Category: Czech models
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Curtiss Hawk II – Part Three – The Generalissimo’s Finest
Generalissimo Stein Kai Shek is very pleased with the new Curtiss fighter plane for the Swuping Air Army. The underlings may breath easier. The Generalissimo is relieved as well. The sight of the sprue trees with multiple struts is always a daunting prospect. These went together with absolutely no problems. Even the dreaded photo-etch brass…
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Curtiss Hawk II – Part One – The Evolution Of A Goshawk
With the recent announcement of new land division within the Republic Of China – the Generalissimo commanding Swuping province has mandated the formation of an air force. Generalissimo Stein Kai Shek is up to date with all the latest methods of defence, as seen by his formation of an Armoured Women’s Dance Corps, a Terrestrial…
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Can A Manchester Or Lincoln Be That Far Away?
I am a solid fan of the Airfix company’s plastic model kits. I cannot remember ever having a really bad, unbuildable one from them. Some of their offerings could be a little crude, but they were of their time and reasonably priced withal. They did concentrate on British marques and that was fine – they…
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The Easternisation Of the Hobby
When I first started building plastic models in the 1950’s there were few Soviet-bloc models to be found. A few oddities, like the Aurora MiG 19 which proved to be totally imaginary…or the Airfix MiG 15 which was somewhat better. And a lone copy of the Bison bomber that Revell put out in the 60’s.…
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Hoothehell?
Or in polite terms, ” Who in their right mind…? “. It is a phrase that whispers to me every time I cruise the kit aisles of HobbyHell. The other part of the question is ” would ever buy this thing? “. The kits or parts or tools or toys in question are not forbidden…
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Polikarpov U-2 – Part Three – Time To Box Clever
When you are confronted with a complex model design – multiple wings or complex landing gear – it pays to stop and think. You need to get your sequence of painting and assembly right to avoid making hard work even harder. Or worse – to avoid the risk of spoiling vital parts. No-one likes to…
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The Big Local Scale Model Exhibition – Part Five – The Quest For Novelty
One of the charms for me when I attend the doll-house ladies’ exhibition, or that of the model railway enthusiasts – is the novelty of the models and exhibits. I preserve this freshness by attending only one of these per year – one year it will be the doll-houses and next the trains. Every time…
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Ilyushin Il-2 – Part Five – For One Dollar More…
I get to build a model of Clint Eastwood. No, no, no…Not that at all – for one dollar more I get to build another Ilyushin IL-2 with the winter ski equipment on it. A chap arrived at the club selling kits for a dollar and this turned out to be the hi-tech version of…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Four _ Winter At Uszhitmi
Uszhitmi Air Base is what is known in Russia as a winter wonderland. It’s the place that they send people who have been exiled from Siberia. Thus we see the Ilyushin IL-2 sitting on the tarmac on a bright day in midsummer. You can tell it’s summer as they have not put the snow skis…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Three – The Fit Bit
The Sturmovik is cementing together nicely. You’ll see the gap patch in the front before trimming, but note the wing and tail seams. This is the sort of fit I wish ALL Czech and other eastern European makers could achieve. There will be the tiniest slip of superglue on the port wing at the leading…
The Little World 