Category: Chinese models
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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…
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Morane Saulnier 406 – Part Two – Blink And You’d Miss It

The wonderful thing about the Hobby Boss easy-to-build models is the bad thing about them… They are exactly that – easy to build. You need to do the basic things like wash the sprues and study the instruction, but after that you find yourself going ahead in such leaps and bounds that you need to…
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Morane Saulnier 406 – Part One – Nevaire Say Nevaire

I shall have to reform my character in the future as far as model aircraft go. I pass by certain models in the shop, turn the box over in my hand, and say ” Never…”. They might be an odd prototype or an unattractive box, or just a tired subject. But I do myself an…
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Can We Be Too Fussy?

Yes, we can! We’re scale modellers and fussy is what we do. If you want lackadaisical go down the hall to the Morris Dancing Club – they drink and they don’t care. Scale modellers, and their disreputable cousins, the Lego builders, do fuss a lot about little details. We want the model we build to…
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The Little Kid Model

I was in the airplane kit aisle of my local – Hobbytech – one Sunday, and I encountered a charming scene. A young man – under 20, I should say – was introducing a friend to model kits and helping him to get some to start building. The sort of thing that encourages us all.…
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Chance Vought Corsair – Part Two – New Model Just Release!

You buy now. We ruv you rong time. Someone told me I was getting cynical in my old age. I have my high school yearbook and the entry with my photo says I have an ironic wit. I am not an old cynic – I was a smart arse in 1966. All this because I…
