Tag: design
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Open Form Modelling
You might think that individuality and enterprise would be rewarded enough in scale modelling when we choose one of the options on the kit instructions. Or when we go the whole hog and get a packet of aftermarket resin or brass. Past that, there are the heady heights of what-iffery and enthusiast sci-fi to absorb…
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Tupolev Tu-2 -Part Two – The Modern Mould
Whoever makes the plans, designs, and moulds for Hobby Boss is brilliant. The kits they have put on the shelf can be simple or complex, but even in the case of the less expensive ones there is a sense of purpose and level of finish that many other makers could well copy. The fact that…
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Norcanair Bristol Freighter – Part Four – Mask, Spray…
Rinse, Repeat, repeat, repeat. It’s all your own fault, you know. You chose a scheme that has more than one colour and spurned the maker’s decal sheet. You could have done it as a prototype with bare metal, a works number, and be done in time for tea. But no, you had to pick something…
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Mirage III CJ – Part Three – Let’s Give The Customers Something…
What shall it be? Accurate instruction sheets? Flawless mouldings? Adequate colour information? I have it – let’s just give them trouble. It’ll be fun and cheap and we can do it by making bad decisions. Like avoiding a centre seam on the top of the Mirage fuselage that could be smoothed and polished easily –…
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Mirage III CJ – Part Two – The Approximate Cockpit
I confess myself mystified at the philosophy that spends money to mould a resin seat of truly superb quality and then cannot make adequate provision to anchor it accurately within the fuselage. I admit that it is unlikely to escape once the two halves of the thing are cemented together, but the business of deciding…
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MiG 3 – Part Three – Either A Bird Or A Reptile
Soviet designers seem to have gravitated between these two influences. Either their designs resemble natural bird shapes or they look like lizards stretched out on a rock. In the case of the MiG 3 the avian predominates. Look at the rear view while the tail feathers are being put on – if that is not…
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Tupolev TB-3 – Part Three – Ministry Of The Interior
I am in several minds about detailing the insides of 1/72 scale aircraft. On one hand it is a pain, but on the other it means an additional glance into the design – even if I am the only person who will ever see it. In the case of this Tupolev bomber, the open cockpit…
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Curtiss Model 75 A-4 – Part Three – Wings Over The Workbench
I was right – a model with no filler needed. Not to be sneezed at, even with Spring bring hay fever. The minute shaving and sanding of the wing roots has resulted in no gaps. The tail likewise, though this has been pinned for strength. This is not to praise inordinately. The achievement of a…
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RCN Swordfish – Part Two – The Escapee
Normally you escaped from the USSR – it rarely went the other way. In this case the mould for this FROG Swordfish did cross to the east when the British company closed their shop. The Soviets made a few printed additions to the box and instructions then just wiped its bum and sent it out…
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Curtiss H16 – Part Three – Complexosity
Or should that be confusediousness? English is sometimes so inadequate… The Roden people are nothing if not determined. – possibly to drive me blind or mad. They have moulded many tiny parts so that I can assemble them into slightly larger parts. These can then be lost down the back of the workbench. No modeller…
The Little World 