Picture Perfect

A round up of the very best from our photographic competition at www.modelflying.co.uk


As we hope you’ll have noticed, we’re very particular about our photography here at RCM&E and so, for a bit of fun, we asked readers and website members to share their photographic efforts and post them online at www.modelflying.co.uk. At first we wondered if many of you would rise to the challenge, yet rise to the challenge you certainly did. Some 200+ photos were submitted for our perusal, and to say we’ve been impressed by the quality is a bit of an understatement. Selecting a sample for these pages, let alone a winner has been a very difficult task and our thanks go to all who took the time and trouble to enter. When push came to shove, then, Peter Wallin’s shot of clubmate, Tomas Leijon’s Vickers Vimy was our winner, which we’re sure you’ll agree is a superb model perfectly captured against that moody Swedish sky. Peter used a Nikon D-80 to capture the 4.2m span model, the latter powered by two Hacker C50-12XL electric motors. Congratulations Peter, you win a two year subscription to RCM&E, whilst our runners up, Stu McCavera and Alan Bateson, bag themselves a 12 month ditto. 

Our winner! Peter Wallin’s shot of clubmate Tomas Leijon’s Vickers Vimy. Both fly with the Karlskoga MFC near Stockholm, Sweden. Perfectly captured against an angry sky, the 4.2m span Vimy is powered by two Hacker C50-12XL motors and eight 3650mAh cells. The shot is pixel perfect with the bonus that Peter managed to catch the moment the underside of the model was illuminated by a burst of sunlight.

Mike Denholm is one of a small group of die-hard modellers known as the Dawn Patrol who fly with the Jail Birds club east of Johannesburg, South Africa. Appropriately the Dawn Patrol chaps enjoy a crisp early morning session, which was when Mike shot Manie Booyse Jnr’s electric fun-fly. Well worth getting up for!

Stu McCavera came a deserved second with this impressive action shot of a jinxing P-47 and Yak 9 taken at the Fenlands warbird meet. 

Plenty of smoke trail shots were submitted although we think you’ll agree that this perfectly framed photo from Stu McCavera has something extra! 

Chris Bates’ cleverly framed shot of the Puffin Models display team practicing at Weston Park

Alan Bateson’s study of this W.W.I formation at the Barkston warbirds meeting is mighty fine in our book. Makes you wonder why the Nieuport isn’t modelled more often?   

We smiled at Glenn Woodford’s account of a clubmate’s unfortunate landing attempt, after all, who hasn’t arrived in a fence at some time or another, eh?

Phil Smith was in the right place to catch John Schiell’s Hangar 9 Spitfire as the sun went down. Hugely atmospheric.

Set against a blue sky / fluffy white cloud backdrop, Alan Bateson’s shot of this Hangar 9 Sukhoi is sharp, colourful and perfectly framed – just how we like ‘em!