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Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$19.95

The Aircraft

The P-51 was the ultimate propeller driven fighter for the US in World War II. Fast, maneuverable, excellent range, plenty of punch, good load carrying ability, and it could be used for any mission the higher ups thought of. While it was superseded by jets, the P-51D was used for tactical bombing in Korea, and some air forces didn’t retire their Mustangs until the 1980s. There was much excitement in the Warbird community when the Dominican Republic decided to sell their P-51Ds in 1984.

The Kit

I thought I had built this kit before, but I was wrong. The older Minicraft/Hasegawa P-51 has raised panel lines; this one has recessed panel lines. It’s a new mold. This kit is issued with new markings for 44-64076, “Jumpin’ Jacques” of the 3rdFG and 44-14606 “Jan” of the 4thFG. There are 4 gray sprues and one clear. Everything is flash-free and clean.

Review Author
Roger Rasor
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$3.99

Quickboost once again has come up with an unexpected resin aftermarket part that will add detail to a kit that most of us have in our stash. QB 48 357 provides three ready to install F4U-1 Corsair pitot tubes cast in a flexible resin that likely will survive the occasional bumps sometime experienced when a finished model is handled. The pitot tubes are molded on a casting block with extended bars that protect the parts from damage in the package. They exhibit a much better pointed tip than the kit part. A sharp #11 x-Acto blade is the only tool needed to remove each pitot tube from the casting block and to shave off a thin casting gate that is molded on the side of the part to protect the tip detail.

This part is a direct replacement for the kit part and, because it is resin, should be attached with super glue or epoxy cement.

Book Author(s)
Rob Ervin and David Doyle, Illust'd by Don Greer, Line Dwgs by Melinda Turnage
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Squadron Products
MSRP
$18.65

The M4 Sherman is probably the most easily recognizable American tank ever built. This book focuses in the variants and used by the American Army in World War II.

Variants cover include: Small Hatch M4, Small Hatch M4A1, Small Hatch M4A2, Small Hatch M4A3 75 mm, M4 Composite, M4 105 Howitzer, Large Hatch M4A1 (76)W, Large Hatch M4A2, Large Hatch M4A3 75 mm, Large Hatch M4A3 (76)W, M4A4 (105), M4A3E2, M4A6, M4A3E8 and a section devoted to specialized uses like Amphibious (DD Tanks), Bulldozer, Flamethrowers, etc.

The book is profusely illustrated with close to 200 B&W pictures and several color period pictures as well. There are just a few color profiles. The book covers variants that saw services in North Africa, Italy, D-Day, and the Western Front –including the Battle of the Bulge- as well as the Marine’s use of the Sherman in the Pacific.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/4 (Not 1/48!)
MSRP
$29.95

Czech manufacturer Eduard has a great reputation for its aftermarket instrument panel and now it provides the modeler with the ultimate instrument panel: the ¼ scale Bf 110 instrument panel.

This kit was first available as a bonus for the Bf 110 Royal Class edition and now it is been released as a ‘stand-alone’ kit in a Limited Edition format. You get a whole instrument panel, a sprue full of bezels and levers, two sprues of clear parts, two fret of pre-painted PE and a set of vinyl instrument faces.

Plastic parts are molded in very accurate colors. Still I’ve decided to paint the instrument bezels in black and the back of the instrument panel in RLM 66.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$14.00

Model Art Modeling Magazine is one of the finest periodicals on the market. Each issue covers subjects across the modeling spectrum. Regardless of your area of interest you will, sooner rather than later, find something of significance to you. The quality of the images within each issue is stunning, and that is important since the magazine is published in Japanese. There are always “work in progress” images and the tools and materials being used by the builder are always featured prominently in the images. It is not difficult, therefore, for the reader to use these “work in progress” articles as guides. While some details are certainly lost in translation, or the lack thereof, the general process followed in the “work in progress” is easy enough to follow.