Category: design
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Convair Atlas D – Part Two – Cement Day

This is no finger-tangler of a model. A day or two of cementing and sanding and the air compressor can be turned on. The assembly is no mean feat, however, as the tolerances with which this kit are moulded are anything but generous. Each of the location pins has had to be shaved to get…
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Convair Atlas D – Part One – Old Home To New Home

I used to live where these things were deployed. I now live where the scale model is made. This kit from Horizon Models was advertised for some time in the Australian scale model magazine – but I did not see it at the time. Then it got to Phil Flory and I sat up and…
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SNCAN Martinet – Part Two – Pre-Armed

I am never quite sure whether I want the good news or the bad news first – but in any case I want to be warned what is coming. In the case of the Martinet I looked up another modeller’s build of the same kit and learned that Czech Sneeze had made a slight error…
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SNCAN Martinet – Part One – A Siebel By Any Other Name

Christmas was coming to the hobby shop and it was time to choose my present. In this case before the actual day, so I got a fresh choice. The SNCAN Martinet was a Siebel 204 produced in France during the occupation and afterwards. It was used by the French air force and then sold on…
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The Light Plane Kit Vacuum

And I don’t mean vac-form either. I mean, where are the light plane kits in the scale modelling world? You can buy as much armour as you can carry, and as many fighter planes, bombers, and battleships as you might get through the front door – but if you want to have a shelf full…
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TKS Tankette – Part Three – I Cover My Tracks

And so I should – they are horrible. The plastic track option for the TKS was all I feared it would be. I’d seen club mates constructing their own 1:35 tanks with separate track links and just thought it a charming pretension on their part. Hypertension more likely – what looked to be a difficult…
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TKS Tankette – Part Two – A Perfect Companion

Imagine my joy when I looked more closely at my $ 1.00 tankette and discovered it was and up-gunned variant of the previous model. The hull parts are commendably well-fitting, though the suspension and side members are a little fiddly to assemble. I am new to 1:35 armour and I am starting to suspect that…
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TKS Tankette – Part One – Earwig O Again

Gary has visited the Men’s Shed at the modelling club again – bringing his box of extremely inexpensive scale models with him. I am skint this month due to extra studio expenses but even so I was able to buy three models for $ 1 each! This Polish TKS tankette kit is nowhere near as…
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Polish Tankette – Part Five – Not Gone Mad Yet

In fact, I’m having the time of my life. The IBG model tank is fitting together like a watch. A Polish watch, mind, but Warsaw is in the same time zone as Lucerne… The fit of the hull parts is exemplary. So much so, that I can dry-fit the hatches for painting with the view…
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Polish Tankette – Part Three – Tankietka

I am starting to be impressed with the IBG company’s approach to scale modelling. The first club day saw a little of the inside compartment started; the engine block and radiator shell. The parts separated cleanly from the sprue trees and dry fitted perfectly. the plastic is very slightly soft – eminently cuttable. Think a…
