This set provides an upgrade for Hasegawa’s AV-8B Harrier II kit and provides a new nose gear fork assembly and trailing gear door, new tires all the way around and photoetch replacements for the scissor links on the outriggers and the aft main gear.

The resin parts are very well cast with nice tread patterns on all of the wheels along with raised lettering on each tire. The tires are also all weighted to simulate the weight of the aircraft. The photoetch scissor links are also crisply done and easily folded to the proper orientation.

About ICM

ICM is based in Ukraine and offers a variety of modeling subjects including armor, aircraft, and figures. Upon visiting the URL that takes you to the ICM website to view the information on the kit being reviewed, you will notice a button that asks, “You Like It? Find out where you can buy it.” Rely on the information that this link provides in order to find a domestic source for this kit. The $31 price listed in this review is an average price found on a number of source sites.

Those who are of a certain age can remember the list of U.S. aircraft that served during the Vietnam War. The O-2 Skymaster is not as well-known as the F-4 Phantom, the F-105, and the A-4 Skyhawk, much less the B-52, C-130, Gunships, and the cluster of helicopters that were heavily involved in the air war, but the O-2 most certainly has earned its place on that list.

The Author: Michael Green is the author of numerous acclaimed books in the Images of War series.

Overview

This classic Images of War book traces the key role played by destroyers of the United States Navy since the first order for 16 in 1898. Prior to the USA’s entry into the First World War a further 63 destroyers were commissioned, and due to the U-boat threat, 267 more were authorized by Congress once hostilities were joined.

Between 1932 and Pearl Harbor, ten new classes totaling 169 destroyers came into service. During the war years American shipyards turned out a further 334 vessels. Of the three classes, the 175 Fletcher-class were judged the most successful.

The Cold War years saw the development of seven more classes. More recently 82 of the stealth shaped Arleigh Burke class have been ordered but the futuristic Zumwalt-class program has been curtailed for cost reasons.