Category: Collecting
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Sopwith Pup – Part Three – Anzac
Interestingly enough, this turns out to be an aircraft of the RNAS. Was it flown by someone from Australia or New Zealand? never mind – the decals are excellent and have gone on with no silvering at all. They are not so complex as to require softening solutions, either. A thoroughly enjoyable two days build…
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Do The Kit Makers Set Traps?
Is your favourite scale model manufacturer playing with you? Have they moulded a practical joke in their latest offering? Are they laughing at you in the lunchroom? You may be forgiven for asking this unpleasant question if you have just opened a $ 250 kit that has three parts and a decal sheet made of…
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Swedish Hampden – Part One – An Excuse
A very good excuse… a. For a trip to the local hobby shop. b. To purchase a fresh Airfix ” Vintage Classic “. c. To use up the decals that I got with my first Hampden. d. To see if Airix have corrected the flaws of that first kit. I do not really expect (d.)…
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Casting About For A Model
Is a die-cast airplane a model or a toy? It all depends upon the person holding it. One thing – it will never be a flying model – die-cast metal is not aerodynamic no matter how hard you throw it. It will sit on a stand or on its wheels and please the eye, but…
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Do You Deserve Your Fate?
And if you don’t, but get it anyway, who is responsible? Every scale model kit that ever went into a box or bag was put there by people who hoped for something. They aspired to money, admiration, respect, or grudging acceptance. Like a marriage, really, but with sprue trees. Few of us got a decal…
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Do Not Marry A Hobbyist
Advice for everyone – not restricted to age or gender. If you are about to marry a hobbyist, pause and look around – around their house or room or desk. Is there open space or is every surface covered by ” something in progress:? Be aware that if this is the case, nothing may be…
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If You Are Not The Target Buyer
Should you still build the kit? Look at the hobby shop shelves and identify the little-kid model. Now search for the advanced-rich-expert one. Note that they are both about the same price…Ha Ha Ha… Apart from the economics, however, there is a differential in targeting. The little 1:72 or 1:144 kit is often intended for…
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The Constant Search For The Ultimate Kit
Also known as the Styrene Itch. As soon as you get your first Airfix Starter Kit you are assailed by two desires: that of building it and buying another. Both of these are legitimate and in time you can succeed. However, as you do the urges mount, the pressure increases, and the pace quickens. Soon…
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The Compulsory Stash
Being tied to a plastic sprue tree… We sometimes encounter stashes that have gone from small to sensible to moderate to toxic. There is no actual number, but when the available storage space is exceeded and the floor starts being crowded out, you know that something is amiss. This is also the case for commercial…
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RAF Puma – Part One – Vintage Helo
Another Airfix Vintage Classic on the shelf – don’t mind if I do… Yikes – Scalemates says this kit was first released in 1973 and has been steadily re-released with different artwork ever since. It is like a bus on a roundabout – just wait to get aboard until it next circles past… I am…
