Category: Model Airplane
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Airspeed Envoy – Part Two – Squeezy

Say what you will about the British being a stuffy and stand-offish nation, when they make a small airliner they make sure that everyone is chummy on the flight. Either that or the moulds for these seats are a little wide. You can get in the door and possibly into the back three seats, but…
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Airspeed Envoy – Part One – The IKEA Airplane

And it’s not Swedish at all. The reason I refer to this RS Models kit of the Airspeed Envoy by the shop name is that – like most of the goods that IKEA sell – it is very nearly what I want, but not quite…I could make do with it, and change it around, and…
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The Wrong Scale

There is no better way of starting a donnybrook than to suggest that a model is the wrong scale. Say it to whom you will, you will have a fight. And haven’t we all seen the box scale gem that is destined to shine alone? Or the model that supports too little or too much…
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Are We There Yet, Daddy?

Or in scale modelling terms: is it real yet, Daddy? There comes a time in every scale model build – whether it is with scratch-built parts, a kit, or a box of Lego – when it becomes real. Perhaps not real as in finished, but real as in a model of something under construction. And…
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Swiss F-5E – Part Three – Live Fire Day

I was fortunate to discover a net image of one of the exact Tiger II’s on the colour call-out and decal sheet from italeri. It was a large, clear image of the plane taxiing out to participate in some form of range day. The tanks and missiles of the kit were close enough to the…
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Swiss F-5E – Part Two – Thank You, I Think…

I puzzle sometimes – at the decisions that the model making companies take when they design a mould. I cannot influence or gainsay them – they are providing the kits that I love to build. But the question of ” why ” comes up more than you’d think. Take the nose of the Northrop F-5E.…
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Swiss F-5E – Part One – Another Odd Buy

I make snap decisions when I am in the aisle of a hobby shop. These involve kit choice, paint colours, and must-have tools. They are nearly all bad. Later, when the fever passes, I look at the purchases and wonder where I’m ever going to use them. Some sit dormant for years, and then become…
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The Songs Of The Modeller

There should be songs, anthems, or hymns that feature the scale modellers of the world. Something that celebrates life in miniature. They could include the march of the hobby shop, the airbrush sonata, and the after-market aria. The last-named would be saved for the encore and would cost roughly the same price as the rest…
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Tornado GR.1 – Part Four – Ms. Emily

I keep my promises. I said I would name this aircraft after he lady who gave me the kit, and so I have; Ms. Emily. She is a lovely dance entertainer here in Perth. The Desert Storm Pink is not a regular pot colour from Gunze. It’s made up of a tan with some red…
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Tornado GR.1 – Part Three – Jet Jiggery

And the occasional jet pokery, too. In fact poking plays a great part in a lot of my builds – I need to poke myself to get enough enthusiasm to even start. The Vertigo jet jig has the marvellous feature of a two-part clamp on the front to secure the nose of an aircraft from…
