Category: Israeli aircraft
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Consolidated Catalina – Part Two – Stand Down Canso
The Academy model of the Catalina PBY-5A proved to be a delightful thing in the box. But the thinking that wanted to convert it to a Catalina I in RCAF markings was as flawed as hell. The kit is moulded in black plastic – and any attempt to throw it over to RCAF Coastal Command…
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Avia S-199 – Part Six – A Messer By Any Other Name
As soon as I saw the photographs of the Avia S-199 in Czechoslovakia and then later in Israel I knew someone was fooling with me. The propellor gave it away. It was a cartoon propellor from a Daffy Duck movie. I mean, who would put as big a prop on a plane like that…? Well…
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Avia S-199 – Part Five – ” Daddy, Why Is that Man Swearing? “
” He’s an aircraft modeller, Dear, and something has gone wrong. ” The something started out going right. I managed to print out a sheet of Magen David emblems on the epson on strips of masking tape. I then transferred the tape to a cutting board and carefully made the roundels and the stars as separate…
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Avia S-199 – Part Four – Ol’ Stripey Tail
I appear to have learned something from my past experiences with Israeli fighter planes. This time I did not attempt decals for the rudder, electing instead to paint the 101 Squadron stripes. They have been very successful, and tempt me further to try to paint the rest of the ID stripes and Magen Davids rather…
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Avia S-199 – Part Three – What Colour Is The Colour Of An Argument?
Answer: Whatever colour you ask about in a modeller’s paint forum. I went to my computer to google someone else’s opinion about the grey/green colour of an S-199 in Israeli service. I encountered scholarly works that deteriorated into name-calling and vulgarity. I did not see any profile pictures of the writers but I can pretty…
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Avia S-199 – Part Two – The Old Grey Mezek
She ain’t what she used to be. The 199 had the name of Mezek in Czechoslovakia – that meant ” mule “. In Israel it was officially a ” Sakeen ” or ” knife “. It was unofficially a Messer…which is pretty good because that means ” knife ” in German and it was the…
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Avia S-199 – Part One – The Mule Cometh
I have been on the look-out for a year for a 1:72 model of an Avia S-199 fighter plane. Wouldn’t you know…a call at the local specialty shop for another product ( which I couldn’t get ) and a browse on the shelves led to the wonderful discovery. It was not a cheap kit, but…
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Hawker Seahawk – Part Two – Ess Bend Aviation
Now that the contract for refurbishing aircraft has been let out to Ess bend Aviation in Alberta, Stein’s Air World can concentrate upon preparing museum displays rather than spreading an aircraft over an entire shop for years. This is what happens when in-house restoration is undertaken. Here are a couple of pictures of the work…
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Airfix Mosquito – Part Four – Thank You, Mike Grant
Mike Grant had been a pioneer where I wished to go and I was fortunate to discover an magazine article he wrote – sponsored by Airfix – that dealt with exactly the aircraft I was working on. The story was illustrated with a lot of good coloured photos and Mike had gone into the scale…
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Airfix Mosquito – Part Three – Look Quickly
I suggest that you look quickly at the IAF Mosquito in today’s illustrations – it may be the last time that you will see it in such a clean condition. It is just about to be wheeled out onto the hardstand at Schmattarim Air Base to join the museum of aircraft that have been in…
The Little World 