Category: American aircraft
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Martin B10 Bomber – Part One – The Flying Whale
When I set about looking for the nickname of the Martin B10 bomber I was sent to the Lockheed Martin site. They laughingly admitted that it got this from the press of the time because of the size. However, when you look at some of the corrugated surfaces on the fuselage, they do have some…
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The Ten-Month Gestation Period
I am about to start an experiment to see if I can remained focused over a ten month period upon one theme. It was suggested to me at a model meeting and after consideration I decided that it really was a good idea. It’s not often that you do get this much clarity in what…
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Bell AH-1 Z -Part Three – The Viper Vinished
I really should have taken more pictures whilst building the Viper, but it was a Club Day build and went ahead by leaps and bounds. The final product has proved yet another lesson for me; one may be pleasantly surprised as readily as be dismayed. I’ve experienced the latter enough times with eastern European kits…
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Bell AH-1 Z – Part Two – A Pleasant Surprise
I was prepared for the little Marine attack helicopter kit to be two things; crude and unshapely. It may be the latter but it certainly is not the former. The plastic from which it is moulded is a little more brittle than Airfix but not by much. It sands and cuts well, and the feed…
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Bell AH-1 Z – Part One – Freak it
Sorry, that should have read Free Kit. This is a donation from Kevin, who is a master modeller in his own right. He does marvellous things with larger aircraft…and people who know him donate kits. If they are like this unprepossessing Hong Kong helicopter he donates them right on again. It is a kit maker…
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Curtiss Helldiver – Part Seven – Shangri La
As this is the first Curtiss Helldiver I have built, I could approach it with a fresh mind. The history of the type seems to have been a mixed one – initial failures and disappointments and then solid success against the Japanese fleet. It had its time and place and filled it well. I must…
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Curtiss Helldiver – Part Six – A Pot To Peer In
Or into, as the case may be. A pot of paint. 10 ml of potential heaven or hell. A liquid mistake waiting for you to make it. I am a 10ml paint pot guy – Tamiya, GSI Creos, or AK Real Colours are the ones that sit in my paint rack. I’ve experimented with others,…
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Curtiss Helldiver – Part Five – Jackson’s Art Supply
Jacksons Art Supplies – or Drawing Supplies, if you prefer, is a dangerous place to visit. Like Officeworks, Bunnings, or Dan Murphy’s you are surrounded by too many temptations to resist them all – you inevitably succumb to buying something and there’s the food money for the week gone. The kids will just have to…
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Curtiss Helldiver – Part Four – Euclid Was Never A Scale Modeller
Because he could never get the geometry right… I look fondly on equilateral triangles and acute angles – many of my friends can best be described as angular and obtuse – and I like to see the geometry of the model airplane come out well. I wish this was the case with every short-run kit.…
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Curtiss Helldiver – Part Three – Green Is The Colour…
As I have written before – it is the colour of my true love’s cockpit. But it is never the same colour as you see in the books, movies, or museums. It is never the same colour as other people use, and it is never the same colour twice. The only thing that cockpit green…
The Little World 