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Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$14.99

The Opel “Blitz” truck was produced from 1930 to 1975. It was used as a commercial vehicle, and when the Wehrmacht needed a reliable and fast truck, the Blitz was chosen. In 1937, the Nazis had Opel build a factory at Brandenburg, which turned out over 130,000 Blitzes, until the RAF stopped production in 1944 by bombing the plant.

This kit is the ambulance version of the Opel Blitz. The ambulance had a transportation box on the back to handle casualties.

The Kit

There are two sprues, along with a clear sheet for windows, and a decal sheet. One sprue is for the chassis and cab, the other is the ambulance box. No PE, no resin, no problem.

The model is fairly straightforward to build. There’s a frame section, the cab, the ambulance box, the wheels, and some detail parts. The kit is a reissue of the ESCI ambulance from the 1970s. The molds have been reworked, as there ‘s no flash, and the parts are pretty well molded.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Tru-Color Paint
MSRP
$4.95

I did a review of Tru-Color Paints a while back, (http://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/tru-color-paints ) and I asked the guys at Tru-Color if I could do a review of their new Frisket Paper. They said OK, and I bought a 3-pack of the paper at our last IPMS Chapter meeting. I bought the 3-pack, because I thought I had a project which might need a couple of sheets, but not much more.

My project was a 1/144 Model Lancaster, which I wanted to convert from a Dam Buster to a Grand Slam carrier. RAF camouflage is usually quite difficult to do, or at least it’s a fairly long project.

Book Author(s)
Col. Doug Barbier, USAF (Ret)
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Specialty Press
MSRP
$44.95

Specialty Press’ biography : “Col. Doug Barbier grew up to the sound of F-106s flying out of Selfridge AFB, MI, where a visit on Armed Forces Day 1962 began a lifelong interest in the jet. A U.S. Air Force Command Pilot with more than 3,500 flight hours, he flew the Lockheed T-33, the supersonic Northrop T-38, and logged more than 1,000 hours in the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II. Barbier finished his military career flying the F-16, spending many hours sitting Air Defense alert, and making three intercepts of Soviet Tu-95 Bears along the way. After retiring from the Air Force, he flew for a major airline for twenty years.

Review Author
Dave Steingass
Published on
Company
Gecco
Scale
1/16
MSRP
$24.99

I’ve never met a Japanese kit that wasn’t top-quality, and the Tales From The Apocalypse series from Gecco Models is no exception.

This series of figures carries a 1980s-era B-Movie Horror theme. In what may be the most brilliant packaging of any models I’ve ever seen, these figures are packaged in look-alike VHS tape boxes.

Number 5 in the series, is a Diner waitress, wearing a Blue Dress, white smock, and pink Chuck Taylors. Like the Traffic guard, she has recently experienced some trauma. A broken arm, multiple leg wounds, and a gouged out right eye and a machete seems to have hacked her neck. She is carrying a very gruesome Blue-plate Special of severed arms. Tasty.

Review Author
Rob Booth
Published on
Company
PJ Production
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$8.50

PJ Productions is a Belgian firm that specializes in the creation and production of resin scale models and accessories aimed at modelers of military aircraft kits and aviation-related dioramas in 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/32nd scale. Their lines include fine and accurately detailed cast resin replacement and supplemental parts for model kits in the most commonly produced scales.

PJ Productions has produced a resin set of two (2) LRF 4 rocket launchers for use with aircraft armed with such types. An out-of-box evaluation (see photos) indicates two reproductions of the French-manufactured weapons and options for either CES 3 or ADP 2 pylons that provide a realistic scale-detailed assembly for mounting to your kit. The panel detailing is extremely fine, with fore and end caps cast separately.