Category: Model Airplane
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Grumman F3F – Part One – At Long Last

I have been looking for a 1:72 scale model of this aircraft for years – and wouldn’t you know – one turned up at a swap meet sale a few weeks ago. It may not be the Monogram Four-Start Plastikit of my youth, but it is a perfectly good Czech MPM model sealed in it’s…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part Three – Plane Jane

Lt. Sushi, the pilot of this Nakajima fighter, would have gotten a far more colourful livery if the decals had cooperated. As it is, he is flying the Marie Kondo model with minimal decoration. The ICM stripes and lightning flashes largely disintegrated when placed in the water. I am annoyed at this but resigned to…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part Two – Sitting On The Wing

Because that’s what it looks like the pilot of this fighter is doing. The curved structure of the wing continues inside the fuselage. Not a feature seen anywhere else, in my experience. I bow to ICM’s superior knowledge, however and build as they direct. The options provided in the kit are simple enough – wheels…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part One – Not A Nate

This evocation of the Nakajima Ki-27 fighter is for a different war; before it became and Allied ” Nate “. The type is the first monoplane fighter for he Imperial Japanese Army, and this time it is moulded by ICM. Their attention to detail is typical for the Ukrainian firm – every part fits and…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part Four – White 43

Well, the long saga has concluded – the Dassault Super Mystere is ready for the IAF museum at Schmattarim. The display of older aircraft at the museum is a mixed affair -some of the older relics have been left in as-received condition after the air force has wrung all the good they could out of…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part Three – Masking and Painting

Which would be good things to do if you did them in the right order. Perhaps that’s the disadvantage of working on a fortnight-only model. You forget where you were and skip a stage. Then you have to backtrack and do it the hard way. I proceeded well with the basic construction – attached the…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part Two – Come In And Sit Down

A model aircraft cockpit can be a highlight of the build or it can be a pit of cocks. It is all dependent upon the skill of the kit moulders and their level of interest. The classic Airfix or Monogram cockpit that consisted of two posts running horizontally inside and a seat that straddled them…
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Dassault Super Mystere – Part One – A Mystere Indeed

Not the least puzzling aspect of which was the price – 33% of from a dealer’s table at a big local scale model exhibition. Why did people not snap this up before? Well, I was not going to miss out on a new model for my Schmattarim Museum. This was the pick of the weekend…
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SE5A – Part Three – The Roundels Wearing An Airplane

The basic structure of the little ESCI kit for the SE5A was rewarding – things fit and lined up. But that did not make the 30-year old decals any better. I tried, folks. I honestly tried. John France saw me trying and lent me some Micro Sol to try and get the things to lay…
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SE5A – Part Two – Plain As A Pikestaff

As admirable as I may find the WW1 British designs for their aircraft – and I do like the SE5A – my admiration doesn’t extend to the War Office and their parsimonious attitude to paint. In short – their aircraft schemes are dull. I have seen some colonial examples that looked sharp, but apparently were…
