Category: design
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De Havilland Beaver – Part Two – Let Me Clear Something Up…
A recent build of another Airfix Vintage Classic kit – a Westland Whirlwind helicopter – pointed out the perils of remoulding 1950’s models. The clear plastic on that one was appalling. This Vintage Classic is of a newer year – 1971 – and the clear parts have improved immensely. But they are still just the…
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De Havilland Beaver – Part One – Leave it To Me, Wally
Those of a ” certain age ” will get it… Those of that samecertain age will recognize the Airfix Vintage Classic Beaver kit as one of the British Army cooperation planes – but will be surprised when they look at the side of the box – it appears to have been used by the US…
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Have You Found Your Oeuvre?
Or your œuf? Is your modelling pressing you toward one coherent thing, or are you flailing in all directions? Perhaps flailing is your destiny, and you are fulfilling it. Do not despair. Leonardo Da Vinci was nearly fifty years old before he built his first model of the MISSOURI. And look how he flourished in…
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Every Time You Bolt On A Main Spar
A Fairey gets its wings… The magic of scale model building is far greater than any mousey studio could dream up – we actually get to do things instead of just watch other people do them. One of the things we do is cement wings onto aircraft. We can do this neatly or not, but…
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Avia B-135 – Part One – A Semi-Precious Stash Gem
The big annual local scale model exhibition had come and gone – and there was some speculation that it had gone forever.* But I did well. My model Ruritanian airport garnered only slight interest, but the stash sales made it all worth while. This Czech fighter appeared at a very advantageous price and I was…
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Shinden – Part Three – The Delayed Future
Delayed by the events of the late period in the war – delayed by inadequacies in production and supply. But not completely forgotten – as many of the concepts were to later return. The Shinden had one job – and had it been available in large numbers it might have been able to do that…
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Shinden – Part Two – Future Fighter
I am immensely impressed by this 1:48 scale Hasegawa model. It seems to have everything you’d want in a different adventure. The plastic is Hasegawa – brittle – and that frightens you when you imagine the amount of sanding that will be required…but then the parts dry-snap into each other and there is really no…
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The Corner Of Frugal Boulevard and Tight Arse Lane
The cheap end of town. I got there after consulting the internet and looking at eBay sales items. The prices were high and the shipping costs higher. But I did benefit from the product illustrations – which I could screen save and use for reference. Free information. My project involved making some more buildings for…
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Decal Or Not Decal
That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to suffer the agonies of masking tape and airbrush or to take scissors and water and end them. I am in the position of Hamlet every time I look a the colour call-out of a kit. I have the decal sheet in one hand and my heart in…
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Occam’s Razor Saw
Go google up William of Ockham and read the article. Follow a few of the rabbit hole links and then come back. You’ll want a stiff drink now. Don’t try to model as your hands will be shaky. Avoid bright lights. The principles that William seemed to be writing about and that have provided philosophers…
The Little World 