Category: finances
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MiG 15 – Part Seven – Supercheap To The Rescue
Do you remember my series of tests done to find out which acrylics, enamels, and lacquers would spray best? And the subsequent quest for clear coatings that would let me do decals and then protect the models? Well I looked out my sample tablets today and reassessed them. The local version of a floor polish…
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Grumman Avenger – Part Three – The Economy Kit
I have discovered a few reasons that the Academy Grumman TBF-1 was so cheap: a. The age of the mould means that while the fit and finish are fine, the amount of detail they were prepared to make in the casting – ie time taken to inscribe things – was limited. Either that or they…
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The Logistical Nightmares
I have to take my hat off to several sets of modellers seen at the recent plastic model show – and none of them are plastic modellers. a. the 1:72 ship society. Radio controlled ships these, and the discipline of the club is such that they are all kept to common scale and a pretty…
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North American AT6 – Part Two – Building The Factory Build
I am aware that Hobby Boss airplane kits are viewed as little-kid stuff by many modellers. Easy assembly, few extra parts, defined edges to some mouldings. The up-and-down assembly of a fuselage and wing unit – sometimes with horizontal stabilizer attached – suggests an activity for the ungifted. Perhaps it is so, but you need…
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North American AT6 – Part One – The Kosher Texan
We often buy a set of decals to match a kit we have – but in this case I have reversed the procedure. I had a leftover set of Israeli Air Force markings for an Academy kit and I purchased a Hobby Boss substitute to use them up. The original Texan became an RCAF Harvard…
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Who’s A Dealer and Who’s a Wheeler Dealer…
And how can you tell the difference between them? Perhaps we should mention a third category first – the retail dealer. a. The Retail Dealer has a shop – sometimes an on-line one, sometimes a physical store. Sometimes a combination of the two, if there are enough staff with enough expertise to run it all.…
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Serrer Le Marchand
Or in English – squeeze the merchant. a. ” I can get that cheaper “. So can the merchant. That is why it is being sold at the price on the tag. the difference between that and the wholesale price represents the profit, out of which the rent, wages, and interest comes. If you offer…
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Mitsubishi A5M-2 – Part One – CLAUDE
I often wondered about why the WWII Allied command code-named the Japanese aircraft in the way they did. So I analysed the names – ZEKE, RUFE, BABS, BETTY, TOJO, NATE, CLAUDE, etc. and here’s my conclusion, unsupported by any research… a. The names are short. They needed to be to be spoken or telegraphed quickly.…
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Ustar
Never heard of ’em? I never did until I started patronising Hobbytech out in Myaree. Then I found an increasing number of products from this Taiwanese firm on their tool and material shelves. I experimented with a few things, then bought more. Not every product was world-beating, but they were all workable, and some were actually…
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Scale Model Kit Building Is Craft Beer In Styrene
Here’s two parallel experiences; buying a plastic model kit in a hobby shop and buying a six-pack of craft beer at the local Dan Murphy’s. In both cases you are basically paying out for a pig in a poke. The externals are generally confusing…the plastic model kit has either great box art or horrible writing,…
The Little World 