Category: History
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Dornier Do 27 – Part Four – Dror
Hebrew word for ” freedom ” or ” sparrow “. I favour the latter meaning when applied to this little Dornier observation aircraft. They were active in the IDF between 1964 and 1981 – a very active period. The internet says they were initially attached to the delightfully-named ” flying camel ” squadron. Observation, liaison,…
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Mureaux 117 – Part Two – The Green Frog
Not FROG – this one is the Heller kit of 1967. The kit has fallen together beautifully. I lost a part, made a replacement, and steamed right on. The struts I worried about went in with absolute precision, and there was no filler needed anywhere. I feel myself fully rewarded for the price and will…
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We Can Retro Better than You Can
If you are a collector of mid-century modern furniture, or fashions, or cars you can pay a small fortune for junk. It’ll be up to you to repair and maintain it, and make yourself think you’re doing a good thing. For the scale model builder, we can do the same thing, but with a bit…
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English Electric Lightning – Part Four – The Cold Warrior
The English Electric company made several notable aircraft in the 50’s and 60’s. This interceptor was designed to tackle Soviet bombers before they could get to the UK – hence the high speed climb and short range of the prototypes. The over-wing tanks were a novel way to supply enough fuel to permit this remarkable…
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The Third-Party Direct Hearsay Evidence
That you read once, but can’t remember where. You know, the absolute shining truth that is too good to repress… The sort of tale that you tell to the other modellers around the table as they cut and glue, enhancing your status as the expert who has seen it all. With a bit of luck…
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The Importance Of Amateur Expertise
Don’t leave knowing it all to the professionals. I belong to scale model hobby clubs that derive information from various sources. The members read the internet, published books, and many specialist magazines. They have local museums to visit and can meet people who have seen and operated the things that they are modelling. There should…
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Prior Exposure
If it all happened before, you can be sure that it will all happen again. Somewhere there is an iceberg looking for an ocean liner. And the next time you book a zeppelin… It is the same with scale modelling – you can bet on death, taxes, and Spitfire kits. If it caught a penny…
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The Underside
And differences in opinion. Nothing is more striking when looking at aircraft camouflage than the variety of colours and shades that the different air forces used under the Plimsoll line. A glance at any of the Profiles books, a visit to an air museum, or the call-out sheets from any kit maker show colours like…
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Junkers Ju-86 – Part Two – The Four-Part Scheme
You have no idea how hard it was to resist writing ” Four-play “… The horror I experienced painting my first four-part camouflage scheme still exists in my display cabinet – wrapped around a Morane-Saulnier fighter of the French air force in early WW2. I was relying upon a back-of-packet colour call-out and masking fluid.…
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Junkers Ju-86 – Part One – The Lumbering South African
And I am not talking about elephants here… How often do you get to see South Africans flying overhead? Or landing on a local field? Or eating things off your lawn? Those of you who live in Perth know that the chances are quite good – we have seen many South African migrants over the…
The Little World 