Category: Miniature Philosophy
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Ongoing Maintenance

I did not realise that there would be a schedule of maintenance on a plastic model – I thought once it was done, that was it. Silly me. There is maintenance on anything that you need to continue working – car, marriage, camera, etc. The models are no different. a. There will be cleaning issues.…
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Good Morning, Walter – Part Three – Steel vs Wood vs Plastic
Walter, you and your Mum may have been wondering why I went off on a tangent about Meccano, Erector, and Dux sets last time we spoke. Let me explain. We live in a world of plastic. It’s a wonderful material and can be made to simulate nearly anything – from bricks to steel girders, to…
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Good Morning, Walter – Part Two – The Nuts And Bolts

Walter, last time we talked I told you about the Minibrix building set and suggested that there are modern equivalents – like LEGO – that will let you erect great buildings. Here are some of them at the Western Australian Model Railway Exhibition. Pretty cool, and also pretty complex and expensive. I admire the thinking…
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Boeing Fortress Mk III – Part Four – Debut Day On The Club Bench

The Tuesday Soviet saw my new Airfix model box for the first time today and most seem to approve. I opened it up and started to study the instructions – fully intending to do most of the building on my Tuesdays to prolong the pleasure. The Airfix instructions are good – I experience little or…
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Boeing Fortress Mk III – Part One – Happy Birthday, You Old Kid…

Okay. Put on your retro panties and pull them up. Now wander back to your childhood and the time you were given birthday money and were let off for the Saturday to visit every hobby shop in town. a. DId you visit every shop in town? Yes you did. b. Were you tired out? No, you weren’t.…
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Sandown Park 2019 – Part Twelve – Three Laughs And One Sober Moment

So far my internet image searching has not turned up a plastic kit that has the exact characteristics of the flying shark seen at Sandown Park. I am undecided as to whether the builder cobbled it up out of other parts or just assembled a kit. In any case the painting is excellent and the…
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Sandown Park 2019 – Part Seven – The Great Grey Elephant On The Table

As Ray Stevens might have said…” Well, I seen it. ” It was the 1:72 scale components of a Saunders Roe Princess flying boat produced using some sort of 3D printing machine…and cello-taped together as a teaser at the Sandown Park exhibition. No-one around, but enough literature left as a clue to allow me to…
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Sandown Park 2019 – Part Four – Hearts of Card

I am always pleased to see our local card builder at the WASMEX exhibitions – card and paper seem so ill-suited to modelling. When I thought that, I had no idea what the kit and printing industry in Europe could produce. I’ve since learned by some practical experinece what can be done with pre-made card…
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Sandown Park 2019 – Part Three – Why Are We Here?

I don’t mean to get all angst-y and existential on you, but I did find the thought expressed in our heading crossing my mind at the recent model exposition. I was prompted to it by three sights: a. The line of patient modellers coming into the hallway with their creations. This was well and…
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So Why Does One Model Tank?

And another become a classic? I’m not talking about 1/35 scale armour here. I mean why is one model kit a success and just keeps on selling, and another ends up in the auction house for unsold kits within the first six months? a. Is it a bad model? Badly conceived, badly moulded, poorly packaged.…
