Category: Uncategorized
-
RCAF Lancaster – Part Five – Subassembly

I think one of the nicest things about the new Airfix kits is the way that they have decided upon the subassembly moulding. In the case of the Lancaster they’ve done something that I have not seen before…but would like to see again. The point of assembly for many aircraft builds that makes me nervous…
-
RCAF Lancaster – Part Four – Button Up

The interior detailing on the fuselage was finally done – here’s what it looks like with no additional parts or work: The map is a decal. Pretty neat for no photo-etch. The other thing I commend Airfix for is the strut and former construction that mean the wings are going to go on right. Of…
-
RCAF Avro Lancaster – Part Three – It All Starts With Bits

I try to be thrilled with all parts of the kit building I do – from the shopping and acquisition through to the plans, cutting and fitting, painting , and final assembly. But it must be said that there are times when the stages are very small and you don’t seem to progress. The initial…
-
RCAF Avro Lancaster – Part Two – Whole Lotta Plastic Goin’ On

I am never so inspired or terrified as when I open a new model box and look at the plastic sprue trees. In some cases there seem so many of them – in others so few. The Airfix Lancaster is in the first bracket. However, this is a new-mould kit and the parts look to…
-
The Perils Of Isolation

One of the chief perils of isolation right now is the freedom it gives to you to do things: Your own way. As you are cut off from the scrutiny of others and their good advice, you can take bad advice from yourself. This is the general approach of people who make home-made gunpowder or…
-
Shall I Admit It To Myself?

What is my limit of self-deception. Can I convince myself that I am a teen idol? Or will I have to settle for being the sort of idol that lives in a ruined temple with spiders and snakes? More to the point, shall I admit to myself that one of the cornerstone products that I…
-
Time Warps Again

WRITTEN DURING THE AUSTRALIAN SUMMERTIME, WHICH IT IS NOT RIGHT NOW… Well, it’s the hot dry weather, isn’t it. You should see what the front door is doing. I used to think it was made from MDF board but now I suspect it started life as a Möbius strip. But back to the time warpage.…
-
Savoia Marchetti S.79 Sparviero – Part Seven – Under New Management

A notable milestone; my first Lebanese aircraft. All courtesy of a colour photo taken sometime during 1949 of an S.79 taxiing out to a runway past a pair of contemporary piston-engined fighter planes of the Lebanese Air Force. That, and a couple more found lurking on the net of similar aircraft in the middle East.…
-
Savoia Marchetti S.79 Sparviero – Part Six – It’s All A Whitewash

And all the better for it. Never mind whitewash in politics or on your back fence. When you whitewash a model it is a sign that you are getting somewhere. In this case it is Mr Base White 1000 diluted and blown on with a single-action airbrush. The white 1000 is about as good as…
-
Savoia Marchetti S.79 Sparviero – Part Five – Deep In The Heart Of…

Not Texas. Deep in the heart of Northern Italy. At the Savoia Marchetti factory cementing together the S.79 bomber and being alternately impressed and horrified at the way it is going. Impressed? Look at the detail of the shock absorber on the tail wheel. Not really terribly visible from the outside, but sturdy enough to…
