Head on

M1A2 Abrams SEP V2 TUSK II

Finished Aft Section

Chinese J-11B

Finished model

Me 262A-1/2 'Last Ace'

Completed 2

Bad Medicine Dragster

Hull

German Z-32 Destroyer

Image 6

USS Carl Vinson

Finished Model 3

StuG. III, Ausf. F

Photoetch panels

Yakovlev YAK-1, 1941

Completed front

M4A3E2 'Jumbo'

Completed 1

Russian Self-Propelled Gun SU-152 (KV-14)

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Box art

Bf-109F
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$49.95

Eduard has released a new mold of the Bf-109F-4, perhaps the most elegant and streamlined of all the 109s.

In the Profipack package you get 5 sprues (including a clear one), a color photo-etch fret, two decal sheets for 5 markings (all Luftwaffe) and a mask set for the canopy and the tail wheel. No flash anywhere and very sharp, recessed panel lines are a signature of those sprues.

While you get 5 sprues, you also get plenty of unused (spare) parts, like 3 different propellers, different wheels, some weapons, different rudders, air intakes, oil coolers and even extra canopies, so you should be able to get some “extras” for other 109s in your collection.

As expected, construction starts with the cockpit and it is a very straightforward and well-designed subcomponent. You make it look even better by adding photoetch belts plus a provided fuel line in clear plastic, which when masked and painted looks outstanding.

Product packaging

Diorama Texture Paint - Snow Effect
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Tamiya
MSRP
$39.00

Tamiya is expanding its line of Textured Paint, this time with two different snow effect paints: Snow Effect and Powder Snow. This particular package also included a third bottle, which is “dark earth”, perfect to show some groundwork underneath the snow.

The first thing I noticed is that the snow bottles weight at least twice as much as the earth one. I suspect a different kind of “pellets” (texture) is being used here.

The Snow Effect paint has small micro-balloons (0.05-0.35mm) and the Powder Snow even smaller ones. I honestly could not see them - in the powder one, but I could feel a bit of the texture when I put a dab of the paint between my fingers. You can certainly hear a bit of a “grinding noise” when you spread the paint on a base. By the way, don’t use a brush as it will damage it. I used a plain wooden stick to spread the paint.

Container

Panel Line Accent Color
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
Company
Tamiya
MSRP
$6.79

Tamiya has released a “Panel Line Accent” line with 4 colors: Black, Brown, Gray and Dark Brown. They are an enamel-based wash, so it is smelly and it could attack bare plastic, so test it on a scrap piece (a runner or extra part) first.

The panel line accent is packaged in the same kind of bottle than the Tamiya Glue down to the small and thin applicator brush, which comes in very handy when applying it to a recessed panel line.

In this review I applied 3 “spots” of panel accent line to an unpainted piece (leftover) from and Eduard model and it did not damage that plastic. Not only that, but 3 applications were enough to see all the panel lines completely covered. The wash just flows on its own along the whole panel line.

Product packaging

Fokker Dr. 1 - Detail Set
Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$14.95

If you are looking to dress up your 1/72 scale Eduard Fokker Dr. 1, a new Zoom set has been released that makes short work of this task. Consisting of a single fret with some items pre-painted, the 32 items provided will dress up the cockpit, guns, engine, and control surfaces. Modelers with some experience using small photo-etch parts should find it easy to add this set to their plane.

I was afforded the opportunity to review this PE set when I picked the recently released Weekend Edition of the Fokker Dr. 1 (kit 7438) for assessment. During the build, I used the following items:

Box Art

Fokker Dr.1 Weekend Edition
Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Eduard
MSRP
$14.95

Eduard re-released their 1/72 scale Fokker Dr.1 late last year, but this time in the form of a Weekend Edition kit that includes the markings for two aircraft (one flown by Lt. August Raben, the other piloted by Lt. Hermann Vallendor). The kit builds up easily enough, and I can recommend the kit on its own. For this particular review, I have added parts from the Eduard Zoom set (product SS 576), which did a nice job of touching up the cockpit, engine, and guns.