Category: American aircraft
-
General Dynamics F-16 – Part One – The John Plane
Making friends with other model builders is a good idea – they sometimes have large stashes of kits that they bought a long time ago…but have forgotten. They may have changed scales in the meantime. Then they remember you and the scale you build. And make you a wonderful present of an unbuilt kit or…
-
Convair F-106 – A NORAD Quickie
I have taken to an amusing game when I photograph dancers at their concerts or for portraits – when they ask me the cost of the finished files or videos I tell them about my model airplane hobby. I ask them to pay their bill by purchasing a 1:72 scale model airplane kit that I…
-
Lockheed Vega Model 5 – Part Two – Sleek And Simple
The mental picture of the 1930’s airliner can sometimes be very complex. One thinks of some of the French or British airlines that operated out of Hendon or Le Bourget and sees large biplanes or sesquiplanes with dangling nacelles, spatted wheels, and flying wires everywhere. Yet here is a 30’s ship that is the epitome…
-
Lockheed Vega Model 5 – Part One – Legacy Stash
John Evans bought this model from Stanbridge’s model shop may years ago. Unfortunately neither John, Jack, nor the shop still exist. But that doesn’t stop us from remembering them fondly. My part in this will be to build up the MPM model of the Lockheed Vega Model 5. I suspect that John planned it to…
-
F-82 Twin Mustang – Part Nine – Northwest Air Defence
I had no idea as a kid. ( I don’t have much more sense now. ) But I sure wish I had known about the F-82 Twin Mustang long before my old age. I might have been able to see one in real life – because they flew from an air base near to a…
-
F-82 Twin Mustang – Part Eight – No. 92
A slight pause in the proceedings to praise a paint maker. GSI Creos in Japan are in deadly rivalry with Tamiya for the hobby painter’s dollar or Yen. I am not a zealot – I use paints from both of them. But I always turn to Mr. Color No.92 when night falls. It is listed…
-
F-82 Twin Mustang – Part Seven – Long Dong
All right. We might as well get this over with… Those of you inclined to ribaldry may dissolve into laughter at the thought of the Long Dong radar pod joke. Elbow each other in the ribs and snort. The rest of the readers just be patient. The Monogram F-82 is proceeding wonderfully well, with no…
-
F-82 Twin Mustang – Part Six – Afternoon, All…
Just sat me down to the Monogram night fighter kit and have progressed well. Progressed by dint of the simple moulding and precise fit of the parts. Make no mistake – when the classic kit makers were in their prime they could turn out some precise work. There might be raised panel lines, but the…
-
F-82 Twin Mustang – Part Five – The Black Twin
Lo and Behold. A dear old Monogram F-82 kit at a swap meet. The price of Hobby Boss click-together. What’s not to like! The kit is complete – the decals are reasonable, the canopies are all there. It is out of fashion as an older mould, but the raising of the panel lines has lowered…
-
F-82 Twin Mustang – Part Four – Alaska Red
Sigh. So near and yet so far. The F-82 has been completed, will be displayed, and will feel like gravel in my sandal all the days of its existence. The canopies arrived, were fitted, and the job was done. But the canopies only fitted to a certain extent. They have converted a fine front-line model…
The Little World 