The Curtis SB2C Helldiver was produced to replace the “Slow But Deadly” Dauntless with a larger, faster aircraft. Unfortunately, the plane suffered from many handling issues and a shorter range leading to the nickname “The Beast” being applied by its crews. The Helldiver served aboard carriers for the last 2 years of the war including participating in Operation Iceberg, the Battle for Okinawa.

Academy’s latest Special Edition version includes markings for three aircraft that participated in this operation. A tri-colored plane from VB-3 off the USS Yorktown and two gloss blue aircraft, one from VB-16 off the USS Randolph and the other from VB-84 operating from the USS Bunker Hill.

The kit contains 84 grey parts molded on two sprues, 6 clear parts and 28 photo etched parts for the dive brakes. The molding is very nice with decent panel lines and good interior detail for the cockpits, gear wells, and bomb bay.

Background

During the 1930’s and the early period of the Second World War, British tank tactics involved having two types of tanks: the faster Cruiser tanks that would act as mechanized cavalry or break out vehicles, and the slower, more heavily armored Infantry tanks that would lumber into battle at a speed commensurate with supporting infantry maneuvers. Of the Infantry tanks produced, the Valentine series was the most numerous, accounting for 30% of the entire British tank production of the Second World War: 7,315. Production took place in Canada as well as the United Kingdom. Nearly 4,650 Valentine tanks were provided to the Soviet Union under the Allied Lend-Lease program. A total of 12 variants of the Valentine were produced, the majority being the Mk.II/IV vehicle produced here by Tamiya.

Background

The Grim Reapers description on Revell’s website sums up the premise best, “The baddest of the bad is back and hotter than ever. Tom Daniel's devilishly designed Grim Reaper still has that mean, classic look 40 years after it was designed. The Grim Reaper starts with raked, custom, square-tubular forks and cool, dual-square headlights. Then, there's the "coffin" shaped gas tank on the custom frame with custom stitched seat, and "Iron Cross" medallion. It's all powered by a classic V-twin motor with down-swept chrome pipes. Kit features tons of chrome parts, flexible tubing for wiring, swing out kick stand, and soft black tires”.