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Good Shows Need Not Be Frantic

It is not necessary to have rock music and explosions. Sometimes quiet beauty and good crafting skills are all that is needed. A case in point is the annual Western Australian Miniature Association event held at South Perth Civic Centre. It is a gem. The venue is on a quiet street – which helps to…
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If You Build A Mustspitschmitt

You have to build it in the largest possible scale. Anything less would be a waste of time. Disregard the fact that you could show as much or as little skill in the smaller size as the larger. Set aside the cost factor and the encroachment on domestic space after it is completed. This is…
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Aichi Grace – Part Three – There, But For The Grace Of Aichi…

Goes a wonderful dive bomber… Pardon the punning. It has been a good week in the Little Workshop with the completion of the Fujimi Aichi Grace. The experiment of serial building seems to be paying off. The Fujimi kit has also proved to be better than some of their previous offerings – based upon the…
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Aichi Grace – Part Two – Report On The Experiment

You can experiment with all sorts of things; materials, processes, ideas, and weird food. The last-named aside, the others are often a help in scale modelling. We get set in our ways and sometimes it is in Carbonite like Han Solo. We need to explore new things. For a couple of years I followed the…
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Aichi B7A2 Grace – Part One – Plastic Baggies Have Changed…

Remember the 50¢ Airfix baggie of 1959? Your whole allowance gone but you could build on it for a week. This Fujimi kit has also come to me in a plastic bag, courtesy of a stash sale, but it is considerably in advance of the ’59 kits. It’s come at the price of pint of…
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Is It A Skin Lesion?

Or dried glue? Modellers are sometimes healthy and sometimes not, and it is surprising how many of their ailments are self inflicted: a. The cement scab noted above. I have found them weeks old in some pretty odd places. b. Acrylic asthma. You can do a great deal of no good with an airbrush full…
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Do You Dine Clean Or Dirty?

Old British officers will know the difference. For scale modellers the question may be posed differently; do you build clean or dirty? Are your models fully weathered, tinted, oiled, and matted, or are they factory-fresh. It can be a great topic if you want to get tempers up – the two groups striving to justify…
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Practical Lessons In Showmanship

Determined to get value for brass from the recent model railway exhibition, I have set aside my disappointment and drawn up a list of lessons learned. a. If you go to a show, go for a reason. You’ll be paying show prices so get value. b. The show should be on the stage in front…
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When You See A Better Model

Do not be envious. Don’t resent the other person for their success. Regard it as a chance for a free gift from them; one they will probably be delighted to give you. Study the model carefully. Ask about it, and in particular the bits of it that are better than you can do. Nearly everyone…

