Reviews

Review Author
Doug Cole
Published on
Company
Foxbot
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$12.99

AN-26 History From Wikipedia

While the An-24T tactical transport had proved successful in supporting Soviet troops in austere locations, its ventral loading hatch restricted the handling of cargo. As a result, a version (An-26) with a retractable cargo ramp was designed that allowed the cargo deck to be sealed and pressurized in flight.

The An-26 includes military equipment, such as tip-up paratroop canvas seats, an overhead traveling hoist, bulged observation windows and parachute static line attachment cables. It can be configured in 20-30 minutes from the troop transport or freight mission to the medical evacuation role with up to 24 stretchers fitted.

The Decals

Continuing FOXBOT’S tradition of excellence from Ukraine, these decals are excellent in both registry and color. The carrier film has both minimal margins and thickness making the very pliable for contour and feature coverage.

Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Tru-Color Paint
MSRP
$45.95

Rick Galazzo and Scott Cohen started Tru-Color Paint in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008, based on their experience in formulating paint for the commercial market. They reformulated the former Accupaint formulas and created this paint line. It is refreshing to see that in today’s day and age with model kits and supplies moving overseas, that these paints are made in the USA. They have five paint lines including automotive, aircraft, naval and military colors, including many sets to make a project easier by having all the colors in one box. Another huge bonus for me is that Scott Cohen wrote a personal letter explaining the paints for review, a request for new paint color suggestions, and genuinely supporting modelers and IPMS. Based on all this, I was eager to try these paints for myself.

Book Author(s)
Henri-Paul Enjames
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Casemate Publishers
MSRP
$69.95

Henri-Paul Enjames started collecting uniforms and equipment of the American soldier in Europe during the 19 43–1945 period. He was fascinated by the power of the United States Army and how it supplied soldiers with the most modern equipment and uniforms. His collection includes items in the best possible condition, many with readable markings providing information about manufacture dates and models. He used a 1943 Quartermaster Corps supply catalog to organize and show his collection. His intention with this book is to gather as much information as possible on the uniforms and equipment of the American soldier in Europe to illustrate authentic items.

Enjames’ Collection is shown in high-quality color photographs of the actual items with captions of the articles name, number, and years of use. Additional text provides background on the equipment illustrated.

The chapters are organized similar to the 1943 QMC Supply Catalog:

Book Author(s)
Yancy D. Mailes and Tony R. Landis
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Detail & Scale, Inc.
MSRP
$21.99

F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter – An Illustrated Developmental History is a fantastic book on the development of this remarkable aircraft. There is no operational history nor combat-related photographs in this book. And it should not, nor does it, detract from the book. The development of stealth technology and this record-breaking aircraft deserves its own story. The aircraft and dedicated people that made it possible is brilliantly told and photographed in this book.

The book is presented with five chapters:

Book Author(s)
Jared A. Zichek
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Mortons Books
MSRP
$59.99

Mortons Media Group was established in the 19th century and has been producing book-length publications since the early 2000s. The company established a dedicated books division in 2019 and Mortons Books has already earned a reputation for publishing high-quality titles by authors who are true experts in their field. For the best reads on rail, aviation, nostalgia and history, look no further. This book is part of their imprint: Tempest Books addresses all aspects of aviation history are covered in authoritative detail. The aviators and aircraft of the Second World War are profiled by our titles alongside more modern fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and transports. 'Secret projects' and experimental designs are also an important part of the Tempest Books portfolio.

Book Author(s)
Robert Pied and Nicolas Deboeck
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
HMH Publications
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$33.00

HMH Publications has released another installment of the Duke Hawkins series and it is being distributed in the US by Casemate Publishers.

The 24th installment of the series is devoted to the Agusta Westland A109 helicopter.

In particular this book includes images of helicopters serving with the Belgian Air Force Demonstration Team, plus images of Italian, New Zealand, South Africa and British examples.

The book is organized in the following sections: Types, Belgian Air Force (BAF) Demonstration Team, Forward Fuselage, Fuselage, Main Rotor, Tail Rotor, Cockpit, Main Landing Gear, Vertical Tail, Horizontal Tail, Maintenance and Action.

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Squadron
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$11.95

Last summer Squadron Hobbies released three sets of decals for the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet family. Set 72003 provides decals for three legacy F/A-18C’s - two in high-visibility schemes, the CAG (the carrier air wing commander) aircraft from VFA-192 Golden Dragons (2009) and VFA-34 Blue Blasters (2018) and a standard low visibility scheme from VMFA-122 Werewolves (2009).

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Squadron
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$11.95

Last summer Squadron Hobbies released three sets of decals for the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet family. Set 72002 provides decals for three Super Hornets in high-visibility schemes – two CAG (the carrier air wing commander) aircraft from VFA-81 Sunliners (2009) and VFA-143 Pukin Dog (2009) and an aircraft from VX-9 Vampires (2013).

Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Squadron
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$11.95

Last summer Squadron Hobbies released three sets of decals for the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet family. Set 72001 provides decals for three legacy F/A-18C’s in high-visibility schemes, the CAG (the carrier air wing commander) aircraft from VFA-97 Warhawks, VFA-37 Ragin Bulls and VFA-15 Valions (2001).

The instructions include a full color profile view of the left side of each aircraft, the right side of the nose of each jet and full color overhead view along with a color key listing the FS numbers for each color. There is also a small detail drawing of the drop tank markings for each squadron.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
Company
Gallery Models
Scale
1/200
MSRP
$829.99

Building a battleship, especially one this large and complex, can easily appear overwhelming. So, as with any large model project, its easiest to tackle it as a series of subassemblies. That’s more or less the way the instruction sequence is arranged, and it simplifies painting, if nothing else (I found out the hard way that the Tamiya spray can and the bottle lacquer are not the same shade of Kure Grey - too different to use the two together). So everything on this model is painted from the bottle through the airbrush. Otherwise, the Tamiya lacquer goes on beautifully.