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Northrop BT 1 – Part Four – The Donkey
And I spent a morning pinning the tail on it. No blindfold. Czech and other short-run airplane kits have many flaws, but one of the most worrying is the fact that they often provide no way of attaching the tail securely. If there is a tab and slot it is rudimentary, clogged with flash and…
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Northrop BT 1 – Part Three – It’s A Böhm
With apologies to Peter Sellers… The 500 lb bomb that the BT 1 is carrying is the first resin-cast weapon I’ve encountered. It is very encouraging, though I generally refuse to pay aftermarket prices for accessories. But the fit of the fins and their cross-pieces is superb. It is almost a pity to bury it…
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Northrop BT 1 – Part Two – Teeth Gritting Time
The start of a build is either going to be heaven or hell. The choice of which is largely up to the builder, but it can be more attitude than anything that determines which destination you’re heading for. In the case of a lot of short-run kits the removal of parts from the sprue tree…
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Northrop BT 1 – Part One – The Bargain Bomber
I took advantage of a stash sale one time to purchase a number of never-to-be-seen-again model kits. You’ve already seen one of the Eastern European maker’s short-run planes – the Mitsubishi ” Ann “- in this column before. This Northrop is the accompanying model – a contemporary in the air in the early 1940’s. This…
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The Catalogue
Or catalog, if you wish. The list of goods – the bill of fairly inexpensive toys. The play-list for the listless. I have set out to make a record of my own model collection – prompted by the sight of a late club-mate’s models retrieved to our clubhouse and set out on shelves. They are…
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Repairing Our Mistakes
If we repair our mistakes we gain a great deal of control over our modelling. And it can make us better workers. a. We recognise a mistake. This is better when we do it before we commit it…sort of dry-fit your way out of danger – but even if we have gone all the way…
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Piper J3 – Part Five – The Universal Cub
The best thing about the Piper J3 Cub is it is so darned cute. The second best thing is that it is ubiquitous. It can sit on the tarmac of any of my airports or air museums from the 1930’s onward and be perfectly at home. The kit has proved to be a beauty –…
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Piper J3 – Part Four – The Irish Jig
Faith and begorrah, and here’s to the Auld Sod. I mean the one who invented jigs to assemble airplanes. I have reviewed all the commercial aids for assembly – the plastic, wood, and metal jigs that are touted on the modelling sites. Also the ones that appear in catalogs from places that will not ship…
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Piper J3 – Part Three – Yellow; Mellow Or Perilous?
The heading image is not yellow – it’s a combination of Mr. Surfacer white and some old Mr. Color flat white. The bottles are low and a combination of forces was needed. The end result is fine – and is absolutely essential for any yellow painting. I discovered this long ago while painting an Avro…
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Piper J3 – Part Two – Inky, Winky, and Dinky
I don’t think I would be able to build things in smaller scale than 1:72 unless they were of very big prototypes – the parts would be too small. As it is I curse the nonsense of PE and resin details. The heading image shows a pretty good result for the interior of the J3…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
The Little World 