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RCAF Hudson – Part One – At Long Last

I have skirted around the Lockheed Hudson for decades. My collection includes a Lodestar, a Ventura, and a Harpoon – all fun to build and successful finishes. Yet the basic Hudson has eluded me – until Airfix decided to revive a Vintage Classic. I’ve been haunting the red-box shelves in two shops for months –…
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The Most Expensive Model I Have Ever Made

Vs the most economical one. Which was better? Why? The most expensive model I have ever made to date would probably have been an R/C ship I constructed in the 1970’s. It took fibreglass resin, cloth, a Futaba radio control set, several motorcycle batteries, a Taycol and then a Graupner electric motor, perspex sheeting, and…
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The Bad Batch

Whenever something goes wrong we search for an explanation…that’s just human inability to accept fate. Sometimes it turns out not to be our fault – though smart money always bets the other way. When it is genuinely not us, it can be the maker. The kit that is moulded wrongly. Or warped in the packaging.…
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If It Is Not A Pleasure…

Does it need to be a pain? I am brought to this question by the effort of completing a 1/400 scale model of a very small naval vessel. It is well moulded. It is presumably accurate. It may be relevant, but then the well-mannered never mention the relevant in the room… It is not excruciating,…
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When Are You Actually Done?

Well, some people would say when you put your half-completed model out on the road and the council sweeper brushes it up into the bin. That’s DONE! A little less desperate than that for most of us. Perhaps when the last part goes off the sprue tree and onto the rest of the plastic? Perhaps…
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Academy C118 Liftmaster – Part Three – Presidential Plane

There were a number of choices of livery for this Douglas aircraft kit. I chose the Republic Of China version as it was a presidential transport for a number of decades – replacing a previous DC-3. It is hard to find positive evidence on the net about the Academy decals but the actual plane itself…
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Academy C118 Liftmaster – Part Two – It’s All Outside

One of the distinct advantages/failings of the 1/144th scale kit is the fact that the insides are rarely seen. Indeed, for many of the airliners there are no side windows to cope with – it is all to be done at the decal stage. I welcome this if the decals are decently printed. However, you…
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Academy C118 Liftmaster – Part One – A Deliberate Choice

Having been given a number of 1:144th scale aircraft and successfully completed them…I have decided the scale is a good thing. My main collection is 1:72, of course, but many aircraft are just not made in this size. If they are, the larger ones like transports and bombers become behemoths that devour display space. It…


