Category: research
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Lockheed Electra Junior – Part One – Dutch Surprise

The third purchase on a happy visit to a distant hobby shop was a Special Hobby kit. These are always more expensive than the big maker’s offerings but can be had for subjects that would never be kitted otherwise. I am always surprised at the things I see in this class of model. Measuring the…
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Beech AT-11 – Part One – Johnny Ran Away To The Army

When I saw the advertisement for the PM models from Metro Hobbies in Melbourne I was struck by the low price and the unusual subject. At $ 19 each I could afford two, so I got the Beech 18 and the AT-11. The 18 is serving in a civilian role for Alberta Central Airways but…
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Focke Wulf 190A – Part Four – Et Voila!

Voici le NC900. Produit de l’SNCAC a Cravant en France. This is a product of the S.N.C.A.C. from parts and items found in a disused chalk quarry in Cravant near Auxerre in the centre of France. These were made up after the war as an interim squadron for the French Air Force – some 20…
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Focke Wulf 190A – Part Three – The Internet Evening

When you want to build a kit straight out of the box, the first thing you do is cut the seals and open the box. When you want to build it to a different variant the first thing you do is go to the computer and open Google. It is the source of much of…
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Mitsubishi Peggy – Part Nine – Trials Ship

I wish to compliment Hasegawa on this model – it has been one of the most well-balanced builds undertaken in a long time. The glide bomb fitted perfectly into the open bomb bay – the doors of which were made to swing inwards . All this was provided in the kit parts and was very…
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Mitsubishi Peggy – Part Three – The Offices

Notify the Department Of Occupational Health And Safety, Yoshi. I think we have a situation. If we are to be the crew of the Mitsubishi ” Hiryu ” bomber we certainly do. See the three big green objects on the flight deck just behind the navigator and radio operator’s station? These are petrol tanks. Un-armoured…
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Messerschmitt Me 109 E – Part Three – Never Mind If You Don’t Read German

Get up in that airplane, Pilot, and fly it. Ignore the instruments on the dashboard. You’ll be fine. Okay, it’s a small cockpit and you’re very tall. We can fix this. The fitters will unscrew the canopy and take it off. Wear a flying helmet. Or a wooly cap. You’ll be fine. Yes, I know…
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Messerschmitt Me 109E – Part One – The Internet Delivers Again

If you have nothing to do for the next few hours, start Googling. Tear yourself away from the porn, conspiracy theories, and on-line shopping and research something arcane. I just did and now I can have a week of fun with it. I don’t build aircraft with certain markings – which is somewhat of a…
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Hawker Tempest V – Part One – The Elegant Buster

Fired with enthusiasm for a new technique, I set out in quest of a Buster – a kit cheap enough to act as sacrificial styrene so that I could see in 3D what I had just ben trying on scraps of wood. The trip to Hobbytech is always fun, but it is always anguishing as…
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Beechcraft Model 18 – Part Four – Spirit Of Lodgepole

CF-ACL is ready for service. The Spirit of Lodgepole is named after a small town in the Pembina that serves the oil industry and was once the main service town for the Brazeau Dam project. It had an RCMP post, a hotel, a school, and a general store, as well as repair shops for the…
