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Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
Vargas Scale Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$49.95

Vargas Scale Models has historically occupied a niche specializing in unusual, 3-D printed, limited-run resin armor models, mostly pre- and between World Wars. So far, this has been a winning strategy for this prolific company, fleshing out all those subjects ignored by others. This offering continues in that tradition.

The M1917 was the United States' first mass-produced tank, entering production shortly before the end of World War I. It was a license-built, near-copy of the French Renault FT17, and was intended to arm the American Expeditionary Forces in France. American manufacturers, however, failed to produce any in time to take part in the War. Of the 4,440 ordered, about 950 were eventually completed. These remained in service throughout the 1920s but did not take part in any combat, and were phased out during the 1930s.

Review Author
Greg Kittinger
Published on
Company
Yahu Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.99

I enjoy taking older kits and finding ways to spruce them up – sand off the raised lines and engrave them, add rivets, make corrections or add missing parts, etc. When I saw these Yahu Models instrument panels, I had to give them a try!

I secured instrument panels for three different subjects – an F4F-4, a P-51 B/C, and a P-40 (N-20/N-40 Late). The F4F and P-51 panels were designed for Arma Hobby kits, and the P-40 for the Special Hobby kit. My experience with Arma Hobby kits led me to believe they probably wouldn’t be needed, especially if you are going to build with a closed canopy, and Special Hobby kits often include upgrades for items like this. My habit is to find items like these to spruce up older, less detailed kits. So, I pulled two Hasegawa kits (P-51 B and P-40 N) out of my stash, along with an Academy F4F. Both of the Hasegawa kits had a basic blank clump of styrene to lay a decal on, and the Academy kit had nothing.

Review Author
Tomasz Menert
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$25.00

In 1934, the 20 mm anti-aircraft gun Flak 30, developed by the German company Rheinmetall, was adopted by the Luftwaffe. Based on the combat experience with the gun in Spain, Mauser upgraded it, and the new model was named the 2 cm Flak 38. The upgraded gun used the same ammunition as the Flak 30, with changes primarily aimed at increasing the rate of fire, which rose from 245 to 480 rounds per minute. The cost of one 2 cm Flak 38 anti-aircraft unit was 6,500 Reichsmarks. The new gun began entering service in the second half of 1940 and soon became a common close-range air defense tool in the Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe. Besides combating aircraft, the gun could also be used to engage lightly armored targets. A company equipped with twelve 2 cm Flak 38 guns was part of the anti-tank battalion of infantry divisions, and similar companies were also included in tank and motorized divisions. Production of these guns continued until the end of World War II.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$88.00

Overview

Following their release of the F-35A in 2022 and the F-35B in 2023, Tamiya has completed the trident of 1/48 scale Lightning II model kits with their release of the F-35C late last year. I found the engineering of this kit to be phenomenal with all parts fitting just as one would want. The 78 steps for the construction are spread across the 34-page instruction manual, and steps typically contain no more than six individual parts, which keep the building process simplified. While the number of parts and number of decals required more time than some builds, the joy of the construction always made the time pass quickly. I would highly recommend this kit to any modeler with some experience looking to add the US Navy variant of the Lightning II to their collection.

Review Author
Chris Gibson
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$101.00

The Mitsubishi Ki-21 “Sally” was designed in 1936 and first flew in 1938, it was used extensively in the war against China and was a trainer for bomber groups.

This subject has been neglected in the model world but ICM has brought out a nice representation in 1/48th scale.

Included in the kit is:

  • Six grey sprues
  • One clear sprue
  • One grey sprue with figures
  • One set of decals
  • One instruction booklet
  • One instruction page for the figures

The instructions are pretty straight forward and the kit seems well detailed with fine panel lines and some rivet detail.

Section 1-7 starts with the left fuselage half with detail items and a bulkhead going in. there are also oxygen bottles and some clear parts added. The left tail section is also added in this section. I decided to glue both halves of the tail together at this point and added the tail at a later point.