Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
May 2, 2020
Company
AFV Club
MSRP
$85.00

Background (Wikipedia)

The Husky VMMD (vehicle-mounted mine detection) family of vehicles are blast-survivable, mission-configurable, wheeled platforms employed by specialized route clearance teams operating in high-explosive threat areas. The Mk. III is the modern single-occupant Husky model. The platform is integrated with pulse induction metal detector panels and overpass tires that enable operators to regulate tire air pressure in order to reduce the risk of detonating. As with all Husky platforms, the Mk. III has been engineered in a unique modular, frangible configuration. In the event of a mine or improvised explosive device detonation, vehicle components break apart in a predictable fashion, reducing damage to the platform and occupants, as well as facilitating fast in-field repairs.

Book Author(s)
Przemysław Skulski
Review Author
Phil Pignataro
Published on
May 2, 2020
Company
Stratus
MSRP
$34.10

My take on the Italian aircraft industry during WW II was they were usually playing catch-up with the Allies. The main Italian fighter at the start of the war was the FIAT CR.42, a biplane even though by 1940, other air forces had moved away from them. As their aircraft designs modernized, the Italian industry had difficulties producing suitable engines. The answer was to import German engines, mainly from Daimler-Benz. Their DB601 engine with 1075 HP, powered the Reggiane Re.2001 and the Macchi C.202 Folgare. These designs were soon outclassed by Allied fighters, so new designs with more powerful engines were needed. Aeronautica Macchi answered the call by mating the newly available DB605 engine (1475 HP) to the C.202. The resulting aircraft was the Macchi C.205 Veltro (Greyhound).The new fighter had a different nose profile and externally mounted, cylindrical oil coolers, but retained the modest armament of the C.202.

Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
May 2, 2020
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$19.95

Hasegawa’s 1/32nd scale P-47D-25 is a great kit with good fit and form but like most of Hasegawa’s kits, they leave some room for improvement. In this case, the cockpit is Ok OOB but Eduard has produced a single fret of colorized photoetch that will bump the cockpit to the next level.

Inside the package, you’ll find one fret of colorized photoetch with 40 parts that address improvements to the instrument panel, the cockpit sidewalls and the rudder pedals. Two pages of instructions detail the installation including a little surgery on the kit parts.

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
May 1, 2020
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$4.33

One of the banes of existence for fans of modeling 1/144th scale aircraft are the over-sized, out of scale canopies supplied with the kit that often lack any molded definition. With few exceptions modelers just have to contend with these abnormalities. Another thing germane to our hobby overall is patience, and if you wait long enough everything will be provided by some manufacturer. Such is the case with Brengun and their new vacuum formed, clear canopies for the 1/144th scale F-Toys F-105D aircraft kit. [Technical Note: The F-Toys F-105D kit was originally released in 2010 with another issue in 2018 with new box art and decals.]

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
January 4, 2021
Company
ICM
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$41.95

This Polikarpov fighter, developed in 1934, took a lot of its design ideas from the then-revolutionary Gee-Bee racing airplane of the same period – that is, the largest engine that could be fit into the smallest airframe. Adding retractable landing gear and four rifle-caliber machine guns and you had the miniscule I-16, a staple of the Soviet air force through the early part of World War 2, almost 10,000 being manufactured.

These tough little aircraft served in other forces as well, most notably in the Chinese Guomindang, where they pitted themselves against the more nimble and far more numerous Japanese fighters of the period. How they fared is another story.