Category: 1:72 scale
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SPAD XIII – Part Four – Rickenbacker’s Ride
The historic enthusiasts of WW1 can make of Eddy Rickenbacker what they will. His 22 aerial victories and 4 balloons downed are not the numbers that rival other aces, but he survived till the 1970’s and that was a definite win for him. The SPAD appears from other accounts not to have had quite the…
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Revell SPAD XIII – Part Three – Tri-Tone Again
My old nemesis – three-coloured camouflage – rears its attractive head again. This is a love-hate relationship. I do love the way the planes look once they are successfully painted and I do hate the extra work to get to that stage. The ones that have either a fracture pattern or a swooping one are…
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Revell SPAD XIII – Part Two – Grinning And Bearing It
Well, it is a vintage kit… The Revell SPAD XIII is going to look good, I tell myself. The large dollop of Mr. White Putty cut with levelling thinner is only to be expected. Also the superglue run into the tail gaps and the Vallejo squirt putty elsewhere. I have not reached for a tin…
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Revell SPAD XIII – Part One – A NZ Mystery
They don’t generally do impenetrable mysteries in New Zealand. Most of the country is pretty straightforward. Which means I have no idea why the instruction sheet from this unopened example of a New Zealand Revell baggie should have a corner bit out of it. Was there some secret there? Some corporate message that we were…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Six – Skiing Holiday
The predictions about the Smêr model of the Ilyushin Il -2 proved 100% accurate. The kit has fallen together perfectly and the landing gear variation has proved to be the star of the piece. The gear is based upon the wheeled version, but you need to trim away some of the wheel hub support and…
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Ilyushin Il-2 – Part Five – For One Dollar More…
I get to build a model of Clint Eastwood. No, no, no…Not that at all – for one dollar more I get to build another Ilyushin IL-2 with the winter ski equipment on it. A chap arrived at the club selling kits for a dollar and this turned out to be the hi-tech version of…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Four _ Winter At Uszhitmi
Uszhitmi Air Base is what is known in Russia as a winter wonderland. It’s the place that they send people who have been exiled from Siberia. Thus we see the Ilyushin IL-2 sitting on the tarmac on a bright day in midsummer. You can tell it’s summer as they have not put the snow skis…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Three – The Fit Bit
The Sturmovik is cementing together nicely. You’ll see the gap patch in the front before trimming, but note the wing and tail seams. This is the sort of fit I wish ALL Czech and other eastern European makers could achieve. There will be the tiniest slip of superglue on the port wing at the leading…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Two – Czeching Out The Fit
Part-fit stage is looking good. The cockpit has proved wonderful – in Czech terms that means it has a ledge to sit in and fits onto the lendge without hack-sawing anything. The fuselage closes…almost…The wings are in register and they have decided shapes to fit onto the fuselage. And the tail surfaces are such a…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part One – Back On Trackski
This Il-2 is the gift of a club-mate; John. It has been sitting in the stash long enough – the idea has sprouted. This is to be a winter Sturmovik. I shall risk the hazards of the Czech decals and try to put the complete Soviet slogans on the side when it is finished. I’ve…
The Little World 