Trumpeter has released the M1082 trailer, which is a welcome addition to military vehicles and dioramas alike.

The kit includes over 180 parts on 5 sprues (1 clear), plus a small PE fret and a plastic string, likely to make tie downs for a tarp -which is not provided-. Decals are provided for two finishes: tri-color “european/Nato” and a sand/desert one.

Construction follows the typical breakdown of most vehicles, that is, it starts with the frame. Careful alignment of the parts at this stage will pay off latter. Construction them moves to the trailer bed itself and finally to the wheels (with tires provided in rubber). It also includes a trailer jack foot, which would allow the trailer to be shown on its own.

Considered by many to be the most famous aircraft used by the Japanese in World War II, the Zero is the subject of hundreds of books. And yet, with all of the information already available on the A6M this book, illustrated and authored by Artur Juszczak will make an excellent addition to your research library.

The advertising literature for this publication indicates that drawings and data have been pulled from original technical manuals, with dimensional details and images gathered from surviving airframes located in museums. These pictures and details cover the aircraft inside and out.

I found that the advertising for this book was quite accurate. The images are outstanding and will prove very helpful to the modeler, showing interior and exterior colors, color demarcation lines. The book goes far beyond what one would expect after having read the advertising.

Overview

The F9F-8 Cougar was a carrier based early swept wing jet that was light, fast and had good range and load carrying capacity. It was developed from the F9F Panther which was a straight wing jet. The operational career for the F9F was 1951 to 1974. It was also used as a photo recon and two seat trainer.

The Kit

Kitty Hawks 1/48 scale F9F Cougar is the first 1/48 kit since the Revell kit and a couple resin kits of the 60s and 70s. It seems the Cougar has been like the red headed stepchild of the model world. That has changed now that Kitty Hawk has the F9F-8T trainer and the F9F-8 and -8P Cougars.