Category: Uncategorized
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Long Days Down T’ Bench
Or modelling until you can’t model any more. There are two types of long hobby days: a. The day that you just get to keep doing the thing you love, one bit after another. You finish one stage of the kit and are ready for the next one. Nothing breaks, nothing rolls off the bench,…
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All God’s Chillun Got Rhythm
An’ de ones dat build model kits knows dey better pay attention to de beat. Else’n dey gonna be trowin’ dere kits agin’ de wall… I am rich in time, if not in cash, and know that I can best use this first resource in my scale model building if I apportion it wisely. And…
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Grigorovich IP-1 – Part Four – The Winter Coat
Part of the appeal of the Grigorovich is the seasonal one…the fact that it’s a winter fighter with skis for landing in the snow. I am not an Australian fan-boy for snow…I passed my childhood in Alberta and I got all the show I needed, thank you. The skis are a novelty, but so is…
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Grigorovich IP-1 – Part Two – The Soviet Engine
I might not have been paying attention in the past to the details of aero engineering…but I do now that the kit makers are making much more detailed efforts. For instance, I always built the Airfix and Monogram fighters with radial engines that fit inside cowlings. In many cases they were just engine fronts inside…
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When Little Worlds Collide
A casual discussion overheard at my modelling club about an upcoming Big Local Modelling Exhibition revolved around which club exhibit would win the coveted “ Best In Show “ award. It’s decided by a public vote amongst the paying attendees. Everyone gets a twiddly wink as a counter and places it in a box at…
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The Lively Imagination
Also known as the cop-out. Our club motto is ” True To Life – True To Scale “. It is a stirring thought, and has undoubtedly been arrived at through much heated discussion. Like all mottos, it is obeyed in reality sometimes, in spirit sometimes, and in the bin at others. There are models built…
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PZL P.11c – Part Three – Krakow Cracker
If ever I go to a peaceful, clean, cheap, and safe Europe, which is probably never, I hope to see Poland. And I hope to see the planes in the aviation museum in Krakow. One of which would be the PZL P.11c. This kit has entirely turned around my regard for the Polish moulding industry.…
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Of Course It Doesn’t Fit
It never fit in 1959, when the kit was released. It didn’t fit in 1989 when Revell bought the mould and re-issued it. It will not fit when someone east of the Urals finally gets the worn-out blocks and injects reindeer poo into them to claw back some rubles. It’s not about fit. It’s about…
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Oh Ye Of Little Faith
Draw Nigh And Listen Unto Me. Cement it twice and glue it three times. For that is the only way that thou wilt be able to keep the pissy little landing gear legs in their position, or the canopy on firmly. Or indeed the fuselage halves together. Add another layer of cement or glue and…
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Unwrap At Your Peril
Yesterday was Christmas. In the morning I unwrapped my Christmas gift and expressed delight and surprise. Only one of those emotions was genuine. I bought it myself – at my local hobby shop – with my own money. It was be just what I wanted because I knew what I wanted. I have been reimbursed…
