbourne. variety of models in various scales. There were a good number of scratch built models especially a Coming to the modelling scene in Malta, there are complete set of Malta's little navy of Patrol crafts in three clubs. One is IPMS (Malta), another is called 1/12 scale. Armour and aircraft were in abundance Malta Modellers Association and the third is the and figures were also much in evidence. As many of Association of Model Engineers. I have joined the you know, I also collect 1/500 diecast airliners and on latter since their members are down to earth people, exhibit were a good number of such models many of just like we were at ESSMC. which I have in my collection. The same exhibitor

displayed a 1/500 airport from Herpa models. It was a IPMS (Malta) held their annual show in February in the

very good display and quite impressive how this guy old Maritime Museum. Lots of models were exhibited.

managed to spend all that money to build the display. Having attended nearly all the exhibition in Malta, I

According to him the display cost him €1300 (approx. noticed that some models are actually recycled and

AU$1700) but it stood out against all the other exhibits.has been exhibited for years on end. The show was

Charles Mifsud

Cont on page 7

the Fuerza Aérea Argentina’s efforts over the Matchbox 1:72 Handley Page HP-

‘Malvinas’.

80 Victor – A Ramble (Cont.)Both the Heyford and the Victor were modelled by

Matchbox around 1980 in their distinctive multi-colour andley Page looked forward to great things from kit range. The parts exhibit the classic Matchbox Hcrescent wings and an airliner, the HP-111, was chunkiness, a lot of raised detail, problematic fit and mooted, but Sir Frederick Handley Page refused to heavy sinkage. On the other hand the Victor's merge with another manufacturer as the British sweeping lines and complex curves are beautifully government demanded and the company closed its captured. I love Matchbox kits; there's feeling of doors after 61 years having produced some of the solidity about them which, combined with the multi-most remarkable aircraft to come out of Britain; the coloured sprues, was probably due to being marketed WWI O/400 and V/1500 bombers, the HP-42 airliner, to a younger market.the HP-52 Hampden and HP-57 Halifax bombers of

WWII, the HPR-7 Herald airliner and finally the HP-This is, as Andrew Lui would call it, a 'filler queen' and 137 Jetstream.that means a lot of raised detail will be lost fixing the

heavy potholes in wings and fuselage so I'm going to The Victor’s greatest moment came in 1982 when no remove all the raised panel detail (and not re-scribe it), less than eleven Victor tankers supported a single leaving only the engraved lines depicting the bomb-Avro Vulcan on the ‘Black Buck’ missions to bomb the bay and radome etc. I plan to build the model in flying airfield at Port Stanley in the Falklands. The success mode to show off the sleek curves and flowing lines – if of this mission not only denied the runway to of course I've got enough filler!Argentina’s fast jets but warned the Junta that the

RAF was capable of striking the homeland too, forcing Michael them to keep aircraft back for defence and restricting

The Kit Collector (Cont.)

helicopters. The Italian air wing in Malta displayed Malta Modelling (Cont.)their AB 232 helicopter. It was a fantastic Airshow

culminating with a magnificent display by the Red n September 2013, we had Malta's International

Arrows. This year's show will be held in the last IAirshow at our only airport. Aircraft participating thweekend of September (27th and 28 ). You are all were, BAE Typhoon, Tornadoes, extra 300, AWACS,

invited to attend and enjoy the show!! Till my next Neptune from the Dutch Air Force, a large number of

contribution keep well and till we meet again.small private aircraft from local owners and local flying

schools. The Air Wing of the Armed Forces of Malta Charlesdisplayed their King Air 200, Islander and Alouette

©to publication (i.e. committee meeting). Submitted material is accepted in good faith and whilst every effort will be made to ensure accurate reproduction, no responsibility can be accepted for unintentional

errors or omissions. Sources of third-party material should be credited and copyright respected. The Editor may correct, revise, split, hold over or discontinue any item, and/or add, delete, resize, crop or otherwise manipulate any images, without prior consultation. The Editor retains sole discretion on content (subject to committee approval only if deemed prudent) and reserves the right to refuse any material which may reasonably be considered offensive or defamatory to any person or group, or is, in the Editor's opinion, of doubtful taste, value or relevance. Contributors of such items may lodge an appeal with the Committee. The item/s will be held over until after the appeal has been heard and the Committee's decision will be final. Disclaimer. Views and opinions expressed in any submitted material or editorial comment are those of the author or editor only; the publication of an article in SeamLines does not imply or suggest that the committee of ESSMC Inc. holds, promotes or condones such views and opinions.

ESSMC Inc. 2014. SeamLines Editorial Policy. SeamLines is published on the first Tuesday of every month except January. Deadline for inclusion of material in each issue is the Tuesday prior

Malta Model Show