Category: 1:72 scale
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The Famous Aircraft Number

Quick – what was the registration number of Louis Bleriot’s plane that flew to England from France? And no prize for saying FROG-1. How about the Spirit Of St Louis? Or the Southern Cross? Bet you can look those up… But what about the 13th bomber in the 394th in 1943? You’ve got a kit…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Five – Jean Tulasne

It must have been difficult for the French Air Force to realise that they were beaten. And beaten before they started. Handicapped by their government’s penurious attitude to developing new aircraft – coupled with the vicious labour infighting that crippled their factories so often – they started WW2 with few planes and fewer good ones.…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Four – Ugly Duckling

The painting stage for some models can be a beautiful and uplifting experience. Car modellers may experience this as they apply colourful and glossy finishes. Railway modellers also have bright colours in the liveries. In the case of this Curtiss 75 the chosen palette seems to contain nothing but expired motor oil and dirt. Of…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Three – Wings Over The Workbench

I was right – a model with no filler needed. Not to be sneezed at, even with Spring bring hay fever. The minute shaving and sanding of the wing roots has resulted in no gaps. The tail likewise, though this has been pinned for strength. This is not to praise inordinately. The achievement of a…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Two – Interior Precision

I am not a fan of super-detailed cockpits. They seem to be too much trouble for too little reward. But I do admire the AML company for the all-resin cockpit tub produced for this fighter plane. I has popped together with a precision that is rarely seen. Not without effort, I might add. Resin parts…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part One – Mohawk IV

This ain’t my first rodeo, nor my first Curtiss Model 75. Review the old posts and find the Revell kit I built in Norwegian colours. This kit, however is a new variant of this interesting aircraft, and an entirely new kit maker as well. AML seems to be a Czech firm who supply entire kits…
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Are Buyers And Storers Collectors?

Are they modellers as such? This question has come up repeatedly in my life as I have been attracted by scale models of all sorts. I’ve purchased die-cast ships, cars, and planes that were complete in themselves right out of the box – exquisite in some cases. Some became part of a larger collection that…
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Well, It’s Official

You saw it here first. Ruritania, Liechtenstein, and Andorra have entered into a triple military alliance. This agreement – known as The Pact Of Zinc – should ensure mutual defence for the three nations and secure them from enemies in the east. Vaduz, Strelsau, and Andorra la Vella were bedecked with national flags entwined as…
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Bristol Mk32 Superfreighter – Part Four – Ferryfield

Also known as Lydd Airport. Still exists in Kent and does a roaring trade in light plane movements. But the Bristol 170 era was the 50’s to the 80’s before roll-on-roll-off ferries at the seaports took the vehicular Channel traffic and the Channel Tunnel took the train passengers. They were flying an amazing number of…
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Bristol Mk32 Superfreighter – Part Three – Who Was That Masked Whale?

Balance it up in your mind – whether you trust the decal makers to put a product out that will look like a painted surface, or whether you can make a painted surface look like a decal. If you can fold a 2-dimansional sheet of plastic paint to conform to a 3D surface with convex…
