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Introduction: The primary organization of the IPMS/USA Review website is by IPMS/USA National Contest Class. Within each Class there are sub-menus by kits, decals, books, etc. The Miscellaneous Class is for items that are not class specific or that cross two or more classes.

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Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$17.30

Plus Model was established in 1990 in The Czech Republic. Their product range is comprised primarily of 1/35th scale resin kits, conversion sets, and accessories which are vacuum cast from polyurethane plastic

They offer a superb line of quality dioramas made from a specially hardened gypsum, styrene sheets, of varying thickness for your own use and design, and other modeler accessories or tools. They also have a wide range of printed-paper 1/35th scale accessories - scale posters, road signs, rations boxes, tents, etc.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
Panda Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$39.99

First released by Panda-Hobby in 2015, this is a good kit of an interesting and very unusual vehicle. The parts have some fit issues, but are generally okay. There are not a huge number of parts (220) and there is not a lot of detail to the vehicle, which simplifies assembly.

Background

The Husky VMMD was first developed for the South African Defence Force in the 1970s to clear military convoy routes of mines. Formerly called the Chubby System, the Husky uses ground penetrating radar to locate mines and IEDs. Driven by a single occupant, the vehicle can withstand explosions and is easily repairable due to its modular construction. The Husky VMMD has been used extensively in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Brengun
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$3.97

The Kit

This is a replacement or upgrade for the Brengun He-162 kits. There are two canopies on the Vac-Form plastic. I didn’t look at this item until I was ready to install the canopy, and I now wish I had looked closer and sooner. One of the canopies is a direct replacement for the kit item. The other one is the AMS version. It’s a little longer, and there’s an area between the windscreen and canopy which can be cut out so you can build your He-162 with the canopy open.

Of course this will require quite a bit of interior detailing for the cockpit. The Brengun kit comes with a seat, a stick and a blank instrument panel. Obviously it would require seat belts, instruments, rudder pedals, a throttle, and the open canopy support rod. As I said, AMS version.

Book Author(s)
Editor Mick Davis
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Cross & Cockade International
MSRP
$35.35

The latest journal of Cross & Cockade International - Summer 2017, features a photograph of a captured Albatros G’56 being run up. The inside and outside rear cover features seven color profiles by David Méchin of aircraft in the Early Aviation in the Rising Sun article by David Méchin. If you check out the web site link above, you can get additional sample pics of the current issue.

Cross & Cockade International is a non-profit UK based group known as the First World War Aviation Historical Society that publishes their journal four times a year for an annual subscription of $35.35. They also provide a free newsletter (sign up on their website) and occasionally publish WWI themed books like the Sopwith Dolphin monograph I reviewed earlier for IPMS USA. This Journal is the sister of the US Journal, Over The Front.

Review Author
Tom DeMichael
Published on
Company
Avantgarde Model Kits
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$35.99

The Kfir entered service with the Israel Air Force in 1975, modeled after the Dassault Mirage 5. The Kfir is currently in service in Colombia, Ecuador, and Sri Lanka and was retired from the Israel Air Force in the 1990s. A total of roughly 220 were built over that time frame.

Like most kits, you have the ability to build 2 different squadrons, one from the first fighters squadron Kfir C2 #874 that has a mostly gray scale paint scheme, and one from The Arava Guardians Squadron Kfir C7 #555. Both options come with two different types of armament and the instructions are very easy to follow showing distinctions in the planes. The detail in the rest of the kit is extremely well done. The fuselage comes together very nicely and I only had to do some slight sanding on the top to get it to look like one piece. There were definitely a lot of decals to work with on this model, as I’ll get into later.