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Northrop Gamma – Part One – Inter-war Special

Newcastle Song Day. And I didn’t let the chance go by. This was the first time I had seen a Williams kit – though I had read about them in Scalemetes. The impression I got was that they were rather garage-kit like. This vanished when I opened the box at the club’s stash sale and…
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How Lousy It Really Was

And why we never knew the truth. Over the years – my years – I have learned many fascinating facts about aircraft. Some of the things I have learned are true, and some are false. The reason for the truth is clear – it is truth, and needs no justification. The reason for the lies…
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Triumph Herald – Part Five – We’ll Get To It When We Can

Just park her down the back of the shop and leave the keys in the ignition. And so the Triumph Herald arrives at Ess Bend Engineering. Stranded with a Lucas electrical system and a Coventry carburettor, she will eventually be reworked to Canadian standards. Many of her sisters will suffer the same fate in the…
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Triumph Herald – Part Four – The Non-Rolling Chassis

Despite appearances, I have grown up. I no longer build scale models with working parts. I can accept fixed wheels. Particularly when they are dependent upon thin plastic axles and cemented suspension parts. I have too many experiences with 1:72 landing gear legs to be sanguine about engineering in styrene. The Herald chassis is square…
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Triumph Herald – Part Three – Down The Rabbit Hole

At my model building club I see many of the other members building models that are a larger scale than the ones I work on. Up until now I have not thought how much harder their minds must be working – because a lot of the things that are just omitted from my 1:72 aircraft…
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Triumph Herald – Part Two – Sending You To Coventry

In this case after the Luftwaffe have long gone. The Triumph Herald is coming along smartly, courtesy of a Covid isolation period. I am in no fear – this is what stashes are for, and like many wise modellers I keep a material and paint stash as well. The weather is cold but as far…
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Triumph Herald – Part One – Well, It Seemed Like A Good Idea

At the time. Buy a cheap old English sedan and do it up. How hard could it be? People who have experienced Austin, Morris, Triumph, and Hillman vehicles in their lives fell into two groups – those who never opened the bonnets, and those who never closed them. Some came to their fate through fond…
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If You Were Asked To Pick…

Your favourite airplane, or ship, or car, or tank…you would spend hours going over the possibilities. Then you could spend more drinking time debating it with other modellers. What a great idea! Now suppose the discussion turned to the favourite model making company… and here the discussion was serious. Exacto knives would be drawn and…
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Wait Until The Judges See My Entry

Then they’ll know I’m good, and everyone else will know it as well. I hope I can convince myself. But what if I don’t win? What if I get marked down by the judges with the clipboards and the scoring sheets? What if someone else wins and I’m just an also-ran? a. The world stops.…

