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Should You Be Able To Write Critiques Of Other People’s Models?

I mean it happens all the time in the theatre and art galleries. Books are published and the critics review them in the newspaper. The Sunday Morning Umpires are always replaying someone else’s game… And we all read forums and groups and posts on social media that degenerate into flame wars. Why not the scale…
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Every Kit Is A Spin Of The Wheel

Whether it’s a Crown and Anchor wheel or one they break criminals on is up to you. Sometimes it is up to the makers of the kits – but even the best kit can be spoiled and the worst made magnificently. As you are the one doing the work, you need to be the factor…
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If You’re Not In It

You can’t win it. This distresses some, but delights others. You see, if they do not make a bet, they do not lose their money. If they do not enter a contest they are not relegated with the majority of the crowd to be losers. If they’re not in it, they can’t lose it. Indeed,…
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YF23 – Part Three – Trial Duo

Well, it didn’t get the contract. Despite the design and the twin engines of this McDonell Douglas/Northrop, the ultimate choice for the air superiority fighter went to the YF – later – F-22. The two test aircraft were relegated to museum pieces. I suspect that this Trumpeter lkit – a 1999 product – was drawn…
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YF23 – Part Two – Scale Effect?

I have watched videos explaining the idea of scale effect upon paint schemes. They seem to make a great deal of fuss explaining that you mix grey, yellow, or white into darker colours when you are painting smaller-scale models. This is in direct contrast to many manufacturers of trains and cars who want the exact…
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YF23 – Part One – Y-Leftovers

The Box of Possibilities. This box contained two aircraft – I suspect it is the residue of a failed project from someone unknown. Abandoned in the club storeroom, it fell to me after a grand clean-out. This is no new sensation – it often happens here at home when the wife or daughter decide to…
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Can You Give Useful Advice On A Scale Model Topic…

If you have no idea what you are talking about? Oddly enough…yes. I have watched a number of YouTube videos made by people with no experience, expertise, or ability to communicate, and gained valuable insights. It is not for everyone to be a Solon or an Arnold. Most of us are not teachers – and…
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Do You Trust Your Dealer?

No, I’m not referring to the one with the ziplock bags of powder… I mean the one with the cardboard boxes of styrene kits. You should get some help… Your hobby dealer is your friend, if you will be his. You both have a vested interest in seeing the other happy and successful. All it…
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Ardently Argent

There is an El Dorado for all of us. The Spanish Conquistadors looked for a Golden Man. I am not as ambitious – I will settle for a silver airplane. I am driven by memories of shining jets and passenger liners of the great travel age. Not now, when everyone can be crammed into a…
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Moral Modelling

If you would raise your scale model building to a higher plane, there are things you can do on a practical basis. a. Moderate your language while building. Resin cockpits, photo-etch brass, and plastic tank tracks are no excuse for unmannerly conduct. If the plastic is starting to melt and the box catches fire, you…
