Category: after-market
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Scale Model Envy

Sin in miniature. I rarely give way to envy at the scale model exhibition – even in the competition hall when most of the entries are far better than I could do. But I did come over all goosey when I saw this model of a Cletrac airfield tractor. It appears to be in 1:48…
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Sailing Dangerous Waters

And not sure when the voyage will end. The galley depicted here looks very much like illustrations of an Academy kit of a Roman galley – 1/72 scale – that appears on the Amazon website. I presume it is this one, though it may have been bought some time ago. It has been built magnificently…
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Pilatus PC-21 – Part One – Serendipity

The definition of the word links random occurrences that produce a beneficial result – in short good luck. It has started for me with the donation of this new kit. The firm that makes it – 3D Blitz Models – seem to be Swiss. This will be one of the few occasions when I have…
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Hawker Typhoon 1B – Part Two – Scratch

Even if you don’t itch. It’ll be good for you. The bare tunnel between the open radiator grill and the open cockpit on this model are extreme – even for the early days of moulding. Airfix and Matchbox at least gave you a pilot, even if he was attached to the fuselage side with plastic…
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It Must Have A Little Challenge

It cannot be entirely Shake ‘n Bake. Easy-build kits are a blessing. I welcome the opportunity to whack together a classic air-frame in a day. It gives me a chance at the airbrush and decal printer next morning ( I love the smell of lacquer thinner in the morning. It smells like victory….). I can…
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Do Or Die-orama?

Is your little world being made around your ideas, or are your ideas being made around those of the retail trade? For some modellers – the model engineers in particular and to some extent the R/C model boaters – they are in control of their desires. Both groups make what they like…and spend a very…
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Modelling True To Yourself

Relax – there will be no hippie touchy-feely stuff. I’ve written before about trying out different types of modelling to see what you most enjoy. A car, a ship, an airplane, a rocket, and a tank give you a broad look at what is out there. Okay, there are trucks and figures and trains as…
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Scaling Up Your Scaling Down

When you are presented with requests. You give positive answers. Someone wanted decals for a model aircraft but couldn’t find them on the net. I did, but that probably wasn’t the question anyway. Fortunately the decal sheet needed was simple and illustrated cleanly in colour. Getting it onto Photoshop Elements was simple. Not so simple…
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You Can Save Yourself Into The Bin

Or the poorhouse. The first comes about when you decide to buy raw materials to bypass the commercial products. If you have been used to using a rattle can for spraying undercoat or varnish, you can replace this consistent and successful method with a single-action airbrush, little pots of clear lacquer, and a great deal…

