Category: Collecting
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Do Miniaturists Live Minimal Lives?
You might get that impression from the television and movie portrayals of model makers. We seem to be the losers skulking in the basements of the world. Many of us are psychopaths. Well, that may be you, but it isn’t me. My childhood interest was converted to professional purposes and served me well for forty…
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Forbidden Modelling
What an odd concept. Who can forbid scale modelling? Well, quite a few official bodies, as it happens. Try to fly a model airplane, run an R/C car or boat, or scramble about the local oval with your model tank and see what a squawk it raises. These restrictions multiply when there are clubs and…
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North Of The River
Comes south of the river…once a year. I live south of the water…in fact of several waters…and find myself going north at least once a week to participate with the Scale Model Club of Western Australia. We’ve got a wonderful set of club rooms set in a northern recreation park, and every convenience to hand.…
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I Asked About The Difference…
Between fantasy and science fiction, and the chap with the space helmet, ray gun, and rocket back pack just shook his head. So did his four-headed dragon, and that was a messy business. Took us half an hour to put out spot fires. In the future, I shall just observe the future from a distance.…
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4-D Printing
The new art of 3-D printing is flooding into the scale modelling world like a bottle of cement tipped over onto the cutting mat. If you move fast, you can rescue your kit from it…any delay will see you stuck to the workbench. Well, not that exactly…but you cannot ignore the new technology now that…
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Big People Look For Little People
And so do little people. Every scale model, whether alone or as part of a diorama, needs some sort commonality with the viewer. This can be finer points in the case of something seen by an expert, but the rest of us need a different post to hitch our horse to. Most often it is…
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Schmattarim
Stop groaning. It’s my model airport and I get to make the jokes. Actually, it’s a museum layout – a very useful way to display a variety of aircraft. In this case they are Israeli, and the idea is patterned on the real IAF museum at Hatzerim. I’ve built enough models to mount two separate…
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The Scale Of the Problem
Is related to the person judging it. Those who have a problem, have a problem. Those who do not, have the people who do, and that is a problem… Some years ago I noted an very attractive model of a modern jetliner at an exhibition of scale models. There were ground crew figures and vehicles…
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Let and Hindrance
Ever stop to consider how often the demands of other people rule your life? I mean your hobby life. If you are a target shooter of any sort the police regulations are strict and getting stricter. You are at the command of every police officer, departmental clerk, or politician. You are hemmed in by journalists…
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Model Car Sunday – Part Eight
The Jewels. They may not be crown jewels. They may not be in a Cartier window. They may be made of plastic and not worth over $ 20 apiece – but they are jewels nevertheless. They represent the efforts of a major manufacturer and a dedicated enthusiast to remember real trophy winners of the past.…
The Little World 