When Steve Collins asked for volunteers to try Italeri’s new acrylic paints, I jumped right in there. I was doing a Monogram battleship as the USS Wisconsin, and I needed something to use as Deck Tan and Battleship Gray.

• 4763AP Flat Gull Gray FS36622
• 4726AP Flat Dark Green FS 34079
• 4673AP Flat Wood FS 30257
• 4313AP Flat Medium Sea Gray FS36270
• 4709AP Flat Dark Tan FS30219

The paints come in 20milliliter bottles with a snap-open cap which allows you to take a small amount of paint from the top, which is great for doing fine work. You can also unscrew the lid and get a big dollop for painting a large area. The snap cap makes it very difficult to spill the paint, a plus when working with several colors at once.

When you are building the Eduard 1/48th scale Bf-109s, you are struck by the quality of the plastic parts. But, like any kit, there are limitations that plastic can do. Resin is the answer in many instances. In this case, Eduard, the manufacturer of the kit, does the work for you. This does a couple of things – first, it ensures that the parts are going to fit the kit they were designed for. I like this concept. Secondly, these parts take less time to make a big difference over the kit parts. I’m all about being able to build faster.

Packaged in a sturdy plastic carton are two resin wheels, two spoke assemblies, and one tail wheel assembly. The resin is perfectly cast in light grey and dark grey resin with no blemishes or air bubbles. Also included but hidden in the packaging are masks for the wheels.

Airfix has returned to the forefront of modeling with the release of the Westland Lynx family. This release is the naval version of the Lynx. Airfix has also released an Army version. Typical of most naval aircraft, the helicopter can fold its blades and tailboom for storage onboard ship.

This release contains 331 pieces of light blue/grey plastic. My review copy had no flash that I could see. The parts are all packaged in a heavy gauge cardboard top-opening box. The box is packed with the parts and decals. The parts are sealed inside a plastic bag inside the box. Thankfully, the clear parts are packaged in a separate plastic bag. The decals are on a large sheet inside the instructions book, so be careful when opening it up.