Introduction: The primary organization of the IPMS/USA Review website is by IPMS/USA National Contest Class. Within each Class there are sub-menus by kits, decals, books, etc. The Miscellaneous Class is for items that are not class specific or that cross two or more classes.
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During the 1970’s Russia started the development of modern carrier borne fighter aircraft. The Sukhoi design team started with their basic Su-27 Flanker and added such carrier items as tail-hook, folding wings and structural improvements plus a set of forward canard wings to produce their proposed Su-33.
This book covers model kit development during the 1950s and 1960s as well as the collectability of these kits and the current value of some. It gives the reader what to look for and to look out for when delving into the world of kit collecting.
By default all model builders become kit collectors in some shape or fashion. Many of us buy more than we will build to ensure that we have that kit or marking set on hand. Or to be certain with some of the short run or resin kits that we don’t miss out on a subject. But for many they seek to build a collection of kits never to be built but amassed like others do with comic books, autographs. Militaria and the like!
Twobobs Aviation Graphics have released a Typhoon D-Day 70th Anniversary decal set for the 1/48 scale Revell Eurofighter Typhoon. This decal set includes three sheets with markings for a single Typhoon (ZK308) in Royal Air Force service. The scheme features special markings honoring the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, including prominent black-and-white invasion stripes.
The instruction sheet is printed in full color and includes callouts for Testors Model Master, Humbrol, Gunze, and Xtracrylics paints, plus the Federal Standard (FS) color numbers.
The sheets are printed by Microscale and seem to be of high quality, with thin and opaque decals. They are very glossy on the sheet and they have very little transparent carrier film around them, thus minimizing the chances for silvering. They are in perfect register. The sheets include full stenciling and the D-Day invasion stripe bands.
Having built the Royal Class Spitfire kits, I had an idea of what to expect from Eduard’s 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc: a perfect fitting kit from a maker at the pinnacle of their craft. The Spitfire Mk.IX kits are literally perfect models of the real thing. Building the kit out of the box, there is no need for filler anywhere. However, I wondered what would happen if I added some of the many available Eduard Brassin items to this baby?
Eduard’s 1/48 scale Big Sin Spitfire Mk. IX Advanced set has given me just the opportunity I was looking for. The Advanced Big Sin set includes a collection of four Eduard Brassin items: engine, gun bay, radio compartment, and photo-etch flaps.
I recently had a chance to review one of Eduard’s Big Sin sets, a collection of their Brassin-brand resin accessories, designed for Eduard’s own 1/48 scale Spitfire. For this task, I elected to use Eduard’s superb 1/48 scale Spitfire Mk.IXc early version ProfiPACK edition. While my full build of this kit, incorporating the Big Sin set, the ProfiPACK kit itself is reviewed below.
The ProfiPACK editions of Eduard’s model kits contain a nice selection of bells and whistles that can really enhance a finished model. Besides the actual kit, you are treated to world-class decals, colored photo-etch, and painting masks. These items are the things I always like to use on my models, so for me, this is the best deal for my money.
