Category: American aircraft
-
If It Is Not The Best Model That You Have Ever Made…
Is it the worst? Let’s face it – we do have failures from time to time. Things start out fine and end up slightly horrid. We may have done what we always do, expecting a win…and ended up with a loss. The finish was off, the shape was off, the build was off. We were…
-
Republic P-47D – Part Two – Rum And Coca Cola
And another rare bird for my Middle and South American section; a Cuban P-47. Donated under Pan-American defence treaties, this came to Havana in the 1950’s – part of the FAEC under Batista. So far I cannot find out whether it saw any battle before or during the revolution, but at least is it a…
-
Republic P-47D – Part One – Show Surprise
I was astounded when presented with this Hasegawa P-47 at our recent scale model show. It was not a prize for competition – just a kind gift from an official. I hope the end result will adequately express my gratitude. There are several other P-47’s in the collection in USAAF markings so this time I…
-
If You Build A Mustspitschmitt
You have to build it in the largest possible scale. Anything less would be a waste of time. Disregard the fact that you could show as much or as little skill in the smaller size as the larger. Set aside the cost factor and the encroachment on domestic space after it is completed. This is…
-
Grumman Tracker – Part Two – Do You Goo?
Yes, I do – particularly when I am making Idea Model, Minicraft, Mistercraft, or Novo kits. It is a natural reaction to the sight of gaping crevasses. I should be a quivering mess in Antarctica. At my workbench I am just barely controlled. It was not always thus. As a child builder I would have…
-
Grumman Tracker – Part One – The Started Kit
Kits that have been started by another modeller are traditionally lower priced than pristine ones. I suppose this would be reversed if the original builder was Leonardo da Vinci, but so few of his plastic models seem to have survived the Reformation… I got this aircraft kit from the clearance of a legacy stash and…
-
Extraordinary Models
Out of the ordinary. Unusual. Remarkable. Etc. The devil is in the etc. Manufacturers of kits are sometimes thrown to the edge of the cliff when it comes to the selection of a prototype for their latest kit. In their various divisions they have usually fallen back upon a well-known kit to get quick money.…
-
Curtiss H16 – Part Six – Long Yellow Wings
And a remarkable scale model. The history of the Curtiss H16, as well as the British-built Felixstowe types, is available on the net. They were patrol birds in the WW1 period and undoubtedly endured very hard service over the waters. It is not surprising that so few have survived to become museum exhibits. This Roden…
-
Curtiss H16 – Part Five – Wing Walking Without A Safety Net
With my heart in my mouth and my underwear screwed up tight… I set out to put 12 inter-plane struts on the lower wing of the Curtiss – all 12 upright and at the same angle. The way I did it was to use three old foam-board shapes I had made when doing an Airfix…
-
Curtiss H16 – Part Four – Donks Are Shön
With my sincere apologies to Wayne Newton… These two donks have been the most complex engines I’ve yet seen in a 1:72 kit. The fuel pipes and cooling assembly alone should have frightened me away, but I was too foolish to run. Over a couple of weeks the constituent parts have been cemented on –…
The Little World 