Category: Czech models
-
Of Course It Doesn’t Fit
It never fit in 1959, when the kit was released. It didn’t fit in 1989 when Revell bought the mould and re-issued it. It will not fit when someone east of the Urals finally gets the worn-out blocks and injects reindeer poo into them to claw back some rubles. It’s not about fit. It’s about…
-
Fiat CR.32 – Part Four – Under A Chinese Sun
The Fiat CR.32 is now ready to fight off the hordes of invading Japanese bombers from the Xú Jichâng airfield. The period of time between the last post and this one was spent painting the wheel sub-assemblies – an easy task – and putting them on the fuselage. This was also an easy task, giving…
-
Fiat CR.32 – Part Two – Rosatelli Rocket
I had never heard about Celestino Rosatelli before I read the instruction sheet for this kit, but the story there was enough to send me looking at some of his other designs. They were mostly successful and few of them looked like clunkers, but as with most of the designs of the period I long…
-
Fiat CR.32 – Part One – ” Chirri “
Not just the bare bones, but the entire animal! A nationalist Chinese fighter of the 1930’s straight out of the box! And it is one I haven’t built before. How could I refuse the email lure from Metro Hobbies? And it’s an AZ model from the Czech Republic so I know it’ll eventually be good.…
-
Farman NC 223.3 – Part Eight – Air France Libre
My first aircraft model with the Free French cross of Lorraine and it has been quite an experience. The Farman in warpaint would have been simple enough to do, and the camouflage would have disguised many of the difficulties encountered, but the appeal of the ivory paint and those FF insignia won out in the…
-
Farman NC 223.3 – Part Seven – L’Éminence Grise
By the time a large scale model gets to the Mr Surfacer 1000 stage I no longer have any authority over it – the command structure is reversed. In a way, it is comforting to surrender the initiative in this way. Oh, there will be patching and sanding and other attendances but the die has…
-
Farman NC 223.3 – Part Six – Praise Courageous Me
Thank you, thank you. I fully deserve your applause – I have made propellers and engines the HARD way. Not that I had any choice in the matter. The parts were there and the instructions were uncompromising – ” Do as we say or die “. Or, in the case of the engine mounting struts:…
-
Farman NC 223.3 – Part Two – Short Run Need Not Be Vile
I think Forrest Gump would have enjoyed short-run Czech kits – he had a philosophy that would have coped. I may send my next Prague bomb to Tom Hanks. The fuselage halves of this angular bird could have been a disaster – no locating pins and a very long run for twists and warpage. But…
-
Farman NC 223.3 – Part One – A Packet Of French Letters
Specifically, SNCAC NC 223.3 B.N.5. Hereafter referred to as the Farman – it’s the only one in the stable so I don’t need to be specific. This Azur kit promises to be several weeks worth of advanced building – it is definitely short-run but of the better sort. There are only the vaguest of interior…
-
Dewoitine D.510 – Part Four – Spanish Star
I am delighted to say that the Dewoitine D.510 has made it to the photographic flying field and it is a sunny day. The silvery colour is French silver-grey – a custom mix that has just received a boost from the dregs of a Mr Color bottle. It has changed yet again, which is the…
The Little World 