Tamiya masking tape (yellow) has been known to modelers for many years and it is still one of my favorite tools in the bench. This tape for curves is made of a different material; it has a plastic feeling to it so it is not the typical Tamiya tape trimmed to a few millimeters.

This tape is designed to mask curves. It easily “bends” for a curve, but it does not stretch as well as it bends. I like that property of the tape actually as it ensures its width is kept as constant as possible.

In this test I used a scrap wing –which I used for some paint tests- and placed both the 2 mm (Stock 87177) and 3 mm versions (Stock 87178) of the tape on the wing, as you can see in the pictures.

I’ve found that the best way to “bend” the tape is to actually anchor it –I use my thumb- where I want to have a bend and with the other hand twist the tape left or right, while burnishing the tape against the plastic.

As usual, IPMS USA are eternally grateful to Eduard for kindly providing yet another magnificent example of their new items to review, and to the IPMS USA reviewer corps leaders for sending it to me.

Eduard are rightfully proud of their Mig 21 series; the 1/48 kits are the best in the market, and cover the majority of the available Migs in service. This particular boxing is of their new 1/144 dual kit featuring eight Czech-marked examples with nose art, display schemes, etc. Bare metal, brown and green over gray, winter camo, all are there. The whole kit exudes quality and value.

All through the build I was thinking “This is fun and I don’t want to screw it up!” Contest models coming out of this region contain some of the finest details out there in my opinion, and I constantly wonder at the surgical skills demonstrated during E-day and other events as reported in modeling magazines. This review gave me appreciation for their skills…

The water crane is the type used at German railyards during World War II and will be an excellent addition to railroad dioramas. This is another great kit from MiniArt with fine detail and excellent fit of the parts.

The kit comes in a 4.75 x 15.25 x 1.75 end opening box. It includes three gray plastic sprues and two clear plastic sprues with 50 parts. There is also a length of thread included for the water crane pulley rope. The model will measure 175 mm (6 7/8”) tall. My package did not include sprue Af which is the light bulbs for the two lanterns. I sent an email off to MiniArt and got a quick reply that a replacement was on its way. Great customer service by MiniArt!

Paint colors are called in AMMO MIG, Vallejo, Testor, Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell, Mr. Color, and Lifecolor numbers, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a match.

Mikael Forslund was born on June 7, 1960 and currently lives in Falun, Sweden. He has worked as a press photographer since 1978 both as a freelancer and as a staff photographer and currently uses Nikon cameras. He has authored over twenty books with his latest book on Spitfire in Sweden celebrating the 80th anniversary of the first flight of the aircraft type on March 5, 1936.

For a long time now I have loved the look of this range of kits and have wanted to build one, so I jumped at the opportunity to build this kit. It is an excellent kit in the Hasegawa Machinen Krieger series. The kit is very easy to build as long as you watch the instruction details carefully.

In the Box

• 11 x red sprues
• 1 beige sprue
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 dark grey vinyl sprue of polycaps
• 1 vinyl/rubber sprue
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 painting guide / collectors card
• 1 instruction booklet
• 1 small correction sheet for the instructions

All the sprues are extremely well molded with no flash and great detail. The decals allow you to finish the Mk 44 in many different ways. The painting guide shows 4 more, and 2 more on the back of the box.