Category: 1:72 scale
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Grumman F3F – Part Three – The Toy Shop
Well, at this stage of the game it looks like this aircraft has been made by Mattel or Fisher-Price. Solid bright colour and basic shapes. But all is well – a careful evening was spent getting the struts to join the wings in a decent fashion. Czech kits have little markings on the wing surfaces…
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Grumman F3F – Part Two – The Cockpit Of Thomas Hobbes
The cockpit tub and landing gear platform of this American shipboard fighter are evidence that the Czech kit makers believe in free will. No part of the fuselage compels the struts and legs to be where they should be – they must do it of their own accord. This was probably sound philosophy during the…
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Grumman F3F – Part One – At Long Last
I have been looking for a 1:72 scale model of this aircraft for years – and wouldn’t you know – one turned up at a swap meet sale a few weeks ago. It may not be the Monogram Four-Start Plastikit of my youth, but it is a perfectly good Czech MPM model sealed in it’s…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part Three – Plane Jane
Lt. Sushi, the pilot of this Nakajima fighter, would have gotten a far more colourful livery if the decals had cooperated. As it is, he is flying the Marie Kondo model with minimal decoration. The ICM stripes and lightning flashes largely disintegrated when placed in the water. I am annoyed at this but resigned to…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part Two – Sitting On The Wing
Because that’s what it looks like the pilot of this fighter is doing. The curved structure of the wing continues inside the fuselage. Not a feature seen anywhere else, in my experience. I bow to ICM’s superior knowledge, however and build as they direct. The options provided in the kit are simple enough – wheels…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part One – Not A Nate
This evocation of the Nakajima Ki-27 fighter is for a different war; before it became and Allied ” Nate “. The type is the first monoplane fighter for he Imperial Japanese Army, and this time it is moulded by ICM. Their attention to detail is typical for the Ukrainian firm – every part fits and…
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The Scale Sketch
Versus the final model painting. Which is better? Which is more authentic? Which is likely to get you a medallion on a ribbon at the Big Local Scale Model Exhibition? I think we all know the answer to that one… But not every model is destined to be under the eye of the Judgemental Committee.…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part Four – White 43
Well, the long saga has concluded – the Dassault Super Mystere is ready for the IAF museum at Schmattarim. The display of older aircraft at the museum is a mixed affair -some of the older relics have been left in as-received condition after the air force has wrung all the good they could out of…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part Three – Masking and Painting
Which would be good things to do if you did them in the right order. Perhaps that’s the disadvantage of working on a fortnight-only model. You forget where you were and skip a stage. Then you have to backtrack and do it the hard way. I proceeded well with the basic construction – attached the…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part Two – Come In And Sit Down
A model aircraft cockpit can be a highlight of the build or it can be a pit of cocks. It is all dependent upon the skill of the kit moulders and their level of interest. The classic Airfix or Monogram cockpit that consisted of two posts running horizontally inside and a seat that straddled them…
The Little World 