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Westland Lysander – Part Two – Fragile Nest
I was right to wonder about the fragility of the cockpit on this Dora Wings kit. Even at the outset, some parts did not come off the sprue trees intact. Fortunately there are pieces of Evergreen plastic in the scrap box that match the profile of the broken pieces. The fact that the greenhouse is…
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Westland Lysander – Part One – 100 Times The Price
I nearly passed this Dora Wings Westland Lysander by on the hobby shop shelf. The problem was not the kitmaker – I have built a Dora Wings plane before and thought it was superb. The problem was the price – 100 times the cost of an Airfix kit I once built. But you have to…
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None of My Work Is Written With Artificial Intelligence
It is pure, natural stupidity. I have what is apparently an inexhaustible supply of this and it seems a shame to waste the opportunity to turn it to good use. I have long since ceased to plague the general populace in a professional sense and even my trade days are done. Now I just build…
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The Detail Is In the Devil
And I am starting to believe that is where it should stay. I stand in awe of the fine detail that can be achieved by some modellers working in 1:32nd and 1:35th scale. When they commence work on tank tracks with 5 or 6 pieces per link…and a couple hundred links…I know it is time…
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A Very Personal Boycott
And for a very personal reason. A recent visit to a hobby shop in our metro area ended unpleasantly – when I asked to use the toilet the owner directed me outside to the end of the car park and told me to pee behind the dumpster. Fortunately I was able to make it in…
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Dissatisfaction
Is the step-mother of invention. With cheapness as a sibling – how could I resist the temptation to rebuild the modelling desk. The old one featured a wall of Chinese take-away food containers that held tools and materials – they were hot-glued to a sheet of foam board gaffer-taped to the workbench. No expense spared…
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Tupolev SB 2 – Part Four – Taipei
It is unfashionable nowadays to think of air raids from mainland China on Taiwan. But there was a time when it was a good idea… As when the Soviet Volunteer group that operated these bombers for the Nationalist Chinese Government essayed to fly to Taipei and bomb newly-arrived Japanese aircraft at the airfield before they…
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Tupolev SB2 – Part Three -Guessing Game
Meetings in the design bureau of a scale model company must be interesting to attend. Are there knives? Do people disappear? Do they call in dancing girls and order pizza? I ask because some of the decisions that come from these meetings seem to be motivated by strange desires. Who would have split the fuselage…
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Tupolev SB2 – Part Two – One-Man Pit
If you were a front gunner in a Tupolev SB2 you were wise to take a flask of tea and a novel with you for the flight. As you entered by a hatch under the nose, were out of touch with the rest of the crew, and were not given the key to the toilet,…
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Tupolev SB2 – Part One – Accidental Buy
Trawling through the hobby shop one day I decided to take home a Czech kit of a single -engine US observation plane. All was well until I looked at the parts that were to have made up the canopy and wing support. Someone in the factory had packed two right sides – and no left…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
