John Harris

There was an interesting piece on the radio (I think it was PM) yesterday. There are "talks" regarding the future of Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port factory and what is built there. The crux is that if GM want to build an electric car there in the long term the UK needs a "Gigafactory" (their term) to create suitable batteries for those EVs, as batteries are not allowed through the Channel Tunnel and shipping heavy items is expensive. There are proposals to create such a battery factory at Coventry Airport, ironically quite close to the sites of many car factories in the 60s. Ford (as an example) are rumoured to be converting their Cologne factory (currently producing Fiestas) to EV production, building a Fiesta class EV based on VW technology significant as the Fiesta is one of Europe's best selling cars. It seems that having a battery factory not too far from where you wish to build your EVs is essential. jch

There was a piece on BBC Breakfast yesterday, some music festivals and outdoor events are planning on taking place in July / August, but the organisers they interviewed were both planning on using 'lateral flow' tests (the quick ones) prior to entry, though I'm not sure how that works for street events. I haven't seen that testing will be an "official" requirement from HMG, but it suggests that any model or railway related events will fall into the same category, which of course will be an additional cost of organisers and ultimately a cost participants and visitors. One might think it's a "belt & braces" approach, if everyone who can be is vaccinated anyway, but I fee that testing is more for public confidence than anything. jch

Regarding the attitudes to 'lockdown' in Australia, there was an illuminating piece on the BBC last night, albeit nothing to do with Covid. In Queensland, that was the example quoted, police do vehicle checks where everyone on a particular road is stopped and breathalysed. On average a motorist in Queensland get stopped twice a year, as a comparison I've driven for over 40 years in the UK and I was stopped once in a "routine vehicle check". It suggests, as Hobby asserts, that things are very different in Australia. jch

The Merkava is a tank design to a very specific requirement, the crew must survive. It was designed after several intense wars that threatened the existence of Israel, the loss of machinery was bad, the loss of trained crews to a small nation could be catastrophic. The IDF was a big user of the British Centurion, which with well trained crews could defeat even the most modern Soviet built T-72s, and could easily cope with the older T-55/62. Israel was interested in the Chieftain, and during a secret operation in 1966, two British-manufactured Chieftain tanks were brought to Israel for a 4-year-long evaluation for service with the IDF. The plan was for the IDF not only to purchase some Chieftains, but for IMI (Israeli Military Industries) to produce the tank under license. After the trials were done, Israeli improvements and ideas were implemented by the British manufacturer, but politics intervened and nothing came of it. The knowledge earned during the improvements on the 'Chieftain', together with earlier experiments in tank improvements, gave the last push for the development and production of the 'Merkava' tank. The first 'Merkava' prototypes were in fact based on Centurions, effectively reversed so the engine was towards the "front"' Or with a US M48 turret. jch

Since maximum sentences are rarely applied, I think the "10 years" is just an attempt at headline grabbing. Perhaps the fines should be income related, otherwise some (mention no names) will just regard it as a price worth paying. jch

If only a "certain Irish airline" was run by leprechauns, they are magic... I prefer the airline run by nuns, "Doctrine Air" jch

No, I am thinking of the Cliffs Pavilion at Southend and Leas Cliff Hall at Folkestone, neither are open-air, indeed both are rather "intimate" indoor venues. Incidentally, the motor museum a Beaulieu is advertising a series of car shows, though these are outdoor. I apologise if I offended, my use of 'provinces' was a clumsy attempt to distinguish between the nations of the United Kingdom and countries "abroad". jch

According to Grant Shapps on TV this morning we should "not book a summer holiday" at the moment, neither home nor abroad, which suggest HMG think the current restrictions will last until all adults are vaccinated. Regarding "abroad" (do we count Wales and Scotland in that category as their Governments seem to be able to impose restriction on entering the provinces), some countries will remain "out of bounds" until they get a vaccination programme going themselves. What is baffling me is that several local theatres in Essex / Kent are offering and taking booking for shows from early April 2021. I assume they think they will be able to at least break even with reduced audience numbers? jch

I can recommend this company, Craftlight, a family firm that displays their range at IPMS shows, so will be familiar with the requirements of modellers. Perhaps not the cheapest, but their service is excellent. Regarding the comments on the headband style magnifiers, although I have a pair, I feel they have an intrinsic flaw. When you buy a pair of spectacles, the optician will measure the distance between the centres of your irises. Yet, on these magnifiers that distance is usually fixed, so unless you are lucky not ideal. There are adjustable magnifiers, basically Chinese copies of the sort of expensive ones that surgeons use. I feel that the problem is that no one solution suits all applications. jch

While excellent for plastic, compasses and the various circle cutters will be useless for brass and are questionable for thicker plastic sheet, the line they make is 'V' shaped, so the hole or disc (whichever you want) still requires fettling to get a nice edge. For brass, I think a fretsaw and patience are the best option, again requiring some attention to get round. jch

It seems some police are taking action in London. I doubt if many have insurance / full driving licence. jch

The DS19 was produced from 1955 till the mid 70s, so an older model would be reasonable, though it suggests the owner has a liking for innovation. Either Ford would be okay, as would a Mk.I Escort. jch

In the days before Johnson moved into No.10, you often noticed a parade of wheelie bins outside Ms. Symonds' flat when he was door stepped by the Paps. I thought it ironic that beautifully restored (at least externally) terraces in expensive parts of town were lumbered to numerous bins. Mind you, wait till they are all charging their EVs! jch

I have a similar experience in a London Borough, indeed we got a credit towards this year's charge because of a couple of weeks of no collection early in 'Lockdown One'. jch

I was looking on YouTube for something else and found these videos, about the production of the VW ID.3 and the associated battery packs They are an interesting watch, though there are a few sequences of people gathered around drawings. I fully expect the ID.3, it's brother the ID.4 and it's cousins from Ford to be significant EVs in the next couple of years in Europe. jch

As others have mentioned, budget 3D printers (and quite possibly expensive ones too) require a lot of setting-up to get the optimal results. I bought the cheapest (£99 as a kit), the Sstart The results are okay, but importantly it helped a lot to learn the design software. The tricky part of 3D printing is creating the files to print, think of it like an inkjet printer, without someone writing the documents it's an awkward door stop. Even if you use Shapeways, it's the designing that is the steepest part of the learning curve. jch

I agree, though I'd start with a set tied in to one of the North Wales' lines, you would get sales from visitors who were not specifically model railway enthusiasts. Perhaps even an unpowered version for the mantlepiece. Nicely painted and accurate, perhaps "Prince and three 'bug boxes'" or "Dolgoch and some wagons" (I realise there is a gauge difference). A Hunslet could follow. jch

If you believe the adverts in the Sunday magazines, stuff is sold as "collectable", usually the tackier and gaudier the better, ideally if it involves Elvis. jch

Before you dismiss the cheap Chinese airbrush sets, I suggest you watch this video. These cheap sets are worth the money for practicing with and ideal for the basic tasks like priming after wards. jch

For a fairly accurate, yet amusing, account of Lovelace & Babbage, I can recommend this book. As the title suggests, it's "mostly accurate". but I think it's worth a read. jch

Those cylindrical slide (twist?) rules are collectable these days and fetch a good price. jch

That's the one, green and more "kink" than curve! I worked in IT for years and in the early when we did financial runs the operations staff used to have to reconcile the figures, they had old style mechanical calculators with a handle to crank at the end to add them up. I think they were thrown out, though I wish now I had rescued one. jch

It's mentioned on the BBC too It is partly to do with Brexit as the EU had a cap on fees, which creditcard companies can now exceed. jch

I had a Flexicurve for my O level "Technical Drawing", I found it next to useless and drew curves by plotting the points and drawing freehand. I passed the O Level, so I guess I was okay. I also had small slide-rule, but pocket calculations arrived during my school days, so doting parents invested £32.95 in a simple add, subtract, multiply and divide calculator, which I still have. This would be in the early 70s, so around £400 in today's money! I never really took to log tables, they seemed a palaver compared with long division. Dad worked at Ford in Dagenham, in the Standard's Room, and knew the bloke who calculated the gear profiles, for engines, gearboxes, etc. manually using a slide rule. Such applications were amongst the first the company used these "new fangled" computers for, after things like payroll. jch

Professor Google suggests Marks Models I cannot recommend as I've never used them. jch