Category: Decals
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Dewoitine D.510 – Part Three – The Jig

My pleasure at a Christmas present continues to grow. You’ve read my notes about the Slovakian plastic model jigs I received as a present this last Christmas. They are in daily use in the production of the 1:72 aircraft kits and I am learning to manage them better. I”m still not sure if the 5-minute…
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Savoia-Marchetti SM.81 – Part Two – Club Model

The discipline of building specific models in specific circumstances seems to be working out reasonably well – I keep two separate model kits for the two clubs I attend, and one kit a’building in my home workshop. Of course there are cross-overs when one comes to the painting stage – then I use my own…
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Handley Page Heyford – Part Four – HP Sauce

I did not even make it to March – the Handley Page Heyford that was to have been the crowning glory of Matchbox March was completed on the evening of February 28. And it was the last Matchbox kit in the stash. I shall do my research to see what other kits Matchbox made in…
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Nieuport 17C – Part Four – Lumière Frères

The Revell box art for the Nieuport 17C does not match the colour call-out. Which is correct? M. Google, please step forward… And he advances magnificently. On the Wikipedia site, the entry for the Nieuport 17 shows a premier image of a 17 sitting quietly in a field. There are no other aircraft seen, and…
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” I Want To Return This Kit “

And I want a full refund for it. a. It is the wrong kit. I wanted the right kit. Okay, I brought it from the shelf to the till myself and paid for it, but it was the wrong kit when I got it home and the wife found out how much it cost. b.…
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Airspeed Envoy – Part Three – The Governor’s Plane

And not a British governor, either. The Airspeed Envoys that went to China were for the use of Chinese provincial governors. Presumably not of the poor provinces, either. Careful observers will see that a rocker-cover fairing on the starboard engine has been dented. This was in the days before bird strikes could get past the…
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Swiss F-5E – Part Three – Live Fire Day

I was fortunate to discover a net image of one of the exact Tiger II’s on the colour call-out and decal sheet from italeri. It was a large, clear image of the plane taxiing out to participate in some form of range day. The tanks and missiles of the kit were close enough to the…
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The Rise Of The Decal

Once upon a 1950’s time, when all good boys deserved models, there were large airplanes with small sheets of decals. Then times changed and the proportions reversed. As a 1:72 builder I am dealing with the small end of the market…small as to individual size but large as an overall genre. It is ideal for…
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General Dynamics F-16 – Part Three – Surprisingly Handsome

I view some modern NATO aircraft with trepidation – there are so many variants that every time I glue on a bomb or a tank, I’m sure it’s in the wrong place. But what can you do in the absence of a concrete example parked at the local air museum? Well, you can start down…
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General Dynamics F-16 – Part Two – Having A Grey Fit

Like a pink fit, but more gentlemanly. You can clip a Hobby Boss kit together at nearly any stage of the build. I’d painted the wheel wells on the F-16 prior to trying the ordnance onto it and was curious to see whether there would be much filling and sanding needed. None at all if…
