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Anyone who has tackled the old Trumpeter MiG-15 or MiG-17 can tell you that these are not models that fall together easily. They are quite challenging and need quite a bit of care to achieve something reasonably accurate. However, since they don’t typically cost an arm and a leg, they can be fun to tackle. Personally, I like the challenge.
Windsock World War Centenary Autumn 2014 is the third issue of Volume 30. Albatros Productions bills it as their “packed Autumn edition” because it provides readers with a great variety of top-notch modeling know-how and unique reference material. Packed is not a boast; this issue delivers a wealth of WWI aircraft modeling information along with historical and technical references.
Many moons ago, long before Roden or Wingnuts, Hobbycraft made the first generally available, inexpensive plastic kit of a World War 1 aircraft in 1/32 scale. As an avid large scale aircraft enthusiast, I was thrilled to see the Sopwith Camel model hit the shelves and was delighted by the Nieuport 17 and Spad XIII that followed. Unfortunately, they didn’t pursue this line very far, ultimately releasing a Fokker Triplane that proved virtually unbuildable. Since then, of course, other companies have jumped on this bandwagon and done very well, although the prices asked have more often than not deterred me from adding their offerings to my collection.
The 737 really needs no introduction, and the modeling community is blessed with everything from the 737-200 all the way up to the 737-800. Both Minicraft and Daco offer 737-300 and 737-400 kits. Daco also offers a 737-500. Brengun has released this little resin detail set primarily for the Minicraft 737-300. The detail set includes new, crisper wheels/tires, landing gear doors, and a plethora of antennas. The molding is very fine.
The wheels and tires look very similar to the Minicraft parts, but they have a slightly finer edge between the wheel and tire, which makes painting much easier. The landing gear doors are very fine and thin. Take special care removing them from their pure stubs; I was trying to be careful and still broke one of the main landing gear doors. The set of antennas includes more antennas than you would use on a single 737. Take a close look at your references before choosing which antennas to use.
Osprey has produced so many different “Aces” titles at this point, that the remaining subjects are becoming very narrow indeed. This new volume, as the title says, covers Spitfire Aces of Northwest Europe during 1944-45, and even more specifically the Spitfires covered are limited to Marks V, VII, IX, and XVI (all Merlin-engined).
