Category: camouflage
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Morane Saulnier 406 – Part Four – Contact – Ignition – Chocks Away
Actually, in the period between Christmas and New Years and I don’t think I could’ve faced any more chocs or contact. I retreated to the Little Workshop and put the finishing touches on the Morane Saulnier. How different an aircraft can look when the final paint is on – as opposed to the bare parts…
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Morane Saulnier 406 – Part Three – Curse The French
Not for their politics or their agricultural policies. Not for Gen. De Gaulle or the ludicrous Bardot. Not even for their car designers… For their camouflage artists. The maniacs who wanted to paint three-colour camo schemes on a series of miserably inadequate aircraft. The only thing good about these decisions is that it made the…
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I’ve Got It All Taped Out…
Betcha don’t know where that expression comes from…Not from the electronics industry and not from the car body workshop. From the trenches of WW1. The British regularly laid cloth tapes from their lines toward the Germans to allow their troops to advance in the right direction without over-running other units on either side if they…
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The Positive And Negative Mask
If there is one thing that model airplane building brings you to, it is the knowledge of how to do masking. You may do it badly or well, but you will be doing it for nearly every model you work on. I’ve just been taping up the Grumman Duck and it has prompted me to set…
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Lavotchkin 5-FN – Part Three – Decalling The White Bird
The paint job on the Lavotchkin was simplicity itself – if you discount the fact that you spend a lot of masking tape doing it. Fortunately the bigger bits can be done with the cheap DIY store stuff instead of the thin hobby shop rolls. They do the details. Now, remember I was nervous about…
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Lavotchkin 5-FN – Part Two – The Russian Jig
It’s like an Irish jig…but with vodka. My first impressions of the Zvezda kit were not wrong – it is well-built. The cockpit was adequate, without being overly complex, and Ivan, the pilot, fit well into his seat. Unlike Airfix aircrew, I did not have to Douglas Bader him to get him into his seat…
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Boulton Paul Defiant – Part Three – We Appear To Have A Winner
I am always surprised by the end of a build – it seems to come so suddenly. Of course, this is because I have been beavering away in the background doing sub-assemblies while waiting for paint layers to set, and the final clapping on of these portions is quite a quick thing. One moment it…
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Boulton Paul Defiant – Part Two – The Paper Work
Every kit I get has some form of paper work associated with it. Mainly instructions, painting sheet, and decals. The BP Defiant is a good example of current Airfix practice. The Instructions these days can be quite complex – if the makers are good communicators. This can depend upon whether they are a large firm…
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The Wrong Shade Of Black
Resign yourself – you may have made a fabulous model of a P-61 or a Lancaster or a Mosquito and a great deal – or all – of the thing will be a very definite black colour. But as soon as you show it at any exhibition, someone will tell you you’ve used the wrong…
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Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIX – Part Three – A Spiffing Spitty
There really should not be any basic problem with an Airfix kit – even the historic ones with their rivets and misshapen crew members are moulded to eventually yield a representation of whatever is on the front of the box. If you are diligent you can end up with just this. It may have some…
The Little World 