Category: scratch-building
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You Can’t Do That
Because, because… a. It isn’t done that way. b. It isn’t done. c. I can’t do it. And there we have it, children. The gatekeeper, scale model authority, icon, legend, club ‘rak who would bar you from carving your own Spitfire from a bar of laundry soap has spoken. You must obey. Or… You salute…
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The Blank Slate Model
Few scale models are built on an original idea – nearly everything is a good or bad copy of something that already exists. The prototypes might have been just a one-off or even just a plan, but it was in someone’s mind before that of the modeller. However, there are exceptions. I think I have…
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If A Model Is Priced Out Of Your Range
Quietly ask yourself a few questions: a. Is it beyond saving for? You may have some some change each week that can be put toward the kit, and many sellers will lay something buy on steady payments. b. Is it the only possible model of this prototype? Granted, you’ll not find many kits of Fandiddler…
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Fairchild Argus – Part Five – Oh, The Relief…
Every scale model build has One Moment… This one came when the last of the painting was done, the decals were on and sealed. and the time had come to cement on the windscreen. It was missing. Clear parts are my bugbear. I have cracked them, stepped on them, fogged, and lost them. They’ve disappeared…
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What To Do When You Can’t Get It
Relax, lady. This is about scale modelling – not sex. What do we do when the scale model magazine shows a wonderful new range of after-market parts to detail a kit and everyone else in the world can get it except us? Stuck on the edge of the Indian Ocean way out past where the…
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Do We Have A Trade War With Japan, China, Or The Czech Republic?
No? Goodoh. That means we really should be able to order kits and supplies from these countries free of any interference from the Petulant of the United States, Ronald Grump. I have been looking at the kits I build and the goods I want and am a little saddened to see that some of the…
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Birthday Boatyard
Bob’s Boatyard, to be precise. Bob is my brother-n-law and a scale model builder as well. Rather than concentrate on plastic models, he devotes part of his retirement time to constructing wooden ship and boat models. It is rarely kit work – Bob builds from plans using wood that he cuts and shapes for himself.…
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The Trains Now Arriving…
In my local hobby shop are wonderful. They have digital control, digital sound, and completely realistic motion. Their couplers are tiny and there are a full complement of passengers and crew. The wagons and carriages are lined and decaled and the only thing that deters me from sweeping up an armful of them is the…
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The Noodles You Have In Your Bowl
Are all you need. Have you ever been to a fast food outlet that tried to sell you food by asking whether you wanted to ” up-size ” it? Did you agree or decline, thinking that a standard-size assault on your gall bladder was all you really needed? You felt you had just been hustled.…
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Razzle Dazzle ‘Em
And you don’t even need to use bright colours. This year’s scale model exhibition opened itself to new groups – and in the case of the first stand in the hall it was a wargaming outfit that built a magnificent set depicting something of the Battle of Berlin 1945. The set components were a mixture…
The Little World 