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Fly Models is quickly making a name for itself in the 1/32 world by making high quality, short run kits. Their new Hawker Hurricane series continues this trend. The version I am reviewing is the Mk.1 with Tropical Modifications. This kit is a “multimedia” kit as it has resin and photo etch parts. Both of which are top notch.
Round 2 Models has released a large 3-sheet decal set to accompany their newly revised and released U.S.S. Excelsior kit from the Star Trek series. Printed by Cartograf, these decals are commendably thin and for the most part, feature little to no carrier film to deal with. They respond quite well to MicroSol, which I used to help them conform to some of the compound curves found on the model.
These sheets actually perform two functions rather than one; first, they provide decals for virtually all of the elaborate paint scheme for this model, eliminating an incredible amount of extremely tedious masking and painting. Second, they provide surface texture in the form of tiny panels. Let me deal with these two aspects separately.
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for jet-powered aircraft, achieving a speed of 727.63 mph (1,171.01 km/h; 632.29 kn).
Note: This book is also available in two other formats, eBook (Pub) and eBook (PDF) both priced at $12.99
Mention the phrase Luzon 1945 and what immediately comes to mind is Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s pledge to return to the Philippines after his defeat in 1942.
Osprey Publishing in their Military History Series and Clayton K.S. Chun, along with illustrations by Giuseppe Rava, have published an excellent book on Luzon 1945, The final liberation of the Philippines. Clayton K. S. Chun, Ph.D., is on the faculty at the U.S. Army War College and served in the U.S. Air Force, has published several books in the fields of economics, national security and military history. What you get is a softcover book covering 96 pages with high resolution black and white glossy, detailed historical photos. Twenty illustrated maps and images in color are also included. The book is divided into ten sections.
PlusModel was established in 1990 in the Czech Republic. Their product range is primarily made up of 1/35th scale resin kits, conversion sets, and accessories which are vacuum cast from polyurethane resin.
A new addition to their line is a set of resin FFAR Rockets for any 1/72 Hawker Hurricane kit. The rocket assembly is a two-piece assembly of individual rockets and launch rails which, when assembled, attach to the supplied mounting plate, or to the kits’ underwing mounting points if appropriate.
The pictorial PlusModel instructions are straight forward. Remove the parts from their resin sprues. Use care with the rocket fins, as they are fragile. Clean up any flash or casting seam lines. I suggest painting before assembly. Once painted to match your references, use CA glue to attach the rockets to the rails. There is a groove on the underside to assist you in lining things up. When set, glue to the supplied plate, or or to the underside of the kit wing.
