Category: Canadian aircraft
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Making Water On The Workbench
And in cold weather, too… I needed a harbour with water – dry water – to display my float planes. No good just posing them on a glass shelf like dried cod – they needed to look like they were in their natural element. No time, and no inclination, to do the complex water-building that…
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Geezers
Pilots, aircrew, figures…whatever you prefer to call them. They were once included with all scale model aircraft kits – now they are rarely seen. The only reason my RCN Grumman Tracker has them is that it is a very old stash kit. The quality of the mouldings is marginal, but far surpasses those moulded in…
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Airspeed Oxford – Part Four – The Central Flying School
The third partner in the Training Trio. My BCATP airfield: RCAF WET DOG – has struggled on for years with an Anson, a Harvard, and a Crane – all good trainers. Of course there is a Tiger Moth and a Grumman Gosling as well, but up until now the Airspeed Oxford has eluded me. Now…
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Airspeed Oxford – Part One – The Leaky Frog
A recent estate sale brought this creature into my life; Lermontov the leaky frog. He is so named because he is from Russia, is made up of old parts, and is leaking sand all over the photo table. He is an apt analogy for the Novo Airspeed Oxford model. Lermontov cost nothing – the Airspeed…
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Fairey Swordfish Mk I – Part Four _ THM
It may seem foolish to bypass much of the effort that Airfix went to when they designed this model. But that is what I did when I started researching the Canadian connection for this aircraft. It would appear that there were a number of them in RCAF and RCN service during and after WW2. And…
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Grumman Albatross – Part Three – Before 1965
If you look closely at some of my RCAF aircraft, they look odd; there is no lightning flash down the sides and the the flag is wrong. Wrong. The planes are pre-1965 with the old national flag on the tail. And if you look closely you’ll see that it flies with the Union Jack to…
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Grumman Albatross – Part One – Rescued From The Past
At last – my chance to do a classic Monogram kit that I never built before. Whatever the flaws there may be in this old kit – the raised rivets, etc, it has the priceless advantage of being part of plastic history. There will be movable landing gear, and I shall not hesitate to make…
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De Havilland Beaver – Part Four – Bluebell Bay Belle
Kootenay Lake in British Columbia is long, wide, and very deep – and hemmed on every side by mountains. Perfect flying water for an air taxi. Thus was born the idea of providing an air service connecting Kuskanook, Kootenay Bay, and Kaslo – with stops at Riondel. Balfour, and Lardeau. The perfect vehicle is the…
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De Havilland Beaver – Part Three – Beaver On A Stick
When you’re a Cub Scout in the Kootenays, you’ll eat anything… The De Havilland Beaver a’building is using three of my favourite things; Mr Color No. 208 duraluminium paint, 3M double sided foam tape, and plastic clamps from Bunnings. The Airfix kit is slotting together nicely, though you need your wits about you if you…
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De Havilland Beaver – Part Two – Let Me Clear Something Up…
A recent build of another Airfix Vintage Classic kit – a Westland Whirlwind helicopter – pointed out the perils of remoulding 1950’s models. The clear plastic on that one was appalling. This Vintage Classic is of a newer year – 1971 – and the clear parts have improved immensely. But they are still just the…
The Little World 