This is not your father’s Me-163 Komet! This first release by Meng Models in their 1/32 scale Quetzalcoatlus Series may be a long waited for item for those who enjoy this scale. Although the venerable Hasegawa kit can still be found, the level of detail in the Meng release is truly in line with what can be accomplished with modern technology. The kit built up well with few issues being encountered during construction, and the model looks great once assembled. Covers may be left off to display ammunition trays, the guns themselves, and fuel lines above the rocket motor. This was my second experience with a kit by the newcomer, Meng, and I will have no hesitation in purchasing more of their kits in the future.
Welcome to the IPMS/USA Reviews site!
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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Military Miniatures in Review (MMIR) is one of only about a half-dozen high-end armor-based magazines, and my favorite go-to source for finishing and weathering armor models and figures. Regular publication has been spotty in the past; otherwise I would have sprung for a subscription long ago. That said, I try to pick up every new issue, and those that I miss I can purchase (at a discount) from their website.
As of right now, Ampersand does not offer MMIR in digital format, but even if it did I’m not sure I’d switch from the hardcopy version. The quality of the materials used and the sheer number of crystal-sharp images included in each issue makes these magazines stand out among their peers.
If you want to build a Saab Gripen in 1/72 scale, you currently have only one choice - the Italeri kits that include single-seat or two-seat versions. These kits have been around a little while, but are good representations of the early versions. One area of these kits that needs improvement is the sensor probes, both the pitot tubes and Angle-of-Attack (AOA) sensors. They are over scale and not the correct shape. Luckily for us modelers, this product from Master Model of Poland corrects the deficiency. Their package contains two AOA sensors, a nose mounted pitot tube, a tail mounted pitot tube, and a brass fret for the nose vortex generators. Since they are to scale, all of these pieces are extremely delicate. The two AOA sensors, mounted on the sides of the forward fuselage are "micro" sized. I quickly learned not to grab the model by the forward fuselage sides, as these sensors are also needle sharp. Ouch!
Thanks very much to MRC for providing us this little gem, and thanks to Italeri for producing it! (and the usual appreciation to Dave and Dick for sending it my way to review...)
This model requires a bit of skill, only in that it has many miniature parts which require care in installation. We'll address that more later, but the basic model is excellent in presentation and delivery.
This kit was first “out the chute”, as our rodeo friends say, on the market for a decent, accurate F-35 production-representative model. I gave up on another company's 1/48 build, as I did not care for the tail plane inaccuracy (serious dihedral out of the box) and other issues. Italeri's kit is much better overall... now they need to pantograph it out of Braille-scale for us old guys. It would even make a great 1/32 kit, as it's relatively compact as fighters go. Box art is well done, and the now familiar license logo from Lockheed Martin is prominently displayed on the box.
Quickboost has added the antennas and details for the F-102A to their line of resin aircraft accessories. This latest addition is molded in a smoke, red and clear resin, it’s smooth, seamless and bubble free.
Comparing the Quickboost parts to the Meng parts is no comparison because they are replacing the little sticks and nubs that are already molded onto the fuselage or as in the case of QB parts #2 aren’t even there to begin with. You know, those little things sticking out in your way as you build and that eventually tend to disappear as you handle it. The thing that I like is that they already come molded in color and I don’t have to paint them. Just remove them from the mold blocks, remove the old antennas and lights from the kit body, which ever ones are still there and super glue them in place.
I very highly recommend this product if you want a nice and detailed F-102A. I would like to thank Quickboost and IPMS USA for the chance to do this review.