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Book Author(s)
Jared A. Zichek
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Retromechanix
MSRP
$18.99

Jared Zichek continues his in depth look at the US Navy Convoy Fighter competition of 1950 with this in depth look at the Lockheed Model L-200. As a bit of background, the US at the time was nervous about protecting convoys between the US and its allies after the rough go that convoys had early in WWII. The proposal was a request for a high-performance turboprop fighter to be based on those convoys and to protect them. Five companies participated including Convair, Goodyear, Martin, and Northrop as well as Lockheed. The most famous of this group was the Convair Pogo but thankfully Mr. Zichek has dug in to review the remaining one s and with that, this book focuses on Lockheed’s efforts.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.95

There are some cases where photo etch parts are more realistic than anything you can produce in plastic The scale thickness is just something you can’t get in plastic When I think of photo etch I automatically think of Eduard They have been producing some of the world’s best photo etch for years and they keep getting better.

This single brass fret is designed by Eduard for their Bf-109F-2 kit It could also be used on the F-4 The detail parts are the same for both versions.

There are parts of the Bf-109F that are distinctly different from the later G-6s The flap design was still evolving when the Friedrich was produced Their flaps had an additional boundary layer built into the upper flap This is not reproduced in the plastic parts, however, it is easily replicated in photo etch The flaps can then be positioned in any position instead of the usual down The toughest part of the entire set is folding the flap mechanism This will take some patience.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.95

Masking canopies, even 109 canopies, is a pain in the butt to me. Thank God that Eduard sees fit to make canopy masking sets. This latest one is designed for their Bf-109F-2.

Cut out of Kabuki tape, the masks are able to conform to the curves of the canopy. There are masks for the inside framework on the aft canopy, like the real thing, as well as, the external framework. This set also contains masks for the wheels and the wing tip lights.

All is not perfect though. The center canopy framing should be a single piece instead of the two piece per facet. It is easy to add the center piece of the canopy so it still saves you time. Eduard insists that there should be framework on the center canopy but that is not on the Friedrich. Strangely Eduard provides masks for painting the wingtip lights. These should be clear pieces but Eduard has molded them with the wing in grey plastic. You are supposed to paint them silver and then with the appropriate clear green and red.

Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$5.00

Want an easy upgrade to any 1/48 Saab J 29 Tunnan? Step right up to the new Quickboost Saab J 29 Tunnan pitot tube set that provides a beautiful replacement to what is supplied in the kit. The parts are packaged in the standard Quickboost re-closable packaging with a paper stiffener along with the description card. These parts are specific to fit the Pilot Replicas accurate and highly detailed 1/48 Saab J 29F injected plastic kit and an Austrian J 29F variant that basically obsoleted any previous 1/48 kits. They will also work for the older Neomega resin kit, the AZ Models, and the Hobby Boss kits. You may need to shorten the length of the pitot tube for the Hobby Boss kit since its smaller than the claimed 1/48 scale.