Category: 1:72 scale
-
RCAF Privateer – Part One – Hello, Old Friend

The last time I saw you, you were in three colours in a Matchbox kit. Scalemates says that you have been sold to Revell and reboxed. It also said that you were originally fitted out with alternate nose and tail sections to make an RCAF transport aircraft. Is it possible that you still have those…
-
MiG 21 – Part One And Only – The Buffer Zone Interceptor

We often forget that there was more than one side to the Cold War. West, East, and Neutral. And Neutral broke down to Undecided, Uneconomic, and Uninterested. The DDR were trusted by their Soviet masters more than you’d think. The Russians were no fools – they knew the quality of the East Germans and had…
-
The Shady Business Of Uploading Images

Or how I tried to tame the computer. Here is a typical image of a model airplane. One I built. Modest model, modest builder… Now I am trying to see if it will save, then preview, then publish. If you are confused, please don’t be concerned. I have been so for years and it is…
-
A Decoarsing Moment

That’s like a defining moment but in the other direction. Recently a friend referred to my models as cheap and cheerful. A phrase that sounds intimidating…but it turns out not to be so. An English definition of the phrase says that it doesn’t necessarily mean bad quality – just good value for money. This certainly…
-
Sopwith Triplane – Part Three – Black Maria

As a straight-out-of-the-bag build I could not have asked more of the Revell Sopwith triplane. It cost me nothing, it delivered a lot of pleasure. The plastic parts fitted as well as any baggie would…but yielded well to the cut and sand that you normally expect to do. The interior is a seat and a…
-
Sopwith Triplane – Part Two – The New Techniques

I have decided to risk navigating this PaulPlane in only two uncharted waters: the use of the new decal technique and a new finishing varnish. The third experiment – the plastic rigging – will be postponed until a slightly larger model offers. It’s nice stuff, but a little thick for this job. The decaling system…
-
Sopwith Triplane – Part One – Beige Baggie

My next PaulPlane is another Revell baggie from storage in his shed. This one has escaped the effects of the heat and even the decals look viable. It is also going to be the subject of another new experiment – I have had luck with rigging older planes so far with rubber string and thin…
-
Heinkel He 177 – Part Four – Courtesy Of The Resistance

A captured Heinkel 177 ready to be flown to the RAF for analysis and test flying. The paint shop has been busy making sure the thing is both presentable and safe to cross the Channel. The French roundels and tail flash were easy to do as one always seems to have spares of this sort…
-
Heinkel He 177 – Part Three – Having A Fit

Pink or otherwise – sometimes you get things that you just wouldn’t do. I’ve yet to find my limits but to be honest I’ve stopped looking… The dry-fit stage of the Heinkel promised to be a time of tears and gnashing of teeth. I’d seen what old Airfix moulds could do when stored in hobby…
-
Heinkel He 177 – Part Two – Riveting Detail

There are those in the world who would have me sand down the rivet detail of the 1967 Airfix Heinkel Greif, scribe lines between the panels, and re-mark sunken rivets. There are also people who would have me eat rutabagas and ground cockroaches…and I am here to tell you that I am as likely to…
