Category: research
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Fieseler Storch – Part One – Plasti-pack
The packaging of the Airfix Storch is new to me – I’ve had baggies and boxes, but this is the first plasti-pack. I am surprised that the sprue trees survived the years. 1973 is the year it was repackaged like this – and it’s one of the Paul Planes that spent years in a hot…
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Mind The Gap
I started my search for the perfect gap filler to make my plastic models seemingly seamless a long time ago. Well six years or so, anyway. When there was still Stanbridges – Elvis and dinosaurs having passed away. The first tube I bought was from Tamiya, and unlike most of their products, was far from…
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It Do You Good
To look at reality every so often. Be careful if reality wants to look at you… As model builders we are engaged in reducing reality to a small space full of small objects. We get very good at this with our kits, aftermarket parts, paints, and weathering. We construct imaginative dioramas and sets. We focus…
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I Believe In You
Of course, I also believe in pixies and the Lone Ranger, so take that into account. You may want to put a disclaimer on most of this conversation. Verbal advice in scale modelling is generally worth the paper it’s not printed on. It can be had from shopkeepers trying to sell you something, friends trying…
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Handley Page Jetstream – Part Three – Big Body And Tiny Wings
I was always puzzled by two aircraft; the Douglas X-3 Stiletto and the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. They were fabulous looking and built for speed, but the tiny size of the wings always suggested that they just couldn’t lift themselves. There were troubles galore when they overloaded the F-104 but otherwise they seemed to work. But…
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No Apologies Kingfisher
This post is somewhat different from my normal practise…You get to see it built without seeing it a’building. This is because it is very nearly the same as the wheeled version made by the same maker – AZ. I built one last year in that configuration with a full report. Refer to it if you…
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Not Every Kit Is For Every Body
And some kits are for no-body at all. The choice you make of a kit to build is affected by many factors; type, era, maker, price, availability, and box art. The last-named may seem like a stranger to the list, but it frequently is the most powerful impetus to buy. Unfortunately it can also be…
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Douglas RB-66B – Part Five – Super Snooper
The first B-66 Destroyer I had was a Monogram model with lots of moving parts and a bomb bay that worked. I remember destroying a small city with it. Play was more robust in the 1950’s, I can tell you. But the Italeri RB-66B is no bomber – it’s an electronics warfare and reconnaissance bird.…
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Douglas RB-66B – Part One – The Shelf Queen
Some kits fly out the door of the hobby shop as soon as they arrive. Some stay until the sales. Some stay until the owner dies and the executors hacksaw the door open. The reasons for this can be many – the kit is horrible – the kit is so obscure than no living being…
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The Hiatus
The Hiatus was a heavy triplane bomber designed by Handley Page…but they paused the production… All modellers stop occasionally to take stock. To draw a breath. To pacify the wife. It doesn’t mean that they will not be building again – it just means that it will not be today. Today will be devoted to…
The Little World 