Category: design
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A Good Reason
Vs no reason at all. If you want a history of design you have no further to look than the RFC/RAF roundels. Airborne identification is very sensible indeed – people bent on murder need to positively identify their enemies. The roundel, cross, star, or other symbol on an aircraft wing lets you see it at…
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Mirage III CJ – Part Four – Who’s Hiding?
And from whom? Where are they lurking? Is it all just nonsense these days? I have no idea – I presume the various air forces have worked out how to hide in the air with grey paint and rubber knobs on every sharp point of an aircraft. The business of greying out national insignia to…
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Mirage III CJ – Part Three – Let’s Give The Customers Something…
What shall it be? Accurate instruction sheets? Flawless mouldings? Adequate colour information? I have it – let’s just give them trouble. It’ll be fun and cheap and we can do it by making bad decisions. Like avoiding a centre seam on the top of the Mirage fuselage that could be smoothed and polished easily –…
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Mirage III CJ – Part Two – The Approximate Cockpit
I confess myself mystified at the philosophy that spends money to mould a resin seat of truly superb quality and then cannot make adequate provision to anchor it accurately within the fuselage. I admit that it is unlikely to escape once the two halves of the thing are cemented together, but the business of deciding…
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MiG 3 – Post Script
Looks like I was barking up the wrong tree – or at least one containing different squirrels. The MiG 3 kit I reported on – with the home-made canopy – came with an Italeri instruction sheet. I assumed they were the authors of the mould, and was a little nonplussed at some of the quality…
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MiG 3 – Part Four – Red Eight
Is Hero of Great Patriotic Aviation! Not loved by its pilots, not safe to fly at altitude, not effective as a gun platform….but that didn’t stop PRAVDA from advertising it as the greatest thing since sliced borscht. The model is pleasing, nonetheless – even the slightly odd-looking canopy. Considering that it was an experiment that…
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MiG 3 – Part Three – Either A Bird Or A Reptile
Soviet designers seem to have gravitated between these two influences. Either their designs resemble natural bird shapes or they look like lizards stretched out on a rock. In the case of the MiG 3 the avian predominates. Look at the rear view while the tail feathers are being put on – if that is not…
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MiG 3 – Part One – The Bag Of Almost
Another dusty diamond from the bowels of the storeroom. This is No. 180 model in the Italeri catalog – it could have been from any time between 1978 and 2018 but I’m betting on the earlier dates. I’ve no way of confirming this as it’s been supplied in a battered plastic bag full of almost.…
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You Only Really Aim High Or Low In Scale Modelling
The centre of the target is not interesting – a direct contrast to rifle shooting. When you buy a model, or are fortunate to receive one as a gift, you are either going to chop out a lot of money or very little at all. Oddly, most modellers don’t notice either sum. The large expensive…
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The Most Important Part Of The Build
Is not during or after – it is before… You fancy doing a bit of modelling – you get up, wash, dress, and proceed to the hobby shop. This may be a building or a website, but you go there – it doesn’t come to you. If you walk in there with nothing in your…
The Little World 