Reviews

Review Author
Al LaFleche
Published on
Company
Matho Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$4.45

Thanks to Matho Models for this sample.

During the First World War, it was common to see posters to support the effort, buy bonds and accept the sacrifices asked of people on the home front.

This item, packed in a zip lock bag with a hanger and cardstock backing, provides 22 various US posters in 1/35 scale printed on 0.1 mm semi-gloss paper. Under extreme magnification, reading glasses, Optivisor and magnifying lamp, I was able to see some signs of the printing process, however, under normal viewing conditions, these look fine. All but the finest print is readable, colors are sharp but muted enough to not be overwhelming. Each poster will need to be cut from the sheet using a straight edge and sharp X-Acto type blade. A couple will need closer than usual attention to get the light edges cut properly as they tend to blend into the background.

These will add a touch of color to a street scene and some might even work as a name plate on a figure base.

Review Author
Al LaFleche
Published on
Company
Matho Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$7.75

Thanks to Matho Models for this sample.

Modern personnel carriers are often seen with boxes of bottled water or soda in and about the crew compartment and cargo areas. As modelers, these can add a splash of color to otherwise drab subjects.

Review Author
Timothy Rentz
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$31.00

The kit contains a 3 ton truck, apparently an Opel Blitz although it does not say so, a driver figure, and a sprue of fuel drums, jerry cans, bags and rolled up tarps, and decals for two marking options.

There are two duplicate sprues for the wheels and tires, some suspension parts, headlights and other parts that are identical. The ejector pin marks are on inside of truck bed and inside of the doors and easy to hide. Unfortunately, there is no option for canvas cover to be over the bed. There is also no engine in the kit. The grill is molded solid as are the tool clips. The kit does have an option for clear headlight lenses or covered headlights with a horizontal slit across the face of the headlight.

Assembly

Initially the assembly went very well. The parts fit well and are generally designed for easy assembly. The steering column inserts from engine well side of the firewall and is very secure, ensuring proper angle of the steering wheel.

Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Twobobs Aviation Graphics
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.00

About the Company

Two Bobs is a limited run custom decal company based out of Fort Worth, Texas owned and operated by Mr. Bob Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez is a former enlisted Air Force engineer and has been very active in the modeling community almost all of his life. Two-Bobs decals usually sell out very well and since they’re limited run subjects they are not available for reprint.

What’s on the Sheet?

This particular sheet covers the Miramar Hornets of VMFA-225 and VMFA-232.

The aircraft covered are as followed:

Review Author
Timothy Rentz
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$26.00

This kit contains four figures (three enlisted and one officer), and two sprues of small arms and equipment. The kit is made by ICM but packaged with the Tamiya name. The small arms and equipment sprues appear to be the same as those in the ICM Anzac Infantry (1915) kit and include a very nice assortment of extras. Each sprue has four Lee-Enfield Mk III rifles and two Ross Mk III 1910 rifles (14 rifles total counting both sprues and the two Lee Enfield rifles from the figure sprue!) along with grenade launchers, grenades and wire cutting attachment. There is also a Webley .45 revolver and Lewis machine gun with bipod. There is also an assortment of personal equipment such as canteens, ammo pouches, etc. and tools including shovels, axes, wire cutters and pick-axes. There are also four helmets, which you will probably need.

Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$54.95

I won’t go into a long drawn out spill about the S-30M2 due to the fact that just about all of us know about the Su-27 Family of Soviet/Russian fighters or build one. So a brief history is as followed, the Su-30M2 is a long-range, high-endurance, heavy-class Air Dominance Fighter with multi mission capabilities. It is currently the most advanced version of Su-27 Flanker flying anywhere in the world. The Su-27, which was first produced in the Former Soviet Union starting 1982 is counted among the world's best fighter aircraft even without any upgrades; but some of the technology and capability that the Su-30MKI boasts has absolutely no parallels across the world's air forces. The Su-30M2 gives its operator a capability that will remain unmatched by all rivals for the foreseeable future. Eduard set consists of two previous photoetch sets and a mask. The photoetch sets deal with the interior and exterior plus the mask

Review Author
Al LaFleche
Published on
Company
Matho Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$6.60

Thanks to Mathomodels for this sample.

This is a kit of two average sized wooden pallets used in transporting any number of products by way of some type of fork lift. They would be at home in a base camp, as debris in a modern setting, or in the bed of a truck. With some creative cutting of the parts, they could be displayed as broken or disassembled.

This small resin kit is packed in a zip-lock bag attached to a peg hangar. It includes 8 resin parts to make two compete wooden pallets that scale out to about 32 X 48 inches. Parts are cast in gray resin. At first glance, there appeared to be a very fine wood grain pattern, but this was lost to a coat of primer. There are two upper portions and six bases/legs. There are no instructions, but assembly is completely intuitive. Simply cut the pour plugs and put a tiny drop of superglue to attach the legs at the outer and middle slats.

Review Author
Gordon Miller
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$23.99

The 1955 Panel Truck is considered to be a part of the F100 Series that lasted up until 1956. It was a sturdy and reliable vehicle for the blue collar workers of the day. I decided to build a vehicle around the same look, with the custom parts added, to a truck that closely resembled my uncle's truck for his catering and restaurants needs. He meant a lot to me and I was very excited to see this kit available for a build on the reviewer's board. There are a few panel trucks out but not many and this one looked very good from the box art. It's rated at a skill level 2 and has just 93 pieces in it. When I opened the box and inspected the contents thereof I seen that it could be built only one way, and that's the way it looks on the box. It is molded in white. So, for me that's a plus. The chrome was impeccable and cut from the sprig without any problems. The kit was without any mold injection marks and did not have any flash to it what so ever.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$2.99

Czech manufacturer Quickboost continues to expand its aftermarket line of simple details that enhance the look of your models.

This time the aftermarket piece is the very distinctive muzzle of the Mk 103 cannon, with its “organ pipe” look, a difficult piece to reproduce in injection molded parts.

The parts are finely molded, with all the pipes –and gun opening- being hollow. There are no bubbles nor are defects of kind and the attachment point to the pouring stub small and easy to remove.

The parts are a simple “drop in” replacement to the plastic parts. I only added a small piece of metal rod (copper) to strengthen the connection point to the nose of the Me-262.

This is a very easy and simple way to enhance your next model. Recommended.

I would like to thank Quickboost, AIRES and IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Book Author(s)
Angus Konstam, Illustrated by Peter Dennis and Alan Gilliland
Review Author
Steve Zajac
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

Osprey Publishing’s latest edition in their Raid series looks at sinking of the HMS Royal Oak by German U-boat U-47 in 1939. From the website: "At the outset of World War II, Scapa Flow was supposed to be the safe home base of the British Navy - nothing could penetrate the defences of this bastion. So how, in the dead of night, was Gunther Prien's U-47 able to slip through the line of protective warships to sink the mighty Royal Oak? This book provides the answer with an account of one of the most daring naval raids in history. Drawing on the latest underwater archaeological research, this study explains how Prien and his crew navigated the North Sea and Kirk Sound to land a devastating blow to the British."