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Review Author
Peter Bucher
Published on
Company
MiniArt
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$55.99

History

The SU-85 was a self-propelled gun. It was developed on the T-34 medium tank Chassis which also resembled the SU-122 assault gun. It was produced from 1943 through mid-1944. The 85-mm gun allowed the SU-85 to effectively hit enemy medium tanks at a range of over 1,000 meters and was able to destroy a Tiger tank from this range, rendering it a very capable weapon against the newer German tanks.

Kit Facts

This kit is a Soviet SU-85 captured and put into service by the German army during WW II. This model is extremely detailed. It has workable track links, and five figures representing the crew. It has a total of 712 parts, 627 of which are plastic, 75 that are photo etched, 10 clear plastic parts, a decal sheet and an instruction booklet.

Assembly

When I opened the box I was absolutely awe struck with the number of sprues and parts. The sprues are literally jam packed in the box and neatly wrapped in plastic bags.

Book Author(s)
Charles Stafrace
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$22.00

Authored by Charles Stafrace and illustrated by Richard J. Caruana, this book covers the development, deployment, service, and retirement of one of the most ubiquitous aircraft flown by the United States Navy, that being the A3D Skywarrior. Aviation historians and modelers, alike, will find this book to be a treasure chest of information.

The written content is well written, in clear and precise language. The content is presented in chronological sequence, as most publications of this type are, beginning with the need for an aircraft to replace the AJ Savage. As the engineering of the “Whale” evolved to meet the strategic needs of the aviation arm of the US Navy, so did the engineering change to match those needs. Variant after variant, the A3D continued to adapt to the environment of the day.

Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$19.95

What’s in the Box?

This Eduard Brassin set is for the Eduard Fw 190A-8 kit. The set includes detail parts to add to a highly detailed engine to replace the simple kit piece and make for a very detailed open paneled butcher bird.

The resin and photoetch parts inside the box looked great and are very well molded and even the etched parts, while microscopic, provide an added value and level of detail.

The 20 included items are as followed in this boxing breakdown:

  • 5 Main Engine Assembly pieces
  • 6 Sub Engine pieces and assemblies
  • 8 Replacement panels and propeller cowling
  • 1 Photoetched fret to include harnesses, fuel lines, wiring and chain assemblies

The Engine Buildup

The assembly instructions are very clear and detailed but very busy at times and will definitely have you looking at front and backs, and taking this thing apart frequently to test fit.

Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$64.99

This is what the website Army Recognition has to allow about the Raytheon Hawk Missile: The HAWK (Homing All the Way Killer) MIM-23 is an all-weather low to medium altitude ground-to-air missile system developed and designed by the American Defense Company Raytheon. The HAWK semi-active radar seeking medium-range SAM system commenced development in 1952 with the US Army awarding a full-scale development contract to Raytheon for the missile in July 1954. Northrop was to provide the launcher and loader, radars and fire control. The first guided test firing took place in June 1956 with the development phase completed in July 1957. Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of the Basic HAWK, MIM-23A, took place in August 1960 when the first US Army battalion was activated.

Follow the link to a video, via Critical Past, of a Hawk missile blowing a QF-80 drone to smithereens.

Review Author
Robert Head
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$17.95

Short History

As we all know the FW-190 and all of its variants have been manufactured in one form or another by just about all major kit companies, this particular item being reviewed though is for the newly released Revell kit.

What’s in the Box?

The box comes with a total of 8 white metal pieces of all varying sizes all replicating the kit parts very accurately and adding some needed strength to support the aircraft. The Landing gear comes packaged in the typical SAC cardboard and bubble blister packaging we are all accustomed to seeing.

The Build

This is a pain-free operation and only required a little time and elbow grease using a couple of files and some sanding paper as white metal pieces can be porous and also have little burs that need to filed and sanded down, so that also means a little safety is required.