Category: Painting
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Vultee Vengeance – Part One – The Show Special

When I went to this year’s WASMEX plastic model show I promised myself that I would only get one thing. Of course, I was a liar and a fraud; I purchased three things. The last of which came off the stash today and out in front of the camera – the Special Hobby 1:72 Vultee Vengeance.…
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There Is No Humour In Scale Model Building

I do not mean to suggest that the activity cannot lighten the heart – that people cannot devote their spare time to it and come away happier. Many of us do, and want the good feelings to continue…in spite of the unwise purchase of kits that have gotten very bad reviews. No, what I mean…
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The Lure Of the Rattle Can

Every model maker has probably used an aerosol paint can at some stage of the game – if not as a final coating, then at least for undercoats. The cans that we get from the hobby shop are somewhat small, and can be pricey, but are generally first-quality paint and can go on with good…
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Convair 440 – Part Eight – Out Past Where The Buses Run

Those of you who are Kinky Friedman fans will know this phrase. It applies to a lot of the work on the Mach 2 Convair 440. Not the least being the choice to eschew the kit decals – big troublesome designs for an airline I do not know – and to paint the thing as…
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” It Says So Right Here “

See? There’s even a three-way view of the plane. And you can see the pink lace curtains in the waist gunner’s position. And the snorkel and the chicken coop. It has to be true. Otherwise it wouldn’t be here in the book… I have read my fair share of small illustrated books on aircraft, vehicles,…
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The Artillery

Occasionally I take a break from making 1:72 scale airplanes to make other models; houses, service stations, tanks, greasy spoon cafés… It is not so much a case of abandoning my theme as of refreshing the palate with a different taste. I return to the tarmac quickly enough. One thing that my Air World needs is appropriate…
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I’ll Bet You’re Sorry Now…

a. Now that you’ve left me. You’ll ever get to watch me sit in front of the television swearing at a kit full of resin parts. You’ll miss stepping on gun turrets in the shag pile. You’ll never know how the Matchbox Privateer turned out. b. Now that you’ve switched from 1:12th scale supercar models…
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De Havilland Mosquito Mk II – Part Eight – The Colour Lab

When I set myself the task of finding an effective workflow, I decided to make it as realistic as possible. So I cut 16 MDF board tablets to 2 x 3 inches and sprayed them with standard Tamiya primer. Some grey, some white, and some red oxide. The Tamiya product in a can has always…
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De Havilland Mosquito Mk II – Part Seven – Challenges Must Yield To Science!

Part Six of the DH Mosquito Mk II saga showed the dull and sad paint job that I ended up with after failing to think properly about what I was doing – I sprayed a matting acrylic too heavily and cured it under too high a temperature. I regarded the result as a failure on…
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De Havilland Mosquito Mk II – Part Six – A Day of Challenges

The markings day has become a day of challenges. Of mistakes and discoveries. It has seen the finishing of the model, but not quite in the way that I expected. a. The markings for the squadron code were nowhere to be found in my stash of decals nor in our local shops. T,W, and Z…
