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English Electric Lightning – Part Four – The Cold Warrior
The English Electric company made several notable aircraft in the 50’s and 60’s. This interceptor was designed to tackle Soviet bombers before they could get to the UK – hence the high speed climb and short range of the prototypes. The over-wing tanks were a novel way to supply enough fuel to permit this remarkable…
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English Electric Lightning – Part Three – Cross My Palm With SIlver
Very few aircraft are made of silver* – yet that is what the kit maker would have us paint them. And there is no one silver – as there might have been in the dear dead days of Humbrol tinlets. Now we have lacquers, clads, super metallics, etc. Some experts swear by certain brands and…
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English Electric Lightning – Part Two – Club Day
When ya hot, ya hot. The heading image is the Lightning at the end of the second club morning – wings, tail, nose and exhausts all firmly in place. And there will not be a trace of filler needed on any of the flying surfaces. Laugh, if you will, at the raised panel lines. Snigger…
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English Electric Lightning – Part One – Sad Box Special
Yet another orphan of the storm – a tattered, neglected box at the back of a shelf. An old decal sheet. An outdated model. Just my meat. The inner plastic bag was sealed and every part was there. And I have never built a Lightning before. This is a one of the classic early series…
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The Third-Party Direct Hearsay Evidence
That you read once, but can’t remember where. You know, the absolute shining truth that is too good to repress… The sort of tale that you tell to the other modellers around the table as they cut and glue, enhancing your status as the expert who has seen it all. With a bit of luck…
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The Profiteer’s Stash
The very word ” profiteer ” is a red rag for certain political minds, and has been used to justify no end of malice in the past. It has been heard to crop up in the scale model world, as well. Yet, every one who buys and builds kits has to recognise that there is…
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Art Thou Too Fussy, Friend?
Is thy hobby becoming a fiend upon thy shoulders? Should thee push away the PE fret and stop fretting? Is there happiness in a flat cardboard box? In short, are you taking it all to seriously? Have you gone past the fun and arrived at the work…and paid a swingeing price for it? I have…
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Chinese Flying Animal – Part Four – FIAT
Fix it again, Tang… The ICM model of the Polikarpov I-16 is done, and not quite ready to fly. Aircraftsman Tang is due on the scene shortly to bolt the engine covers back on. Until then, they are up out of the mud, resting on the wings, We must praise A/C Tang for his efforts…
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Chinese Flying Animal – Part Three – Inside Out
This time the I-16 will be built to show off the exquisite engine inside The Soviet version had the side panels on and all the work was invisible. To facilitate this the sub-assemblies can be largely built up before they have to go inside the fuselage – a very welcome design feature. It is never…
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Chinese Flying Animal – Part Two – Ukrainian Jewel
I cannot praise the ICM model makers enough for this little gem. An aircraft this small could be a temptation to cut corners – to mould haphazardly and make just a few large parts. The ICM firm in Ukraine have gone the other way – they have finely engraved, precisely designed, and cleanly moulded. As…
The Little World
Close focus on the world of scale models
The Little World 