Category: research
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Science To The Rescue – Part Two
How many ships have foundered in the Succitan Sea? There is no better way to find out if an old bomb is a dud than hitting the fuse with a hammer. Or, in the case of home-made decals, soaking them and trying them out. The 7 candidates were soaked, applied over Mr. Mark Setter, and…
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Science To The Rescue – Part One
Having recently made a batch of bad decals, I determined to investigate the problem before printing the next sheet. The surface of the previous ones was cracked and broken – and I reasoned that it was the brittle nature of the Tamiya Gloss Lacquer spray that did it. I looked out all the bottles of…
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How Lousy It Really Was
And why we never knew the truth. Over the years – my years – I have learned many fascinating facts about aircraft. Some of the things I have learned are true, and some are false. The reason for the truth is clear – it is truth, and needs no justification. The reason for the lies…
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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…
The Little World 