Category: Model Airplane
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Fairey Swordfish Mk1 – Part One – Wheels At Last
And not before time. I made a model of the Fairey Swordfish from the new Airfix mould some time ago and promised myself to do another on wheels – this time with torpedo armament. The previous one was on floats and in pre-war colours. This was so pleasing that I have decided the new model…
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The Glaring Omissions
In hobby shops full of Messerspitstang kits and the space ships of the latest franchise movie, it is actually painful to stride the aisles looking for the missing links. I concentrate most effort on 1:72 scale aircraft and have long built the standards. I’ve built the semi-standards, and a fair few of the obscurities as…
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Get Right Back On The Horse
The iron rule of horse riding is that, after a fall that has not killed you, you get right back on the horse. This has the effect of showing your moxie to the other riders, quelling your fears, and giving you a chance to show the horse that you mean to be the master or…
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Mig 23 Flogger – Part Two – Homeland Defender
I have gotten jaded in my old age – the effect of having internet images to turn to. I no longer follow the maker’s colour call out slavishly if there is another scheme that attracts the eye. The fact that the decals may not be exactly right is of little consequence. Don’t judge me. Thus…
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MiG 23 Flogger – Part One – Swinging Wing Again
From what I read, the MiG 23 was a bit of a Soviet bust…nowhere near as successful as the previous MiG 21 on the world market. Not my problem. This 1/144 model was kindly donated and looks like it will build up well. It has the swing-wing feature of the period, and in this case…
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General Dynamics F-1 – Part Two – Viper!
Well, I have decided to go with the Air Force crews and call this the Viper. I am also less than impressed with a company the calls itself by such a generic name; General Dynamics. Sounds as if they could be making light switches or selling time-share weeks. I think they should change the name…
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General Dynamics F-1 – Part One – Falcon?
Not, apparently, to the people flying them. They call them ” Vipers “. And they ought to know… This is my third F-16 - two others having been completed in 1/72 for the USAF and the IDF. I am starting to like the type a lot. The Academy kit is simple, small, and well-moulded. The only…
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McDonnell Douglas Phantom – Part Two – Vietnam Era
Little of my aero collection so far shows schemes of the Vietnam War period, but gradually this will change. Many of the kits now seem to have decals for the period and If I can overcome my aversion to both stencil decals and three-colour camouflage schemes, I can go right ahead. The call-out for this…
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McDonnell Douglas Phantom – Part One – The Iconic Fighter
As a young person I was as susceptible to hype as anyone – including that put out about modern aircraft. The jet fighter that seemed to get most of it was the McDonnell Douglas Phantom. For a while I confused it with the older McDonnell Phantom – a late 1940’s straight-wing jet. But it was…
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Decal Or Paint?
Not a difficult choice when the design is complicated. Also not a tough decision when the decal sheet has something exactly as needed. There are any number of decal setting solutions today that will let you drape a design over a wet porcupine, so just take your time. When it comes to bigger scales and…
The Little World 