Category: Colour Schemes
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General Dynamics F-1 – Part Two – Viper!

Well, I have decided to go with the Air Force crews and call this the Viper. I am also less than impressed with a company the calls itself by such a generic name; General Dynamics. Sounds as if they could be making light switches or selling time-share weeks. I think they should change the name…
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General Dynamics F-1 – Part One – Falcon?

Not, apparently, to the people flying them. They call them ” Vipers “. And they ought to know… This is my third F-16 - two others having been completed in 1/72 for the USAF and the IDF. I am starting to like the type a lot. The Academy kit is simple, small, and well-moulded. The only…
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McDonnell Douglas Phantom – Part Two – Vietnam Era

Little of my aero collection so far shows schemes of the Vietnam War period, but gradually this will change. Many of the kits now seem to have decals for the period and If I can overcome my aversion to both stencil decals and three-colour camouflage schemes, I can go right ahead. The call-out for this…
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The Low-Vis Paint Scheme

Or how to survive on the battlefield. See them before they see you – then run away. This also works with blind dating. The almost universal adoption of low-vis paint scheme and insignia by the world’s air forces has been founded on a number of assumptions – but not all of them seem logical: a.…
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Decal Or Paint?

Not a difficult choice when the design is complicated. Also not a tough decision when the decal sheet has something exactly as needed. There are any number of decal setting solutions today that will let you drape a design over a wet porcupine, so just take your time. When it comes to bigger scales and…
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Grumman Albatross – Part Three – Before 1965

If you look closely at some of my RCAF aircraft, they look odd; there is no lightning flash down the sides and the the flag is wrong. Wrong. The planes are pre-1965 with the old national flag on the tail. And if you look closely you’ll see that it flies with the Union Jack to…
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Grumman Albatross – Part One – Rescued From The Past

At last – my chance to do a classic Monogram kit that I never built before. Whatever the flaws there may be in this old kit – the raised rivets, etc, it has the priceless advantage of being part of plastic history. There will be movable landing gear, and I shall not hesitate to make…
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Supermarine Swift FR.5 – Part Three – PRU Blue

I suspect there might be as many debates about PRU Blue as there are about Azure Blue but since I have been given a ready-mixed bottle of Testor’s Model Master I do not care to argue. This model also lets me use two other MM enamels thinned with lacquer thinner. The choice of type was…
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Should Tiny Models Have Lighter Paints?

I don’t know, but I intend to experiment. Most of my aircraft building is in 1:72 scale, with the occasional foray into 1:48 when someone donates a kit to me. I tend to use lacquer paints and keep the colours strong and pure. The fact that this renders the models somewhat toy-like is a positive…
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Airbus 320-200 – Part Three – Safely Flying

I was going to title the wrap-up post ” Safely Landed “, but then I realised that the gear was up… At the outset I must admit this kit surprised me. I expected little, but got a lot. There have been moments, but these were predictable, and the difficulties were surmounted. Difficulties? Not the fit…
