Category: Collecting
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It Is Either A Wonderful Collection
Or an unhealthy obsession. Have you seen the exhibition display of fifty scale models that are all the same car or plane, but painted in different livery? They may be from different makers, but often are just the same kit, repeated. The sight is impressive. If a person has a real interest in one prototype,…
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RCN Swordfish – Part One – The Opportunity
All you need is one – an opportunity, I mean. Then you can do the model you really want. This Novo re-pop of a FROG mould comes along a complex pathway from 1971 through to 1980. I suspect the kit has lain dormant since then – a true survivor of Ye Olden Dayes. As I…
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Well, The Maths Works Out
Dang it… As a kid in 1965 I could buy a 1:25th scale AMT car kit of a standard North American convertible for $2.50 from any drug store or hobby shop. A 3-In-1 kit with some custom parts and a fancy decal sheet. Today I saw a retro AMT kit looking precisely the same for…
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The Nearly Model
We’ve all had the experience of seeing an item on the shelf of a decor store antique palace that looks like a model from a distance – but a dust catcher from close up. Not that real scale models do not catch dust…it is just that the decor items are stuff that is churned out…
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I’m From Missouri
Show me. If you recognise that phrase, you’ll know it embodies the scepticism and practicality of the Missourian. It must be hard to sell used cars in Kansas City… But the miniature builder can satisfy even the hardest prairie mind – because the miniature builder need not be restricted to where they are or when…
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Define Nostalgia
Easy to do for yourself – hard to do for others… The theme for some of the displays seen at the WAMA exhibition revolved around nostalgia. The vague meaning of the word – a pain for the past – may be a lot more apposite than you’d think if your past was a pain. Some…
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Art For Sale
And it’ll be the kind you understand. There were a number of trade tables at the WA Miniatures Association weekend show. They were selling furniture, clothing, foods, art supplies, and building materials…all in very small sizes. I counted paper craft and modelling, doll clothing, accessories, furniture, food platters, and any number of other temptations. I…
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Where Do You Live?
In a house? In a suburb? In a certain time? What if you could create your own little world? Some scale model railway makers do that – and their layouts can be as bare or as detailed as their resources and imagination may dictate. Scale model diorama makers as well – they have little slices…
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Good Shows Need Not Be Frantic
It is not necessary to have rock music and explosions. Sometimes quiet beauty and good crafting skills are all that is needed. A case in point is the annual Western Australian Miniature Association event held at South Perth Civic Centre. It is a gem. The venue is on a quiet street – which helps to…
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Fokker D.XXI – Part Three – 1939
Ist Fighter Squadron, De Kooy, Netherlands. Autumn 1939. Den Helder was the location and the Dutch had about 30 operational Fokker D.XXI fighters at the base. They were used in May 1940 as defence against the Luftwaffe and the official history records some remarkable successes for the type. It was more manoeuvrable than the Bf…
The Little World 