Roger Carrano
Reviews By Author
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Battle of Britain Series Part 1 - Top Colors #8Published:
Since the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain is upon us, many companies of interest to the modeling community will be coming out with all sorts of items. The company that this review will encompass is the Kagero Publishing Company. Among their many products are books, magazines, calendars and paintings. This review is of the new series, “Battle of Britain Part 1”, which covers the Luftwaffe aircraft involved in the Battle. In the beginning of the book is a generalized three page article of the Battle of Britain and information on the Luftwaffe color schemes and how to translate what the color bars painted on the aircraft designate. This is in English text with captions next to each aircraft in English and Polish, explaining the details of each aircraft. … more |
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HISPANO 20mm CANNON & .50cal IN FAIRINGSPublished:
It seems that Master Model has raised the bar a little more with their Air Master Series. These awesome little pieces are designed and produced in Poland, and run the gambit with accessories from aircraft to ships in scales from 1/72 to 1/350. You have to visit their website to see it all, and more than likely you will be ordering something from them. In this case I happen to be reviewing the Air Master Series of the 1/32 early Spitfire E-Wing which contains two Hispano 20mm cannons and two .50 cal machine guns in fairings. According to Master Models, these are turned brass pieces which are made to exact scale specs. I used them on the new 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IXc kit from Tamiya and although Tamiya’s guns are quite awesome in themselves, these guns give just a little more… more |
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Spitfire Mk.IX Fishtail ExhaustPublished:
These fishtail exhausts from Quickboost are designed and recommended for the Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.IX kit. In their kit, Hasegawa offers two kinds of exhaust shrouds, the oval type and the fishtail type. The kits fishtail exhausts are done fairly well but the Quickboost exhausts offer a bit more accuracy in the shape and detail. Quickboost has made these exhausts with the weld seam on them, so don’t sand them off, and are drilled out to a scaled thickness. The affordable price is well worth the extra detail and truly enhances the look of the aircraft. I would highly recommend these exhausts, especially at this price (Roll Models price - $7.25). I would like to express my thanks to Quickboost for allowing us to review this sample and to IPMS for the opportunity. |
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Bf-109E Radio EquipmentPublished:
Aires radio equipment was designed for Eduard’s Bf109-E in 1/32 scale. The way the kit is designed to fit into the fuselage should make it adaptable to fit any Bf-109 kit in this scale. Also if you like, each instrument could be cut out to fit anywhere in any model or even in a diorama setting, which makes this a very versatile kit. The detail is remarkable. With very careful painting, all the details can be picked out to show each button and dial on the instruments. Very light weathering also helps, but don't overdo it since the radios weren’t exposed much to the elements. One aspect of building this kit, just as in the real a/c, is cutting out an access panel to show the installed radio equipment. The photo etch parts are required for this step of the installation and result… more |
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Spitfire Mk. IX Late Interior S.A.Published:
Eduard is right on par with this Photo Etch Set for Tamiya’s Mk. IX Spitfire. The Tamiya kit is just about the best Spitfire kit out there in any scale and they have already done a superb job with the cockpit. So how does Eduard come back with a product that adds a little more detail to this well thought out cockpit? They’ve done it buy adding just a little extra to Tamiya’s parts by pushing up the detail a few notches. The instrument panel is as superb as always and is done in the usual Eduard manor. But parts, such as the gun sight mounting bracket, are exchanged for Eduard’s more realistic holding bracket. This detail adds a realistic subtleness that wouldn’t be noticed until both parts are compared. The throttle boxes are made more realistic just by the fact that less is more.… more |
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C-47 Dakota CowlingsPublished:
Recommended Kit: Trumpeter I have read many reviews about Trumpeter’s C-47 kit and, although they range from good to great, most reviews seem to pick up on the errors where the rudder and the cowlings are concerned. This review will cover Quickboost’s corrected cowlings as compared with the kits cowlings. I am a little surprised because the kits cowlings do not match any of the DC-3/C-47 cowlings at all, and with all the work Trumpeter put into this kit, one has to wonder how that was missed. Most of the DC-3/C-47’s had the Pratt & Whitney cowlings which are tapered from front to rear with a narrow lip. The kits cowlings seem to be on the square side and a bit longer with very large lips around the edge. Quickboost’s corrected cowlings are shorter with the proper… more |
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Hispano 20mm Cannon & .50cal FairingsPublished:
It seems that Master Model has raised the bar a little more with their Air Master Series. These awesome little pieces are designed and produced in Poland, and run the gambit with accessories from aircraft to ships in scales from 1/72 to 1/350. You have to visit their website to see it all, and more than likely you will be ordering something from them. In this case I am reviewing the Air Master Series of the 1/32 early Spitfire E-Wing, which contains two Hispano 20mm cannons and two .50 cal machine guns in fairings. According to Master Models, these are turned brass pieces which are made to exact scale specs. I used them on the new 1/32 Spitfire Mk.IXc kit from Tamiya. Although Tamiya’s guns are quite awesome in themselves, these guns give just a little more realism than the… more |
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J-10A Vigorous DragonPublished:
This review is a little different for me, only because I have taken over this task from John Yager, the original reviewer who started the initial work, but was unable to complete the build. However, I was still able to complete enough of this model to bring to you an honest and fair review. When I received the kit, Steps 1 thru 4 were underway, but needed to be cleaned up. Only the cockpit was complete and it was a job well done. The credit for the building should be shared with John Yager due to the hard & good work he put into what he had done. ABOUT THE AIRCRAFT(PLAAF) J-10A VIGOROUS DRAGON The J-10 (Jian-10) is a multi-role combat aircraft designed for both air-to-air and air-to-ground missionsand capable of all-weather day or night operation. This… more |