Trevor Crook

I think if charging per mile comes in, it will be across the board for all drive trains.

Sorry Tim, I knew that Tesla owners could just plug in and charge at Superchargers. I was thinking of the Superchargers that had been opened up to non-Teslas. I think you need to download the app and register, then use the app when charging. I've a feeling you may only have to do that the first time, but may be wrong. It's a shame that France doesn't seem to be supporting EVs, especially as so much of their power comes from carbon free (nuclear) sources.

Paul, agreed the infrastructure needs improvement, but its happening. In the UK, all rapid chargers installed in the last couple of years have to accept contactless payment, so individual cards and apps will gradually disappear. Tesla chargers will always need an app as they have no means of payment. And yes, I'd rather buy a 2 year old MG with 5 years warranty remaining than a 2 year old Peugeot with only 1 year.

Indeed Tim, the reason I fed in the 7.5p figure was to allow reasonably easy calculation with higher rates via multiplication. Of course, the more charging sources you use, the more complex it all gets! Don't think I can aspire to a Tesla, but when I decide to replace my Hyundai i30, which won't be for a while, I'll certainly see if I can stretch to an MG4. This is a similar size to my present car, and the price (starting at £26k) is not wildly different to a combustion equivalent.

OK, I've done some sums comparing list price and fuelling costs of an entry level Peugeot 308SW and an entry level MG5. Obviously there are lots of variables, particularly for EVs. I have used the cheapest way of fuelling an EV, 7.5p/kWh which is the off peak rate for Octopus Go, this can be multiplied up to give costs for other tariffs. I got the average UK price of diesel as £1.80/l from globalpetrolprices.com. I used Paul's real life fuel consumption figure, which I make 56mpg. I got the real-world efficiency figure for the MG from ev-databaseuk, which is 285Wh/mile. Finally, I've worked it out for 10000 miles/year. Peugeot 308 SW Active Premium diesel, listed at £27870: 10,000miles at 56mpg = 178.57g, x4.55 = 812.5l. Multiply by £1.80 to give an annual fuel cost of £1462.50 MG5 SE Long Range, listed at £31000: 10,000miles at 285Wh/mile = 2850kWh. Multiply by 7.5p to give an annual fuel cost of £213.75 Other costs to consider: in the UK, diesel cars are subject to £165 p.a. VED, EVs are currently £0. Servicing costs for EVs are much less than i.c. but will vary on the car. Finally, the biggest cost of ownership is depreciation. I looked on Autotrader at 2 year old cars. I found a 308SW with 6000 miles for £18,000, which Autotrader said is £500 above average, so say £17.5k average. There is an "average" price MG5 with 8000 miles for £25k, which suggests you will lose £10370 on the Peugeot and £6000 on the MG over 2 years. Please check my sums. Over to you, folks, everyone's budgets, needs and wants are different!

Interesting question, Paul. Not really fair to compare the Peugeout to a Tesla, the MG 5 is more similar. I'll do some sums and come back later.

Matty, the Enyaq is a fine machine. I prefer the internal and external styling to the Tesla's, and it is cheaper, although you would have to spec the top model to match the Tesla's 4WD and performance, which makes the Skoda £51250 v the Tesla's £57999. This brief comparison is interesting, I still think the Tesla has more space if you take into account the underboot area and the "frunk". Tesla are trialling opening up their charge network, the one nearest us is open to all.

My son in law bought a Tesla Model Y a few weeks ago, which I have driven. Can't say I noticed reversing sounds, but what a fantastic car. First experience of driving an EV, it's like the smoothest, most responsive autobox you could imagine, with stellar performance. Fantastic packaging as well. Seats fold flat for model transport, big boot with deep storage area under boot floor, another deep storage area under the bonnet. Don't know why Tesla can provide this when none of the others can. Costs a lot, but running costs are peanuts if you home charge - it's cost him £60 in "fuel" to cover 800 miles (7.5p/mile) and this will come down to about 3p/mile when his Octopus Go tariff becomes active. Out of curiosity he fed the details into Webuyanycar and got a valuation a couple of grand higher than he paid for it, so depreciation should be low too. If only I could afford one....

Well, a happy ending. The price we were asking was agreed, and Matthew managed to schedule a collection the following day. Thoroughly nice people to deal with.

Thanks Joe, that's good to hear. I mailed Briony the details of our models yesterday, awaiting the next stage.

Quick update - I have now received an email from Briony at APOB. It was very apologetic and she confirmed that they would be interested in the models we want to sell. I shall provide them with details. KC, the reason for contacting a dealer for this is that they are more likely than an individual to take most or all of them at once.

Yes, I've used the contacts given and found the ebay shop. I just can't get any response. I'll try once more, then it'll be the BMFA classifieds.

Has anyone used APOB, who advertise in the magazine as purchasers of models and modelling goods? They took on the business from Martin Thompson, with whom I have had successful dealings. My father in law has several surplus models, so he phoned APOB a couple of months ago and spoke to a lady called Briony, who said they would call him back, but they never did. I tried an email enquiry last month, again to no avail. Just wondered if anyone knows whether they are still trading.

The Arrows T33 is a great little model, love flying mine. My other EDF is a Freewing Venom which is also a brilliant flier, and gives me my take off and landing fix.

This shows the retracts operating about 1min 40s in, don't know if that will help. My son had one of these a few years ago, flies really nicely as I recall.

Here's an idea of size and content. I'm not being paid for this, honest! Just wanted to share with fellow warbird fans.

Yes, I did it by 'phone and the lady told me when my subscription expired. I asked if I could have the book offer she said yes, I paid up and the book arrived 3 or 4 days later. It's very nice, with a £35 price on the back, so an excellent freebie.

If you get the magazine regularly, subscribing is a no-brainer. I just bought another year's worth, cost me £4 per copy, and within days I received a lovely book on WW2 RAF fighters from the subscription promotion. The mag always arrives very promptly too.

Here's my insulation tape effort. I've also included a pic of the other controversial marking that the kit omitted. This one I downloaded and printed on adhesive label paper. Worked surprisingly well.

I made one for my FMS BF109 using strips of black and white insulation tape, which I have found adheres well long term. The model was given an overall coat of Plastikote aerosol matt lacquer, which gets rid of any shiny bits and helps stop anything unpeeling.

Another vote here for the O.S. 40 Surpass - The SE5A I had about 30 years ago flew just fine on that, with, I think, an 11x7 prop. If you've got the engine already it's worth putting it in and seeing how you get on, it will certainly fly. As Jon says, getting an alternative is quite an outlay. I sold my SE5A about 20 years ago, and regretted it, so about 10 years ago my father in law built me a new one from the plan which I'd kept, for an electric power train. It flies the same as the old one, unsurprisingly!

Sounds interesting. Can't help with the thrustline query I'm afraid. Probably simplest to keep the nacelle parallel to the bottom of the wing and see what happens, then program in some throttle-elevator mixing if required. Please show and tell when it's finished.

Still really enjoying flying mine, I'm really glad I added the flaps as they provide a further scale element to the flying. Strutter, I see that Sarik are now selling laser cut parts if you want to exchange money for a bit of time. Don't think they do a canopy though, which I found to be the trickiest part of the build.

After years of building plastic kits as a lad, and sometimes now, I can confirm that insufficient stirring will result in a glossy finish.

It's a bit odd that the home page still shows a preview of the May issue, when my June one arrived over a week ago.