The 1/48 scale Hobby Boss A-10 was a very welcoming kit when it was first released in 2007. The A-10C represents the third release, after the A-10A and N/AW A-10 two-seater, of this kit and outdoes the older Monogram and Tamiya kits in every way!

The Hobby Boss Thunderbolt II arrived packed beautifully and well protected as is standard for this Chinese model company. No more than two sprues were contained within their own plastic bags, with some delicate parts being wrapped in a cellophane material. The box art showed a great photo of the first painting option.

One of the highlights were the three decal sheets provided and the painting options offered. The instruction manual was Hobby Boss’s standard black and white booklet, with clear steps proceeding through the build. The painting and decaling instruction sheets were large, colorful and glossy. A great addition was that the color charts included six different paint manufacturers color recommendations – Nice!!!

Starfighter’s latest release is their sixth Ford GT decal sheet and features the four Ford GT-40 Mk. II factory entries from the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring. The sheet’s instructions state that the decals will fit on any 1/24 or 1/25 scale plastic or resin Ford GT Mk. II kit, and include PPG catalog number color callouts, plus some individual information to model each of the four cars.

I opted to use the Revell (ex-Fujimi) kit of the #98 GT-40 whose features included the “Gurney bubble” in the right door upper panel which allowed the 6’4” Gurney headroom in the car. Without a little plastic surgery to remove the bubble, that limited my choice of decals to the #2 Shelby American car or the #4 Holman-Moody one. I opted for #4.

All four Ford GT entries were painted in standard Ford factory colors….red, blue, white, and this one, painted Sauterne Gold (PPG43433), and all had black anti-glare noses. I used Tamiya X-31 Titanium Gold to approximate the Sauterne Gold.

The history of Iraq is largely a history of civilization and Iraq today largely corresponds with the territory of ancient Mesopotamia. Skipping ahead several millennia and modern-day Iraq largely corresponds with the Ottoman Wilayets (administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire) of the Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra Provinces. The British influence dates after World War I and held sway, particularly with weapons and doctrine through the Tammuz Revolution of 1958. The Ba’ath Party came to power in 1969 with Saddam Hussein as the Vice-Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, second only to Major General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr.