The kit of Ernst Udet is one of three German World War One pilots currently offered in MiniArt’s 1:16 scale Historical Figures Series. Udet was the second highest scoring WWI German ace serving in the Great War (and the youngest), who later went on to become a world famous postwar air show performer and light plane manufacturer. He flew for the movies, was instrumental in the development of the Luftwaffe, advanced the concept of dive bombing and was a driving force in adopting the Stuka dive bomber. He lead a very colorful life, becoming a member of the Nazi party and struggled for years with alcoholism until he committing suicide after Germany invaded Russia in 1941. There have been (and currently are) numerous kits of his brightly colored Fokker D.VIIs available from various manufacturers and the man himself has been the subject of a number of smaller scale figure models. In his day, Ernst Udet was almost larger than life.

Model Art Special No. 5 is a “must have” for those who want to build a IJN Type Zero Carrier Fighter. This is number 5 in the Air Model Special series and focuses on what most modelers and historians consider the classic IJN fighter aircraft of WWII. In 136 pages this publication covers the A6M1, A6M2a, A6M2b, 21^st Kokusho A6M2K and the Nakajima A6M2-N.

It should be noted that the text is in Japanese with virtually no English translation for those of us who are English-Only speakers and readers. But no matter, the quality of the images and the clever design of the photographs, tables, and charts is more than sufficient to get the message across successfully.

Aires has added the wheels and masks for the AV-8B Harrier to their line of resin aircraft accessories. This latest addition is molded in a grey resin; it’s smooth, seamless and bubble free.

For comparison I pulled out a Tamiya and an Airfix Harrier from my stash. There really is no comparison. The Aires parts are solid and have a crisper detail. The paint masks are also a very welcome addition to assist in painting. Aires doesn’t recommend any particular kit, which would have helped out because the front wheel they provide won’t work with the 2 kits I compared it with. The Tamiya and Airfix kits had the front wheel molded onto the strut. The two center wheels worked well.

I very highly recommend this product if you want a nice set of tires for your Harrier model. I’d like to thank Aires Hobby Models and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.