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Box Art

A-4E Skyhawk "VMA-211 Wake Island Avengers"
Review Author
Perry Downen
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$24.99

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Platz for providing this kit to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it.

The A-4 Skyhawk originated as a private venture design under a team headed by Ed Heinman. When the US Navy began looking for a replacement for the AD Skyraider Douglas Aircraft presented their new design. The Skyhawk went on to be one of the most successful post-WWII aircraft to serve the US Navy. A total of 2,960 A-4s were built in many variations and they flew in the service of as many as ten countries.

Cover

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller, Volume 22
Review Author
Mike Hoekstra
Published on
Company
Happy Medium Press
MSRP
$21.95

This is my first go-around with Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeller. I’d heard of the magazine/publication, but never had the opportunity to look at one up close in my area of the country. I must say that the first thing that immediately caught my attention was that this is not a typical “magazine”, but more of a soft-cover book. The materials for the publication are very sturdy with the pages made of very heavy paper stock, pretty much guaranteeing that this will be around for years as a reference or inspirational item.

Box Art

Stratos 4 TSR.2MS
Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
Company
Airfix
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$44.95

My son was really excited when he saw that a model of the Stratos 4 was being put out by Airfix. He is an avid Anime fan and wanted us to build this model together. Before the kit even arrived, he had already brought out his DVDs of the Stratos 4 series. The Stratos 4 series was done by Studio Fantasia and Bandai Visual and directed by Takeshi Mori. The story is about the comet defense system that was formed when, 50 years earlier, scientists discovered that a group of comets was on a collision course with the Earth. The defense system comprises a two-tiered plan – the primary a space-based comet blaster group and the secondary a ground-based meteor sweeper group. The idea is for the space-based Comet Blaster ships to blow up the comets and the ground-based meteor sweeper group cleans up any chunks that remain too big from the initial explosion.

Most of the series follows the female pilots of the ground-based units that are on Shimoji Island in 2024.

Masking kitset

Masks for Trumpeter Voroshilovets Tractor
Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$9.95

These sets of masks are for the use in painting the model without painting the clear glass windows and lamps. The masks are made of a vinyl type of material and are different from the yellow “Tamiya” type of tape. Because they are of this vinyl type of material, they are much stiffer, but do allow you to place them fairly easily. However, it became a task to remove them without popping the glass out. There is a two part mask for the windshield that allows for a depiction of a dirty windshield that has been wiped clean by the windshield wipers. This worked very well and does make the weathering process easier.

Kitset packaging

Photo Etch for Trumpeter Voroshilovets Tractor
Review Author
Tom Moon
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$32.95

Page 1 has the replacement of the front bumper after removing the plastic one. You will need a PE bending tool as the replacement part is several inches long. This step also replaces the rear fender support with a PE U channel. A bending tool would be helpful here. There are replacement foot petals, but I did not use them. They are deep in the cabin and are hard to see unless you leave the doors open. There are two front grill add-ons that look very good. The final item on this page is the addition of PE chains to the towing bolts. I did not place them on until very late in the build, as these have a tendency to pop off during handling.