Category: British aircraft
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Prop Washing
Well, you don’t want a dirty propeller, now do you. Sign of a badly-maintained aircraft, that. All greasy around the spinner, like… Actually, I got to wondering at who decides what colour the propeller on an aircraft should be, and why. Some reasons seem evident, but some are obscure. a. American aircraft prior to WW2…
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Messerschmitt Me 109E – Part One – The Internet Delivers Again
If you have nothing to do for the next few hours, start Googling. Tear yourself away from the porn, conspiracy theories, and on-line shopping and research something arcane. I just did and now I can have a week of fun with it. I don’t build aircraft with certain markings – which is somewhat of a…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part Four – Air Crash
Every build has a mistake – a flaw – a piece of bad judgement. In the case of the Airfix DH Heron Mk II it has come in a rush. I was shifting photographic backdrops in the workshop this morning and inadvertently hit the wing of the Heron. It slid off the building stand and…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part Three – The Suitcase Closes
Always that moment when you have packed up your clothing at the end of a holiday and are gingerly trying to get the suitcase closed – against the pressure of dirty laundry and souvenirs. Will it creak shut…? Before I could latch the Heron together I tested the balance – Airfix said 15 gms of…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part Two – The Split Heron
As far as the approach to this vintage Airfix De Havilland Heron kit goes, I am – as Kinky Friedman would have put it – out past where the buses run. I am in new mental territory. It started when I did the part count and some dry fitting – I noted the provision of…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part One – Raised Expectations
And raised rivets, too. I had a happy childhood, and a great many of the happy occasions revolved around model kits. This included a number of the 1950’s and 60’s Airfix products. Merit, Monogram, Aurora, and Revell as well. So it’s with great delight that I see Airfix re-issue classic models from the era. I…
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Avro Tutor – Part Four – The Yellow Sheep Of The Fold
Well that was an instructive two weeks. I’ve had as much as I can take and the Avro Tutor has had as much construction as it is going to get. Purists will cavil at the lack of rigging but I know my limitations. I will eventually try to rig something but it’ll be a better…
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Avro Tutor – Part Three – Aptly Named
The Avro Tutor may have taught hundreds of British and Commonwealth pilots to fly. The AZ kit of this has certainly taught me something: never buy another Czech biplane kit. It is a bloody nightmare. A variation on the bad dream that was the Avro Anson ( is it Avro…? ). In this case the…
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Avro Tutor – Part Two – So Far, So Good
The assembly of the AZ Avro Tutor so far is encouraging. the fuselage is straight and the interior built up nicely – I even managed the photo-etch seat belts as the cockpit is open. The landing gear is solid once the three struts are braced against each other. The tail wheel will never last…
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Avro Tutor – Part One – A Venture Into The Unknown
I am not a novice in the business of a Czech kit. I know that there are beauties and beasts amongst them – I cut my teeth on one of the latter and am always grateful now when I meet with the former. This AZ model was ordered in the same batch that saw the…
The Little World 