Category: Model Airplane
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Boeing AH-64A – Part Two – Assembly Day
I was particularly struck during a club meeting that the modern attack helicopter has no shape. Oh, it has bulk, and surfaces, and engines of vast power. It has fierce armament and capability. It is designed to do its job. But it has no surfaces – save the stub wings – that suggest flying. And…
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Boeing AH-64A – Part One – Magic Touch
And building this Israeli attack helicopter in club time may require just this – political opinions being what they are. Nevertheless, it is a superb kit from Academy – a Korean firm that never seems to disappoint with the precision and detail of their mouldings. This is one kit that will have a lot of…
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Sopwith Pup – Part Three – Anzac
Interestingly enough, this turns out to be an aircraft of the RNAS. Was it flown by someone from Australia or New Zealand? never mind – the decals are excellent and have gone on with no silvering at all. They are not so complex as to require softening solutions, either. A thoroughly enjoyable two days build…
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Sopwith Pup – Part One – Fresh In The Shop
Fresh from 1973, mind – courtesy of Airfix’s Vintage Classics range. This is fresh this week from the local shop, and at a price that seems laughably low. I have just this sense of humour, so I grabbed it and chortled my way to the till. The opening of the old-style box was not a…
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Swedish Hampden – Part Four – The Trials Aircraft
One only – that’s all the Swedes ordered in 1935 – and it took three years to get it to Sweden. It was partly an experiment and partly a political football – the Swedish air force actually wanted Junkers bombers and eventually got them under licence. The single Hampden was never armed, but did go…
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Swedish Hampden – Part Three – What Colour Is Swedish Green?
Go ask at IKEA… Or look carefully at the greens in your paint rack and note which ones can be poured together into a bottle and shaken up. This is a good opportunity to get the last few drops worth out of stuff that needs replacement anyway. A vigorous thinner will blend them all together…
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Swedish Hampden – Part Two – Grey Is Better?
Hmmmm. I am unsure. Ask me later. The grey plastic of this Airfix Vintage Classic seems to have a different fel to it from that of the 2010 version I built. Harder, stiffer, and less warped. I have only found one shot shot and one sink and the short shot is in the perfect place…
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Swedish Hampden – Part One – An Excuse
A very good excuse… a. For a trip to the local hobby shop. b. To purchase a fresh Airfix ” Vintage Classic “. c. To use up the decals that I got with my first Hampden. d. To see if Airix have corrected the flaws of that first kit. I do not really expect (d.)…
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Casting About For A Model
Is a die-cast airplane a model or a toy? It all depends upon the person holding it. One thing – it will never be a flying model – die-cast metal is not aerodynamic no matter how hard you throw it. It will sit on a stand or on its wheels and please the eye, but…
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Israeli Phantom – Part Four – Kurnas
I get two spellings for this name in google searches, but as a website run by the IAF uses one “s”, I figure I’ll go with that. They’d know. The aircraft is just about to go out on the display concrete at Schmattarim but experts will note that the intakes are empty and there is…
