Category: 1:144 scale
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General Dynamics F-1 – Part One – Falcon?
Not, apparently, to the people flying them. They call them ” Vipers “. And they ought to know… This is my third F-16 - two others having been completed in 1/72 for the USAF and the IDF. I am starting to like the type a lot. The Academy kit is simple, small, and well-moulded. The only…
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McDonnell Douglas Phantom – Part Two – Vietnam Era
Little of my aero collection so far shows schemes of the Vietnam War period, but gradually this will change. Many of the kits now seem to have decals for the period and If I can overcome my aversion to both stencil decals and three-colour camouflage schemes, I can go right ahead. The call-out for this…
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McDonnell Douglas Phantom – Part One – The Iconic Fighter
As a young person I was as susceptible to hype as anyone – including that put out about modern aircraft. The jet fighter that seemed to get most of it was the McDonnell Douglas Phantom. For a while I confused it with the older McDonnell Phantom – a late 1940’s straight-wing jet. But it was…
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Should Tiny Models Have Lighter Paints?
I don’t know, but I intend to experiment. Most of my aircraft building is in 1:72 scale, with the occasional foray into 1:48 when someone donates a kit to me. I tend to use lacquer paints and keep the colours strong and pure. The fact that this renders the models somewhat toy-like is a positive…
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Leonardo Da Vinci’s Cartoons
No, you fools, not the ninja turtles. The real Da Vinci and the preparatory drawings he used to do in chalk and charcoal before launching out onto canvas and oil paint. Think you can pick one up for a bargain price? I mean it’s just a chalk sketch, right? How much could chalk cost…? You…
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Convair F-106 – Part Two – Delta Dart
I have been fascinated by this aircraft for decades – they were flying north of my home province during some of the more critical parts of the Cold War. Every new Fifty Cent Fighter Series aircraft seems to be getting a slightly different treatment. In this case it is Mr Hobby aqueous primer and surface…
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Convair F-106 – Part One – The Workshop Drawer
This baggie was found in an old workshop drawer by a friend in the eastern states, He kindly thought of me and sent it along unbuilt. I suspect it was an repackage of an old LS kit that Revell did in the 1980’s. A modest item, but surprisingly detailed. The instructions were classic fold-over baggie…
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Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter – Part Three – Up and Flying
The 1/144 scale model is a wonderful thing – but you have to remember that it is an abstract of a thumbnail sketch of a miniature painted on ivory. The average person will not be able to rig the hydraulic hoses in the wheel wells. The person who can do this is watched carefully by…
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Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter – Part Two – The Pied Piper Of Budapest
More than one premiere for this little kit. I was puzzled at the box art for this ground-attack aircraft – The markings seemed to show a bomb strike on a highway amongst green fields – yet the plane was possibly a Middle Eastern one. My silly – it turns out to be a Hungarian aircraft…
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Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter – Part One – First Of The Fifty Cent Series.
First cab off the rank is the Academy Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter. The tiny box contains three tiny sprue trees – two in hard grey plastic and one clear. There is no flash whatsoever and no sinkholes are evident. Surprisingly, there is room in the cockpit for a separate seat and instrument panel. The canopy is…
The Little World 