Category: Canadian aircraft
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RCN Avenger – Part Three – Grey and Grey

Or should that be gray and gray? I’m sure there will be a fight amongst the readers about this, and I wish them all the bruises they deserve. I am just grateful that this time I have selected the proper RCN colours…and have not been misled by colour call-outs from some instruction sheet. In this…
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RCN Avenger – Part Two – You Will Be Dismayed

I nearly was. Not with the Sword model kit. This is a good one. With the Royal Canadian Navy – for their re-christening of the Grumman torpedo bomber ( Note that this is a TBM, which indicates that it was made by General Motors, rather than Grumman as a TBF – but it is the…
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RCN Avenger – Part One – The Eh Model

Another Sword model in the post – this one was a certain purchase as soon as I saw it had Royal Canadian Navy markings. The ASW and replenishment role that the Avenger took after service in the US Navy and Royal Navy in WWII eventually brought them to the RCN. It got rid of the…
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When In Trouble, Reach For The Foam Board

I found myself in another of those awkward positions. Not as bad as Page 38 of the Kama Sutra, but nearly so…I was under the workbench, in a pretzel shape, trying to decal a fighter plane. The sort of procedure you work yourself up to gradually in an evening of modelling. Before you realise it…
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The Ten-Month Gestation Period

I am about to start an experiment to see if I can remained focused over a ten month period upon one theme. It was suggested to me at a model meeting and after consideration I decided that it really was a good idea. It’s not often that you do get this much clarity in what…
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part Five – Snowbird Hack

Well, that was rewarding. The decal set that cost $ 5.00 went down like a cold beer in a country pub. Decals are always a lottery – even from the reputable makers. Specials from shows? Like licking a light socket and betting the current is off. The CT133 that followed the ‘Birds for a few…
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part Four – Don’t Mind If I Do

For all my tootling about over the use of an airbrush, I finally have to confess that there are times when a rattle can is a comfort. Painting the walls of the Police Station, for instance. You try dragging a compressor there in the middle of the night and asking the desk sergeant for the…
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Lockheed Rt 33 – Part Three – Lockup Stage

The point of time when we have an airplane. One that encloses a well fitted wheel well complex, a nose weight, and a cockpit tub. Wings on, tail on, tip tanks on. It went surprisingly fast as the day wore on. The Sword kits are basically quite good – they are square and plumb. This…
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part Two – Do they Drink At Lunch In Prague?

I’m willing to bet they do – it would explain a number of the design decisions that are found in Czech short-run kits. Not that I should complain, but I am slightly puzzled as to why basic components cannot be moulded as parts of the main fuselage or wing sections. They obviously have the skill…
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part One – An Unexpected Delight

In 2019 I visited a model exhibition in Melbourne and scoured the secondhand tables for bargains. I think I did pretty well in the decal files – the RCAF Lancaster decals were found as well as a $ 5.00 set of commemorative ones for the Lockheed CT-133. This was the Canadian version of the T-33…
