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Review Author
Jack Kennedy
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$46.95

The F-86 Sabre Jet happens to be one of my all time favorite aircraft so when John Noack put this kit up for review, I just had to jump on it.

The cockpit set is for the Kinetic 1/32 F-86F of which I have three. The kit cockpit is pretty nice but this Aires kit is the frosting on the cake. It consists of 11 very finely cast resin parts, two clear parts (actually the instruments are in clear and black), and 21 photo etched parts.

I primed the parts with Duplicolor Light Grey auto primer as I do with most of my models. I then used several books for detail research. I painted the details with Model Master acrylic paints. Once the details were painted, I removed the parts from their casting blocks. The major parts fit by interlocking the parts. The only thing left to do was to glue the parts to form the complete cockpit. I did not glue the seat in as I still have to put the photo etched seat belts.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.99

These accessories are produced by Quickboost, a resin-manufacturing firm that provides corrected components for discriminating modelers who want to get it right. Quickboost produces a large variety of corrected parts for aircraft kits in 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scale, and their website is very interesting to browse through. In this case, Hasegawa has taken a shortcut in their production process, not the first time this has happened. It reminds me of the old Lindberg kits many years ago that had standard propellers which were supposed to fit on many different kinds of airplanes. It didn’t work then, and still doesn’t today.

Review Author
Tim Hortman
Published on
Company
Fine Molds
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$67.50

Fine Molds continues to add to their great line of WWII Japanese Armor – this time with a variant of the Type 3 “CHI-NU” Tank. This up-gunned long barreled version of the Type 3 was a paper-only project. The variant was expected to go into production in 1946, but as we know the war ended before then. It was thought that the gun on the Type 3 would not be sufficient to knock out US Armor at long ranges, so plans were drawn up to fit the Type 3 tank with a long barrel 75mm gun.

This kit is exactly the same as the other Type 3 “CHI-NU”, with the addition of the sprues for the longer barrel, and turret parts. In fact with this boxing, you will end up with some extra parts for your stash, as some of the parts from the earlier release are included, but not used. The kit’s 203 parts are molded in tan, with a sprue of clear parts, and nicely done ‘rubber band’ tracks.

Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$39.95

Eduard has released its Messerschmitt Bf-110G-4 in the Weekend format. I appreciate Eduard releasing kits in the “weekend” format as a more affordable channel for modelers to get access to a kit. This is the most expensive kit ever boxed in the Weekend format ($39.95) but you get a lot of plastic for your money; as a reference point, the Profipack version retails for $64.95.

So, what is in the box? You get all the plastic sprues from the Profipack packing, except sprue D (underwings ordinance). The decal sheet, printed by Cartograf, has one option and stencils are included. The box includes 11 sprues for a total of 349 parts. I should mention that you get over 100 parts (mainly from the 110E) that go straight to the spares box. The kit does not include photoetch nor canopy masks.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$20.35

This is a British product, the first of a series, providing a very nice set of 1/32 scale decals and an accompanying booklet, featuring three aircraft flown by Polish pilots flying with the French Armee de l’Aire during the Battle of France in 1940. Two versions of this issue exist, one in 1/32 scale and one in 1/48. The decal sheet and booklet are provided in one unit, and cannot be purchased separately.

The booklet, a rather large publication of 16 pages plus cover, measures 13 by 9 ¼ inches, and consists of detailed information on the colors and markings of each aircraft. A short history of the pilot and his operational career is included, and these make interesting reading. The booklet is filled with excellently reproduced photos, mostly from German sources, as many of the photos show Luftwaffe personnel examining the abandoned French aircraft.