Category: Model Airplane
-
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…
-
Merely A Model Builder
And old eccentric. Trapped in a second childhood. A harmless weirdo. Or so it would seem from a recent detective novel I read. Written about a modern-day serial murderer in Somerset and the detective work that catches her, it takes more than a passing swipe at model railway enthusiasts – and railway hobbyists in general.…
-
Westland Lysander – Part Three – Lynx Paws
If there is one thing that defines the Westland Lysander, whether in RAF or RCAF service, it is the landing gear. Lynx paws, I call them, with enough space inside them to hold two machine guns and two landing lights. The rest of the aircraft might have the design of a cement mixer, but the…
-
Westland Lysander – Part Two – Fragile Nest
I was right to wonder about the fragility of the cockpit on this Dora Wings kit. Even at the outset, some parts did not come off the sprue trees intact. Fortunately there are pieces of Evergreen plastic in the scrap box that match the profile of the broken pieces. The fact that the greenhouse is…
-
Westland Lysander – Part One – 100 Times The Price
I nearly passed this Dora Wings Westland Lysander by on the hobby shop shelf. The problem was not the kitmaker – I have built a Dora Wings plane before and thought it was superb. The problem was the price – 100 times the cost of an Airfix kit I once built. But you have to…
-
Tupolev SB 2 – Part Four – Taipei
It is unfashionable nowadays to think of air raids from mainland China on Taiwan. But there was a time when it was a good idea… As when the Soviet Volunteer group that operated these bombers for the Nationalist Chinese Government essayed to fly to Taipei and bomb newly-arrived Japanese aircraft at the airfield before they…
-
Tupolev SB2 – Part Two – One-Man Pit
If you were a front gunner in a Tupolev SB2 you were wise to take a flask of tea and a novel with you for the flight. As you entered by a hatch under the nose, were out of touch with the rest of the crew, and were not given the key to the toilet,…
-
Is Your Kit Pre-Painted?
A friend once showed me a model kit in very small scale – 1/144 or smaller – that was pre-painted by the maker. It was delightful to look at, in a sort of toy-like manner. The makers had finished the fighter in camouflage but I think there were a choice of decals that could be…
-
Nothing To Excess
This is a fine philosophy, but I wouldn’t go overboard on it… It is also good counsel for the people who make the moulds for plastic kits. I was dealing with an old Revell B-24 D kit from the late 70’s that had recessed panel lines and raised rivets. They were the size that would…
-
Grumman Hawkeye – Part Three – Daya
192 Squadron IDF. This is the newest exhibit at the Schmattarim Air Force Base museum. It has been scrubbed clean of identifying marks like number and squadron insignia for security purposes, retaining only the insignia. The whole project took essentially a week and a half and has been one of the most rewarding in recent…
The Little World 