Category: Modelling Supplies
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The Return Of The Chinese Junk

When I was a kid in the 50’s there were dime stores that sold goods cheaply. In some cases they were cheap goods – particularly if they were plastic toys from Hong Kong. There was a particularly brittle form of plastic that was used in toy factories that was moulded into all sorts of workable…
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Walk In Or Walk Out?

And we’re not talking about wing walks either. I want a kit. And a specific kit – having done my research in regard to it. Its the best for my purpose – and good news – it was a new Airfix release late last year and has been seen in the local hobby shop in…
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Who’s A Dealer and Who’s a Wheeler Dealer…

And how can you tell the difference between them? Perhaps we should mention a third category first – the retail dealer. a. The Retail Dealer has a shop – sometimes an on-line one, sometimes a physical store. Sometimes a combination of the two, if there are enough staff with enough expertise to run it all.…
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Mitsubishi A5M-2 – Part Two – A Nipponese Quickie

I’m not sure if I should leave money on the mantlepiece. I’ve just had my moment of pleasure and it’s all over. But I don’t regret it at all. Lets face it – building a Hobby Boss fighter plane is never going to be a case of long-term employment. Unless you pace yourself, you’ll find…
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Ustar

Never heard of ’em? I never did until I started patronising Hobbytech out in Myaree. Then I found an increasing number of products from this Taiwanese firm on their tool and material shelves. I experimented with a few things, then bought more. Not every product was world-beating, but they were all workable, and some were actually…
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Scale Model Kit Building Is Craft Beer In Styrene

Here’s two parallel experiences; buying a plastic model kit in a hobby shop and buying a six-pack of craft beer at the local Dan Murphy’s. In both cases you are basically paying out for a pig in a poke. The externals are generally confusing…the plastic model kit has either great box art or horrible writing,…
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Fairchild Flying Boxcar – Part Three – The Smear Campaign

My efforts to obtain 1:72 decals from Canada for the C-119 Fairchild Flying Boxcar came to nought – the sets that were made are long out of production. In the event, this is just as well, because they would have necessitated a major reconstruction of the aircraft’s tail to be authentic. I was thrown back…
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Hot Glue Gun, Hot Glue Gun…

Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow! Oy! Repeat, while leaping about the workshop doing the traditional dance of the Impatient Modeller. The one who has just touched the glue to see if it is cool yet. Klezma music is good for this. You will be connected to your art – by hot, drooping, strings of…
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Who Decides And How Do They Do It?

I walk the kit aisle in the local hobby shop and wonder about the choices that have been made – and I’m not sure about all three tiers of retail trade; manufacture,selling, and buying. The maker of the plastic model kit needs to make a fair few of them with a profit upon each sale…
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Faith and Begorrah…

” Tis a green jig. It must be Irish. ” Well, ’tis green now but it’s about to become feldgrau and then olive drab, and then azure blue in patches. And then you can assign whatever nationality you want to it. It’s Mk III painting jig – the foamboard structure upon which I hang the…
