Tag: varnish
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Glossing Over it All

I tend to gloss over many things; my qualifications, my time spent in the chorus line of Le Crazy Horse*, the mysterious mounds in the back yard… And I now religiously gloss over my models in preparation for decaling. I have been caught by silvering too many times to take it lightly. The problem of…
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The Torture Rack

No, this isn’t a Hammer film. I’m talking about the paint racks down at the hobby shop. Horror in 10 ml bottles. The covid year and the shutdown of paint manufacture and shipping has certainly thinned out the racks. I hope it has not been too hard on the finances of the shopkeepers, and that…
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The Swiss Army Varnish

My workshop has a shelf in it for varnishes. Read that again. A whole shelf. I call it the Swiss Army Shelf because it has something of everything there – like a Swiss Army knife. And like the famous tool from the Alps, I suspect that about 89% of what’s on the shelf is useless.…
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What It Says On The Tin

The English modeller, Matt Ball, has an expression he uses when he’s on the Flory Models vlogs: ” It does what it says on the tin ” – spoken in his local accent, it’s a great endorsement for whatever product he’s tried. Because he actually has used the product and it has performed well. I…
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Hawker Tempest V – Part Three – The Buster Built

Five cold and wet days in Perth saw the roses in the front garden blown down, the cat reduced to tears, and the Hawker Tempest V completed. It started out as a vehicle for experiment and in the end has proven its worth. The thing is garish, and deliberately so. After WW2 the Tempest was…
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Grumman F9F-2 Panther – Part Four – The Simoom

Or is that sirocco? Whichever, it is the hot dry wind that blows nobody any good, and it blew into my workshop the other day. Had I been smart, I would have closed the flaming door… The day was hot, but not the spectacular heat that drives people into air conditioning and makes the newspaper…
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Hot And Wet

I used to dream of this, but times have changed. Now I dread it. It stops the fun. Perth, Western Australia is occasionally hot – very hot. It is also occasionally wet – very wet. Both of these weather conditions are a signal to go somewhere and do something…but it is generally to the pub…
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Finally – Products that Do What They Promise

Having stuffed things up for years when it got to the final stages of a project – through incautious spray painting or impatience – I have finally gotten products that will do what I need. I tip my Little Workshop hat to Testors for their Dullcote and to Supercheap Auto for their clear acrylic lacquer.…
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The Lure Of the Rattle Can

Every model maker has probably used an aerosol paint can at some stage of the game – if not as a final coating, then at least for undercoats. The cans that we get from the hobby shop are somewhat small, and can be pricey, but are generally first-quality paint and can go on with good…
