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So Will We See A Flood Of Kits?
Or a drought? The Ukraine War is in full swing, if swing accurately describes improbably heavy armour floundering across muddy fields or running out of fuel on the main road. The Russian Army seems to be a different entity from that presented by the media a few decades ago, and that is a bit of…
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I Choose My Paints From The WTF Numbering System
It is the favoured organisational system of the major model paint makers. They each invent a complete system for their paints that has no relation to that of other factory. This means they can all stay in their corner of the playground at recess. And when I want to paint a modern jet that has…
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The Model Competition
I just read a meme-text put up on Facebook by an artist that has really resounded with me. Most social media philosophy is so much eyewash, but this one actually made sense. The gist of his post was that art is not a competitive event. There are no contests that should be won or lost.…
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Handley Page Heyford – Part Four – HP Sauce
I did not even make it to March – the Handley Page Heyford that was to have been the crowning glory of Matchbox March was completed on the evening of February 28. And it was the last Matchbox kit in the stash. I shall do my research to see what other kits Matchbox made in…
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Handley Page Heyford – Part Three – All The Appeal..
Of a hairless cat… The period between the wars was a time of increased streamlined elegance in the design world. Cars, locomotives, buildings…they all got sleeker and more aerodynamic. How ironic that the HP Heyford – designed to fly through the air – should do so looking like a washing machine. I attached the upper…
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Handley Page Heyford – Part Two – Paint-Be-Gone
I was a little nonplussed at discovering that the Heyford wings and tail were painted on their sprue trees. The job was well, done, but it wasn’t what I would have used myself. What to do? Risk leaving the paint on and then having a top coat of lacquer start to react and dissolve into…
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Handley Page Heyford – Part One – Come On March
I rarely urge the calendar to advance – I am at an age when I appreciate every day – indeed, being retired, I frequently mistake one for another. As long as I can remember scale model club morning and garbage night, the rest of the week can dissolve. But a special month was coming; Matchbox…
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A Thousand Pictures Are Worth A Word
And that word is generally : ” inaccurate “… In a world awash in internet images, the scale modeller could be forgiven for thinking that they’ll never have a problem with colour again. All they’ll have to do is google up an image of the prototype they’re building and copy the picture. This is as…
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” You Could Do A Mediocre Job…”
So could you, mate. Which one of us would be raising our standards and which one would be lowering them? Self-criticism is often the tool of the tyrant – they get you to do it under threat because they don’t have the time to continually nag you themselves. Sort of a case of putting your…
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Nieuport 17C – Part Five – Silver Beauty
I intended this build as a little stop-gap project to fill the time until Matchbox March. It has proved to be a rewarding gem. The Revell kit was unprepossessing enough – indeed most of the tiny WW1 planes from this firm are old kits and you find yourself prejudiced because of it. Of course, if…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
The Little World 