Ross, you and your company do it again…. Thanks to SAC for developing a metal gear set for this new kit; and thanks to the IPMS leadership for sending it on!

These stronger, metal versions of the kit’s gear, continue the “form/fit/function” replacement mantra. Short-run plastic is a bit soft, so metal gear becomes crucial with the larger kits. In the case of the buckeye, the nose gear is an offset single-arm strut, which makes the metal even more appropriate.

Thank you to the wonderful folks at Hasegawa and Hobbico for an excellent kit of one of my favorite USN jets, the A-4 Skyhawk. The kit was a joy to build. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us kits to review.

This re-release from Hasegawa as a “Limited Edition” provides a very nice building experience of a very unique aircraft. I remember sitting in the cockpit of the full-size version feeling like I was in a sports car, marveling at where the panel would detach my lower legs in the event of an ejection. I am very pleased with the results produced and the kit is an excellent value. There are markings options for 2 different Skyhawk aircraft assigned to VA-23 aboard the USS Midway, with options for pylons and wing tanks.

Model Art has published No.7 in the series labeled, “Air Model Special” and this issue focuses on the Ki-61 Hien.

Some 60 pages in this issue are dedicated to coverage a number of different kits of the Ki-61, by a variety of different kit manufacturers, and in multiple scales. The photography is stunning, but then that has long been a feature of Model Art publications. The workmanship displayed in the models is world class and the images provide an excellent resource for detailing, painting, and markings.

This issue, were it to offer nothing more than the excellent article on the Ki-61, would be worth the cost, but it also includes short articles on a number of other subjects.