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Douglas DC-3 – Part One – The C-47

‘Well, duh. Of course it’s a C-47, because it is a Douglas DC-3. And It’s a DC-3 because it’s a C-47. And it’s a Vietnam-era gunship in this Airfix kit courtesy of four Air Force figures and a cargo floor that sports a number of mini-Gatling guns on stands. I’m afraid it holds little place…
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Potez 540 – part Six – Acqui De Espero!

I think that lost something in the translation… Or maybe it was a famous battle cry. Or a caption on a poster. Whatever…it translates as a bare ” here I wait “. Honest – it googles up as an advertising phrase for a hotel in the Canary Islands… Don’t ask why it appears on the…
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Potez 540 – Part Five – Not Cartograf

The gradual build-up of the Mister Craft Potez 540 has been a delight until today. The engine nacelles were complex but fun. The fuselage and tail went fine. The undercoat and colour coats went as expected – even masking for the national markings on the wing and fuselage. The assembly of the engines, struts, and…
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Potez 540 – Part Four – IKEA Day

The day I assemble the fuselage from the flat pack with a little hex wrench. I almost seemed like that was going to be the case when I first saw the way the aircraft had been sectioned. But Heller was wise – if the Potez was rectangular in cross section there was no point in…
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Potez 540 – Part Three – Three Days On The Road

And I’m definitely not gonna make it home tonight. Not riding the Potez 540. The heading image is three days later. Not hectic days, mind, but steady use of my evening modelling time. I think we are making progress and I hope it is in a forward direction. The engine nacelles or housings for the…
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Potez 540 – Part Two – The Hatch Of Heller

The moment of truth arrived in my hobby room – I opened the Mister Craft box and saw what I had exchanged money for. I was pleasantly surprised. Heller it was, and Heller is still is. But not as bare or sad as some people would have you think. And not moulded as badly as…
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Potez 540 – Part One – The Roll Of the Dice

When my mother was expecting me, an angel appeared and offered to make me either smart or good looking – her choice. I now begin to suspect which idea appealed to her. The reason I’ve come to this conclusion is I have purchased another Mister Craft kit from Poland. You’ll remember my experiences with other…
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The Bellanca Ball-Ache

I’m being unfair to Bellanca – I could have chosen Beechcraft or Bristol. The alliteration was the thing – a ” B ” aircraft maker was needed. Let’s start out by saying there never was an aircraft called the Ball-Ache. There may have been many that induced the condition, but that is a matter for…
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Federal 2 1/2 Ton – Part Four – A Nervous Time

The Academy kit of this truck has two build options, differing only in a winch and a machine gun mount on the cab roof. I eschewed this and opted for the version associated with the Red Ball Express. There are plenty of stores on the sprue trees and a big open bed in the back.…
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Federal 2 1/2 Ton Part Three – Classy Chassis

The joy of building Academy vehicles is the precise subassemblies that their kit moulding makes possible. The chassis of the Federal is no exception – in fact it is better than the Army ambulance that they put out. I still have the horrors trying to get all the wheels on the pavement at the same…
