Category: Canadian aircraft
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Decal Day
Well, I knew it was coming…I knew it when I saw the sheet of transfers in the kit – when I bought the extra packet at the plastic model fair – when I googled up all the various marques of plane that had the same name as the one a’ building. I knew that I would…
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We Need The Tiny Tin Can
I am looking at small and large cans of paint – spray paint, as it happens – and wondering at the rationale around it. The can contained a grey Tamiya primer. I’ve just sprayed the very last of it on a 1:72 aircraft and can feel satisfied – it completed the job just before it…
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The Back Story
I had a consultation one day with the technical adviser…my friend Warren who was in the Air Force. He ran an eye over the mockup of the model airfield and I explained how it was evolving. At the time there were large sheets of paper down representing major structures I wanted to build, as well…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part Six – Ready For the Squadron
I am currently completing the Air Ministry paperwork preparatory to handing over the Handley Page Hampden to the RCAF. It is destined to be in a torpedo-bombing squadron in British Columbia. They have tried Bristol Beaufort torpedo bombers but cannot make them work. The RCAF requested a light sky grey underside as they do not…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part Five – The Dots Of Doom
My current build – the Airfix Handley Page Hampden – is an older kit. Not quite as old as the series 1 baggies, but it does date back to the 60’s. I daresay it has been re-boxed several times and the decals have probably been upgraded, but the basic plastic airplane is an earlier style…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part Three – Success Masquerading As Failure
Having overcome Part Two – the warp factor – I set myself the task of assembling the Hampden, and was pleasantly surprised by how well it cobbled together. The wing tabs were tight, but a little sanding loosened them and a little more sanding snugged the wing roots in close enough to the fuselage to…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part Two – Yes, I Have…
I knew this was going to happen. When I saw the dented box I knew it was a sign… The HP Hampden – destined to become the star of RCAF Doukh Inlet – turns out to be a 1960’s kit. No shame in that – I built kits in the 1960’s and I still turned…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part One – Have I Bought A Dud?
Normally, I am a pretty careful shopper. Whether it is in the car lot or the supermarket, you can find me squeezing, sniffing, and licking. The only time it seems to cause a problem is in the striptease nightclub. But I have a feeling I should have been a little more circumspect in the hobby shop when…
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To Break, Or Not To Break
That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to cement the landing gear in while you can still get access to the nacelles and housings or wait until the paint job is finished. Which choice brings a better or worse chance of breaking the things off prematurely? And must we use Shakespearean language after the fact?…
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Not A Creature Was Stirring
Not even a modeller. Well…not this modeller, anyway. We all have brain breaks occasionally – we start out thinking fine and then one of the mental drive belts hops off a wheel and the next thing you know we’re Jim Carrey on a bender. It happens in the modelling workshop, too. Today, for instance. Time…
The Little World 