Category: Model Airplane
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Handley Page Hampden – Part Two – Yes, I Have…
I knew this was going to happen. When I saw the dented box I knew it was a sign… The HP Hampden – destined to become the star of RCAF Doukh Inlet – turns out to be a 1960’s kit. No shame in that – I built kits in the 1960’s and I still turned…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part One – Have I Bought A Dud?
Normally, I am a pretty careful shopper. Whether it is in the car lot or the supermarket, you can find me squeezing, sniffing, and licking. The only time it seems to cause a problem is in the striptease nightclub. But I have a feeling I should have been a little more circumspect in the hobby shop when…
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Stand Up! Sit Down! Rah Rah Rah!
What was the most common thing about plastic model kits in the 1950’s? The size? The subjects? The colour of the plastic? No. The most common thing was that every model had a stand of some sort. From the grey plastic trapezoids that went under the Revell USS MISSOURI to the two-peg block that underpinned…
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To Break, Or Not To Break
That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to cement the landing gear in while you can still get access to the nacelles and housings or wait until the paint job is finished. Which choice brings a better or worse chance of breaking the things off prematurely? And must we use Shakespearean language after the fact?…
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The Static Show Vs The Mobile One – Part Three – On Showmanship
Does your little World move? Does it need to? I’ve written elsewhere about the vitality your structure needs according to whether you are still a child or have been burdened with age. You decide where you are on the spectrum. If you actually do need to have something move in front of you, consider several hobbies:…
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The Baseroom Layout Vs The Train Set – Part One – On Planning Your Little World
My recent annual foray to the Western Australian Model Railway Exhibition was fresh in my mind as I set to work planning out my hobby room at the Little Studio. When you see what others do, you can either get good ideas or bad ones. I hope I have observed well and drawn the correct…
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” Is This Paint Gluten-Free? “
Don’t laugh too much. You never know where the trail of discovery will lead. I have been pondering this in my local store – Hobbytech – as I wander the paint aisle. It is much the same when I go to the big DIY chain store – Bunnings – and try to make sense out…
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The Kids In The Candy Store
For a number of years I avoided going into hobby shops. Whether I thought they were passé or whether I thought I was more sophisticated…I don’t know. The result of this was I missed out on some of the really great hobby experiences – things that came and went while I was somewhere else. Now…
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The Cost of the Kit Is Not Included
I’m old. I can remember plastic-bagged 50¢ Airfix kits. I can remember the little brown vials of cement that came in the boxed kits. ( best cement ever…) I can remember life before acrylic paints… Old. But this doesn’t mean to say that I am feeble-minded – or that I can be persuaded to open…
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When In Doubt…
When in doubt, do it the way the original was done. There was generally a reason for this and you may have stumbled upon it again. Case in point: doing the second blue paint coat on the PRU Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The first coat had cured for a day, and the second one was due…
The Little World 