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Down At the Docks
A lesson in maintenance. I look at the top of my model of the Spitfire – the one I made last year. See how it has become slightly duller? Is that progressive camouflage? No, it is dust, cat hair, lint, ashes, and fingerprints. And that in one year… The paper model of the German harbour…
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Is There Art In Utility?
If the artist is unconscious of it…yes. I do not know if Mr. Burfitt builds scale models – or model trains – or flying aircraft – or doll houses. Possibly, or maybe not – I never quiz him. What I do is pass along the table in front of his selection of tools and imagine.…
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If I Can See It
You win. If the enemy can see it – you lose. Basic rule of camouflage. And it is also a principle to remember when building a scale model for display – especially for public exhibition. If you want ’em to look, attract their eye. This is a challenge for the modeller who is depicting a…
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Wing Walk
You can identify many aircraft from their side profile or plan view. That is the principle of photo-reconnaissance; look down and count the types. Try it yourself with a Google Earth view of Pima, Akron, or Davis Monthan and see how many you can identify. You can also have fun at the scale model exhibition…
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Don’t Forget The Aerogard…
And the mosquito netting. Otherwise you’ll be bothered to death. Kudos to the SMCWA for their depictions of TV and movie themes in the recent WASMex exhibition. The idea made very good use of models that were already in the member’s collections as well as some new ones made especially for the show. Recognise the…
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Beat The Designer
Outwit Fokker, de Havilland, and Sopwith. If you take photos of WW 1 aircraft, you likely miss out on some of the best colour if you fail to use a flash. The design of a bi or tri-plane means that the fuselage is covered by the upper wings – any shots taken from a standing…
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Thanks To The Committee
Unaccustomed as I am to public speaking, I am honoured to be called to deliver this address. Honoured and humbled. And it puts me in mind of an interesting anecdote from the time of the Siege of Cawnpore. It will only take an hour to tell… Committees need to be thanked. Attendees and customers need…
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Serious Modelling
It is only serious modelling when the build blows up in your face or sends you to Royal Perth Casualty. That is why I have respect for this entry in the recent WASMex competition. It seems to be the result of welding and metal fabrication and is one of the few scale models I have…
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Who In Their Right Mind
Would line up to buy old model kits? I don’t know. Because just after I shot this panorama ( not a complete one, mind…) I joined the end of the queue. It was like the Oklahoma Land Rush, but in styrene. Some stash sales are sedate affairs. Discretely attended by studious enthusiasts who quietly murmur…
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Who Did It Best?
At today’s scale model exhibition I noted the same model on two different tables – one for pure display and one for competition. They were both renditions of a 1:24th Landrover by Italeri and both finished superbly. I would be proud of either of them – t’were other dear charmer away… I was pleased to…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
The Little World 