Category: Scale Models
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Build me A Hobby Room!

I have just won Lotto. My ticket in the 450 Million Dollar Supergreed Draw Of The Millenium has won first prize and I am the only one in Australia who got it. All week long dump trucks have been backing up to the front lawn and tipping wads of $ 100 notes onto it. Now…
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The Suitcasers

Do you remember seeing a 1960’s George Peppard movie called ” The Carpetbaggers ” ? A rough sketch of Howard Hughes and quite racy at the time. It’s title was taken from the scornful name given to Northern exploiters who flooded into the American South after the Civil War. Conmen, graspers, and get-rich-quick merchants…rather in…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Five – Any Colour You Like

As long as it is white. Henry Ford is spinning in his grave. Civil aircraft all seem to start life as brides in white. From the factory demonstrator to the feeder-line delivery, they all get a gloss coat of white paint. I suspect it is cheap, durable, and meant to be highly visible. As well,…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Four – They Said It Couldn’t Be Done

But they didn’t say it to me. When I saw the separate wings for the Twin Otter with no tab to fasten them back onto the fuselage, I started to worry. I know modern cements can do a great deal to weld plastic surfaces together but those long, thin wings stretch out quite a distance…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Three – The Airliner Window

Airliner windows are a nervous part of model building for me – at least in 1:72 scale. You see, it is too small to make them easy to handle and too big to get away with decals or painted dots. The first time I tried putting individual plastic panes in was on a Northrop Delta…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part Two – ” I’m Melting…! “

That was the catch cry of the Wicked Witch Of the West in the Wizard Of Oz when Dorothy threw a bucket of water on her. I’m here to tell you that this was just fiction; I tried it on one of the in-laws and all I got was yelled at. No melting. Next time…
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De Havilland Twin Otter – Part One – Old Recalcitrant

No, I am not referring to the Prime Minister of Lamaysia. I’m sure he is a very biddable old buffer – as long as the right approach is taken. What I mean is this Revell kit of the De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft. It’s Revell Germany, so it may have been sourced from another maker*…
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North American Mitchell – Part Five – Nothing Is Uglier…

Nothing is uglier than a handsome or beautiful person before they are ready to be seen. Dressing-room portraits are invariably a strained thing and the more of them you don’t see, the better you feel. The B-25 Mitchell bomber is no exception – The heading image may be excused for showing the prima donna with…
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North American Mitchell – Part Four – The Tail Gunner

Every good bomber needs a tail gunner – the chap who sits at the back and is the first one to get killed. And every model airplane build needs a tail gunner as well – but for a better reason. Unfortunately the model of the B-25 I am making is one with no rear gun……
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North American Mitchell – Part Three – Cementing A Friendship

The world seems to be divided into two camps – those who don’t care about Brexit, and those who don’t care about Justin Trudeau. There are a few of us who have sought to bridge the gap and heal the rift by not caring about both subjects at the same time. Given a cup of…
