Category: design
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Polish Tankette – Part Two – Better Than Nostalgia
Remember that great nostalgia we got before the war – it always fried up crispy and you could go from here to Sydney on it for 17 shillings… Well, I never went to Sydney for 17 shillings, but I did go to Don’s Hobby Shop in Calgary on Saturday mornings and spent my pennies on…
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Systematic Modelling
A fine concept. Except most of what I do is Système D. In case you are unclear about the classifications, let me explain: a. Système A – By the book. Follow the correct pathway to do anything, and expect that the correct outcome will eventuate. b. Système B – By the current fashion – even…
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Northrop Black Widow – Part Five – Yellow Widow
Well, I like it. It has flaws, but then so do most of the things I love. The prototype for this build was apparently bought by Ranchers, Inc. in Boise Idaho in 1963 and converted to a water bomber – or fire tanker in the North American parlance. It did not last long, stacking it…
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Northrop Black Widow – Part Four – White Widow
Before you think this has gotten political or I’ve lost my mind, let me assure you that there is a very good reason for painting the P-61 Black Widow white. Before I go into that, notice how smooth the basic structure ( despite the rivets ) is. There was surprisingly little putty needed – or…
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Northrop Black Widow – Part Three – Swings And Roundabouts
Every airplane design has compromises and so does every kit. Some are adequately addressed and some are not – what you gain on the swings, you lose on the roundabouts. In the case of the P-61, the twin tail booms made of two pieces each ( double the seams ) mean two chances to get…
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72 ÷ 2 = 36
And 36 ÷ 2 = 18. So you can see the logical mathematical connection between the standard small plastic model airplane scale and the cast-metal car hobby. But what is 1:36 doing in between? Not a lot, if Google is accurate. A few die-cast cars but nowhere near as many as adjacent scales. I think…
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Revell Sopwith Camel – Part Two – Those Were Apparently The Days
And I was just the right age -14 – to fail to appreciate just how awful the Revell kits were at the time. I had built Revell planes and ships since the 1950’s and they were a sort of base standard upon which other maker’s efforts were judged. Aurora was worse, Monogram was better, Eaglewall…
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SAAB Tunnen – Part Four – Neutral Corner Fighter
Just how neutral is Sweden – really? I know they are always telling us that they defend only themselves, and it is damned difficult to get them to go on exercises with other countries – though this has changed lately. But in the world wars they were shipping arms and raw materials to both sides…somewhat…
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SAAB Tunnen – Part Three – Not Scot Free
As you can see in the heading image, the SAAB Tunnen has not gone scot-free from the need for filler. The culprit is the optional piece for the underside of the nose – it is either a cannon-armed fighter like this or the photo-recon version with camera windows. You are faced with a curved seam…
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SAAB Tunnen – Part Two – Spacious Swede
Nearly all tricycle-gear planes need some sort of nose weight to prevent them sitting on their tails. In some cases it can be a geometric nightmare trying to find enough space at the front of the fuselage to accommodate that weight. You are asking for trouble if you try to do it with lumps of…
The Little World 