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Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
Company
Aoshima
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$59.79

The I-20 was a Type C-1 Class submarine, which was based on the Junsen-type, developed from the Type KD6. The C-1 Class was designed to carry the Ko-Hoteki midget submarine or Kaiten suicide torpedo. All 5 of the boats in this class took part in the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, 1941. All of them launched midget submarines near the harbor entrance and they were never expected to return to the mother ship.

The kit was released for the 70th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. There are examples of the midget submarines at the Naval Submarine School, Groton, Connecticut. While I was in Submarine School I was able to walk around them and take some pictures. In the end, the I-29 was finally
sunk by the USS Ellet in late August of 1943.

The kit comes with a really nice 16-page instruction booklet which leads you through the assembly process. The steps are pretty logical, and the assembly is well represented by pictures.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Hasegawa
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$53.99

The Aircraft

SAAB of Sweden built the Draken as an interceptor in the early 60s, with a recon version soon following. The Draken was used by Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Austria. All operational Drakens were retired between 1993 and 1999. There are a few flyable Drakens at the Test Pilot School at Mojave Spaceport in California.

The aircraft in this kit is a pair of Danish RF-35s, the reconnaissance version. The major differences are the nose, which contains the camera suite, and the wingtips and tail top, which are different.

THE KIT

You get the basic Hasegawa Draken fighter kit, which has been out for over 10 years. The additions are a resin camera nose, resin wingtips, and a new top for the vertical stabilizer.

ASSEMBLY

Book Author(s)
Peter E. Davies
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$22.95

OK, I am not a Phantom Phreak, but I am a Phantom Phan. I have only built about 20 F-4s in the last 10 years. I also drove about 80 miles from home to Springfield, IL, to watch a couple of F-4Ds take off.

The chapters are:

  • In the Beginning
  • To Battle
  • CAS, McCutcheon and Control
  • The Toughest Years
  • Golden Hawk Eyes
  • Appendices

Also included are 30 color side view profiles of USMC combat Phantom IIs.

I found this book to be a wealth of information about the Marines’ deployments to Vietnam from 1966 to 1973. The chapters cover a unit’s deployment and a history which hits the high points of operations.

Book Author(s)
Håkan Gustavsson & Ludovico Slongo
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$18.95

Osprey Publishing continues to expand the Duel Series with the 47th installment of this collection, Gladiator vs. CR.42 Falco. This book has the typical sections of the previous books in the series – i.e., Development, Strategic Situation, Combat, Statistics, and Analysis and Aftermath.

The book is well written and incredibly well researched. The main adversaries fought each other in what some historians would consider secondary theaters of war. However, those theaters expanded from sand dunes of North Africa and the Mediterranean to the green fields of Eastern Africa and into the Middle East and Iraq, certainly an area much larger of than the main theatre of operations of WWII.

Review Author
Clarence Wentzel
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$26.99

Background

Some of the most exciting racing can be found with American Sprint Cars. The series may also be called “The World of Outlaws”. These cars feature a high power-to-weight ratio and huge wings. These small cars race around dirt tracks and thrill crowds around the country. Steve Kinser has been one of the biggest stars in this series with over 550 “A” feature wins and 20 championships during his career.

This kit features the 2011 series markings of Steve’s car which was sponsored by Bass Pro Shops. This car features an eye-catching scheme of black, white, and a florescent red. Steve’s car owner is Tony Stewart.