Category: Miniature photography
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The Courage To Play

Do you remember playing? If you can recall your childhood and still picture the games and toys that amused you…you are a very lucky person. Even if they were modest things, they helped you to understand the world and prepare to be an active part of it. You grew older – hopefully wiser. You l…
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The Overlooked Modelling Materials

I saw a very clever use of a DIY material that has fired me up to try it myself…but I don’t know what for…yet. John Brewer followed my workshop on scale model photography and the small tabletop studio by constructing one for himself and bringing it to the clubrooms. We experimented with his Minolta digital…
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FW 190 – Part Three – The Red Field Queen

That’s like a hangar queen but one they keep out in the open. This FW 190 was captured in Belgium at St. Trond (Sint Truiden ) and started life as White 11 of JG4. It was given a strong red coat of paint, USAAF markings, and a made-up registration number: OO-L as well as a…
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” That’s A Pleasure To See “

Be fair and honest. Sometimes your mates will complete scale model projects that are far better than you could ever do. Don’t be jealous. Don’t be critical. Don’t push them off the shelf onto the floor. Give them their due, and ADMIRE them. I see other modellers in my clubs concentrate on their specialities and…
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Is Your Hobby Exclusive?

Jeez, I hope not. Lots of things in life are; institutions, clubs, professions. Families, religions, nations, tribes. Trades, towns, and teams. You might get in or you might not, and it often depends on others’ say-so. Whatever hobby you select ( or whichever selects you…) settle on one that lets everyone in; the elite as…
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Don’t You Have Something Better To Do?

Well, frankly, no. I used to have professional practice to do, attended with terrible anxiety. It paid me money for awhile, and then didn’t. A signal… So I took up trade, and it was attended by less angst, and more money. Eventually I had accumulated enough of both to be satisfied. Now I have decided…
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Really Good Water Is Hard To Find

And not just in the Sahara – you’ll be struggling if you search in your local hobby shop. I’ve wanted it for several projects but rarely found a good representation. Were I a dedicated ship modeller I would find the problem to be central to my builds. i suppose this would either drive me to…
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If You Must Trash Your Models

Sadly, scale models do not often last…they may be gone when their builder goes. Few people appreciate the hobby enough to keep all of a collection. Of course this doesn’t include historic models such as those found in Greenwich Maritime Museum or other institutions. But plastic models in a lounge room? Little chance. Before this…
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Angels

The second squadron of Plasticville fighters. My purchase of three Plasticville airport hangars some years ago added more aircraft to the pile. For a while I thought of them as US naval jets, but a Plasticville on-line forum identifies them as Douglas X-2 Skyrockets. I think this is right, but it didn’t stop me from…
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Never Throw Nuthin’ Away

You might very well love it some day. The formation flying team you see started life as four out-of-scale plastic toy fighters that were packaged with Plasticville airport buildings. Made in the mid-1950’s these structures populated thousands of O-guage and S-guage toy train layouts in North America. The lettering and insignia on the planesare in…
