Category: subassembly
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Tupolev TB-3 – Part Two – More Pegs Than A Dublin Phone Book
And every one of them working… The next time you hear someone blithely tell you that they ” winged it “…and make out that it was all so easy…refer them to me. I have winged the Tupolev TB-3 and I know what the abyss looks like. The basic bracing inside was actually very precise –…
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Fairey Firefly Mk V – Part Two – Stub Wings
The first day of work on a new kit can be either basic cockpit or even more basic part sanding. Imagine my surprise when I got through a club meeting with the stub wings joined to the fuselage.The Airfix engineering has large mating surfaces for the wing roots onto the fuselage so you can proceed…
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Bristol F.2B – Part Two – Struttin’ Wif’ Some Styrene
And I had much rather it had been wif’ some barbecue… The point at which you regret your choices in life occurs to all of us, but it comes repeatedly to the scale modeller who builds biplanes. The original designers of the aircraft were forced to use multiple wings and sticks and wire between them…
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RAAF Spitfire Mk Vc – Part Three – Peg ‘0 My Heart
I love you… Okay, there is an earworm for you. If you are too young to know the tune put your cap on backwards, go away, and stare at your mobile phone. I am the strange old guy in the supermarket that looks at clothes pegs. Or the weirdo in Bunnings that tests out every…
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RAAF Spitfire Mk Vc – Part Two – The Universal Kit
Universal if you want to make a Spitfire, that is. Not a lot of good if you are trying for a ’59 Ford Anglia… This Italeri kit comes with more parts than you’d think. I note the wing tips are flat with a key-slot and you can join rounded elliptical tips or clipped square tips.…
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Don’t, Don’t You Believe It, Girlie…
Whenever someone tells you a kit is unbuildable, doubt them. Ditto when they tell you it is the best thing since sliced styrene. People’s opinions quickly convert to folklore and just as rapidly to gospel truth. There are scale model flat earths all about us. A case in point was given to me by a…
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FW 190 – Part Two – Bigger Is Better?
A question for those starting in 1/48 from a lifetime of 1/72. And does that mean better detail, better shape, or better fit? Are the clear parts going to be better? How about the decals? Is it fair to judge the scale on an old retro kit? Well, I build old retro kits in 1/72…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Three – Wings Over The Workbench
I was right – a model with no filler needed. Not to be sneezed at, even with Spring bring hay fever. The minute shaving and sanding of the wing roots has resulted in no gaps. The tail likewise, though this has been pinned for strength. This is not to praise inordinately. The achievement of a…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Two – Interior Precision
I am not a fan of super-detailed cockpits. They seem to be too much trouble for too little reward. But I do admire the AML company for the all-resin cockpit tub produced for this fighter plane. I has popped together with a precision that is rarely seen. Not without effort, I might add. Resin parts…
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Bristol Mk32 Superfreighter – Part Three – Who Was That Masked Whale?
Balance it up in your mind – whether you trust the decal makers to put a product out that will look like a painted surface, or whether you can make a painted surface look like a decal. If you can fold a 2-dimansional sheet of plastic paint to conform to a 3D surface with convex…
The Little World 