Tag: Airfix
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The Gift Buffalo

And you never look a gift buffalo in the mouth… This little gem was left on the modeller’s table at the club one week along with another 1:72 model under a sign: ” Free, please take “. I didn’t feel I could make good use of the other Japanese airplane but I knew that the…
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Grumman Duck – Part Three – A Riveting Build

I mentioned in the first column of this build that I was not going to notice the raised rivets of this older Airfix kit – I have to say now that I have not adhered to this blasé attitude. In truth, I do notice them. And I love them. The choice of clear silver lacquer…
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Grumman Duck – Part One – The Civil Mould

I have a suspicion that the Airfix Grumman Duck in 1:72 scale is an older mould – the raised rivet lines. Perhaps a Matchbox kit re-issued. I also find that as I am an older modeller – it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. That is the fine legacy of being able to build the…
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Boulton Paul Defiant – Part Two – The Paper Work

Every kit I get has some form of paper work associated with it. Mainly instructions, painting sheet, and decals. The BP Defiant is a good example of current Airfix practice. The Instructions these days can be quite complex – if the makers are good communicators. This can depend upon whether they are a large firm…
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Boulton Paul Defiant – Part One – At Last!

As a child in the 1950’s and a young man in the 60’s I was always frustrated. Not about school or friends or money or sex…these problems tended to sort themselves out. I was frustrated that I could never get an Airfix model of a Boulton Paul Defiant in 1:72 scale. It was not that…
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Supermarine Spitfire Mk XIX – Part Three – A Spiffing Spitty

There really should not be any basic problem with an Airfix kit – even the historic ones with their rivets and misshapen crew members are moulded to eventually yield a representation of whatever is on the front of the box. If you are diligent you can end up with just this. It may have some…
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The Speed Build – Good Or Bad?

As a kid I was always trying for more models to build. But as a kid I was money-limited – so what I could afford had to fill in the long dry stretches between Christmas, birthday, or other gift-giving occasions. If a relative tuned nasty and presented me with socks…or a card with their best…
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Bristol/Fairchild Bolingbroke – Part One – Mark Another One Up

I knew this was going to happen, but I didn’t know it was going to be so soon. I am repeating a build. No. I am repeating a build to a certain extent. I am doing what the prototype manufacturers and the air forces did – making the aircraft that developed from an earlier mark. In…
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Packaging Part One – The Gallery Of The Shelf

I go to art galleries in the various capital cities I visit on a regular basis. Some, like the NGV in Melbourne or the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney get a visit whenever I’m in town. Others, like the various modern art galleries or smaller dealer’s galleries might get a hit every two or…
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Handley Page Hampden – Part Two – Yes, I Have…

I knew this was going to happen. When I saw the dented box I knew it was a sign… The HP Hampden – destined to become the star of RCAF Doukh Inlet – turns out to be a 1960’s kit. No shame in that – I built kits in the 1960’s and I still turned…
