Review Author
Tom Pope
Published on
October 10, 2011
Company
Round 2 Models
Scale
1/500
MSRP
$22.99

Introduction

In 1968, in the first peak of the AMT Star Trek model series, AMT released the Leif Ericson Galactic Cruiser as a start to an intended line of original, AMT-designed sci-fi vehicles. Each ship was to have a story, including key characters. The ship was designed by Star Trek's Enterprise designer, Matt Jeffries. The Leif Ericson was a sci-fi modeler and fan-favorite even then.

In the summer of 2011, AMT re-released the Leif Ericson with its original box art design, with parts cast from the original molds (reviving the clear parts) and an updated Light Emitting Diode (LED) kit.

My thanks go out to AMT for providing this kit for review and to IPMS USA for letting me do the review.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
October 8, 2011
Company
SuperScale International
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.00

The decal set consists of one 4.75 x 7.5 inch sheet accompanying by a color glossy 8.5 x 11 inch instruction and placement page in a ziplock plastic bag. I always appreciate the resealable bags, for storing unused decals afterwards and protection from coffee. The decals themselves were printed by Cartograf. Markings for two aircraft are provided, BuNo 162224 of VAQ-135, and BuNo 163527, VAQ-137. Very well-done and unique unit art is included for each aircraft, as well as numerous decals for some ECM pods and drop tanks. The formation light panels appear to be a reasonably accurate color. Unfortunately, there are only formation lights for one aircraft. Consider this if you actually are going to build both aircraft off this sheet. General and detail side views of both are included, and there are two general top and detail views. FS colors are provided for the color schemes, and the decal inks appear to match the FS color chips fairly well.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
October 8, 2011
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$23.95

Thank you to Alain of Dragon Models USA and John of IPMS for allowing me to review this kit. It really is an honor to critique a new model and share the fun with the greater modeling community.

Bronco Models chose to represent the K335 Giepard, one of the three Akula II submarines constructed by the Amur Shipbuilding Plant Joint Stock Company at Komsomolsk-on-Amur and by Sevmash at the Severodvinsk shipbuilding yard. Research sources are somewhat ambiguous, but generally agree that the Akula II class is a lengthened and improved Akula class, incorporating quieting technology. The K335 name appears as “Gepard” in some references and “Giepard” in others. One member of the class, the Nerpa, is reportedly leased to the Indian Navy. The first member of the class, the Viper, is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2015, with the Giepard/Gepard scheduled for retirement in 2025.

Review Author
Paul Mahoney
Published on
October 8, 2011
Company
Key Publishing Ltd
MSRP
$7.99

Editor's note: This magazine is also available as an "Ap" for i-Pad; as are Tamiya Magazine and the AFV series.

Let me first say that, prior to getting these review copies, I have never read any issues of Airfix Model World. I must admit, many of the model magazines out of the UK look the same to me at first glance, and I made the mistake of lumping this one in with the rest.

The format is very similar to the other UK model magazines – high quality glossy cover from stiff stock, and glossy pages. To me, this is where the similarities stop. I read each of these issues cover to cover, and have to say I honestly enjoyed them all. Each of the articles was in-depth, well-written, and accompanied by many photos. Quite often I have seen that magazines tend to run very short articles (in terms of text), that often leave me wishing I had more. Not so here.