Category: research
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The Beauty Of Preserved Aircraft
Don’t edge away – I’m not going to go all sentimental here. I salute the people who discover, recover, restore, and preserve aircraft. And who then let the general public and the model engineers in to inspect them. They do us all a great service. Because there are only so many old photos that you…
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Fiat BR.20 – Part Four – The One And Only
My Nationalist Chinese Air Force is growing like Top Tze. Another bomber to join the Martin B10. Talk about strategic command of the air… This Fiat BR.20 was originally sold to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force as part of a couple of stopgap squadrons until a native-built bomber fleet could be completed. It saw…
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I’ve Been To The Movies Too, Ya Know…
Whenever I sit in on a group of experts and listen to them tell each other stories I reflect that some of these are probably being retailed with advantage. In fact a few of the tale-tellers are probably advantaging through their teeth. None more so than The People Who Weren’t There. This is because the…
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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…
The Little World 