Academy has a quality line of 1/72 scale aircraft, and they have recently begun to release several reboxings of these kits with special decals. Their latest special edition covers a USMC F/A-18A+ Hornet from VFMA-232, the Red Devils. The F/A-18A+ Hornet is an A-model that has had an avionics upgrade, primarily consisting of the addition of the AN/APG-73 radar. For the front-line Marine aircraft, so-called “bird slicer” IFF antennas are also found on nose of the A+, forward of the cockpit. Beyond the A+ parts, A-model Hornets also feature prominent reinforcement plates along the inside of each vertical stabilizer.

Back in 1978 I was one of many in the TV room in Langford Hall at Montana State University waiting for a new TV series that was trying to capitalize on a surprisingly successful Space Opera that had opened the previous year. That TV show was Battlestar Galactica and while it only lasted one season it gave us new ships which Monogram released as models.

Fast forward to 2003 (skipping that thing in 1980) and we got a new, gritty miniseries with a new take on the old show. This one was a hit and lead to a regular series running from 2004 through 2009.

Hasegawa has been re-boxing some kits from different manufactures lately and that is not a bad thing at all. That way you get a chance to acquire a kit that otherwise would be out of production or be difficult to find.

This boxing of Hasegawa is actually a re-box of the ICM Lagg-3. Down to the point that the packing bags are of the resalable kind (ICM standard) and there is even a sticker in the bag that says “Made in Ukraine”.

The Finnish Air Force during War World Two was perhaps the most eclectic Air Force of them all. They not only pressed into service any airframe they could get their hands on, they also had airplanes from almost any country in their inventory: American, British, Italian, German, French, and even Russian!

This kit is typical of ICM, with a little bit of a pebble texture in their plastic and low part count.