Category: American aircraft
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Northrop BT 1 – Part Two – Teeth Gritting Time
The start of a build is either going to be heaven or hell. The choice of which is largely up to the builder, but it can be more attitude than anything that determines which destination you’re heading for. In the case of a lot of short-run kits the removal of parts from the sprue tree…
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Northrop BT 1 – Part One – The Bargain Bomber
I took advantage of a stash sale one time to purchase a number of never-to-be-seen-again model kits. You’ve already seen one of the Eastern European maker’s short-run planes – the Mitsubishi ” Ann “- in this column before. This Northrop is the accompanying model – a contemporary in the air in the early 1940’s. This…
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Piper J3 – Part Five – The Universal Cub
The best thing about the Piper J3 Cub is it is so darned cute. The second best thing is that it is ubiquitous. It can sit on the tarmac of any of my airports or air museums from the 1930’s onward and be perfectly at home. The kit has proved to be a beauty –…
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Piper J3 – Part Four – The Irish Jig
Faith and begorrah, and here’s to the Auld Sod. I mean the one who invented jigs to assemble airplanes. I have reviewed all the commercial aids for assembly – the plastic, wood, and metal jigs that are touted on the modelling sites. Also the ones that appear in catalogs from places that will not ship…
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Piper J3 – Part Three – Yellow; Mellow Or Perilous?
The heading image is not yellow – it’s a combination of Mr. Surfacer white and some old Mr. Color flat white. The bottles are low and a combination of forces was needed. The end result is fine – and is absolutely essential for any yellow painting. I discovered this long ago while painting an Avro…
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Piper J3 – Part Two – Inky, Winky, and Dinky
I don’t think I would be able to build things in smaller scale than 1:72 unless they were of very big prototypes – the parts would be too small. As it is I curse the nonsense of PE and resin details. The heading image shows a pretty good result for the interior of the J3…
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Piper J3 – Part One -The Household Word
Hoover. Not Herbert, you herbert. Hoover like in vacuum cleaner. The brand name. Except, in England it isn’t a brand name – it’s the name of a class of product – the vacuum cleaner. People don’t vacuum the house, they hoover it. Losing that capital letter was the greatest piece of industrial and advertising good…
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Grumman Goblin I – Part One – The New Appearance
I regularly cruise through Hobbytech in Myaree to see what’s new. Of course, no cruise is ever painless. I buy something every time. If it is not paint or a new tool, it is a kit of some sort. I am not complaining or bragging – just stating a fact of life. Like gravity or…
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The Commemorative Scheme
We’ve all seen one that we liked – and ten that made us wince. I mean the commemorative scheme applied to a current airplane in someone’s roster. It may be a warplane, a civil airliner, or a private plane. It might be an R/C model or a static one. But as soon as you see…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part Four – The Curtiss Lollypop
Having mastered the Mr. Color range of metallizer paints I do not cringe in fear from natural metal finishes. Indeed I welcome them where appropriate. Thus my delight in the pictures of the prototype Curtiss SB2C rolling out of the factory in the early 40’s. Still early enough to have the pre-war yellow wing. A…
The Little World 