-
Fairey Swordfish Mk I – Part Two – Quo Vadis?
Redirect your mind from the old religious movie – this is serious. What version of this plane do I make? There are always a number of questions about any new build. What are my criteria for choosing a kit and then choosing a scheme? a. It is a kit. I have enough money to buy…
-
Fairey Swordfish Mk I – Part One – Tradesies
I know the most interesting people. A friend contacted me on Facebook and asked where she could get a 1:12 scale lamp post. It so happened that I had a new one – long spare from an old project that had passed by. She offered to trade for it and I named a 1:72 model…
-
The Rhythm Of The Stash
If you are a model builder with one kit, you have no trouble deciding what your next build will be. Most of us who built models as children were in just this position all the time. The only occasion when you might have had a multiplicity of kits was on a birthday or holiday. But…
-
Silver Is Not Chrome Is Not Stainless Steel
None of them are super iron or super silver, either, and if you are looking for dull aluminium, you are risking your life trying to get it. The metallisers are loose in the land and terror reigns. I remember fondly the days when there was just one silver – whether it was a Pactra product…
-
SPAD XIII – Part Four – Rickenbacker’s Ride
The historic enthusiasts of WW1 can make of Eddy Rickenbacker what they will. His 22 aerial victories and 4 balloons downed are not the numbers that rival other aces, but he survived till the 1970’s and that was a definite win for him. The SPAD appears from other accounts not to have had quite the…
-
Revell SPAD XIII – Part Three – Tri-Tone Again
My old nemesis – three-coloured camouflage – rears its attractive head again. This is a love-hate relationship. I do love the way the planes look once they are successfully painted and I do hate the extra work to get to that stage. The ones that have either a fracture pattern or a swooping one are…
-
Revell SPAD XIII – Part Two – Grinning And Bearing It
Well, it is a vintage kit… The Revell SPAD XIII is going to look good, I tell myself. The large dollop of Mr. White Putty cut with levelling thinner is only to be expected. Also the superglue run into the tail gaps and the Vallejo squirt putty elsewhere. I have not reached for a tin…
-
Revell SPAD XIII – Part One – A NZ Mystery
They don’t generally do impenetrable mysteries in New Zealand. Most of the country is pretty straightforward. Which means I have no idea why the instruction sheet from this unopened example of a New Zealand Revell baggie should have a corner bit out of it. Was there some secret there? Some corporate message that we were…
-
Dirt Rich
As a kid I encountered the term ” dirt poor “. A lot of you know it as well – though we probably wouldn’t describe ourselves as such if we are building scale model kits or reading this on a computer screen. I would like to introduce a new phrase: ” Dirt Rich “. It…
-
Fat Dogs On A Gut Pile
I mean, look at us; elderly enthusiasts devoting as much time as we wish to a subject that rewards us handsomely. Retired people who are model builders are the luckiest creatures on the planet. Consider: a. We are past the age when someone expects us to be: Sober. If you are in your own home…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
