Dennis Oliver, in conjunction with Pen and Sword Books, has released another one of his very popular TankCraft series; this one covering the German Jagdpanther Tank Destroyer. Written specifically with the modeler in mind, Mr. Oliver has packed these handy books with enough combat history and technical data to be of interest to the non-modeler as well. Several of these populate my modeling library, although I’ve started to buy the electronic Kindle versions as well, so I can zoom in on various images while the e-Book lays flat on my workbench.
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I’ve always painted the outside of my canopy framing the interior color first and then painted the exterior color. This ensured that the interior color showed through the canopy. But there was always one thing that bothered me a little bit, the color was always glossy. Well it must have bothered Eduard as well. Enter the new range of TFace Masks, which provides masks for the interior and exterior canopy framing.
This particular set is designed for the Bf-109F series of Eduard models, both the F-2 and F-4. The masks are made of the infamous Kabuki tape so they are flexible and very easy to use. There are instructions to show you which masks to use where, including which is the inside masks and which are the outside ones.
Minicraft produces a variety of aircraft kits in 1/48th, 1/72nd, and 1/144th scale, but I always associate them with the wide variety of 1/144th planes they offer.
Over the years, Minicraft has released and re-released this version of the P-38 a number of times. Many times it’s just a new boxing, or has a different decal scheme, but every time it’s been the same kit. The kit itself was originally the Crown models mold, and like Helen of Troy had a face that launched a thousand ships, it appears that Crown has the mold that launched a thousand boxings of the P-38. The last time I built this kit, it was packaged in a Minicraft/Academy boxing, but the original “new tool” is from 1975. Since that time, this kit has been sold by Crown, AHM, Revell, Minicraft/Academy, and finally Minicraft Model kits. This version is the first to include new parts in the form of a pre-painted canopy.
Tru-Color Paint was formed in 2008 by Rick Galazzo and Scott Cohen, both of whom come from extensive backgrounds in formulating paint on the commercial scale. They set out on their own to develop this paint line of solvent based paint by reformulating the old Accupaint formulation to flow better and give a more glossy appearance after drying. They currently offer over 600 colors offered with more to follow. Sets and single bottles are available and include lines for railroad, automotive, and military aircraft and armament lines.
The specific set I tested was specifically for weathering and include a sample of their masking frisket papers as well as the following colors in 1 oz. bottles:
If you really, I mean really like research, then you know the passion that comes with it. Well so does Fündekals. Their latest release is on the F4U Corsair. This is their second Corsair sheet and it is full of goodies too.
First off, did I miss something? I only got decals. There are no instructions with this sheet. No, that is the norm for Fündekals. To save printing costs, and subsequent costs to you, you can download the instruction booklet online. You can save it and/or print it. The amount of research into the booklet is worth the price of admission.
The decals themselves are printed by B.O.A. so you know they are world class. They are thin, opaque and in register. The sheets are mostly white markings but there are some colorful personal emblems included for the aircraft. The second sheet is the geometric markings for one of the subject aircraft.