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Box Art

Westland Lysander Mk.II
Review Author
John Ratzenberger
Published on
Company
Pavla Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$32.98

Allow me to start by thanking Pavla Models for their most generous contribution of numerous models for review by IPMS/USA.

Background

The "Lizzie" is one of my favorite aircraft for some quirky reason, and one on a very short list of those I wish I had the opportunity to fly myself. There were three versions - unsurprisingly the Mk.I, II, and III. There were a 189 Mk.I, 517 Mk.II, and 964 Mk.III, including license built. The Mk.I and Mk.III pretty much look alike - the Mk.II is recognizable by the smooth, slightly tapered engine cowl. As the Mk.I were quickly shunted off to the Middle East, the Mk.II is most prevalent in the early war years in Europe.

Aires package

A-7 Landing Gear bays
Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$25.00

Every so often as a reviewer, you end up with a product that wasn’t quite what you thought it was. Thus was the start of this, where I had volunteered to review this new set from Aires covering A-7 landing gear bays in 1/48. However I thought they were for the Hasegawa kit, but alas, they are for the Hobbyboss kit! Knowing this occasionally happens to us as modelers, where we walk out of store with the latest aftermarket treasure only to find it’s for the other manufacturer’s kit, I set about to see how this set would fit in the Hasegawa 1/48 A-7E.

Box Art

Thermonuclear Rodeo
Review Author
Dave Morrissette
Published on
Company
Government Issue
Scale
90mm
MSRP
$49.95

As a devotee of SciFi and the related genres, I was always a fan of Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove. It had a great cast with George C. Scott, James Earl Jones, Peter Sellers and many more including the subject of this diorama, Slim Pickens as Major “King” Kong who most notably rides a nuclear bomb out of the bottom of a B-52 to detonate in Russia. I could go one more but you really need to watch is to appreciate the subtle and extensive humor thrown around.

Box Art

Parabellum LMG.14
Review Author
Mark Aldrich
Published on
Company
Mini World
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.93

Wow, just looking at this piece has given me a re-found respect for you Braille-scale builders! I don’t see how you can do it. I have enough troubles bending and gluing photo-etched parts. I will learn to start soldering them soon. Can’t even imagine trying to do it 1/72 scale. That is an issue anyone that buys this kit will need to overcome.

Mini World appears to be a relatively new company or at least a new off shoot from a company in the Ukraine. There were many companies that carried their line (all overseas) but only Hannants had this particular item listed on their website. Mini World does not have a website of its own. Their items are pretty impressive. They currently have 18 different machine guns on the market. Most are for WWI aircraft but I did also notice two different DShK kits available as well.

Parts Layout

Metal Landing Gear for E-2C Hawkeye
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.95

I have heard some ask “Why pay for landing gear that’s already in a kit?” The simple reason to use SAC gear comes down to basic physics: Metal gear makes for a robust structure that doesn’t fail under the weight of a model. Resin models are where metal gear is required (but sometimes not provided); on large plastic models, this requirement is particularly noticeable on aircraft with offset main gear such as the Hawkeye, weight distribution is outside of the gear centerline, and the wheel/tire assemblies tend to splay out over time, or outright break off.