Category: German aircraft
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If You Build A Mustspitschmitt

You have to build it in the largest possible scale. Anything less would be a waste of time. Disregard the fact that you could show as much or as little skill in the smaller size as the larger. Set aside the cost factor and the encroachment on domestic space after it is completed. This is…
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Fokker DR.1 – Part Two – Schwartz

Specifically, Wilhelm Schwartz – in 1918 at Mesniles. That’s the plate that I have based my Fokker triplane upon. The kits that come out of this iconic aircraft all seem to assign it to Manfred v. Richthofen and mould it in red plastic. An understandable choice, as he was possibly the most famous ace of…
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Fokker Dr.1 – Part One – Brothers…19 Years Apart

Recently I bought an Airfix Dogfight Double Vintage Classic kit that promised a Bristol fighter as well as a Fokker triplane. It was a mis-box – I got two Bristols ( Stop thinking of Barbara Windsor… ) but no Fokker. ( Stop, Stop. Just stop thinking of the lovely Carry On lady… ) A friend…
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If They Ask The Right Question

Give ’em the right answer. ” Is that a Messerschmitt “? is a perfectly sensible question, unless it has four engines and ” Enola Gay ” on the nose. It deserves an honest answer and an explanation of the era and the markings. Likewise if they ask the scale and the model manufacturer – you…
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Airfix Junkers 87 – Part Five – Partisan

The Junkers 87 used by the Luftwaffe was terrifying enough – but as a captured dive bomber in the hands of Marko and Miloš…Eeeeek. The aircraft was captured by Yugoslav partisans in Feb 1945 when the two German crew landed by mistake at the wrong airfield. It was subsequently flown in battle by the partisans…
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Airfix Junkers 87 – Part Four – By The End Of The 27th

This year I did not holiday on a coast; neither Gold, Rainbow, Iron, or Mosquito variety – stayed home. And built my AIrfix Christmas kit – as a proper person would. You have turkey, Santa, and Airfix – do not try to better a winning combination. By the end of the 27th the kit was…
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Airfix Junkers 87 – Part Three – Boxing Day

If you are wondering what to do on Boxing day and your Christmas kits are sitting there…well, I ask you. As this Stuka was destined to have a dark-coloured scheme, it was a chance to use my black cement. It’s a 50/50 mix between a thin and thick cement. Perfect for parts that need to…
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Airfix Junkers 87 – Part Two – Inside The Office

Approaching an aircraft build with trepidation is always disheartening. But some kits beg it – the Czech short-run ones or the Russian re-pops often have too much inside or nothing at all. We have all seen the pilot figure stuck to a post from one side of the fuselage – or worse; nothing whatsoever under…
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Airfix Junkers 87 – Part One – Relax

It’s a new mould. But don’t relax too far. I looked at the sprue trees and found patches of flash and surprisingly large ejector pins. Fortunately the latter are mostly in areas that are hidden. Still, I don’t trust a couple and will burr them off before trying to join the wings. The kit features…
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Hannover CL III A – Part Three – Auferstehung

And not a zombie, either – a good-looking model for the collection. The Hannover CL IIIA was apparently a success. It could function as an observation or ground attack aircraft and a number of them were successful as fighters when newcomers on the Allied side pulled up behind one, thinking it was a single-seater. The…
