Category: 1:72 scale
-
Tupolev TB-3 – Part Five – An Ephemeral Chinese Bomber
Ephemeral? Well look at the guns, antennae and landing gear of this Soviet design. This model will be lucky to make it to my display shelf without these breaking off. The pictures you see in this post may be the last complete images of this ICM product ever shown. I am not unhappy with the…
-
Tupolev TB-3 – Part Four – The Inevitables
” The Inevitables ” is a cartoon band of super-heroes that you eventually watch, even if you don’t want to… The inevitables in a complex kit from Eastern Europe are the things that don’t fit and the things that are too complex. The first was illustrated when I found gaps in the structure – yawning…
-
Tupolev TB-3 – Part Three – Ministry Of The Interior
I am in several minds about detailing the insides of 1/72 scale aircraft. On one hand it is a pain, but on the other it means an additional glance into the design – even if I am the only person who will ever see it. In the case of this Tupolev bomber, the open cockpit…
-
Tupolev TB-3 – Part Two – More Pegs Than A Dublin Phone Book
And every one of them working… The next time you hear someone blithely tell you that they ” winged it “…and make out that it was all so easy…refer them to me. I have winged the Tupolev TB-3 and I know what the abyss looks like. The basic bracing inside was actually very precise –…
-
Tupolev TB-3 – Part One – The Flying Shed
Say what you like about Soviet bomber designers of the 1930’s, few could match them for the ability to hope. Hope that their designs would be accepted, Hope that they would fly. Hope that they would not be imprisoned or liquidated. This assembly of sheet metal and hubris seems to have made it through the…
-
Fairey Firefly Mk V – Part Four – Preserved Fly
According to Skaarup, these Firefly aircraft flew with the Royal Canadian Navy from 1946 to 1952 – roughly about the same time they served with the Royal Australian Navy. The carriers they flew from were Royal Navy donations to the Commonwealth countries – the MAJESTIC, BONAVENTURE, SYDNEY, AND MELBOURNE. The decks were perfectly suited to…
-
Fairey Firefly Mk V – Part Three – 60’s Airfix
But not the Bad sixties. This kit fit pretty well – if you remembered to trim round the fuselage locating pins and square off the wing attachments. Only two small sink marks and the centre seam almost good. Not a major filling exercise. The exhaust stacks are glorious but need to be put in before…
-
Fairey Firefly Mk V – Part Two – Stub Wings
The first day of work on a new kit can be either basic cockpit or even more basic part sanding. Imagine my surprise when I got through a club meeting with the stub wings joined to the fuselage.The Airfix engineering has large mating surfaces for the wing roots onto the fuselage so you can proceed…
-
Fairey Firefly MkV – Part One – Double Sealed
When I bought this Airfix kit at the swap meet it was tightly sealed in a factory plastic wrap. Once inside I found it was sealed again with side-stickers. No-one who had not purchased this plane was going to get in there! The plastic bag that held the parts was open, but nothing escaped. The…
-
The Courage To Play
Do you remember playing? If you can recall your childhood and still picture the games and toys that amused you…you are a very lucky person. Even if they were modest things, they helped you to understand the world and prepare to be an active part of it. You grew older – hopefully wiser. You l…
The Little World 