Tag: Airfix
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Douglas DC-3 – Part One – The C-47
‘Well, duh. Of course it’s a C-47, because it is a Douglas DC-3. And It’s a DC-3 because it’s a C-47. And it’s a Vietnam-era gunship in this Airfix kit courtesy of four Air Force figures and a cargo floor that sports a number of mini-Gatling guns on stands. I’m afraid it holds little place…
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Messerschmitt Me 109 E – Part Two – Airfix’s Steady Earner
The old saw about selling people bread applies to the scale model business as much as it does to bakeries. If people want bread, you bake bread. Never mind the fact that every other establishment in town also turns out loaves – and put aside your enthusiast’s desire to bake upside-down unicorn croissants…bread sells, and…
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Messerschmitt Me 109E – Part One – The Internet Delivers Again
If you have nothing to do for the next few hours, start Googling. Tear yourself away from the porn, conspiracy theories, and on-line shopping and research something arcane. I just did and now I can have a week of fun with it. I don’t build aircraft with certain markings – which is somewhat of a…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part Three – The Suitcase Closes
Always that moment when you have packed up your clothing at the end of a holiday and are gingerly trying to get the suitcase closed – against the pressure of dirty laundry and souvenirs. Will it creak shut…? Before I could latch the Heron together I tested the balance – Airfix said 15 gms of…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part One – Raised Expectations
And raised rivets, too. I had a happy childhood, and a great many of the happy occasions revolved around model kits. This included a number of the 1950’s and 60’s Airfix products. Merit, Monogram, Aurora, and Revell as well. So it’s with great delight that I see Airfix re-issue classic models from the era. I…
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Heinkel He 111 – Part Six – The Irresistible Shot
If you go to any book on the Battle of Britain or any Google site that deals with the Heinkel bombers you will eventually see a shot of the crew inside the glass-nosed cockpit. It will have been taken from the bomb-aimer’s position looking backward at the pilot’s seats and will likely have been shot…
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Heinkel HE 111 – Part Four – The Elegant Wing
Some aeroplane wings are ugly things. Go look at the Junkers Ju52 in broad daylight. Some are incredible – get out a picture of a B-36. And some, like this Heinkel HE 111 wing, are pieces of real sculpture. Don’t look too long at the engine nacelles – they were covered in an earlier post.…
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Heinkel HE 111 – Part Three – The Aerodynamic Engine
I do not know enough about the differences between British and German aero engines to be able to debate their good and bad points. Suffice it to say I think the British practice of mounting the Merlin engine upright seems to be a darn sight more sensible than the inverted Daimler Benz of the German…
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Heinkel HE 111 – Part Two – Nothing Looks Like An Airplane…
You can get into a rut in model airplane building. I do planes that are mostly British or American types. Sometimes a Soviet job, or the rare Japanese one. In all these cases they have distinctive national characteristics quite apart from paint jobs or insignia. There are styles of fuselages, wings, and engines. Some are…
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Heinkel HE 111 – Part One – Welcome To The Rafwaffe
Yes, you read that right. Rafwaffe. Specifically 1426 Flight RAF. The unit that took captured and abandoned German equipment and tested it for the RAF. At Duxford and RAF Collyweston. They got one of the Heinkel 111’a that had been downed to a soft landing early in the war over the UK and repaired and…
The Little World 