Category: British aircraft
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Hawker Hunter FGA 9 – Part Five – Singapore 1962
A squadron brought into Singapore for ground support in what was to become a confrontation of the Cold War. This one was with Indonesia – at that time backed by the USSR and Communist China. The Hunters worked with spotter aircraft to deliver effective air support for Commonwealth and Malaysian troops on the ground. The…
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Hawker Hunter FGA 9 – Part Four – Clearing The Air
Or ” Glossing Over All Problems “. Hey, it works for federal politicians – it should work for me. However, it can sometimes be harder to do than you’d think. I have invested in more types of varnish than you’ve had hot dinners. From bottles of clear lacquer to gloss coats in alcohol solution to…
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Hawker Hunter FGA 9 – Part Three – Two Day
Confused yet? Sit beside me at the club and prepare yourself… The second day work on the Hunter was paint; undercoat, masking, colour coats. The scheme has a hard delineation between lower and upper but soft lines on the top. The silver is Mr Color Duralumium thinned with new GGX rapid thinner. This is to…
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Hawker Hunter FGA 9 – Part Two – One Day…
My Prince will come… Oh, wait, that was Disney; this is Airfix. Well the Hunter at dry fit was one of the best experiences in the hobby. Not a bit of flash and the locating pins were in just the right position. It snapped together at the club so satisfyingly that I could just get…
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Hawker Hunter FGA 9 – Part One – Swap Meet
Our club rooms play host to a swap meet every few months and I attend regularly. It is best to come on the opening gun for these as the bargains can run out quickly. Many of the items on display are of little interest to me – cars, trucks, and tanks – but there is…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Six – French Silver Grey
The Mr Color pot of French silver grey may have started life as a grey – or a silver… I can’t remember which. Over several years it has been topped up with a dash of whichever sliver I have in the airbrush pot as a left-over – and equally be whatever light grey is swirling…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Five – Wild Blue Yonder
And off we flaming go… Someone at Tasman was enamoured of the vacuum moulding machine – the one they used for clear canopies – and of the possibilities that it presented. So they made a decision to try something that is – so far – unique in my model-building experience. They vac-formed the canopy a…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Four – While The Goo Sets…
Busy your hands, to stop your mind from screaming. The engine cowlings on this model have become a standard mark in my workshop. They form the nadir from which anything else is better. I have joined the halves and lit a votive candle. The interior is bare, but surprisingly neat. It is simple, of course,…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Three – Oh, Just Grit Yer Teeth…
Pull up your Big-Girl panties, and get on with it. It’s not going to make itself. The first thing that has to go is the upper turret. Tasman have made a decent job of it, and the whitemetal gun mount will be saved for the future, but the aircraft I’m modelling has no turret. so…
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Tasman Airspeed Oxford Mk I – Part Two – The Apology
At least Tasman Models are scrupulously honest. They recognised the problems of short-run manufacturing and the times when it just doesn’t come out like a Disney movie. The under-wing parts of this model apparently were consistently short-shooting at the wing tip. They realised it , modified the panel on the mould, and added two extra…
