Category: Organisation
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The Empty Paint Bottle
In scale modelling an empty bottle that once held paint can be many things; a halt to the project, a nuisance, an additional expense…or a trophy of great significance. It indicates that you used the contents and were able to get full value. If it was half-full of sludge or dried pigment it would be…
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The Plastic Himalayas
Or how to get over the hobby humps. Modellers are camels – we all have humps. whether we are making plastic kits, model railway layouts or doll houses, we come to a point when it all seems too much. Our kit build is stretching out week after week as we fight the photo-etched brass –…
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Minimalist Modelling
Paint everything white. Corbusier Kits: sheets of foamcore board and you just glue them together in slabs. I have been experimenting with a less complex approach to scale model building these last few months. Not that kit building can ever be truly simple…or for that matter neither can Lego or Meccano work. Doll houses are…
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Take It Seriously
No joking. Take your modelling seriously. You’ll benefit – we’ll all benefit. My scale modelling club is comprised of a bunch of jokers – we bounce one-liners and corny Dad jokes off one another at every session. There is no decorum in the main room, and precious little more in the library and the kitchen.…
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The Shelf Of Ponder – Part One – Quo?
Other people have stashes – I have a shelf of ponder. Every model kit that sits there has some thought attached to it. In some cases the thought is ” what in the hell do I do with this? “. These are the model kits that someone has donated to me. I am delighted to…
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The Broken Model
Few accidents distressed me so much when I was a child as breaking a scale model. It happened occasionally when building, and then on during the display life of the item…we moved house frequently and you can imagine the toll this took on any collection I tried to build up. I came to appreciate Dinky…
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Theme Modelling
Conscious or unconscious – our minds tell us what to do. In my case it tells me what to scale model to build. It does for you, as well. Where are you in the list? a. The scale builder. Anything in 1:72, 1:48, 1:35, etc. You stick to scale and end up with a coherent…
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Israeli Bell 47 – Part Two – Production Lines For The Win
The idea of serial building is working out, but there is still a place for sub-assembly lines in the scale model factory Even with modern super-glues there is still time required for re-enforcement to set, and of course the drying and setting times of the various paint coats. So there is a real advantage to…
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Have You Found Your Oeuvre?
Or your œuf? Is your modelling pressing you toward one coherent thing, or are you flailing in all directions? Perhaps flailing is your destiny, and you are fulfilling it. Do not despair. Leonardo Da Vinci was nearly fifty years old before he built his first model of the MISSOURI. And look how he flourished in…
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Drivin’ Miss Crazy
If you ever want to practice your anxiety, I can think of no better exercise than driving somewhere with a scale model in the car. Oh, I hasten to add, that’s a completed model…just tooling home from the hobby shop with a kit in a box plus $ 85 dollars of new paint is no…
The Little World 