Category: research
-
Revell Brewster Buffalo – Part One – Baggie Of Doom
They make a joke about the Shelf Of Doom on the Flory show…but we all know of kits that are headed there no matter what we do. The little Revell baggie containing the F2A model looked to be a prime example. It had resided in a hot and cold attic for decades before my friend…
-
MiG 17 – Part Four- The A-Team Moment
I love it when a plan comes together… The Egyptian MiG 17 sitting at Schmattarim Museum Is not the same as the one at Hatzerim Museum. Not at all. There is no Arabic writing on the nose. The wheels are still Soviet Green*. And it has not totally faded out in the Negev sun. But…
-
Martin B 10 Bomber – Part Seven – The Japanese Raider
The original of this Martin B 10 bomber was not a hangar queen. Part of a 10-plane shipment to China, it and one other were the last of their lot as war took its toll. I get the feeling that there were issues with aircraft maintenance, airfield protection, and crew performance that gradually took out…
-
The Ten-Month Gestation Period
I am about to start an experiment to see if I can remained focused over a ten month period upon one theme. It was suggested to me at a model meeting and after consideration I decided that it really was a good idea. It’s not often that you do get this much clarity in what…
-
Marcel Bloch MB 152 – Part Two – Minus Two
If you are a little put out that you only get to see the start of this build and then the finished product, remember that this is a very simple Heller kit repackaged by the Poles. There is not all that much to see during the building process – it just cemented together in one…
-
Marcel Bloch MB 152 – Part One – Marcel…
I kid you not…there really was a Marcel Bloch and he really did design airplanes. And he used his own name, which is pretty damn brave. Around the people I know there would have been an immediate reaction. This model from Mister Craft is, of course, a rebox or remould of a Heller kit. That…
-
Too Many/Not Enough
Our club has a vast library of old model magazines and other publications. I’ve no idea what the oldest model magazine held there is, but I do know what it is bound to contain: a complaint from someone in the UK that a particular model has errors. The writer may not have built the kit,…
-
Curtiss Helldiver – Part Seven – Shangri La
As this is the first Curtiss Helldiver I have built, I could approach it with a fresh mind. The history of the type seems to have been a mixed one – initial failures and disappointments and then solid success against the Japanese fleet. It had its time and place and filled it well. I must…
-
Curtiss Helldiver – Part Three – Green Is The Colour…
As I have written before – it is the colour of my true love’s cockpit. But it is never the same colour as you see in the books, movies, or museums. It is never the same colour as other people use, and it is never the same colour twice. The only thing that cockpit green…
-
Having A Thin Time Of It
Since returning to scale model kit building and taking on the whole airbrush thing, I’ve been steadily making discoveries. Many of them have been through the mechanism of mistake and regret, but I’m happy to say not all. Yesterday I got to pet the learning curve without it biting me in the ass. The question…
The Little World 