MiniArt Models, your favorite Ukrainian diorama manufacturer, has come out with an accessory kit for their street dioramas, cleverly called Street Accessories, #35530. 44 injected plastic parts are provided on four sprues that will build into two benches, four manhole covers, four grates, a 5 inch section of metal fencing and support poles. In addition, there are four short pieces that look like chess pawns but may be hitching posts or barriers of some sort. The instructions are on the bottom of the box and the only color choice provided is on the box top, but truly you’ll use your imagination to paint and finish these parts to your liking anyway. One nice thing, these parts are not really dated by their design, so could be present from the turn of the 20th century till the mid-50 at least.

There were many different types of aircraft needed to win World War II. The Grumman Duck was certainly one of them!! Designed and built before the war, these biplanes performed many specialized missions. Rescuing downed aircrew, and spotting for those huge guns on the battleships were only a few of the many jobs it did, and it seemed every squadron had a Duck hanging around as a hack. Unglamorous to a fault, and tough and rugged, the perfect combination!!

It seems that Master Model has raised the bar a little more with their Air Master Series. These awesome little pieces are designed and produced in Poland, and run the gambit with accessories from aircraft to ships in scales from 1/72 to 1/350. You have to visit their website to see it all, and more than likely you will be ordering something from them.

In this case I happen to be reviewing the Air Master Series of the 1/32 early Spitfire E-Wing which contains two Hispano 20mm cannons and two .50 cal machine guns in fairings. According to Master Models, these are turned brass pieces which are made to exact scale specs.