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Dewoitine D.520 – Part One – Allo, Allo…

I have passed the Hobby Boss Dewoitine D-520 kit on the hobby shop shelves for a couple of years now with no regrets. I’d built a Morane Saulnier and a Caudron and the prospect of an diminutive French plane was no urgent call. But I’ve recently borrowed one of those profile books of WW2 fighters…
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Somewhere There Is The Land Of Giants

Little worlds abound on our planet. From my own RCAF WET DOG and Wet Dog Regional Airport or countless model villages in the UK, to Madurodam, or the giant German public rail layout or the equally large private US and Canadian layouts…there are slices of tiny life everywhere. I am prepared to award the title…
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Scale Model Philosophy 101

I once completed a very nice build of a very bad kit. It was not the worst one I had attempted, nor the best job I’d ever done, but it did bring into focus what has become my guiding principles. I hasten to add that these are not virtues or glories…just realisations about the hobby.…
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Mitsubishi Dinah – Part Three – Standing Room Only…

The Mitsubishi Type 100 – the Dinah – was delivered to the Japanese Army Air Force in several versions – bomber, reconnaissance plane, trainer, etc. and there were several configurations of nose and canopy. The thin nose and multi-step greenhouse is characteristic of the training aircraft – probably to allow and instructor to oversee the…
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Mitsubishi Dinah – Part Two – The Bright Bird

I knew at the outset that the Dinah in IJAF trainer colours was rather special. The yellow is not the pure chrome of the RAF or RCAF trainers nor the red/yellow of a prewar US Navy aircraft wing – it has a distinct orange glow to it. I wasn’t sure whether the plastic that the…
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Mitsubishi Dinah – Part One – The Japanese Shop

My daughter visited Japan for a two-week holiday last year. Thoroughly loved the place and will go again. On this first visit I primed her to visit a model shop in Akihabara with instructions to bring me back a small 1:72 model kit of something that we don’t get in Australia. Her choice of whatever…
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” The Rarest And Most Valuable…”

Toy cars in the world. That’s what the sideline headline said. Well, there we have it, Folks. The Facebook flash that tells you all you needed to know about monomaniacal greed. It may not have the eye-stopping power of the one about the fossilised Viking turd or the emotional appeal of the dewy-eyed kitten marching…
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New Members Wanted

And not because the old ones are wearing out…because new people have new ideas. The scale modelling club I joined a couple of years ago had an annual general meeting and it looks as though there is a need for fresh blood. Not just on the Xacto knives, either. We need more members. I am surprised…
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Absolutely 100% Authentic And Certified

This model has been 100% certified by the Board Of Authenticity to be a completely accurate copy of the real thing. No expense has been spared to bring you the authentic feel, sight, sound, and smell of the original. The paints included in this kit have been stripped off the only remaining example of the…
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RCAF Twin Otter – Part Six – Over The Line

Way-hay – completed the De Havilland Twin Otter before teatime. And onto the photo floor just afterwards. The planned assembly of the plane went well – I propped the fuselage up on the jig and glued one wing and supporting strut with liquid cement. An hour later I was able to flip it over and…
