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Cover

AV-8B Harrier II Units of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm
Book Author(s)
Lon Nordeen
Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

Osprey Publishing’s 90th book in the Osprey Combat Aircraft series is about the AV-8B Harrier II. It is the first in a 3-part set on USMC Harrier IIs in combat. This book is about the units of Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. The next 2 volumes will be Operations in Iraq and then Afghanistan.

This is a small book but it is jam-packed with color photographs. A couple of things that I really liked were the 8 pages of color plates of the various units that served in these 2 operations, and the firsthand accounts from the personnel. Particularly interesting to me was the section about VMA-311 from Yuma, Arizona. I’m very interested in the various units that have been based in my home state and I’m trying to build as many kits from them as I can.

Box Art

B-24 Liberator Mk. IV
Review Author
David P. Lennox
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$64.95

Although the B-24 Liberator shared the honors with the B-17 Flying Fortress of being the principal American heavy bomber of World War II, it was a much later design. It incorporated several unusual design features, including the Davis patent wing of very thin section and high aspect ratio, and bomb bay doors which rolled up like the top of a roll-top desk. This feature was created to make it more difficult for enemy fighters to know when the bomber was on its final bomb run. The doors moved up the side of the fuselage instead of hinging down as in the B-17. The B-24 had a range of 3,000 miles, together with a speed of more than 300 m.p.h. and a ceiling of 35,000 ft. The B-24Hs in RAF service were fitted with Boulton Paul tail turrets, but retained the rest of their standard armament.

Parts Packaging

45-Degree, 2 Bar Ship's Railings
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$27.00

Bottom Line

Very esoteric 1/700 scale warship photoetch set with limited utility. For experienced super-detailers. NOTE: this is not typical deck railings!

Eduard from the Czech Republic has been producing superior photoetch sets for years. They have ventured into 1/700 and 1/350 scale ship railings now with eleven new sets released in 2011. Four are in 1/700 scale and all are angled railings, something unique. You have a choice of long or short spaces between stanchions (vertical supports), and 2-bar or 3-bar railings, but all are 45-degrees, meaning the vertical stanchions are angled at 45 degrees to the horizontal chains.

Parts Packaging

F-22 Raptor Exhaust Nozzles
Review Author
Steve Collins
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$21.50

Aires specializes in creating replacement parts for kit items that are either lacking in detail or have detail that isn’t quite sharp enough. This set provides replacement parts for the exhaust nozzles for the Academy kit of the F-22 Raptor.

The set is cast in medium grey resin, with no pinholes or miscast parts, along with a nice photoetch sheet for fine parts. The set includes the aft end of the turbine compressors and the afterburner section. The flame holders from the PE sheet are attached to the end of the compressor section, then the afterburner tube is added. The four long triangular pieces are the side pieces of the vectoring nozzles, and the smaller, wider, triangles are the vectoring parts of the nozzles. Each of them receives one of the four “batwing”-shaped pieces of PE, adding to the detail.

Parts Packaging

EA-6B Prowler ICAP-2 (Early) Cockpit Set
Review Author
Steve Collins
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$37.50

Aires has presented us with another beauty here. I’ve wanted to build an EA-6B for quite some time (I have a bit of a background in electronic countermeasures). The only kit in my chosen scale of 1/72 is the Hasegawa kit. This kit is typical Hasegawa of its era, with finely engraved panel lines, minimal necessary external accessories for the version being done, and not much in the cockpit area. This set takes care of the last part completely.

As usual, the set is flawlessly cast in a medium grey resin, with incredible detail just begging to be painted and highlighted. Also included is a photoetch sheet with instrument panels, seatbelts, and other cockpit accoutrements, and a clear acetate sheet with the backing for the instrument panels.