Category: British aircraft
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Fairey Swordfish Mk I – Part One – Tradesies
I know the most interesting people. A friend contacted me on Facebook and asked where she could get a 1:12 scale lamp post. It so happened that I had a new one – long spare from an old project that had passed by. She offered to trade for it and I named a 1:72 model…
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Jet Jig Jive
I’ve just used the second of my new Slovakian assembly jigs for a jet. It is the Tornado GR.1 from Italeri – a perfect testing piece for the tool. There are square fuselage panels to rest upon. The geometry is markedly different from the WW2 small jig – though the construction materials are just the…
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Handley Page Jetstream – Part Four – Beinbruch Air Ambulance
If you look carefully you can find a use for everything. This was the principle behind the acquisition of the Handley Page Jetstream aircraft that were to have been a part of the USAF transport fleet. Eventually rejected by the US Air Force due to delays and engine problems, the medical turbo props were sold…
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Handley Page Jetstream – Part Three – Big Body And Tiny Wings
I was always puzzled by two aircraft; the Douglas X-3 Stiletto and the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. They were fabulous looking and built for speed, but the tiny size of the wings always suggested that they just couldn’t lift themselves. There were troubles galore when they overloaded the F-104 but otherwise they seemed to work. But…
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Handley Page Jetstream – Part Two – Saturday Build
I have three divisions of kits; Tuesday Mens Shed builds, home Little Workshop builds, and Saturday Historic Modelling Friends builds. I keep them as separate as painting requirements permit so that my pleasure in building them comes undiluted. The HP Jetstream is the Saturday Historic Modelling Friends kit. I enjoy an invitation once a fortnight…
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Handley Page Jetstream – Part One – Airfix Too Early
Occasionally you can get caught out by events…or by your own eagerness for business. This has happened twice to Airfix kits that I have encountered, but has not dimmed my pleasure in building them. The first model that made me aware of this was the original Airfix 1:72 Blackburn Buccaneer. I was given a historic…
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The Shady Business Of Uploading Images
Or how I tried to tame the computer. Here is a typical image of a model airplane. One I built. Modest model, modest builder… Now I am trying to see if it will save, then preview, then publish. If you are confused, please don’t be concerned. I have been so for years and it is…
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The Curse Of The Were-Lancaster
Or FrankenHalifax. Or worse “ The Superfortress That Took Over The Lounge Room “. We’re talking about aircraft model kits that have dazzled their builders with large-scale detail. The 1:32 and 1:24 scale kits that are the talk of the modelling world right up until they are built and the proud owner tries to find…
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Sopwith Triplane – Part Three – Black Maria
As a straight-out-of-the-bag build I could not have asked more of the Revell Sopwith triplane. It cost me nothing, it delivered a lot of pleasure. The plastic parts fitted as well as any baggie would…but yielded well to the cut and sand that you normally expect to do. The interior is a seat and a…
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Sopwith Triplane – Part Two – The New Techniques
I have decided to risk navigating this PaulPlane in only two uncharted waters: the use of the new decal technique and a new finishing varnish. The third experiment – the plastic rigging – will be postponed until a slightly larger model offers. It’s nice stuff, but a little thick for this job. The decaling system…
The Little World 