Fine Molds has released several sets, in varied scales, for WWII German and I.J.N. aircraft. This review features the 1/48th scale set for German WWII aircraft.

The seatbelts are generic, not specific to any one particular aircraft. Upon opening the box and checking the contents, one finds four sets of shoulder harness/seat belt sets. The parts are molded in plastic. All of the traditional techniques for working with small plastic pieces come into play.

The parts have very small components, so it is recommended that the parts are removed from the carrier sprue very carefully. The belts can be shaped over the contours of the kit seat, gently of course, by simply applying a very small amount of pressure. Attaching the parts is simple. Just use the same adhesive that you normally use when attaching plastic parts to plastic parts.

There comes the point in every model when all the “necessaries” are installed on one side of the fuselage, waiting only to be joined with the “blank” half and that is where the trepidation sets in. I have built large scale planes that have had ¼” or more gaps requiring grinding, fitting, uncementing, and copious amounts of profanity... Well, Hersch, not in this case. In fact, aside from the complexity of the engines, this is almost a “shake box” kit...click fit!

I don’t know really what more I can say than “WOW”! This moose of a kit is as close to perfection as anything I have previously built. In fact, it gets my nomination for “Large Scale Kit of the Year” award. The previous segments can be viewed at Part 1 and Part2 .

From the beginning to the end of this build to be as follows:

Ahoy, Mates! Welcome to the first installment of Zvezda’s 1/72 Pirate Ship “Black Swan.” One of the things I love about review team duty is the chance to try subjects I wouldn’t normally build. This is one of them. In fact, this is my first attempt at building a sailing ship. I think I’ve avoided it because, like biplanes, there’s usually a lot of rigging. Just can’t imagine building models over a lifetime and never building a sailing ship, so here goes! I’m not up on all the proper terms, so I hope the pictures show what I can’t describe.