Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 4hA fun day at the Coulson Flying Tankers base at Sproat Lake in 2009. "Philippine Mars" was in for maintenance. I missed out on a guided tour of her, mores the pity. The cockpit section is from the unfinished 8th Martin Mars airframe which got no further when production was cancelled in 1944. 0101
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 4hMy kids (now 34 and 31) and I look back with great fondness to the time we spent reading books with me doing voices of characters for them (and me, too, if I'm honest). They are treasured moments. Who on earth would want to miss out on a connection like that? 000
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 8hMy son did this dry fit to get a feel for scale. It's big. I don't have a pale blue rattle can, so used this green as a base for a blue wash. Two parts track links are coming on. There is a mask for painting the two sections steel and rubber black. #histscalemodels 3291
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 12hI'm hoping the top will be removable, but if not, the doors, hatches and shell loading thing will be open (it goes across the back of the turret) 110
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 12hThe Land Warfare hall at DX was a gloomy place, but these things cost many £££ to fix. I was a volunteer with the MV Wing of DAS for a while and am said to see it go. There was a feeling of MVW being an unwanted child at DX at the time. Perceptions may vary. 110
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 14hSerious thinking time on the Meng AUF1. The gun house floor/screens and the gun mounts are light blue. The turret walls and components are white. The gun is green. The auto loader is brown. Shells are three different colours. Plus black,steel and brown for odds. Sort that lot out! #histscalemodels 1121
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 07/10/2026RIP. What a great picture. Always pleasing to see Geoffrey Keating's work. 010
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 07/10/2026More random archive pix. A forlorn looking DC-3S or C-117D, your choice, at the superb BC Aviation Museum at Sidney on Vancouver Island in 2009. I believe it was due to be scrapped. The A-26 Invader is/was a water bomber. The Vickers Viscount was open and my son sat in the cockpit. Fun times. 0183
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 07/10/2026He looks like a shit Eminem tribute act on this clip 000
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 06/10/2026A stop off in Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada during a period of brush fires. Augusty 2009. 1100
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 06/10/2026The second shot shows how it mounts. Hope they are of some use. 130
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 06/10/2026This is what happens when idiots don't read posts properly 😂 110
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I can find you a pic of a LR Pinky sun compass if you need reference for scratch building. 110
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I freed up time to work on the gun breech/mantlet of the Meng AUF1. Meng seem to have reserved all the soft, brittle, in other words, crap, parts for this phase. There is fettling to do and some filling. Hey ho.. #histscalemodels 0221
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I will confirm. It is an online radio thing. It also gets uploaded to Mixcloud where I think you can download it, but I will check. 130
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Better late than never, here are Whinge & Racket on Louder Than War Radio. Music chat and nonsense from two veterans of whatever it was back in the day. We're recording episode 3 tomorrow, for broadcast next Sunday. www.mixcloud.com/louderthanwa...mixcloud.comWhinge & Racket: Show 2 - September 13th 2026 141
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 05/10/2026I went trekking in the Jordanian desert and managed to do plenty of damage while I was there. 010
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Did the old Euston to Carlisle Motorrail and then Edinburgh to Euston back in the day. Did Liverpool St to Berlin Zoo and back on several occasions. East German steam trains and armed guards added to the colour. 120
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 05/10/2026An excellent article well worth reading, especially if you're a student of AFPU and wartime photography. 0123
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 04/10/2026Cheers matey. I need a break from it for a while! 120
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 04/10/2026The hull of the Meng AUF1 is complete barring glass bits. It went together pretty well with only mild swearing viz the headlights in particular. The PE stuff went on well. Meng provide a jig for the fiddly bits. Tracks next, maybe later in the week. #histscalemodels 1402
Mark Barnes @markbarnesn16.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Fun times at Roots Hall where the Shrimpers beat Fylde 3-1 in front of 8,000 fans including 46 from Fylde. Southend scored all 4 goals. The OG was a crazy back pass into an empty net. It was a decent match much of the time. My eldest gt nephew was a ball boy. Family glory. Pub dinner afterwards. 061