Category: Uncategorized
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Lordy God Almighty

Our hobby is on the side of the angels. And also on the side of science and the law. As scale modellers we have endured the sneers and taunts of people ever since out first kit. Now we have vindication – our interest in scale models is of benefit to mankind. Okay – I hear…
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Rounding On The Roundel

How many times have you put the decal on wrong? More that you’d think… The use of a distinctive insignia or roundel for any particular air force has been mandated for over a century. It was difficult for pilots to identify friends or foes if they have to land and ask a series of questions…
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The Plastic Himalayas

Or how to get over the hobby humps. Modellers are camels – we all have humps. whether we are making plastic kits, model railway layouts or doll houses, we come to a point when it all seems too much. Our kit build is stretching out week after week as we fight the photo-etched brass –…
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Use It Or Hoard It?

What do you do with the valuable old kit? If you have been stashing or buying for some time, you will eventually stumble across an unbuilt kit that is actually valuable in some respect: a. It has climbed in resale value as it has aged and other similar kits fallen by the wayside. If you…
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Fairey Swordfish Mk1 – Part One – Wheels At Last

And not before time. I made a model of the Fairey Swordfish from the new Airfix mould some time ago and promised myself to do another on wheels – this time with torpedo armament. The previous one was on floats and in pre-war colours. This was so pleasing that I have decided the new model…
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The Glaring Omissions

In hobby shops full of Messerspitstang kits and the space ships of the latest franchise movie, it is actually painful to stride the aisles looking for the missing links. I concentrate most effort on 1:72 scale aircraft and have long built the standards. I’ve built the semi-standards, and a fair few of the obscurities as…
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The Danger Of The Custom Colour

A custom colour is defined as any admixture of standard paint that reproduces perfectly some particular hue or shade. It may be produced by any modeller who has a spare bottle and a mixing spoon. In keeping with colour and art theory, it is best mixed from a light colour with careful application of dark.…
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Get Right Back On The Horse

The iron rule of horse riding is that, after a fall that has not killed you, you get right back on the horse. This has the effect of showing your moxie to the other riders, quelling your fears, and giving you a chance to show the horse that you mean to be the master or…
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Eat All Your Peas

And one of several things will happen: a. You will earn dessert. b. You will be too full of peas to want dessert. c. More peas will served, as you obviously enjoy them. d. You will come to hate peas. e. You will fart like a dog for hours. I like peas, as it happens,…
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The Temptation To Re-Stash

And just when they thought you were cleaning out the old one… Many people I know go through a cycle where they alternately empty and replenish their stashes This conforms to the universal rule of physics that you can never have a completely full shelf nor a completely empty one. There must always be either…
