Category: American aircraft
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Convair 440 – Part One – The Visitation
I went to a new hobby shop – Hobby Mania. It was up a flight of stairs and shared premises with an accountant’s office. No-wonder – the accountant has the shop as a personal hobby venture. He must be doing well enough – he had an employee there to show me the room of stock…
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Messerschmitt 109 – Part Five – The Captive Bird
A surprising number of airplanes have been captured in war and returned to flying on behalf of their enemies. Some as service machines, some as decoys, and some as test beds. This might seem to be a bonus for the people who capture the enemy’s warplanes, but remember that they also need to capture the…
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Douglas Dakota – Part Four – X
I think this was the best introduction I could have had to the Italeri brand of model kits – It had everything; good moulding, sensible build complexity, good material, and an economical price. The fact that it fits into my time period, nationality, and historical significance is a bonus. Plus there are numerous internet images…
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Douglas Dakota – Part Three – If They’re Not Shooting At You…Paint
There are many reasons for camouflage paint schemes on aircraft: a. A disrupted earthen top pattern prevents the enemy from seeing the plane from above while it is parked on the ground. b. A solid blue or white top pattern can also prevent the enemy from seeing it from above when it flies over water…
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Douglas Dakota – Part Two – The Wonderful/Horrible Net
My determination to build a Douglas Dakota in Canadian markings was aided wonderfully/horribly by the internet. It was able to tell me exactly what I did and didn’t need to know, but unfortunately did not put a divider between the two types of information. It’s sort of like trying to read a modellers Talmud…except you…
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The Big Green Things Made Of Wood
You know. Branches, trunks, roots, bird nests. Those things that stand there in front of the forest and obscure it. Whaddaya call ’em…starts with a ” T “. I’ll think of it in a minute… Well modelling can be like that. You do all the research in the world – spend days on the internet…
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We Need The Tiny Tin Can
I am looking at small and large cans of paint – spray paint, as it happens – and wondering at the rationale around it. The can contained a grey Tamiya primer. I’ve just sprayed the very last of it on a 1:72 aircraft and can feel satisfied – it completed the job just before it…
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Packaging Part One – The Gallery Of The Shelf
I go to art galleries in the various capital cities I visit on a regular basis. Some, like the NGV in Melbourne or the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney get a visit whenever I’m in town. Others, like the various modern art galleries or smaller dealer’s galleries might get a hit every two or…
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” Is This Paint Gluten-Free? “
Don’t laugh too much. You never know where the trail of discovery will lead. I have been pondering this in my local store – Hobbytech – as I wander the paint aisle. It is much the same when I go to the big DIY chain store – Bunnings – and try to make sense out…
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The Kids In The Candy Store
For a number of years I avoided going into hobby shops. Whether I thought they were passé or whether I thought I was more sophisticated…I don’t know. The result of this was I missed out on some of the really great hobby experiences – things that came and went while I was somewhere else. Now…
The Little World 