Category: 1:72 scale
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Wait For It…Wait For It…
The state government in Victoria has just announced that it will introduce legislation in 2022 to ban the public display of Nazi symbols in public. This sort of legislation exists in Germany, Austria, Poland, Ukraina, and France and has existed for quite some time. Exceptions seem to occur for museums or other institutions but the…
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Morane- Saulnier N – Part Three – Russian Silver
And Imperial Russian at that. The finest Fabergé egg I could make for myself. The sadness occasioned by ruining a model has disappeared ( though I still have a sin to atone for when next I come to a military vehicle…) and I can start my WW1 collection in fine style. I have avoided this…
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Morane-Saulnier N – Part Two – Simplicity In Silver
The Revell ( NZ ) model of the Morane-Saulnier N monoplane is the aviation equivalent of the spoiled vehicle kit it replaced – so simple in construction as to admit of assembly before painting. The pilot – Dimitri – has been painted separately and can rest in the shade while the rest of the build…
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Morane-Saulnier N – Part One – Off The Horse, On The Horse
I had fallen off the horse. A model that was proceeding well became bogged down with a bad paint choice and nasty wash job – incompatible chemistry. Efforts to rectify it made it worse – parts were bent, then broken. It looked appalling, and I knew that every time I saw the finished product it…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part Four – The Curtiss Lollypop
Having mastered the Mr. Color range of metallizer paints I do not cringe in fear from natural metal finishes. Indeed I welcome them where appropriate. Thus my delight in the pictures of the prototype Curtiss SB2C rolling out of the factory in the early 40’s. Still early enough to have the pre-war yellow wing. A…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part Three – The Hubley Kit
If you are from North America you’ll recognise the name Hubley. They were a die-cast toy maker of the 40’s and 50’s who made larger size offerings. I owned a Hubley Bell telephone truck with working winch and pole trailer – surely an odd choice of prototype even for the times. I observed other kids…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part Two – Wing It Or Sling It?
Here’s a dilemma. I’ve pictures of the prototype SB2C with folded wings. And the Matchbox kit has folding wings. But they are folded on the toy principle and look bloody awful. I have low standards but every now and then something shows up that undercuts them. I have built folded wings on an Airfix Devastator…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part One – Progressing Backwards
I already own two Curtiss SB2C models – one a US Navy version and one a USAAF A25 Shrike. They were respectively a Sword and a Dragon kit. Both characteristic of their countries of origin – the Czech one a challenge of approximation and the Hong Kong one a masterpiece of precision. But two were…
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How Many, Oh Lord?
How many Messerschmitts can people buy? How many do they need? What are they doing with them? I asked this in grey desperation as I cruised the kit aisle of three of Perth’s hobby shops searching for cheap new models of interesting subjects. I saw kits from what must be two dozen various makers and…
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Lockheed CT-133 Silver Star – Part Four – Moose Jaw, Here We Come
The real 261 is flying the Canadian air show circuit , to judge from the photos found on the internet. I was delighted to see it as it combined the features I love; RCAF prototype,simple colour scheme, decals I could duplicate. That, BTW is the big one. I use inkjet printing and have a few…
The Little World 