Category: Canadian aircraft
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North American Sabre – Part One – Why Is It So Hard To Build It Easy?

Answer – because we have so many choices. The Airfix North American F-86 E Sabre and the Canadair Mk 4 Sabre seem very similar in their boxes. The outside art changes and the decal sheets are different but I’m willing to bet I’m going to find the same plastic inside the clear bag on this…
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De Havilland Twin Otter- Part Six – Alta Oil CF-ALO

The Twin Otter lives again. And with a fresh coat of gloss paint, too. CF-ALO is now ready for delivery to Alta Oil flying out of Wet Dog Regional in Alberta. Her skis are stored in the hangar against winter and the wheels are in use today. WRRegional doesn’t really like pilots fitting them until…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Five – Any Colour You Like

As long as it is white. Henry Ford is spinning in his grave. Civil aircraft all seem to start life as brides in white. From the factory demonstrator to the feeder-line delivery, they all get a gloss coat of white paint. I suspect it is cheap, durable, and meant to be highly visible. As well,…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Four – They Said It Couldn’t Be Done

But they didn’t say it to me. When I saw the separate wings for the Twin Otter with no tab to fasten them back onto the fuselage, I started to worry. I know modern cements can do a great deal to weld plastic surfaces together but those long, thin wings stretch out quite a distance…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Three – The Airliner Window

Airliner windows are a nervous part of model building for me – at least in 1:72 scale. You see, it is too small to make them easy to handle and too big to get away with decals or painted dots. The first time I tried putting individual plastic panes in was on a Northrop Delta…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Two – ” I’m Melting…! “

That was the catch cry of the Wicked Witch Of the West in the Wizard Of Oz when Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her. I’m here to tell you that this was just fiction; I tried it on one of the in-laws and all I got was yelled at. No melting. Next time…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part One – Old Recalcitrant

No, I am not referring to the Prime Minister of Lamaysia. I’m sure he is a very biddable old buffer – as long as the right approach is taken. What I mean is this Revell kit of the De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft. It’s Revell Germany, so it may have been sourced from another maker*…
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I Don’t Think I’m Working Hard Enough At Being Lazy

I mean, procrastination starts with ” pro ” and you’ve gotta be dedicated for that, right? I’m typing this because there is a backlog in the Little Workshop – but it is a deliberate thing. I’ve been working on the A-20 Havoc, several P-39’s and a B-25 Mitchell. They’ve all got to the undercoat stage…
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McDonnell Banshee – Part Four – Ready For The Canadian Hall, Eh?

The decals have gone on the RCN Banshee and it is ready for the display hall of Canadian service aircraft. The suspect upper grey is still on it and sealed in with varnish. I am actually delighted with the thing – and it is rather a massive fighter compared with some of the Korean War…
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McDonnell Banshee – Part Three – The Paint Call-Out
At a certain point in the construction of the McDonnell Banshee in Royal Canadian Navy livery I needed to consider the paints required. I took to the Academy instruction shoot and looked at their colour call-out chart. It confirmed what I already knew from looking at internet pictures of the plane ( I had never…
