Tag: design
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Bell AH-1 Z – Part Two – A Pleasant Surprise
I was prepared for the little Marine attack helicopter kit to be two things; crude and unshapely. It may be the latter but it certainly is not the former. The plastic from which it is moulded is a little more brittle than Airfix but not by much. It sands and cuts well, and the feed…
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Landing Gear
I’ve just re-glued some landing gear on a Grumman Guardian. It was cemented yesterday but I guess i put weight on it before it was entirely set – the joints gave way. it’s a Ukrainian kit and the fitting surfaces are Soviet-era. To be fair, Grumman asked the gear legs to do a lot with…
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Ilyushin 4 – Part Two – Why You Do This Sergey?
Every model kit is an adventure in a cardboard box – some are the Walt Disney types and some are the Jumanji sort… In the case of the Ilyushin 4, I arrived at the wing stage and took some time out to be flabberghasted. The construction of the thing is a unique departure. The engine…
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Martin Maryland – Part Two – FROG Spawn
Well, I wasn’t wrong about the origin of the model – but I noted some interesting features on the sprue trees. Some were perfect and some were not. A Forrest Gump box of chocolates, indeed. The fuselage and wings are wonderful. The tail plane likewise. The design features a set of long tabs that lock…
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Mitsubishi Ann – Part Six – Smooth, Grey, And Vulnerable
Well, this little Pavla kit was fun to do. it has everything fastened now – PE dashboard, pilot, PE machine gun, and pitot tube, and the nicest pair of spats you’ll see outside of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. And I’ll bet they fell like autumn leaves, too. Sleek, smooth, underpowered, and dead meat in front…
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De Havilland Heron Mk II – Part Five – Whew
Well, the colour coats are done – the trim stripe is done – the decals are on. The various pieces are being cemented and snapped in. The air crash did not destroy the bird. Every speculative colour scheme that you think up – every set of decals you print yourself – every artistic decision you…
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Every Shop’s A Hobby Shop
And so are a good many unattended rubbish piles as well…wherever a modeller casts an eye there are modelling materials in abundance. Unless you work exclusively in Argyle diamonds and platinum bars, you can find what you need frugally. Note: This does not apply to modelling fairs or specialty shops. The price of the aftermarket…
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Spatial Ambition
Or ” The Kit Designer Is Laughing At You “. I’m drawn to this conclusion upon seeing some of the decal sheets that ask you to reproduce a complex paint job with a two dimensional sheet of plastic film. The painters and decorators that the Air Force and Navy get in from time to time…
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Tool Time – Part Two – The Positive Break
I thought it felt a bit odd. The nippers I keep in my travelling kit to separate plastic parts from sprue trees felt strange while biting into a kit. No-wonder – the coiled spring wire that separates the blades had fractured. Pretty good for a tool that was less than a year old, eh? It’s…
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So Why Does One Model Tank?
And another become a classic? I’m not talking about 1/35 scale armour here. I mean why is one model kit a success and just keeps on selling, and another ends up in the auction house for unsold kits within the first six months? a. Is it a bad model? Badly conceived, badly moulded, poorly packaged.…
The Little World 