Category: Modelling Club
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Grumman Albatross – Part Two – Shipmates Stand Together

Don’t give up the ship. Or the kit, for that matter. My first club morning with this kit went very well - the dry parts fit was excellent for a period piece and I was ready to work on the interior by the time I left for home. I did paint the inside and started to…
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The Gantze Megillah

When someone recalls the entire service history about something of which they have made a plastic model kit. It is a charming procedure, roughly as much fun as a prostate examination. It is not a surprise, considering the detail some modellers go to with their kits. You can buy magazines that show you how to…
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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…
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Boeing Dreamliner – Part Four – Going Up In The Old Style

Retro is a word that is bandied a lot – but it can be a very flexible one – in this case as far back as the 1960’s. El Al got a new Boeing 787 Dreamliner in 2018 and decided to paint it in an older livery. I think this was a superb decision –…
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The Peculiar Model

The oddity. The kit that everyone else avoids. The scratch-built model that no-one has ever heard of. In other words – just down your alley. I have been the recipient of numerous models that fit into this category – and I’ve gone out and spent actual money on others. Not a lot of it, mind,…
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The Determined Modeller

I admire determined and steadfast people. As I write this there is a Mort Kunstler print of Ulysses S Grant on the wall facing me. He is raising his hat to celebrate his victory at Vicksburg. The accounts of his trials and his character have always been an inspiration, though I would not follow his…
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Polikarpov I-16 – Part Two – Dia uno

First club day working on the Academy Polikarpov and the job is flying along! There are fewer parts to this aircraft than the ICM 1:72 version but the contours are much the same. It is odd to find such a large scale ( for me ) with so little cockpit detail. But then again, so…
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Do Not Start Too Small

I met a chap re-entering the hobby recently who was trying to choose his kits to build skill before he tackled the one he really fancied. I thought this was sensible thinking, but I suspect he made a bit of a problem for himself by selecting a 1:144 scale plane. It was charming, but too…
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The Royal Noranda Pensioners

A fine body of men… The British Army has an institution for broken-down old soldiers in the London suburb of Chelsea – the Royal Hospital. It provides accommodation, clothing, food, and care for those who have served for many years and have no better place to go. The Légion étrangère does the same at Aubagne…

