Category: Model Airplane
-
Vought Crusader F-8 – Part One – Iconic
As a young person, this was the naval jet aircraft I was most impressed by. It seemed to encompass all there was about flying. Yet I never possessed a model of one until now – and for years the Italeri kit had been offered on the shelves without getting a nod. I cannot explain the…
-
Leonardo Da Vinci’s Cartoons
No, you fools, not the ninja turtles. The real Da Vinci and the preparatory drawings he used to do in chalk and charcoal before launching out onto canvas and oil paint. Think you can pick one up for a bargain price? I mean it’s just a chalk sketch, right? How much could chalk cost…? You…
-
The No Step Two Step
Or how I stencilled myself into the asylum. As a kid facing my first decal sheets, I was blazingly confident. Allowed to use water and scissors…what could possibly go wrong? After all, Aurora moulded the position of the USAF and the insignia right there on the top of the wing – all you had to…
-
Convair F-106 – Part Two – Delta Dart
I have been fascinated by this aircraft for decades – they were flying north of my home province during some of the more critical parts of the Cold War. Every new Fifty Cent Fighter Series aircraft seems to be getting a slightly different treatment. In this case it is Mr Hobby aqueous primer and surface…
-
Convair F-106 – Part One – The Workshop Drawer
This baggie was found in an old workshop drawer by a friend in the eastern states, He kindly thought of me and sent it along unbuilt. I suspect it was an repackage of an old LS kit that Revell did in the 1980’s. A modest item, but surprisingly detailed. The instructions were classic fold-over baggie…
-
The Arrogant Strut
Those who saw Mussolini were impressed with the way he strutted. Likewise with Al Jolson and Kaiser Wilhelm II. However, none of them were as arrogant as the Airfix company when it comes to strutting…as witnessed by their production of a 1:72 Bristol F.2B. They have produced a kit that is nearly impossible to assemble.…
-
Trying To Get That Exclusive Prototype
And hoping that it is one that everyone secretly always wanted to build. This can be the only explanation for a number of short-run kits that flow out of Eastern Europe. There can be only a few individuals on the planet that dream of building failed designs that are both ugly and insignificant. Even driven…
-
Is Your Rainbow Biased?
Relax. Not going all political on you here. But do you have better results with certain colours? Not certain paints – that’s a different debate – I mean a certain hue within the paint range you use. I rarely paint dark sea blue or coal black, but when I do, it is nearly always a…
-
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter – Part Three – Up and Flying
The 1/144 scale model is a wonderful thing – but you have to remember that it is an abstract of a thumbnail sketch of a miniature painted on ivory. The average person will not be able to rig the hydraulic hoses in the wheel wells. The person who can do this is watched carefully by…
-
Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter – Part One – First Of The Fifty Cent Series.
First cab off the rank is the Academy Sukhoi Su-22 Fitter. The tiny box contains three tiny sprue trees – two in hard grey plastic and one clear. There is no flash whatsoever and no sinkholes are evident. Surprisingly, there is room in the cockpit for a separate seat and instrument panel. The canopy is…
The Little World 