Category: Uncategorized
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Westland Lysander – Part Three – Lynx Paws
If there is one thing that defines the Westland Lysander, whether in RAF or RCAF service, it is the landing gear. Lynx paws, I call them, with enough space inside them to hold two machine guns and two landing lights. The rest of the aircraft might have the design of a cement mixer, but the…
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None of My Work Is Written With Artificial Intelligence
It is pure, natural stupidity. I have what is apparently an inexhaustible supply of this and it seems a shame to waste the opportunity to turn it to good use. I have long since ceased to plague the general populace in a professional sense and even my trade days are done. Now I just build…
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The Detail Is In the Devil
And I am starting to believe that is where it should stay. I stand in awe of the fine detail that can be achieved by some modellers working in 1:32nd and 1:35th scale. When they commence work on tank tracks with 5 or 6 pieces per link…and a couple hundred links…I know it is time…
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A Very Personal Boycott
And for a very personal reason. A recent visit to a hobby shop in our metro area ended unpleasantly – when I asked to use the toilet the owner directed me outside to the end of the car park and told me to pee behind the dumpster. Fortunately I was able to make it in…
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Tupolev SB2 – Part One – Accidental Buy
Trawling through the hobby shop one day I decided to take home a Czech kit of a single -engine US observation plane. All was well until I looked at the parts that were to have made up the canopy and wing support. Someone in the factory had packed two right sides – and no left…
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Is Your Kit Pre-Painted?
A friend once showed me a model kit in very small scale – 1/144 or smaller – that was pre-painted by the maker. It was delightful to look at, in a sort of toy-like manner. The makers had finished the fighter in camouflage but I think there were a choice of decals that could be…
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Nothing To Excess
This is a fine philosophy, but I wouldn’t go overboard on it… It is also good counsel for the people who make the moulds for plastic kits. I was dealing with an old Revell B-24 D kit from the late 70’s that had recessed panel lines and raised rivets. They were the size that would…
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What Everyone Knows…
Can be absolute truth, malicious nonsense, or anything in between. When your scale model building intersects with public knowledge, you would do well to determine exactly which sort you have. I have built glaring mistakes, and made a good job of them, too, based upon what everyone knows. In most cases, even if everyone agrees,…
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A Pad Of Paper And Box Of Pencils
And the world is yours. Put on your pyjamas, get a hot drink, settle down at the table, and draw up the Universe. It is not blasphemous – Someone Famous did it a long time ago… Don’t draw a layout – that would be too committed – a table upon which you can move the…
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Grumman Hawkeye – Part Three – Daya
192 Squadron IDF. This is the newest exhibit at the Schmattarim Air Force Base museum. It has been scrubbed clean of identifying marks like number and squadron insignia for security purposes, retaining only the insignia. The whole project took essentially a week and a half and has been one of the most rewarding in recent…
The Little World 