The non-profit UK-based group known as the Great War Aviation Society publishes their journal, Cross & Cockade International, four times a year. Issues are available in English as printed [Softbound, A4 (8.27” x 11.69”), 80 pages plus centerfold] as well as digital copies (or both). A new magazine, Contact!, is now available in both print and digital download. The Society also provides a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publishes WWI-themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front. The Great War Aviation Society also hosts a lecture series available through Zoom. If interested, you will need to register early as the call is limited in attendance.

Academy has released a re-boxing of their 1/48 scale F-4J Phantom II, this time with markings for VMFA-333 “Fighting Shamrocks” and VMFA-232 “Red Devils”. The first boxing of the Academy “J” variant was in 2014, and this re-boxing was produced in 2024.

In the Box

The kit is enclosed in a sturdy box and each sprue is enclosed in its own plastic bag, except for the ones that are doubled up, primarily the ordnance. The sprues are injected in three colors (gray, white, and black) and one clear sprue for the windscreen, canopy, and light parts.

OKB Grigorov is a Bulgarian company that has been producing resin accessories and after-market bits for several years. My first experience with them was several years ago when I was searching for some embellishments for a 1/72-scale Merkava. I must admit that that was the last experience I had with OKB Grigorov. That was a mistake on my part, and this kit is how I fixed it.

As a member of the Reviewers Corps for IPMS/USA, we have access to several kits and modeling accessories that one might not otherwise have, and best of all, these accessories and/or kits are free if you conduct the review. Anyway, when several kits became available to the Reviewers Corps, I noticed the offerings from OKB Grigorov and thought, why not? Time to see what 'these guys' are up to, and I am delighted to inform you that OKB Grigorov has been up to quite a lot. All of it to a modelers favor. I will skip a full-blown review of their product line and simply suggest that you visit their website.