Category: Decals
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Curtiss Shrike – Part Five – Bombs Away

And to think I was considering chopping the tail off this plane and making it into a silver prototype. I’m so glad I’m lazy. The Dragon model of the Shrike A25-A has come out very well, despite the funny landing gear doors. The interior is detailed enough that if I had wished, the glasswork could…
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Revell Brewster Buffalo – Part Three – Good Enough For the Dutch

Poor old Hollanders. They never seemed to have a good time of it in their wars. The English beat them off the sea in the 1700’s and the Japanese scoured them out of the Dutch East Indies in the 1940’s . I wonder if they have ever won anything? Perhaps they do when they retell…
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Curtiss Helldiver – Part Two – Diving For Dollars

The Sword model of the Curtiss dive bomber is one of the bargain bin purchases I made when a chap came to our club thinning out his stash. The whole thing in box was only $ 20…which made my previous purchase of an A-25 A Shrike from a retailer look pretty sick. The Shrike has…
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Petlyakov Pe-2 – Part Four – Yet Another Soviet Triumph

Pardon me if I start to sound a little cynical – I’ve been reading Soviet accounts of their air force in the Great Patriotic War. In various articles I’ve been told that three separate Soviet aircraft were the most produced planes of all time and won the war. The articles originate from within what was…
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part Five – Snowbird Hack

Well, that was rewarding. The decal set that cost $ 5.00 went down like a cold beer in a country pub. Decals are always a lottery – even from the reputable makers. Specials from shows? Like licking a light socket and betting the current is off. The CT133 that followed the ‘Birds for a few…
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Lockheed RT 33 – Part One – An Unexpected Delight

In 2019 I visited a model exhibition in Melbourne and scoured the secondhand tables for bargains. I think I did pretty well in the decal files – the RCAF Lancaster decals were found as well as a $ 5.00 set of commemorative ones for the Lockheed CT-133. This was the Canadian version of the T-33…
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Inspiration

A wise person takes inspiration from others. Thus, some politicians keep the works of Jesse James, Attila, and Torquemada handy for quick reference. Scale modellers, too, can benefit from contemplating the work of others. This is one of the chief benefits of a scale model show – as well as access to sausages on a…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part Five – Box Art

I tips me lid to the artist who painted this Republic RF-84F Thunderflash on the kit box. His rendition proved to be the most helpful reference I could find for this aircraft. I find colour call-outs fun to look at as snapshots of what one might make from the box. But I still want other…
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Republic Thunderflash – Part One – The Flying Photographer

Without realising it I completed a couple of builds that could start a new shelf in the Air Museum – and now I have No. 3 and No. 4 in the stash; a Republic RF84F Thunderflash and A Lockheed RT33. Together with the P-38 PRU and Spitfire PRXIX they are the eyes in the sky…
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Polikarpov I-16 – Part Four – Stalin’s Falcons

Well, they had to be different from the Adlers of the Germans and the Bald Eagles of the Americans. And these fighters were tiny things – so it was either going to be Falcons or Tits. And you can play with tits as much as you wish… Actually, I think the Falcon name was attached…
