Category: Modelling materials
-
A New Superhero For The DC Or Marvel Universe
I don’t know which comic book empire is which, but I can recognise super-talent when I see it. I’m even more delighted to be able to report that it has surfaced in one of my favourite people – me. Captain Frugal. Nicknamed Cheap John. One afternoon I decided to get down to it and build…
-
The Ten Dollar Model
This time we step up the pace a little with double the amount of money in our hand. Ten bucks is a big piece of change – if you add another dollar you can buy a pint of beer in a trendy hotel. So do not disrespect the tenner. It can also buy you a…
-
The Five Dollar Model
Earlier in this column’s history I introduced the Glorious $ 5 Plan – the construction of an ICM Polikarpov Chaika in 1:72 scale that only cost me $ 5 to do. It was a one-off opportunity provided by a discard box sale at the annual WASMEX show…and you can be certain that I’m going to hover…
-
The Benefit Of Hindsight
We are often told of the benefits of hindsight. I wonder – no-one I know has a picture of their backside on their wall. Mostly it is faces and family groups. In fact, I don’t think I can remember seeing a family group from the rear. So I suspect the old saying is bunk. There is,…
-
” The Hot Wash Up “
An expression taken from the military – it is the quick analysis of some exercise or battle that has just taken place. It’s related to the cold wash-up, which is a more detailed discussion of the event undertaken later when more information is to hand…and blame can be laid more accurately. In the Little World…
-
Going Into Business Sale
Not as common as the opposite – the ” going out of business ” sale, but infinitely more useful to all concerned. I’ve seen both types and from both sides of a sales counter and I much prefer the former to the later. The Chinese have a commercial tradition that says the first customer in…
-
The Wrong Shade Of Black
Resign yourself – you may have made a fabulous model of a P-61 or a Lancaster or a Mosquito and a great deal – or all – of the thing will be a very definite black colour. But as soon as you show it at any exhibition, someone will tell you you’ve used the wrong…
-
Ungluing The Kit
Or ” Are You Stuck With it? “. A recent question on Phil Flory’s YouTube channel about dissolving old glue on a model kit – really old 1950’s Testor cement – was ably handled by the team of English modellers when they advised the questioner to put it away for another 50 years and wait…
-
Peas And Carrots – Part Five – Cleaning Your Plate
Well, after all the paint mule spraying, I took a second bite at the vegetables next day and discovered that the taste was not as bad as first feared: a. Mr. Hobby matte acrylic paint can be sprayed with the Supercheap Auto clear car acrylic if you cut it with Mr. Hobby Levelling Thinner 400…
-
Peas And Carrots – Part Four – The Top Coat
The top coat on a model is intended to seal the decals in place and give the surface whatever sort of reflectivity you feel is appropriate. Night bombers might have a matt or semi-matt surface while civilian planes get a satin or gloss finish. I am partial to the latter myself for some of the…
The Little World 