Reviews

Review Author
James Corley
Published on
Company
Yellow-Wings Decals
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$13.95

The Kingfisher was the result of a competition in the late 1930s to replace the SOC Seagull, a biplane battleship & cruiser scout plane. The new airplane was a radical improvement over the SOC in performance and maintainability. The aircraft proved so popular with both the aircrews and shipboard crews that its immediate replacement, the SO3C Seamew, was often left behind due to "maintenance issues", and the OS2U & SOC served far longer than the Bureau of Aeronautics wanted, with most of the aviation-capable ships still using them at the end of the war.

The decals provided give the builder the option to build one of several Kingfishers:

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Res-Im
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.66

A new company to me; Resin Improvements (RES IM)… THANKS VERY MUCH Lukas for sending IPMS USA this wheel and tire set to review, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for trusting me to use them on my model….

This is a well-executed improvement over the Eduard Mig-21 kit wheels and tires. Three fully-assembled wheels and tires! The wheels are extremely well done with fine details. Bolts, brakes and associated wheel bits are there.

The improvement over the basic kit items is welcome. The kit tires are injection molded in two halves in plastic, and the wheels are separate items in the Eduard set. I personally like the separate wheels and hubs as I can get a clean, clear paint job if I am careful while cementing them into place. The Res IM wheels and tires offer a simpler solution but you have to be careful painting them.

Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$62.99

The Ki-67 was a very robust aircraft, able to withstand heavy battle damage and employed good defensive armament. Its high maneuverability allowed it to carry out dive bombing attacks and escape from a low level. Japanese troops nicknamed it the "Flying Dragon," while the Allies gave it the code-name "Peggy." This limited edition kit features resin upper panel and drop tank parts, side panel parts and three marking options to represent the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force's 14th Flight Regiment in August 1945.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Hauler
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$10.76

Hauler has provided another great accessory for any diorama. These are two very nice Euro Pallets.

The detail quality is great, and there is minimal flash or any other imperfections (just a few minor bubbles). Once removed from the mold base, the parts are ready for assembly.

The Assembly is quick and easy. They will look great as an addition to any diorama.

Thanks go to Hauler for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Review Author
Mike Lamm
Published on
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$5.00

This kit from Plusmodel includes materials to make seven commercial boxes. The kit is one piece of laminated card with images of 7 different boxes printed on one side. The boxes are in different sizes, and represent seven different commercial products, including a vacuum cleaner, a kitchen scale, a transistor radio, a clothing iron, a soda machine, an FM radio, and an angle grinder. These items would fit great into a modern diorama set in a commercial or residential area.

Construction is simple, cut the boxes out along the outlines, making sure to leave the attachment tabs intact, and glue the sides together. The instructions on the back of the package recommend using cyanoacrylate glue, but I was concerned that would be too strong and might damage the images, so I just used a glue stick and it worked perfectly.

Once the pieces are glued together, that’s it. In minutes, you can have some interesting items to add to your diorama.

Book Author(s)
Author: James D’Angina, Illustrator: Adam Tooby
Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$19.00

There is no question that the Mitsubishi A6M Zero is one of the most famous and recognizable aircraft of the Second World War. From its early days of domination over the skies, to the end of the conflict where the once seemingly invincible aircraft was relegated to Kamikaze missions; the Reisen saw service throughout the war in Japanese Naval Air Force service.

Author James D’Angina tells the story of the Mitsubishi A6M Zero in Osprey Publishing’s Air Vanguard #19. Chapters are broken down as follows:

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$35.00

A new release from Casemate Publishing, this set of 16 full color posters is just what every aircraft modeler and enthusiast will want for the Hobby Cave, office, or wall. Each poster is 11in x 17in and features a different aircraft. Thirteen of the posters feature aircraft from World War II while the remaining three posters feature post war jets.

Aircraft list:

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Advanced Modeling
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.45

Advanced Modeling, based in Chelyabinsk Russia, has jumped in to help 1/72 (and 1/48 as well as 1/32) model builders of modern Russian aircraft that include the Su-24M, Su-25TM, Su-25SM, Su-30MKI, Su-30MKK, Su-32, MiG-27K, and MiG-29SMT. This new release provides two KAB-500Kr 500kg TV guided bombs consisting of four grey resin parts and two clear resin parts. It also includes a photoetched fret consisting of two pieces for the rear end of the bombs and a well done waterslide decal sheet with black stencil markings.

Notable is the re-sealable packaging that Advanced Modeling uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. Painting instructions are included with the instruction sheet, in this case calling out FS 26473 grey. The resin parts are well cast with no air-bubbles or any casting errors that I could spot on any of the resin parts.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Advanced Modeling
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$7.95

Advanced Modeling, based in Chelyabinsk Russia, has jumped in to help 1/72 (and 1/48 as well as 1/32) model builders of modern Russian aircraft that include the Su-24M, Su-25TM, Su-25SM, Su-30MKI, Su-30MKK, Su-32, MiG-27K, and MiG-29SMT. This new release provides two KAB-500L 500kg laser guided bombs consisting of six resin parts. It also includes a photoetched fret consisting of two pieces for the rear end of the bombs and a well done waterslide decal sheet with black stencil markings.

Notable is the re-sealable packaging that Advanced Modeling uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. Painting instructions are included with the instruction sheet, in this case calling out FS 26473 grey. The resin parts are well cast with no air-bubbles or any casting errors that I could spot on any of the resin parts.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$18.00

Brengun has provided another great uncommon model a 1947 production Soviet Pulse Jet missile based on the German V-1.

The kit contains

  • 1 sprues molded in hard, light tan styrene
  • 1 instruction booklet.

Construction

This build starts the twin pulse jet engines which do require a little bit of attention with filler when complete. Construction moves on to the missile body and again a little bit of iller is required. Wing and tail assembly was straight forward and I utilized a jig were aligned correctly as the attachment locations are very shallow. The final stage of the missile assembly is to attach of the pulse jet engines to the body and expect no surprises with this step. The missile cart assembly went together very easily. The kit includes details of two color schemes and I chose to finish the kit in the the Black version as I love Black!