Category: subassembly
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Bristol Bulldog – Part Two – Well, They Don’t Fly Themselves, Eh?
I’ll amend that. The drones do…sort of. But in the case of the Bristol Bulldog, it needs a human pilot to defend the realm. Airfix have been good to us for a long time – nearly all of their kits have contained at least one crew member to steer the ship and/or make the sandwiches.…
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Supermarine Stranraer – Part Four – You Can Glue…
With your fingers crossed. This is the normal mode of operation when cabane and inter-plane struts are concerned. With Czech kits the legs are also intertwined and you run the risk of falling sideways off the stool in the workshop. Matchbox made the process a little less fraught by sectioning the upper wing in three…
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Supermarine Stranraer – Part Two – The Green Lizard
Well, that’s what it looked like… The fit of the Matchbox Stranraer fuselage was exemplary. I needed no filler on the centre seams at all. The dorsal gun area, however, needed some careful fairing in to look realistic. That’s a heavy covering of Mr. Hobby white putty you see in the heading image and it…
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PZL Gull Wing – Part Three – Those Decals
Okay, let’s talk dirty. I’ll start. Polish and Russian decals. Sorry to be so brutal, but the topic needs addressing. In the past I have wished to address the makers of some Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian plastic model kits and send them the sheets back with suitable curses. The problem has not so much been…
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Morane-Saulnier N – Part Two – Simplicity In Silver
The Revell ( NZ ) model of the Morane-Saulnier N monoplane is the aviation equivalent of the spoiled vehicle kit it replaced – so simple in construction as to admit of assembly before painting. The pilot – Dimitri – has been painted separately and can rest in the shade while the rest of the build…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part Three – The Hubley Kit
If you are from North America you’ll recognise the name Hubley. They were a die-cast toy maker of the 40’s and 50’s who made larger size offerings. I owned a Hubley Bell telephone truck with working winch and pole trailer – surely an odd choice of prototype even for the times. I observed other kids…
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Matchbox Helldiver – Part Two – Wing It Or Sling It?
Here’s a dilemma. I’ve pictures of the prototype SB2C with folded wings. And the Matchbox kit has folding wings. But they are folded on the toy principle and look bloody awful. I have low standards but every now and then something shows up that undercuts them. I have built folded wings on an Airfix Devastator…
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Mirage F.1C – Part Two –
I am not a naturally suspicious person. I do not see conspiracies in every coup, assassination, or Disney movie. I regularly send money to Nigerian princesses. Yet I suspect every tricycle-geared airplane that they build…they are all tail-sitters just waiting for us to have a moment’s lapse of attention. I regularly weigh and balance planes…
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The Serious Modeller
Vs the chronic modeller. The difference is slight – more a case of emotion than skill. The former is a staid and sober citizen, carefully measuring between rivets on their one and only model – which they have been building since 1987. The fuselage of the kit is nearly complete and the serious modeller will…
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Junkers F.13 – Part Two – Twenties Elegance
For 5 bucks a throw. That was the price of a joy ride on the City Of Prince George – the Junkers float plane that was anchored near that town in the 30’s. Takla Landing, I believe. it had a civic christening and everything as they probably hoped to make a regular passenger service with…
The Little World 