Category: research
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Ready-Made Mistakes
Or, how to tread the primrose path in spite of the barriers. You cannot blame me, unless I am guilty. And I always am. Guilty of following orders, guilty of believing what other people tell me, guilty of valuing theatre over intellect. Not in real life, I hasten to add. When someone in vague authority…
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JS-2 Tank – Part Four – Czech This One Out…
Despite indecision about the Zvezda JS-2 kit’s deficiencies, I think it has fulfilled my vision splendidly. The idea of armour and military modelling is new to me – heretofore I just collected die-cast vehicles that suited my model airfields. I admired the efforts of expert armour modellers i saw at my club and at interstate…
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Convair Atlas D – Part Two – Cement Day
This is no finger-tangler of a model. A day or two of cementing and sanding and the air compressor can be turned on. The assembly is no mean feat, however, as the tolerances with which this kit are moulded are anything but generous. Each of the location pins has had to be shaved to get…
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TKS Tankette – Part Four – Grim and Grey
Well, I’ll say this for the little tankette – the tracks may have been hideous, but the final thing with a bit of grime and wash is a bit rewarding. Those who wonder at the lack of any insignia may wish to google up the topic of these devices captured by the German army. I…
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TKS Tankette – Part Three – I Cover My Tracks
And so I should – they are horrible. The plastic track option for the TKS was all I feared it would be. I’d seen club mates constructing their own 1:35 tanks with separate track links and just thought it a charming pretension on their part. Hypertension more likely – what looked to be a difficult…
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TKS Tankette – Part Two – A Perfect Companion
Imagine my joy when I looked more closely at my $ 1.00 tankette and discovered it was and up-gunned variant of the previous model. The hull parts are commendably well-fitting, though the suspension and side members are a little fiddly to assemble. I am new to 1:35 armour and I am starting to suspect that…
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Polish Tankette – Part Two – Better Than Nostalgia
Remember that great nostalgia we got before the war – it always fried up crispy and you could go from here to Sydney on it for 17 shillings… Well, I never went to Sydney for 17 shillings, but I did go to Don’s Hobby Shop in Calgary on Saturday mornings and spent my pennies on…
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Northrop Black Widow – Part Four – White Widow
Before you think this has gotten political or I’ve lost my mind, let me assure you that there is a very good reason for painting the P-61 Black Widow white. Before I go into that, notice how smooth the basic structure ( despite the rivets ) is. There was surprisingly little putty needed – or…
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Northrop Black Widow – Part One – ‘Tis A Gift…
And ’tis the only thing gifted about me – the ability to attract free model aircraft. This one is from a lady in payment for some Christmas family pictures. Again, it is a case of telling the client the scale I model in and letting them go and pick out something they fancy. So far…
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Mitsubishi A6M – Part Two – Tending To Madness
Just when you think you have become sane again, someone shows up with a gift model and away you go, over the hill… I needed a Zero some time ago and bought a Tamiya kit. Had I waited a while, my friend John would have arrived with this A6M5 and I would not have needed…
The Little World 