Category: British aircraft
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Hawker Sea Fury – Part Two – Hours Of Building

About two, as it happened. And part of the time was spent making beef pies in the kitchen. This aircraft kit is a fair way shy of the 1000-piece puzzle… But the pieces that do exist are rewarding. Well-shaped, and with few flaws. The wings and fuselage went together with the kind of precision that…
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Hawker Sea Fury – Part One – A New Maker

I’m a bigger sucker for novelty than I readily admit – I make noises like all the old goods and methods are the best and the new ones are rubbish, and you’d think I have not advanced since the 1950’s. But in truth l’m always buying something new from the shops just to try it…
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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V – Part Six – Wet Dog Whitley

As a departure from my normal reveal photos, I have delved into the archives of RCAF WET DOG and found three pictures – taken on period Kodachrome A film by an Air Force publicity photographer – documenting a visit of the Whitley to the Alberta prairies. I think there must have been an official delegation…
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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V – Part Five – Decision Time

The decision must be taken – and in this case the materials available for the job have decided me. The AW will be all-black. Before it will be so, It will be all grey, of course. In this case the undercoat is Mr. Surfacer 1000. This, or the Mr. Surfacer 1200, is my preferred undercoat…
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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V – Part Four – We Have An Airplane

That magic stage of a build when the sprue trees have blossomed and fruited, and we have a recognisable airplane on the bench. It is one of the most heartening experiences in a modeller’s day. Of course some people spend literally weeks detailing subassemblies and parts for the eventual assembly, but I like to get…
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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk V – Part Three – Subassembly Day

A day at my model building club is a short one – I get there about 9:00 AM and leave at noon. But I can accomplish a lot in those hours…drink coffee, eat cake, make bad jokes, and cement the first parts of a kit together. The amount of cementation depends to some extent upon…
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Armstrong Whitworth Whitley Mk.V – Part Two – I’ve Seen That Somewhere Before…

The more I looked at the AW Whitley in parts on the sprue trees, the more I got the feeling that I’d seen something like it before. The French inter-war bombers came to mind, but it was the awkward chin window that stick in my mind. Surely they didn’t think it was a good idea…Where…
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RCAF Avro Lancaster – Part Three – It All Starts With Bits

I try to be thrilled with all parts of the kit building I do – from the shopping and acquisition through to the plans, cutting and fitting, painting , and final assembly. But it must be said that there are times when the stages are very small and you don’t seem to progress. The initial…
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Airbrushing Outside The Box

My learning curve with the airbrush was a bit steep a few years ago. It has become easier lately, but occasionally jags upward again. To be fair, it’s me kicking it up. I continually decide that I need to improve upon proven techniques. Even if I got a good result last time. I seem incapable…

