Category: Uncategorized
-
Vought CorsairF4U-1 – Part Three – Thanks, Doc…

Thank you, Dr. Tamiya. I needed that. That slap in the face with a model kit: That fits together without sanding or filing. With an entire cockpit in 1:72 as a matter of course. With wing seams that need no putty. With the engine where all cylinders are part of the injection moulding and no…
-
Vought Corsair F4U-1 – Part Two – Which Came First?

Well, which came first; the chikin or the tamago? Did Tamiya get a good reputation by building precise model kits or did they build precise model kits because they had a good reputation? At what point did they say to themselves ” We must make excellent products above all…”. Did they have a modelling adolescence in which…
-
If You Build A Barber Shop, They Will Comb…

If you wish to give yourself a treat – for about $ 40 a throw – go down to the hobby shop and look at the OO/HO building kits. You’ll find them for British, North American, and European buildings, and there is hardly anything that you can imagine that cannot be bought. If you stray…
-
The Painting Stand

We need a new accessory for scale model building…as if we do not have enough already… We need a cheap, sturdy, steady, adjustable stand to hold a model while it is being spray painted. It must be capable of holding the model firmly and in balance, and the spray must be able to reach all…
-
Why The Devil Am I Writing This All Up?

You may find yourself asking this question when you read this column – or any of the other fine bits of sticky literature* I write. The humour column, the camera column, or the commercial photo column. The last named is, of course, written for money…I’m not ashamed to get paid for typing. But what of…
-
Well, This’ll Make A Change…

I don’t normally take an interest in model railways or buy the kits for the structures – unless I realise that I need more detail in a quicker time than I am prepared to scratch-build. Don’t get me wrong – I used to build big-scale rail layouts. But the railway idea has not resonated with…
-
Glue For One

Dinner for one can be a difficult affair if you are your own cook. You rarely make all the trimmings of anything and frequently steer round the things that are good for you in favour of the things that are easy to make. Shopping for one is similarly fraught – particularly if you have come…
-
De Havilland Vampire T.11 – Part Four – Baked Bat

It’s not your eyes. Your eyes are fine. It’s not your computer. You need not re-calibrate it. The scale model Vampire T.11 really looks like that. And its counterpart in the Negev does too. The desert sun has very little air shade, no ground shade, and winds that blast from all directions. The paint that…
-
De Havilland Vampire T.11 – Part One – Going Batty
By now you probably feel you have reason to question my sanity – I am starting to build my third De Havilland Vampire in 1:72 scale. One DH.100 as a Canadian museum piece, then a Swiss Vampire with extended nose, and now a two-seat trainer. What is it with these bats? Well, the first was…
-
De Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.6 – Part One – Those Riotous Swiss

Congratulaions – you have coped with one vampire. now you can cope with another… One thing – you have to hand it to the Swiss. They’re a barrel of laughs. All you have to do is sell them a old jet fighter and they’re out with the paint pots making a carnival float out of…
