Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$122.00

ICM has reboxed its He 111 kit for a unique Captured Heinkel scheme in 1/48th scale. The Part 2 review is a continuation and conclusion of what was written from Part 1.

Review Process for Part 2

This is a box stock build with no aftermarket products used during the assembly process. From Part 1, we move on to painting and final assembly.

The landing gear parts are thin and fragile. It is highly recommended to use good side cutting nippers to remove them from the sprue tree. For assembly, I used the wheel wells as a jig to put the parts together but waited to permanently install them later down the road after painting.

The model is primed with Mr. Surfacer 1000 gray. The engine nacelles, vertical tail edges, rudder, and some windows were painted flat white in preparation for masking to match the box illustration.

Book Author(s)
Managing Editor: Robert Tisdale
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
The Great War Aviation Society
MSRP
$20.00

The non-profit UK based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus centerfold] as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.

Book Author(s)
Michael Claringbould and Peter Ingman
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Avonmore Books
MSRP
$48.95

If you believe the Pacific Air War, particularly the Solomons and Southern Pacific theaters haven’t been properly chronicled, you have never heard of author Michael Claringbould. As a fan of his Pacific Profiles series, I was eager to read more of his series, and I was not disappointed. I was introduced to Peter Ingman in this book and thrilled to learn that he partnered with Michael Claringbould for the aforementioned series with three volumes of the Solomons Air War and this, the sixth volume of the South Pacific Air War.

From the Casemate Publishers website,

Volume Six of this series chronicles aerial warfare in the New Guinea theatre in the critical period of January to March 1943. It can be read alone or as a continuation of the previous five volumes which span the first thirteen months of the Pacific War.

Review Author
Chris Vandegrift
Published on
Company
Syhart Decal
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.27

A great surprise upon opening these decals is finding a set of masks as an alternative to the decals themselves. Then the secondary surprise was finding out that you’re provided enough information to do either the 2001/2002 early type or the 2003/2004 late type Demo scheme. This isn’t obvious from the cover sheet for the decals so it was definitely nice to find in the package. Someone who really knows the display teams would probably recognize the different schemes by year without needing a reference on the cover page. The decals are for the early type and the masks are for the late type. The decals on what I’m learning are a classic dark blue and white background for Syh@rt, making them stand out clearly. All of the decals for the paint scheme are in the gloss black striping. The modeler will need to paint all of the other shades of gray and silver.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$12.99

ICM continues to be prolific with both kits and paint sets. The Acrylic Paint Set for F-16 continues this trend and consists of six 12ml wide-mouthed paint bottles. The packaging includes a picture of a Ukrainian Air Force F-16AM in the typical USAF three-gray color camouflage scheme. The back shows a three-profile view (top, left, and right) of the F-16AM with color callouts. This paint set is designed to be used with ICM’s recent release of their F-16AM of the Ukrainian Air Force (Kit No. 72145).

Thanks to Cybermodeler Online for the quick paint reference. The colors include:

Book Author(s)
Tomasz Szlagor & Leszek A. Wieliczko
Review Author
James Kelley
Published on
Company
Kagero Publishing
MSRP
$33.95

The book is the fourth and final volume in the Kagero Monographs series on the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. It was written by Tomasz Szlagor and Leszek A. Wieliczko, and is published by Kagero. It is part of Kagero’s Monographs series, each dedicated to a specific aircraft type, offering a thorough look at its development, variants, combat history, and modeling resources.

Originally released in 2010, this softcover edition comprises approximately 92 pages. Some sources cite 96 pages and mention 128 photographs, so slight variations may exist between editions. The text is presented in both English and Polish, with a large-format paperback layout featuring numerous black-and-white and color photographs.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1:72
MSRP
$38.00

Reference: the ICM website:

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is the most widely produced lightweight fighter aircraft in the world. As of 2018, a total of 4,604 units had been built, and it was operated by the air forces of more than 30 countries. The aircraft was developed in 1974 by General Dynamics and was notable for its high degree of standardization in parts, assemblies, and systems. Over the course of its service, the F-16 has undergone several upgrades, allowing it to remain in the military aviation fleets of many countries around the world.

Since August 2024, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has also received multirole F-16 fighters. It is known that Ukrainian F-16s can employ AIM-9 and AIM-120 missiles, as well as precision-guided bombs such as the SDB, JDAM-ER, and GBU-39. One of the key features of the Ukrainian F-16s is their use of ECIPS+ electronic countermeasure pods designed to disrupt enemy radar systems.

Book Author(s)
Ian Allan
Review Author
Brett W Scholten
Published on
Company
Crecy Publishing, Ltd.
MSRP
$16.50

A pleasant memory for me. Military Aircraft of the 1950s is a combination/reprint of four Ian Allan books released during the Cold War. I had the Jane’s equivalent growing up. A hardbound book with 306 pages of data, each page with multiple photographs of iconic military aircraft.

The first section covers British Military aircraft (including helicopters), the next section covers U.S. and Canadian fixed-wing aircraft. The next section covers “Continental” (European) aircraft. and the last section is dedicated to helicopters, which is interesting as the first two sections also have helicopters in them.

The biggest benefit for a modeler is the three-view drawings of each plane. These photographs provided an additional source of data on wing and engine placement (and landing gear for fixed gear aircraft).

While black and white photos are not overly useful as a paint guide, markings on the aircraft can be used for decal placement

Review Author
Jarrod Booth
Published on
Company
Syhart Decal
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$18.00

Sylvain Hautier started Syhart Decals in 2005. Syhart Decals being derived from SY (Sylvain) HA (Hautier), ART (design), Decal (Decals.).

The are several manufacturers of the 1/72 scale Rafale kit and represent various versions, whether Air Force, Marine or two-seater. These decal sets do not seem to be specific to any one manufacturer.

The decals were presented on bright blue paper that looked very similar to the paper used by several other European decal manufacturers. Most decals on each sheet were sharp and in register, with minimal excess clear film. The printed part of each decal had more of a satin finish, while the excess film was glossy.