Category: Chinese models
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The Return Of The Chinese Junk
When I was a kid in the 50’s there were dime stores that sold goods cheaply. In some cases they were cheap goods – particularly if they were plastic toys from Hong Kong. There was a particularly brittle form of plastic that was used in toy factories that was moulded into all sorts of workable…
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North American AT6 – Part Three – The Universal Airplane
What do you want from a model kit? A unique subject that was only ever built once, by one maker, for one flyer? A model that can never be made in an alternative form? Buy yourself a ” Spirit of St. Louis ” and a pot of silver paint, Charlie, and away you go. After…
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North American AT6 – Part Two – Building The Factory Build
I am aware that Hobby Boss airplane kits are viewed as little-kid stuff by many modellers. Easy assembly, few extra parts, defined edges to some mouldings. The up-and-down assembly of a fuselage and wing unit – sometimes with horizontal stabilizer attached – suggests an activity for the ungifted. Perhaps it is so, but you need…
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North American AT6 – Part One – The Kosher Texan
We often buy a set of decals to match a kit we have – but in this case I have reversed the procedure. I had a leftover set of Israeli Air Force markings for an Academy kit and I purchased a Hobby Boss substitute to use them up. The original Texan became an RCAF Harvard…
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Mitsubishi A5M-2 – Part Two – A Nipponese Quickie
I’m not sure if I should leave money on the mantlepiece. I’ve just had my moment of pleasure and it’s all over. But I don’t regret it at all. Lets face it – building a Hobby Boss fighter plane is never going to be a case of long-term employment. Unless you pace yourself, you’ll find…
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Mitsubishi A5M-2 – Part One – CLAUDE
I often wondered about why the WWII Allied command code-named the Japanese aircraft in the way they did. So I analysed the names – ZEKE, RUFE, BABS, BETTY, TOJO, NATE, CLAUDE, etc. and here’s my conclusion, unsupported by any research… a. The names are short. They needed to be to be spoken or telegraphed quickly.…
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Ustar
Never heard of ’em? I never did until I started patronising Hobbytech out in Myaree. Then I found an increasing number of products from this Taiwanese firm on their tool and material shelves. I experimented with a few things, then bought more. Not every product was world-beating, but they were all workable, and some were actually…
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North American Mustang I – Part Five – A Dappled Horse
Well, the Mustang is on charge and will be conveyed to RCAF Wet Dog in a day or so. It is as fresh as many coats of paint and varnish can make it – the decision to begin weathering the models has been postponed for a few months. The final result of this experimental build…
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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…
The Little World 