Category: Decals
-
Airfix Vintage Val – Part Four – The Judgement

The judgement can finally be delivered on the relative merit of the Airfix Aichi Val vs the Fujimi example. The AIrfix model wins – despite being older and sporting the ancient raised rivets. The verdict is based upon the ease of assembly, the fit of the parts, and the quality of the decals. Admittedly, the…
-
Aichi Val – Part Three – Stripe Tail

I have often remarked the stripes that appear on the horizontal stabilisers of WW2 Japanese aircraft. They are on the upper side and form a fan radiating outwards from the front of the vertical stabiliser – some tails have them in white – some in yellow. This Aichi Val tail has them in red. They…
-
Aichi Val – Part Two – Not Quite Tamiya

I was a bit premature in my assessment of the Fujimi kit of the Aichi Type 11. It is closer to Monogram than Tamiya. The flash encountered was not too bad – nothing that knifing and sanding could not deal with. The location pins were in the right places. Yet the fuselage halves fit only…
-
Fujimi Aichi Val – Part One – Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy

I finally got to build a model of an airplane my uncle Jack shot at on Dec. 7, 1941. Fujimi kits are thin on the ground here in Western Australia at the best of times and these aren’t the best of times. But a shelf of them turned up at the local shop and I…
-
CT-155 Hawk – Part Four – Wayne And Gordie

It looks as if our two favourite Canadian pilots – Wayne And Gordie – have a new mount. The BAE CT-155 Hawk is on the line at Moose Jaw and the new commemorative scheme is finally done. The stencilling and decaling took two weeks, though this is because it was a club build and we…
-
CT-155 Hawk – Part One – Idly Interneting…

I drifted past the RCAF historian’s site and glanced at the trainers – in this case at the new ones. The BAE 100-series two-seat Hawk seems to have been a hit with the RCAF as an advanced fighter trainer. I looked at Scalemates and was encouraged to see that AIrfix make a new kit of…
-
Ess Bend Engineering – Part Two – Now You Sea One

And I wish you could sea two. The Trumpeter kit for a 40′ sea container is a beauty – and as it came under the wing of an EOFY sale by Hobbytech, I seized upon it gleefully. I would have been even more delighted if it had been a pair of 20′ containers as these…
-
Lockheed Hercules – Part Seven – Too Big For The Studio

But not too big for the runway. You’ll be seeing more of the CC-130 Hercules when it lands at Wet Dog Regional in the future – there is enough space around the plane to show all its fuselage and wings. In the meantime you’ll just have to make do with the little studio shots. The…
-
Lockheed Hercules – Part One – Club Build

Every year I like to let myself go with a biggish build and use my time at the Scale Model Club Of Western Australia to do it. I know it’s going to be a leisurely affair with occasional stops for home air brushing, but I can still make good use of the Tuesday Men’s Shed…
-
Canadair CT-116 – Part Three – Cold Lake Toy Fighter
All Good – after several false starts and a few execrable errors, the Cold Lake CT-116 is ready for the apron. I patterned the build after an internet image of a 116 over the Alberta tundra. The in-flight shot was perfectly exposed and opened all the markings up beautifully. The model could be measured and…
