Finished - Top View

5.5 cm Zwilling Flakpanzer

Finished model

PBK-500U 500Kg Unified Gliding Cluster Bomb

Front

Spitfire Mk. XVI Dual Combo

Finished Hurricane model

Hurricane Mk. I Tropical

Char 2C

French Char 2C Super Heavy Tank

8

A-20G Havoc

Crime Computer

Batmobile

Shoulder logo Detail

Captain America - The Winter Soldier, 1/9 Scale Figure

Body

SAS 1/4 Ton 4x4 Patrol Commander’s Car

Finished - Right ide

sWS w/2cm Flakvierling 38 Halftrack

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Color profiles

P-47D Decals Part 8
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Lifelike Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$14.00

Lifelike produces excellent decals and, specifically, excellent coverage of the “Jug”. This particular item is Part 8 in the Lifelike coverage of markings for 1/48th P-47s. The other P-47 sheets are 48-045, 48-024, 48-014, 48-011, 48-010, 48-009, and the original 48-008. Clearly, if you are building a bubble top or razorback P-47D, Lifelike has you covered.

This sheet of decals provides markings and stencils for three aircraft. I chose to use the decals for the aircraft flown by Capt. Charles H. Anderson, 335th FS/4th Fighter Group. The nose art features “Hell’s Belle”. Markings are provided for the aircraft of Maj. Charles F. Matheson, 394th FS/367th FG and Capt. Marvin E. Grant, 342nd FS/348th Fighter Group.

Boxtop

De Havilland Comet 4B
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$18.99

The Comet was the basis of the rebirth of the British civil aircraft industry after World War II. Development began before the war ended, but the first comet didn’t fly until 1949. The Comet 1 had a serious problem, however. About a year after the first commercial flights began in 1952, Comets began breaking up in the air. The problem was traced to the repeated pressurization and depressurization of the fuselage, which caused metal fatigue. The square windows provided a focal point for the stress, and the fuselage would rupture at the window corner. The eventual fix was to make the windows oval, with no corners. The Comet 4 was the model with this fix. The last Comet flight was in 1997. The Nimrod, a reconnaissance and ASW version of the Comet remained in RAF service until 2011

This is a reissue/rebox of the 1960s Airfix Comet 4B airliner. It also has new decals and instructions.

Product packaging

P-40K Kittyhawk Exhausts
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.00

Aires offers a myriad of after-market parts, this being a new offering. Designed for the Italeri kit I wanted to experiment a bit to see how the parts fit on the Hasegawa kit.

The first step is to remove the Aires parts from the part carrier. This is easy to do and quite safe as the parts are not delicate. I used a Xuron part nipper to remove the parts from the carrier, trim away any flash, and then also to cut the six exhaust ports into 3 units of two ports each. That division is required to get the Aires parts to drop into place on the Hasegawa kit. As you can see in the accompanying images, the parts fit nicely and without issue.

Cover

Spotlight on the MiG-29 in PAF (Polish Air Force)
Book Author(s)
Marek Radomski
Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$35.00

This is a new publication from Mushroom Models Publications. The book includes a brief description of where and how the Polish Air Force acquired its MiG-29 fleet. I was surprised to learn that only the first twelve aircraft were purchased directly from Russia. The bulk of the PAF’s MiG-29’s were actually acquired from Czech Air Force and from the German Air Force (post reunification) when those services decided to cease operating the MiG-29. Interestingly, upon acquiring these used jets, initially the PAF continued to operate the aircraft in the paint schemes of the original operator, so a number of the PAF single-seat MiG-29s operated for a period of time in several shades of green and brown. In 1997, the PAF commenced the overhaul of its MiG-29s.

Product packaging

Douglas F3D-2 Skynight Landing Gear
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions has released replacement landing gear for the Czech Model 4814 / Encore EC48004 Douglas F3D-2 Skynight. The 17 parts supplied include the nose gear bay, nose gear, main gear, and additional retraction arms and braces. One of Ross MacMillan’s passions is the Douglas Skynight, and he spent several hours taking photos underneath one to get this set right.

A side by side evaluation of all the SAC parts shows the initial similarity with the kit parts. The nose gear bay, in addition to helping keep the Skynight on its nose gear, has been modified by including mounting points for the nose gear strut and the nose gear retraction arm. The nose gear torque link, missing in the kit, has been provided. The nose gear strut has been lengthened. The nose gear retraction arm has been modified and relocated to where it belongs.