Category: 1:72 scale
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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…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part One – A Mystere Indeed

Not the least puzzling aspect of which was the price – 33% of from a dealer’s table at a big local scale model exhibition. Why did people not snap this up before? Well, I was not going to miss out on a new model for my Schmattarim Museum. This was the pick of the weekend…
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Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone

For the most part…don’t. Spend a good deal of your modelling time trying to locate it and when you find an entry point, crawl right in and close the hatch after yourself. Your ancestors lived largely outside comfort zones, as it happened, and spent a lot of time trying to locate them. They worked and…
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Let Us Now Praise Famous Buildings

Particularly if they are made by obscure companies. I needed a building for a desert museum layout. I have many small structures but they all look vaguely North American or British. It was with dubious enthusiasm I rolled into my local hobby shop. As I suspected – the Superquick and Meltcalf offerings were mostly railway…
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SE5A – Part Three – The Roundels Wearing An Airplane

The basic structure of the little ESCI kit for the SE5A was rewarding – things fit and lined up. But that did not make the 30-year old decals any better. I tried, folks. I honestly tried. John France saw me trying and lent me some Micro Sol to try and get the things to lay…
