Category: 1:72 scale
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Grumman Avenger – Part Four – The Quaker
Well, the obligatory problems have arisen. No kit ever gets finished wthout them and you might as well get them over early. The radio mast on the tail has broken off – but this is neither unexpected nor a big deal. The idea of a plastic manufacturer moulding a scale aerial on one half of…
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Grumman Avenger – Part Three – The Economy Kit
I have discovered a few reasons that the Academy Grumman TBF-1 was so cheap: a. The age of the mould means that while the fit and finish are fine, the amount of detail they were prepared to make in the casting – ie time taken to inscribe things – was limited. Either that or they…
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Grumman Avenger – Part Two – Bathed And Naked
Settle down, class. You’ve seen uncovered airplanes before. No need to get excited. The preliminary researches on the TBF for the USS BUNKER HILL all point to the same visual conclusion; the colour scheme that the box art shows is accurate enough for a direct build. Perhaps a little modification of the yellow nose around…
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Grumman Avenger – Part One l- Birthday Surprise
I passed a very pleasant birthday in a couple of hobby shops – I had time and I had money. I was prepared to spend the former asset freely but my very nature compelled me to conserve the latter. I want value for money, eh? Well, value was there – in one hobby shop that…
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I Think We Have A Winner – GSI Creos
Constant experimentation within the model building craft is a two-edged sword. Do too little of it and you never find out how to advance your skills – to too much and you never develop any skill to its maximum capacity before you’ve hared off to another… But occasionally you can get it just right. The…
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North American AT6 – Part Six – All Bombed Up
And ready for the party. I am not going to make invidious comparisons between the Academy Texan and that of Hobby Boss – I have enjoyed building each maker’s version. The faster build on the latter model is in part due to the simple construction, though this in turn is due to what must…
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North American AT6 – Part Five – One From Column A…
And one from Column B. That’s how you make an air force out of bits from the scrap heap. That’s how the Israelis did it in ’48. I’ve been reading of the formation of the IAF and the war of independence against the Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese, Syrians, and British. It would appear that the supply…
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North American AT6 – Part Four – Nailing The Colour
I have discovered many interesting things about colour since I returned to scale modelling – both upon the original subjects and on our models: a. The best colour reference is the actual article – untouched by time and not modified by any curators or experts. The fact that nothing is ever this perfect is beside…
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North American AT6 – Part Three – The Universal Airplane
What do you want from a model kit? A unique subject that was only ever built once, by one maker, for one flyer? A model that can never be made in an alternative form? Buy yourself a ” Spirit of St. Louis ” and a pot of silver paint, Charlie, and away you go. After…
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North American AT6 – Part Two – Building The Factory Build
I am aware that Hobby Boss airplane kits are viewed as little-kid stuff by many modellers. Easy assembly, few extra parts, defined edges to some mouldings. The up-and-down assembly of a fuselage and wing unit – sometimes with horizontal stabilizer attached – suggests an activity for the ungifted. Perhaps it is so, but you need…
The Little World 