I have always been a fan of historical miniature figures, especially if I happen to know who they represent. IMC from Ukraine hase produced a set of figures that are right up my alley. This five figure set is called Stalin and Co., and consists of Joseph Stalin and some of his bad guys. Those represented are Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, Commissar Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, Minister Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, NKVD Chief Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria, and Marshall Nikolai S. Vlasik.

Since I remember all but Marshal Vlasik, I knew what they should look like. I looked up each one as a backup to my memory and found that each figure looks exactly like their photos. I also researched their histories and found that they were truly not nice guys.

Contents

Made for the long-nosed versions of the F-4 Phantom II, Master Model has created a beautiful set of metal probes for your 1/72 build. This set includes the nose-mounted pitot tube, side-mounted Angle of Attack (AOA) probe, and vertical stabilizer-mounted Ram Air Inlet tube. As with previous Master products, the detail and quality of the parts are exceptional, especially considering these are extremely minute parts in 1/72 scale!

Construction

Hasegawa’s newer-tool F-4E was chosen to receive these fine detail parts. A great kit in its own right, you can easily see how much of an improvement these metal replacement parts are compared to the injection molded plastic ones included in the kit.

I was a sonar technician on the USS Tecumseh, an SSBN, for 3 years while it was being overhauled at the Newport News, VA, shipyard. We were tied up at a pier during the refit, and the 688 class attack subs were docked at the next pier. As a result, I was able to walk all over LA class subs, visit them, and got pretty familiar with them. Most of the attack boats were being upgraded from Flight I to Flight II at this yard, adding the Tomahawk vertical launch tubes. So I jumped at the chance to build Riich’s 688 class, Flight I model.

I’m not a big fan of the 3-piece hull provided, but the option of making this boat as a waterline model is COOL. I stopped and took photos before I put the upper hull and lower hull together, just to show this.

I had to use a good amount of putty to get the hull sections to mate up, as they didn’t match perfectly. But with some putty and a #10 X-Acto blade, it was pretty easy to get it looking decent.