Category: Model Airplane
-
JAS 39 Gripen – Part Two – Loaded For Bear
Quite literally – whether on the ground, in the air, or on the sea. This Gripen is painted as a demonstrator model for an air show – no unit mark, no wear and tear, but a full load of missiles, tanks, and a designator pod. With a load-out this intense, I think its greatest feat…
-
JAS 39 Gripen – Part One – The Export Model
That’s good enough for home. This Italeri kit is probably based upon an early model JAS 39 Gripen. Since its introduction into the Swedish Air Force it has been sold to the Czech Republic, Hungary, and South Africa. Did you wish to add a modern aircraft to your collection for these services, there are decals…
-
Model Airfield Hobby Part One
In case you think I have become addled or have narrowed myself too much, let me make a modest proposal. Model airfields and airports form the basis for a complete division of the little world hobby – every bit as much as model railways or miniature houses. The concept just needs organization. I’ve done a…
-
Hawker Typhoon 1B – Part Three – Bombphoon
The Best That Could Be Done. There are some kits that you can build to the max of the craft. Others are on a lesser level – they can be to the max of your skill or the max of their limited potential, As long as you get to one of these points, you have…
-
Hawker Typhoon 1B – Part Two – Scratch
Even if you don’t itch. It’ll be good for you. The bare tunnel between the open radiator grill and the open cockpit on this model are extreme – even for the early days of moulding. Airfix and Matchbox at least gave you a pilot, even if he was attached to the fuselage side with plastic…
-
Hawker Typhoon 1B – Part One – Squashed Kit
Another flattened amphibian from 1974 – a WW2 Typhoon fighter-bomber. A kind gift from a club-mate – to whom I was able to reciprocate. This old Typhoon is in excellent shape, even if the box is not. All sprue trees complete and the canopy has not cracked. The instructions are not snail-eaten and the decal…
-
Pre-Coloured Model Kits
We already see some surprisingly precise model kits in the 1:144 scale that have been pre-painted or colour printed. They are generally the tinier fighter planes and the schemes are simplified, but for all that, the kits go together well and the end result looks at least as good as a a die cast example.…
-
Whirling Or Non-Whirling?
Decide the section in which you wish to be seated. The business of the propeller on a scale model kit can be a painful one. Some makers mould them with fine detail but flimsy construction – expect to have to straighten them repeatedly. Some are just hubs and blades and these can be horrible to…
-
Hobby Boss MiG 3 – Part Three – Side by Side
I couldn’t resist bringing the Italeri/Zvezda MiG 3 back from the VVS shelves to compare it to the Hobby Boss version. I also wondered if the extra canopy in the HB box could replace the scratch-built part on the older kit. In the end I decided against this as the fuselages seem somewhat different dimensions.…
-
Hobby Boss MiG3 – Part Two – Day One
Tuesday at the club is always a balancing act – the opportunity to speak with friends vs time to build a model. Often friends win out and a great deal of manure exchange takes place. It makes the hobby all that more fertile. It is a good opportunity to work on a simple kit like…
The Little World 