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Book Author(s)
Adam Gołąbek, Illustrated by Marek Radomski
Review Author
Ben Guenther
Published on
June 12, 2011
Company
Stratus
MSRP
$21.00

Polish Wings 12 is part 2 and continues the story of the Mig-29 in Polish service started in Polish Wings 11. This work covers the ex-East German aircraft obtained from the Luftwaffe in 2002. It is a softcover book of 96 pages that includes 226 color photos and 36 drawings (side profiles and 4-views).

Following past format each aircraft is covered individually with photos when in German service and with many more in Polish color schemes. The eighteen single seat Mig-29s are covered extensively in 60 pages. The remainder of the book is devoted to the eight two-seat trainers – Mig-29UB. The last three pages are devoted to cockpit views of these aircraft. Additionally, it is noted on the inside of the front cover that Techmond will be releasing decals (1/32,1/48 & 1/72) for the Mig-29 based on information published in this book in the near future.

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.95

Quickboost has added the P-51D propeller to their line of resin aircraft accessories. The blades are molded separately from the spinner and a tool is provided for the proper blade pitch during installation. This latest addition is molded in a grayish resin, smooth, seamless and bubble free. One thing of note is that they are easy to remove from the mold block taking only a couple of minutes with a saw blade to remove them.

The package states that it is for the Tamiya kit but it should work with any other P-51D kit. In comparison with the Tamiya kit parts, I don’t really see all that much of a difference in the final product, the difference that does stand out is in the assembly. The Tamiya blades are molded together with the pitch set and will have to have the mold connections removed and sanded down. This can be a little slow and tedious especially when there are 3 of them between the blades, trying not to accidentally cut one off.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$7.78

Thanks first to Airscale for providing IPMS USA this product sample…. We sincerely appreciate it!

This is a simple, yet effective upgrade for the huge Airfix Mosquito. Consisting of a small set of instrument and panel decals, and an acetate sheet, the instructions guide you through installation. I unfortunately had sold my Mossie before this upgrade showed up; last week! (The postmark showed Dave Morrissette had put it in the mail back in March!). Lost in transit; a first for me. Guess I’ll be buying another Mossie… Because this would be an excellent upgrade to an already noteworthy kit.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
OzMods
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$22.00

Background

Dave Johnson bought this kit from a swap meet or mail order. He let me build it and review it. Then it goes back to Dave. This saves me from taking up my already meager shelf space.

The Aircraft

The kit calls itself a P-39, and it is. But it’s also a P-400, which was the Export/RAF version of the Airacobra.

The P-39 was notable for the engine mounted behind the pilot and the 37 mm cannon in the nose. The 37 mm made it a great strafer, and the Russians got their money’s worth out of theirs. The other great trivia fact: The cannon was built by Oldsmobile.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
Zactomodels
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$20.25

Thanks once again to Chris for providing IPMS USA more of his excellent products; in this case, a brace of modern snakes!

The AIM-9X program has been yet another joint effort (Navy/AF) intended to provide better weapons to our warfighters. The AIM-9 series is one of the more effective close-in weapons; it’s notoriously accurate, and usually does the job better than radar guided weapons. Of course, you are in a knife fight at this point if you must use these missiles, so effective and accurate are both pluses. The AIM-9X is the latest generation Sidewinder; it is tied in to helmet-cuing sight technology, and goes where the pilot is looking. It’s an excellent follow-on to the AIM -9L (Lima) and -9M (Mike)… both which have extremely successful history as lethal close-in air-to-air weapons.