Brandon Lowe has introduced the Squadron Cutting Mat in a clear resealable package. This is a very useful tool to protect your modeling desk as well as prolong the life of your blades. This 1/8” thick ‘self-healing’ cutting mat features solid white lines to denote one-inch squares that are subdivided by half-inch squares denoted by dotted white lines. The printed grid is 17-inches by 11-inches with the overall size of the cutting mat, 17.6875” x 11.8125”. Centered on the cutting mat is a Boeing B-17 dorsal view drawing in white; but wait; this cutting mat is also two-sided with a duplicated Boeing B-17 drawing and grid on the other side!

Street Freak or Street Machine?

Kit Features

New box art and 90 parts molded in white, clear and clear red with chrome parts with super-wide vinyl tires, a Chevy V-8 engine, a custom intake option, 2 wheel (wire spokes or custom Centerlines), a Roll bar and a custom exhaust system with chrome side pipes. Included is and expanded decal sheet with seven stripe colors to choose from.

Kit Overview

MPC’s 1981 Chevy Camaro Z28, kit number 981, is a skill level two model in 1/25 scale. It contains 90 parts, clear windows, red taillights, chrome components, wide vinyl tires, and a metal axle. Options include a Chevy V8, custom intake, two-wheel styles, a roll bar, and chrome side pipes. The expanded decal sheet offers seven stripe colors to match any body color. The real question is: which version would you like to build: an OOB Street Freak, or a Street Machine? I chose the latter, but you’ll need to make some modifications for that!

Here’s one of the surprises that I found at NATS this year in Fort Wayne. Totally unexpected due to the lowest price that I have seen and what has really turned out to be a nice quality unit. I’ve looked at these ultrasonic cutters twice now and I’ve gotten a few recommendations from people, and then I’ve looked at the price and said I’m gonna keep going and just maybe buy a new set of cutters. In the end, I was still ending up with some broken resin and chipped resin on some of the finer 3D parts that I’ve been purchasing. Jeff Hearn from Squadron was showing this off at their booth and I took a few minutes to stop, watch what he was doing, and ask a few questions about it. It definitely looked like it was worth the small investment to just give this a try.