Category: Scale Models
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Dirt Rich

As a kid I encountered the term ” dirt poor “. A lot of you know it as well – though we probably wouldn’t describe ourselves as such if we are building scale model kits or reading this on a computer screen. I would like to introduce a new phrase: ” Dirt Rich “. It…
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Fat Dogs On A Gut Pile

I mean, look at us; elderly enthusiasts devoting as much time as we wish to a subject that rewards us handsomely. Retired people who are model builders are the luckiest creatures on the planet. Consider: a. We are past the age when someone expects us to be: Sober. If you are in your own home…
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Ilyushin IL-2 – Part Six – Skiing Holiday

The predictions about the Smêr model of the Ilyushin Il -2 proved 100% accurate. The kit has fallen together perfectly and the landing gear variation has proved to be the star of the piece. The gear is based upon the wheeled version, but you need to trim away some of the wheel hub support and…
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Now Available In The Convenient Can

There’s an advantage to be had by sticking to one brand of paint – every bottle is somewhat related to every other bottle. You can generally apply something onto something else without a flash and a bang. You might have to wait until layer A dries completely before you apply layer B but most times…
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Curtiss SBC-4 – Part Three – The Bad Bargains

The French paid through the nose for the Curtiss SBC-4 Helldivers. They were compelled to pay in gold bullion hauled to the USA by the aircraft carrier BÉARN, then forced to load them in Nova Scotia after they were towed over the international border, then forced to abandon them in the West Indies when metropolitan…
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Curtiss SBC-4 – Part Two – In Praise Of Heller

It is unfashionable in the British Commonwealth to speak well of the French. The old prejudices born of war and ambition stretch back as far as William the Conqueror and have been topped up and re-aligned every century since then. It goes the other way, of course – the French despise the English nearly as…
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Curtiss SBC-4 – Part One – The Old Photo In The National Geographic

I used to pore over wartime copies of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. I found a trove of them in a school library in the 1960’s and read all I could. I wasn’t after pictures of native girls with bare chests – I wanted colour photos of fighter planes. NG had access to the US Navy and Kodachrome…
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Imagination Is The New Word For Lying To Yourself

If you’re a fan of Facebook or any other general social media site you’ll have seen the memes that encourage you to imagine things. Many of them will have mountain scenes or unicorns and rainbows. I came from Alberta and used to live in the Crows Nest Pass, so I can testify to the accuracy…
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F-15 Eagle – Part Three – Baz

Not Bazza – this is not an Australian fighter. Baz, as in Hebrew. One of the couple of dozen of this type the IDF flies. The tail markings were initially meant to be two red triangles inside and an eagle on the outer but the home printing proved difficult – they were impossible to actually…

