Category: research
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Hawker Sea Hawk – Part One – Memories of the 60’s

A casual post on the internet alerted me that my favourite go-to model company had released a 1:72 version of one of my favourite models of the 1960’s: the Hawker Sea Hawk. And this one from Hobby Boss was reported to be more than just a quick-build kid’s kit. Be that as it may, I…
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Vought Corsair F4U-1 – Part Four – Delivery In A Plain Envelope

Students of military aviation are very quickly attuned to the finer points of insignia, markings, and unit numbers. You have only to go to some of the more intense internet modelling forums to read people engaging in passive/aggressive arguments about the exact position of the ” No Step ” stencils on the Hurricane Mk XXXIV…
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If You Build A Barber Shop, They Will Comb…

If you wish to give yourself a treat – for about $ 40 a throw – go down to the hobby shop and look at the OO/HO building kits. You’ll find them for British, North American, and European buildings, and there is hardly anything that you can imagine that cannot be bought. If you stray…
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Why The Devil Am I Writing This All Up?

You may find yourself asking this question when you read this column – or any of the other fine bits of sticky literature* I write. The humour column, the camera column, or the commercial photo column. The last named is, of course, written for money…I’m not ashamed to get paid for typing. But what of…
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Glue For One

Dinner for one can be a difficult affair if you are your own cook. You rarely make all the trimmings of anything and frequently steer round the things that are good for you in favour of the things that are easy to make. Shopping for one is similarly fraught – particularly if you have come…
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De Havilland Vampire T.11 – Part Three – Do Not Decal

At least do not decal when you can paint. I am in awe of modellers who can make a decal panel lay down over an undulating wing or fuselage and have it come out taut and flat with no silvering or air bubbles. Even more so when the decal involves several panels abutting each other.…
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When The Only 1:72 Game In Town…

Is: Reputed to be bad. Long sold out. Never seen locally. Not supplied by anyone else… …you are entitled to scuff your feet and make growling noises. I have been reviewing the chances of getting a 1:72 model of the Avro CF 100 Canuck interceptor and it would appear that this aircraft in model kit…
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North American P-51D – Part Three – Giving It The Hatzerim

Go look it up on Google for yourself. The IAF keeps a museum out in the Negev at Hatzerim AFB and parks their exhibits out in the sun. Which then gives them a unique sort of finish – kind of like sandblasting and a UV bake. ” Bozzy “, or old 41 – the P-51D…
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Tool Time – Part Five – We’re There

Here’s what the Ustar people packed into their mini modeller’s tool kit – the kit I bought for the pair of plastic nippers inside. I’ll show you why today was a good day. The heading image was inside the cardboard case. That’s a 100mm x 200mm cutting board and sealed plastic box. Let’s tally up…
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Lockheed F80C Shooting Star – Part Two – The Smooth Bullfrog

No, it’s not a Frog model – it’s still the bargain Airfix kit. But the more I look at the basic shape of the Lockheed F80C in the grey primer, the more I’m reminded of an amphibian. You have to admire Clarence Kelly and his designers for making such a sleek thing using an engine…
