Category: American aircraft
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part Two – Do they Drink At Lunch In Prague?
I’m willing to bet they do – it would explain a number of the design decisions that are found in Czech short-run kits. Not that I should complain, but I am slightly puzzled as to why basic components cannot be moulded as parts of the main fuselage or wing sections. They obviously have the skill…
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Landing Gear
I’ve just re-glued some landing gear on a Grumman Guardian. It was cemented yesterday but I guess i put weight on it before it was entirely set – the joints gave way. it’s a Ukrainian kit and the fitting surfaces are Soviet-era. To be fair, Grumman asked the gear legs to do a lot with…
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Boeing P26 – Part One – Two Shameful Confessions
I have two painful confessions to make in regard to the Boeing P-26 peashooter fighter plane. The first was in 1961 when I was in the 9th grade. I formed a friendship with a kid in my grade at school who was also an enthusiastic model airplane builder. He introduced me to matte paints –…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part Five – Box Art
I tips me lid to the artist who painted this Republic RF-84F Thunderflash on the kit box. His rendition proved to be the most helpful reference I could find for this aircraft. I find colour call-outs fun to look at as snapshots of what one might make from the box. But I still want other…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part Four – £ 1 + 1d.
In for one, in for the other. I have decided to see if black-basing has any merit as a technique. The Thunderflash is a sleek enough aircraft and there will be some variations of the metal finish needed. Time to see if this vaunted paint technique actually does anything. That’s a smooth black but I’m…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part Three – The Czechpit
A czechpit is similar to a cockpit except it doesn’t fit. This is not surprising – after all you would hardly expect a cockpit tub from a Republic RF-84 to fit – say – a Boeing 747. Or a Stinson Reliant. Or a Spitfire Mk XIV. You would, however, think it would fit a Republic…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part Two – I Know That Shape…
It’s a codfish. The Republic F-84 fuselage is a codfish – particularly when it is the Recon version with side intakes instead of an open nose. Not that this is a bad thing – fish swim through water well and the Thunderflash swam through the air just fine. If something looks like is should fly,…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part One – The Flying Photographer
Without realising it I completed a couple of builds that could start a new shelf in the Air Museum – and now I have No. 3 and No. 4 in the stash; a Republic RF84F Thunderflash and A Lockheed RT33. Together with the P-38 PRU and Spitfire PRXIX they are the eyes in the sky…
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Lockheed Starfire – Part Three – We Win Through In The End
You’ll have seen my post about backtracking with the Beagle Boys a little while ago; September 20, 2020. It detailed my wilful errors in painting that were corrected late at night. Since then I have played the soft pedal for this build and have been rewarded in the end with a delightful result. The clear…
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Lockheed Starfire – Part Two – Dry Fit Respect
I have a great deal of respect for whoever Emhar models really are. In my encounters with their products I have found them to fit together excellently. In the case of the featured image, the cockpit tub is cemented together and the fuselage sealed…but everything else is just a dry fit for confirmation purposes. This…
The Little World 