The Little World

One cannot do a Hobby Boss kit slowly – the very nature of the simple moulding does not lend itself to the dawdler. You either do it in normal speed and accept that you will progress rapidly or lapse into ennui.

That is my philosophical explanation for the Dewoitine on a stick that you see today. I started the part cleaning and tentative assembly yesterday, set the wigs and tailplane on overnight, and laid the undercoat and two base coats on today. In the meantime I have digitised 175 colour slides and done a load of washing. That’s the Hobby Boss experience…

The company is really a rod of punishment for other makers – if one Chinese factory can turn out a kit that is so carefully moulded that you need only minimal skills to achieve a good result…why cannot this level of expertise extend to the European and American makers? And don’t tell me it is a case of having slave labourers in cages. These models come from machines programmed well, good materials, and normal workers doing an efficient job. Whether the workers eat rice or sausages, they could ALL be doing as careful a job.

Well, I am at the stage of my life where good sense and the accumulated wisdom of the ages can be trampled underfoot. For $ 15. I am going to try to paint three-colour French camouflage on the upper surfaces of this aircraft freehand.  That’ll mean lowering the air pressure to 10-15 psi, thinning the Mr Color lacquers, and narrowing the spray pattern to a minimal. I’ve got good-enough French brown and green to do over good-enough French grey. at least the lighter grey underworks are protected as I go.

I shall rejoice if this gives me a way to avoid the tedious tape-and-putty masking that is needed for soft edged camouflage.

Wish me luck. Like Captain Oates, I will be going outside my comfort zone. I may be some time…