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Whose Decals Are The Best?
And wouldn’t we all like to know. I have been building kits for a little over a year now – in my old age – and I am learning by experience. So far I’ve racked up: a. Revell Germany b. New Airfix c. Mach 2 d. Academy e. RS f. Special Hobby g. ICM h. Zvezda…
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Tea Tray Mk II
Readers of this column may remember – or can search back – to read about Tea Tray Mk I. It was the adaptation of a cardboard box lid left over from an IKEA purchase that allowed me to bring my plastic modelling indoors when temperatures soared in the Little Workshop. The Little Office has an…
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Mr. Hallelujah
My interest in, and respect for, the products of the Creos GSI corporation is steadily growing. Their ” Mr. ” line of paints, thinners, surfacers, tools, and accessories is extensive and is available in may hobby shops here in Perth – including my favourite: Hobbytech. Of course they are not alone in the paint aisle…
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Going Into Business Sale
Not as common as the opposite – the ” going out of business ” sale, but infinitely more useful to all concerned. I’ve seen both types and from both sides of a sales counter and I much prefer the former to the later. The Chinese have a commercial tradition that says the first customer in…
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The Wrong Shade Of Black
Resign yourself – you may have made a fabulous model of a P-61 or a Lancaster or a Mosquito and a great deal – or all – of the thing will be a very definite black colour. But as soon as you show it at any exhibition, someone will tell you you’ve used the wrong…
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Ungluing The Kit
Or ” Are You Stuck With it? “. A recent question on Phil Flory’s YouTube channel about dissolving old glue on a model kit – really old 1950’s Testor cement – was ably handled by the team of English modellers when they advised the questioner to put it away for another 50 years and wait…
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The Nakajima Nate
Or Nakajima Ki-27 if you want to be technical. This one slipped through the studio without being photographed on the sprues – but that happens sometimes when you get distracted and are anxious to start doing something. It was a Sunday afternoon visit to an old hobby shop that started it – the shop is…
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Peas And Carrots – Part Five – Cleaning Your Plate
Well, after all the paint mule spraying, I took a second bite at the vegetables next day and discovered that the taste was not as bad as first feared: a. Mr. Hobby matte acrylic paint can be sprayed with the Supercheap Auto clear car acrylic if you cut it with Mr. Hobby Levelling Thinner 400…
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Peas And Carrots – Part Four – The Top Coat
The top coat on a model is intended to seal the decals in place and give the surface whatever sort of reflectivity you feel is appropriate. Night bombers might have a matt or semi-matt surface while civilian planes get a satin or gloss finish. I am partial to the latter myself for some of the…
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Peas And Carrots – Part Three – The First Sealer
The first clear coat on the paint mule chips was meant to duplicate the sealer that one puts on after the paint job is completed to allow decals to be applied without silvering. The US and UK modellers speak of using Future or Kleer acrylic floor polish for this. I tried three of the new…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
