I am the father of 20-year-old triplets and a retired Licensed Professional Geologist. My favorite subjects are Spitfires, Seafires, Allison-powered Mustangs, Harriers, and Zippers (F-104s) but I have been known to tackle esoteric.subject (such as the P-66 and CW-21B) at times. My first model was the old Monogram F-105 which ejected the pilot and dropped a bomb. After the Thud there was no stopping me until I discovered girls and cars. Living here in central Florida I am in driving distance of three aviation museums and I enjoy the sound of Packard Merlins from "Stallion 51" ( a P-51 school) and round motors from a variety of aircraft based at the Kissimmee Airport every day.
Hi Al!
There are volumes and volumes written on the Supermarine Spitfire. So I will leave the history to be written by those who know more than I. The subject of this post is the Airfix Spitfire VB in 1/72nd scale. It was first released in [...]
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We all have a shelf of doom. How long has the oldest member of your shelf of doom been there? Well, this Novo re-pop of a Frog Canberra B(I).8 sat on mine for at least 23 years ( you need to “age” kits for a while!). Frustrated [...]
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The Blackburn Buccaneer was designed to a Royal Navy specification for an all-weather strike aircraft. First fitted with Rolls-Royce Gyron Junior engines, the Buccaneer was soon found to be underpowered. Refitted with Rolls-Royce [...]
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The Hawker Hunter has been well represented in 1/72nd scale, from Frog's F.1 from 1955 to Revell's F.6 from 2008. This posting is about Frog's FGA.9 from 1974. The kit is a product of its time, with a sparse cockpit, no wheel [...]
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Matchbox. Most modelers think of overly simple, basic kits that lack detailing and often have “trenches” for panel lines. But to judge Matchbox kits, one must remember why they were made. I remember reading an interview by the [...]
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Whatever the reason, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and I am sure he did not expect the results of his actions. President Bush assembled an international coalition to force Iraq out of Kuwait. The operation was “Desert Storm”. [...]
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In the early 1980s, the Argentine Junta looked for a way to divert the populace's attention from the economic woes and the secret war against the population. The Junta focused on the Falklands and South Georgia Island. It was [...]
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My fascination with the Harrier began when I saw a Marine Corps AV-8A at the annual Memorial Day Airshow at Lakehurst NAS in Lakehurst, NJ. It rose vertically, flew backward, spun around, and then climbed away at a steep angle. [...]
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At the 2024 Modelpalooza Show here in Orlando, FL. I managed to acquire several Hasegawa Gen 2 Harriers, two AV-8B+ and an AV-8B. This build is of one of the AV-8B+ Harriers. I decided on an Italian AV-8B+, as I have built the [...]
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Here is the latest chapter of my fight with Hasegawa Harriers. This time it is an AV-8B built as an EAV-8B Matador of the Spanish Navy.
At the 2024 Modelpalooza Show here in Orlando, FL., I acquired several Hasegawa Gen 2 aircraft, [...]