Category: 1:72 scale
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Lockheed Electra Junior – Part One – Dutch Surprise
The third purchase on a happy visit to a distant hobby shop was a Special Hobby kit. These are always more expensive than the big maker’s offerings but can be had for subjects that would never be kitted otherwise. I am always surprised at the things I see in this class of model. Measuring the…
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The Joy Of Cheap Modelling
I often write paeans to frugality, now that I’m retired. No big stream of money coming in means you must cut your coat according to cheaper cloth – and use smaller bolts of it. Fortunately I am skinny so a little covers a lot. The plastic model hobby is also a field for care. I…
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Curtiss Hawk Model 75 – Part Five – Ready To Fly, Ole
The Curtiss Hawk Model 75 Has joined the Royal Norwegian Air Force at their base in Little Norway… AKA Toronto Island Airport in Canada. A hub of Norwegian training. They were delivered to the Norwegian training base on the shore of Lake Ontario from the US – part of an order that had not been…
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Curtiss Hawk Model 75 – Part Four – Painted Insignia
The business of painting insignia on full-size aircraft must be fun. Obviously a stencil situation and I’ll bet the paint crew are all frustrated car customisers. It explains some of the commemorative schemes that appear on service planes. I’ve seen it done by a number of people and they all say that it has great…
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Curtiss Hawk Model 75 – Part Three – Trench Warfare
The fit of the parts on the Revell Curtiss Hawk was very good – square, plumb, and true, but the top surfaces of the wings stood clear of the fuselage fairing by a good millimeter on both sides. If this part was subject to no stress nor expected to flex in any way, it could…
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Curtiss Hawk Model 75 – Part Two – Scowling At The Cowling
No spinach is ever entirely free of sand and no model kit is entirely free of flaws. The Tamiya ones get close, but you can still get picky. In the case of the Revell Curtiss Hawk, the stumbling blocks are – so far – minor. a. Look at the way the top half of the…
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Curtiss Hawk Model 75 – Part One – Good Fortune
I am blessed with good fortune; a loving family, a comfortable retirement, a mind that still feels enthusiasm. I am also blessed in friendships. One of these friends read my post about trading scale model cars to make space for scale model airplanes and stepped in to make the situation ever so much worse… In…
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Beech AT-11 – Part Three – Never Ever
Never ever throw away the extra parts that accumulate as you build your kits. Save them, separate them, and catalogue them if you have time. At least have a good look in the boxes occasionally to remind yourself what you have. Remember modellers have a seventh sense that other people do not have – the…
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Beech AT-11 – Part Two – Silver Wings
I was always impressed with the US Army Air Force when they decided to strip the olive drab and neutral grey off their ships and just polish the aluminum* skins and send them over Germany and Japan like that. The period reports cite a 5 knot increase in speed occasioned by a smoother outer surface…
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Beech AT-11 – Part One – Johnny Ran Away To The Army
When I saw the advertisement for the PM models from Metro Hobbies in Melbourne I was struck by the low price and the unusual subject. At $ 19 each I could afford two, so I got the Beech 18 and the AT-11. The 18 is serving in a civilian role for Alberta Central Airways but…
The Little World 