Category: Hobby Shops
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You Look At It

It looks at you. The scale model stand-off; you have bought a kit well beyond your comfort zone. It has 1468 parts plus a booklet and a decal sheet with 47 different options. Every track link has 18 parts and you need to make up 256 of them. This might be fine, except it is…
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Selling The Unsaleable

The heart of a hobby shop owner must be made of leather and whipcord. Or marzipan. Either way, it needs to be tough and resilient. The ultimate test of this comes at the end of the day when the last customer leaves and the till is totalled up. If the last customer is the only…
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Bristol F.2B – Part One – The Dogfight Half

Bitterly disappointed as I was upon opening the Airfix box, I decided to soldier on. I had been expecting a Fokker triplane as well as a Bristol F.2b that were shown on the box top. Inside the box were decals for both planes, instructions and call-out for both, but no Fokker. Instead I got a…
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Buy All The Superglue

And discover whether it really is super or not… I have looked with nuclear puzzlement at the cyanoacrylate cement racks in the hobby shop…as well as at the DIY shop. Frequently no idea at all forms in my mind, and I buy whatever is cheapest. The super-thin sort goes everywhere and into my fingers. The…
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RAAF Spitfire Mk Vc – Part One – A Plane Chasing A Decal

The impetus for this Spitfire build came from a recently-completed model of a High Planes Wirraway. It went so well and the Czech DK Decals sheet for it was so easy to use that I glanced down to discover there was a full Spit layout on the sheet as well. A White-tail too, which I…
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How Does A Hobby Fall Upon Its Prey?

Having been savaged by at least eight major hobbies in my life, with the wreck of finance and intellect as evidence, I am finally drawn to wondering why… Why these things, why me, why anyone. Why do ’em, and why pay for ’em. Every child plays with toys, if they are lucky. Every child runs…
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Fun For The Whole Family

A scale modeller who runs out of kits need never be dismayed – as long as they have their family. a. The family are a soft touch. All you need to do is mope about the house complaining that you don’t have anything to do. After a day of this they will empty their purses…
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FW 190 – Part One – A Classic Gift

I well remember the 1/4″ scale kits moulded by Monogram in the 1960’s/ They were a must-buy when you encountered them in the hobby shops in Alberta but you needed more money to do so than with Revell or Aurora products. They were either in shorter supply or regarded as better items. They also sometimes…
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Japanese Secret

The image that accompanies this post was taken with a Japanese camera and Japanese lens. They are superb products that do a wonderful job. The products seen are also made in Japan – and they are excellent, too. Two pots of paint. I could not enjoy my hobby of scale model building without them. But take…
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Are Buyers And Storers Collectors?

Are they modellers as such? This question has come up repeatedly in my life as I have been attracted by scale models of all sorts. I’ve purchased die-cast ships, cars, and planes that were complete in themselves right out of the box – exquisite in some cases. Some became part of a larger collection that…
