First: Sincere thanks to Lucky Model for sending us this most excellent kit, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for once again believing in my ability to deliver within a deadline….

OK so almost to the year I have the FRS 1 kit in hand; it really is great to have a new, accurate and easy to build Sea Harrier (SHAR) on hand. Let’s begin…

The basic kit is the same as the FR 2; in the box, there are more external stores, and a decal sheet to be savored. If you really want to build every SHAR you have the decals to do it. Check out the scan… Cartograf manufactured, CROSSDELTA designed. VERY WELL DONE!

Like last year, it was pleasant to have minimal aftermarket to deal with and have a great result. This time, instead of metal gear, I found a Martin Baker Mk 10 seat appropriate for the SHAR, and did the slight modifications to fit. The basic cockpit is more than sufficient for a closed canopy, but the resin seat sealed the deal.

Xuron offers an excellent set of hobby tools, cleverly disguised as ‘Field Service Tools’ for electricians and technicians. This set is presented in a fabric pouch, which has three pockets for the tools, and two additional pockets to store a ruler, a set of files, picks, scribers, and other small hand tools.
Xuron’s description of the product: “The tri-fold pouch includes a Model 410T Micro-Shear® Flush Cutter with a refined tip for access into restricted areas, Model 440 Mini-Scissor for slitting cable jacketing, and the Model 450 Tweezer-Nose pliers for tightening pins, forming connectors or holding wires.”

For the hobbyist it might be more beneficial to identify the tools in this fashion: The Model 440 Mini-Scissor can be used to snip PE parts from the carriers, as well as those tiny plastic parts from their carriers without damage to the parts.

The Comet was the basis of the rebirth of the British civil aircraft industry after World War II. Development began before the war ended, but the first comet didn’t fly until 1949. The Comet 1 had a serious problem, however. About a year after the first commercial flights began in 1952, Comets began breaking up in the air. The problem was traced to the repeated pressurization and depressurization of the fuselage, which caused metal fatigue. The square windows provided a focal point for the stress, and the fuselage would rupture at the window corner. The eventual fix was to make the windows oval, with no corners. The Comet 4 was the model with this fix. The last Comet flight was in 1997. The Nimrod, a reconnaissance and ASW version of the Comet remained in RAF service until 2011

This is a reissue/rebox of the 1960s Airfix Comet 4B airliner. It also has new decals and instructions.

This is a new publication from Mushroom Models Publications. The book includes a brief description of where and how the Polish Air Force acquired its MiG-29 fleet. I was surprised to learn that only the first twelve aircraft were purchased directly from Russia. The bulk of the PAF’s MiG-29’s were actually acquired from Czech Air Force and from the German Air Force (post reunification) when those services decided to cease operating the MiG-29. Interestingly, upon acquiring these used jets, initially the PAF continued to operate the aircraft in the paint schemes of the original operator, so a number of the PAF single-seat MiG-29s operated for a period of time in several shades of green and brown. In 1997, the PAF commenced the overhaul of its MiG-29s.

Was the Soviet T-34 the most important tank of the Second World War? It certainly was produced in the largest numbers, 57,000 between 1941 and 1945, more even than the ubiquitous M4 Sherman series. And it was undoubtedly superior to the Sherman in many areas, including armor protection and main armament. And without doubt the most massive and arguably most important armored battles of WW2 took place on the Eastern Front, where the T-34 dominated Soviet tank strength numbers. Did in fact the T-34 “win the war” for the Allies, responsible as it was for inflicting massive damage to more Axis divisions than any other Allied military vehicle? Whatever your answer to this question it is undoubtedly true that the T-34 was an extremely important cog in the Soviet military machine that crushed the Germans and their allies on the Eastern Front.