Another interesting, timely upgraded cockpit from Aires – thanks from IPMS USA for providing us this excellent upgrade!

If you have not built an Aires cockpit before, have a light read here. They are worth the time and cash, but require a bit more work than just a paint and “drop in” session.

The Meng Me-410 cockpit is an excellent item as it is; the Aires replacement provides fineness and detail which is lacking in the basic injected kit item. The assembly process is as follows: CAREFULLY remove the excess resin from the bottom and back of the cockpit tubs. I use a small Delta belt sander for this; it’s a great way to destroy small parts, so be careful. You can also put some really cool debridement of your skin and knuckles on the list. The other cleanup option includes a razor saw, a glove on the holding hand, and patience…then a sanding block to clean up, and more patience. Go slowly, no matter what method you use.

Osprey Publishing continues to expand it series Aircraft of the Aces with the installment of the Aces of the 78th Fighter Group. The book covers the story from inception to disbanding of the 78th Fighter Group. Even when trained to fly the P-38, upon arrival in England their airplanes (and many of their pilots) were sent to North Africa, and the group had to convert to, at the time, the short-legged P-47, then it took the Thunderbolts all the way to Germany and it ended the war flying P-51s.

The book has the following chapters:

Revell / Monogram has re-released their vintage “Eager Beaver” M-34 6x6 2.5 ton truck, the first of a long-lived family of trucks initially deployed by the United States Army, and subsequently utilized by many nations around the world. The M-34 started out in 1949 as a design by the REO Motor Car Company as a 2 1/2 ton, three-axle, all-wheel drive, off-road truck that was later nicknamed the "Deuce and a Half". The first vehicle in the family, the M-34, was quickly superseded in military usage by the M-35, the major difference being the M-35's 10-tire configuration versus the M-34's 6-tire configuration.

This old kit brings back memories of bicycle trips down to Rexall Drugs with my paper route money to buy yet another plastic model – I probably had a dozen of these trucks in and around the sandbox and dirt piles in my back yard, filled with mud-covered and dog-chewed army men. When I saw the opportunity to review this kit, I knew I had to get it!