Lauren Child

Thanks! :tup::

Seconded. Cup of tea and biscuit are essential equipment. Chocolate hob-nobs lead to a better finish :-D

I'm not an expert but this is what I have picked up while I've been learning to spraypaint. Make sure you get some safety advice, as some of the chemicals can be quite nasty and you'll need to protect yourself appropriately. Find something gash to practice on first. Everyone gets runs to start with, and you may need to tweak the settings and paint mixture to get a good spray, especially when starting out. Make sure you drain condensation out of the air system as that causes runs, and don't do it on a cold day outside/with workshop door open, as that makes the paint dry in a peculiar fashion / go gloss. Some paints need hardener to be added along with thinner, but if you put hardener in the wrong sort of paint (or paint that doesn't need it) it goes speckled. Different paints need different types of thinner and hardener, so check when you buy it. Its worth getting some degreaser and wiping that over the surface (especially under wheel arches etc.) once you've prepped the surface for painting (wire brush/sanding/whatever). Then you can use primer. If you leave it for a few days between coats you may want to use some degreaser again. Check what gloves you need for the degreaser as it dissolves most. Removing grease should give you good paint adhesion. Build up the paint with many coats. You do not want complete coverage with the first coat as gravity will hit a couple of minutes later and drag the paint down into runs. A few thin coats gives the best finish until you've got the hang of it and can judge what the paint is doing. The key thing is to watch whats going on past the point that you are spraying. Big panels are easy. Small fiddly bits are difficult, and more often than not youll get a good coat on the fiddly bit, and then find the paint has gone wild on the parts just past it and you've got runs everywhere except the bit you were concentrating on. When it's gone wrong, dont fiddle. If its really bad you might be able to brush on some thinner and spread it out a bit, but more often than not, trying to fix it will make it worse. Leave it to dry, give it a light sanding, spray over and see how it looks. When you've finished, clean the spraygun well. Use a clean paintbrush with multiple pots of thinner, slowly working through to the cleanest one, brushing all of the paint off inside and out leaving a clean surface. Then pour fresh thinner into the gun and spray that through until you get clear white clouds. Then leave the spraygun with a thimblefull of thinner inside. If the paint dries inside the spraygun, it's a real pig....

Have you got any info on the other museum? I've not heard of that and I'm down there for a few days next week. Middle Farm is indeed good for Perry as well, as my fridge attests at the moment having driven past it last week :cool2:

Eastbourne Redoubt always has a soft spot for me. We had several family days out there, but the one that sticks in my mind was a wargaming event. I was amazed at a battle of britain game that filled one of the casemates with little aircraft on bamboo canes. Then to top the day we had a living history group do a german drill, and then one of the cannons was fired for the first time in donkeys years. Everyone was warned that it was going to be very loud, and my brother and I sat cowering with hands over our ears, as did half of the audience. Those of an elderley or nervous disposition were moved back. The parade ground fell silent in anticipation, and then..... my dad clapped his hands. People all the way around raised there heads, uncovered their ears, in shock. "Was that it?" one said, murmuring went all around the arena and My mother turned a shocking shade of red while pretending not to be with us. A very annoyed gentleman who didn't see the funny side announced "That was NOT the gun gun going off", and the process started again. It is a great place to visit though, and really captured my imagination, as you can probably tell by my still being interested in military history today. Alas I can't find my pics at the moment, but there are some at http://www.eastbournemuseums.co.uk/index.htm and http://www.martello-towers.co.uk/bicentenary/redoubt.htm

I grew up in Eastbourne, so I can think of a few. Eastbourne Redoubt - military museum in one of the three forts thats supported the martello towers. Alas I think Eastbourne Martello Tower is closed these days. Newhaven Fort - well worth a visit as it's a pretty unique place, with a good military museum. Pevensey Castle - a good old castle in the area. Tangmere aviation museum - just a long the coast. I keep meaning to go back there for a visit when I'm down south, as I've not been since I was much younger. Dover castle is good but when I've been it's been pretty busy. If going make sure you get there early enough to book onto the underground hospital tour, as it sells out very quickly (I think you may be able to pre-book). Also get onto the tunnels tour. It's very good. I'm pretty sure there's a battle of Britain memorial/museum close by as well, but I've never managed to leave enough time in dover to get there. It's on my list for the summer. Battle Abbey and Windsor Castle are probably in reasonable distance. The Bluebell railway is fun, as is the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch railway. If I remember right there's a wrecked viking ship poking out of the sand on Hastings beach, and a small viking museum too, plus there used to be a water powered cable car system going up the cliff face. A good place to eat is Littlington Tea Gardens (near the Long Man of Wilmington). Definitely the best cream tea in Sussex. Have put on far too many calories there, but check that they are open before going. There are also two good italian restaurants at the Soverign Harbour.

I'll see what I can do as well, as I should be down there next week.

There's a memorial to a B-17 crew who crashed up on Butts Brow (very close to Eastbourne/Polegate, near Willingdon). I go walking up there sometimes with my dad.

If you can arrange a day in Warsaw, it's worth a look at the Polish Army Museum. There's also the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising which I was told was worth a visit but alas I didnt get time for. Warsaw old town is also worth a look. I intend to go back to visit Auschwitz as I didnt get the chance when I was out there.

We also use needle guns for some jobs, but for lots of tasks we go to plain old sanding (as in a team of folks with hand sandpaper and/or air sanders). With needleguns it can be difficult to get into all of the nooks and crannies, and any paint left un-gunned shows up badly unless you remove it through other means, or feather the edges by hand sanding where that's not possible. Hand sanding the edge of umpteen layers of paint under a hinge or "knobbly bit" can be a time consuming and arduous task.

Technician Harris swore that this was the last time he would carry out works on a 10,000lb bomb in flight.

"Several ambulances were delivered with the emergency inflatable nurse erroneously fitted to the radiator"

It could be worse, a couple of my friends restore classic cars. They showed me some great photo's a while back of not one, but two nitwits who were in the performance car scene. Both had given their car "extra bling" by painting the brake discs.

My partner's father was an army driver and he describes the painstaking process of painting all of the nuts red on their vehicles ready for inspection. I suspect the same would be true of this, although he hasn't mentionned driving a militant.

Is that another TSR2? I thought only one survived the scrap yard? One of my friends is the son of the scrap dealer that recycled them. Blimey.

Not the Tank Museum, but I'm in the Duxford workshops. Nice to meet you

Caption: "See, I told you it would fit on the roof rack"

Thanks for the advice Ted. We've got a couple of FV432's coming in for respray, so I'm going to mention this to make sure we get the appropriate gear. -Lauren

Have you asked the IWM? I've been into the map archive and there's thousands upon thousands of maps, which hadn't all been catalogued (last I heard they were desperately seeking volunteers for the map/books/photographic sections). There's a bit of blurb here - http://collections.iwm.org.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.1286&navId=00g006 but it doesnt really do the collection justice. It's without a doubt the part of the museum behind the scenes that made the biggest impression on me.

Ted, Would you have any advice for folks like us who may be stripping the paint off to restore vehicles now that they have been retired from active duty? Thanks, Lauren

Am I the only one wondering if the chap in the middle has split his trousers?

Yep definitely the date, now published on the web

Date:21st June 2009 to 21st June 2009 Location:IWM Duxford Come and experience the sheer power of some of the biggest tanks as well as the more quirky peculiarities of smaller vehicles such as jeeps or even 1940s ambulances. The enthusiasm of private owners, the excitement of tank rides and the spectacle of the cavalcade on Duxford's runway make for a great Father's Day outing. The Land Warfare Hall will be open as usual with many more vehicles on display for amateurs of all ages. More information Non-standard admission applies – and as usual children come free* No booking required. For more information on this or other event, please call 01223 835 000 or email duxford@iwm.org.uk *children under 16 Show Content The 2009 Duxford Military Vehicle Show will again be just that; no theme, just lots of military vehicles of all shapes and sizes. The display area will be back in its usual spot – between the American Air Museum and the Land Warfare Hall – whilst the popular cavalcade around the airfield will be followed by tank demonstrations in the arena. Additionally, MAFVA will again hold their National Championships at the event plus a Military & Aviation Book Fair will take place within the American Air Museum during the day (run by the Provincial Booksellers Fair Association). We hope to attract more militaria trade stands - which will be sited within the display area - plus there will be tank riding in the morning (£5 per head). There will be an opportunity for exhibitors to take their own vehicles in the tank arena from 4.15pm. As always, the museum is open for all exhibitors and their guests to enjoy, including the UK’s largest D-Day Landing exhibition in the Land Warfare Hall. The show ends at 5pm and the museum closes at 6.pm. Please note: All activities/events/participants are subject to change without notice. Exhibitors_Booking_Form.pdf Camping.pdf

Theres a pic of an RAF coloured ME109 under evaluation at the AFDU Duxford here - http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/server.php?show=nav.651&PHPSESSID=cd548ea948d6301469f475c9c2418106

Have some engine pics from the Zagreb technical museum. The small one is a Wankel engine. The white one is a 2 stroke opposed cylinder Deltic. Th last one is a Cantieri Navali Riuniti engine. These aren'y military, but the piqued my engineering interest.