Category: American aircraft
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Northrop Black Widow – Part Two – Hot Weather Modelling

I’ve grumbled before about the limitations of scale plastic modelling in very hot weather – and a fat lot of good it has done me. So, rather than sit and moan, I have decided to sit and cut plastic. Inside – in the A/C at my Saturday afternoon group. I can’t paint but I can…
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Northrop Black Widow – Part One – ‘Tis A Gift…

And ’tis the only thing gifted about me – the ability to attract free model aircraft. This one is from a lady in payment for some Christmas family pictures. Again, it is a case of telling the client the scale I model in and letting them go and pick out something they fancy. So far…
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North American Bronco – A Quick Build

This North American OV-10 model has a rather chequered history – it was sold twice and gifted three times before it was built. It is just this report on my column because it was a quick build. It started life in Korea as an Academy model, made its way to Japan into someone’s stash, and…
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Cessna Dragonfly – Part Three – ROKAF

The dragonfly is ready to go into the collection and I am delighted with the choice of ROKAF. I shall complete more for this division in the future. The scheme for this plane’s upper works is as much a nuisance as any other tri-colour pattern. Whether it is French, Soviet, or whatever, I always instinctively…
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Cessna Dragonfly – Part Two – Weighty Nose

You only have to forget once to weight the nose of a three-wheeled plane to impress it on your memory forever. And there is no effective way to excuse it when you are faced with the fact – other than accepting your fate, putting the wheels up, and the model on a flying stand. I…
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Cessna Dragonfly – Part One – The Bagatelle

Some models leap off the shelf into your hand. Others cringe round to the back and must be got out with hooks. And some just call to you, but you don’t know why. The Cessna A-37B was a kit I bypassed frequently, but one day I glanced at the price and noted that it was…
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A Thousand Pictures Are Worth A Word

And that word is generally : ” inaccurate “… In a world awash in internet images, the scale modeller could be forgiven for thinking that they’ll never have a problem with colour again. All they’ll have to do is google up an image of the prototype they’re building and copy the picture. This is as…
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Swiss F-5E – Part One – Another Odd Buy

I make snap decisions when I am in the aisle of a hobby shop. These involve kit choice, paint colours, and must-have tools. They are nearly all bad. Later, when the fever passes, I look at the purchases and wonder where I’m ever going to use them. Some sit dormant for years, and then become…
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General Dynamics F-16 – Part Three – Surprisingly Handsome

I view some modern NATO aircraft with trepidation – there are so many variants that every time I glue on a bomb or a tank, I’m sure it’s in the wrong place. But what can you do in the absence of a concrete example parked at the local air museum? Well, you can start down…
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General Dynamics F-16 – Part Two – Having A Grey Fit

Like a pink fit, but more gentlemanly. You can clip a Hobby Boss kit together at nearly any stage of the build. I’d painted the wheel wells on the F-16 prior to trying the ordnance onto it and was curious to see whether there would be much filling and sanding needed. None at all if…
