Allan Murrell

IPMS Number
49715

Reviews By Author

Book Cover

Great Cars - Volkswagen Beetle - A Celebration of the World’s Most Popular Car

Published:
Book Author(s): Richard Copping
Company: Veloce Publishing

The book goes into great detail of the development, service, variants and full history of a classic car which is one of the world’s most popular cars ever produced. I have always loved this little car, with great memories of traveling in one when I was a child in the Sixties. The book is a wonderful treasure trove of pictures that I have ever seen before and even though I thought I knew a lot about this car it has so much more history and facts I never heard before.

Also, it is written by a very professional and knowledgeable author of lots of articles I have read and enjoyed before. The car's history goes back to Wartime Germany in the late 1930s and goes on till today! The car was the brainchild of the great car designer Ferdinand Porsche and was to be the Peoples car of the… more

Box Art

M551 Sheridan U.S. Airborne Tank (Vietnam War)

Published:
Company: Tamiya

Tamiya has produced a new tooled M551 Sheridan which is a welcome offering of this small but interesting US armor subject.

The kit was supplied for review with the two aftermarket items Tamiya released for detail this kit. Detail up parts series 12687 PE with metal Barrel as well as the 12685 U.S MCI Cartons (Vietnam War).

In the box is:

  • 5 x light green sprues
  • 1 clear sprue
  • 1 small decal sheet
  • 1 plastic mesh
  • Several polycaps
  • Metal wire
  • A small length of hose
  • 1 instruction booklet
  • 1 color guide booklet (in color)
  • 1 history booklet

Detail up parts are available separately:

  • 12687 - Photoetch / Metal Barrel - $18.50 MSRP
  • 12687 -… more

Book Cover

Tank Craft - Cromwell and Centaur Tanks

Published:
Book Author(s): Dennis Oliver
Company: Casemate Publishers

This is the 5th book in the Tank Craft series which details tanks and also covers model kits and accessories to build the tanks covered in the book. This book covers the British tanks – Cromwell and Centaur which were Cruiser type tanks. The Cromwell being one of the most successful Cruiser tanks used by the Allies during World War II.

I found this book to be a fountain of information and rare pictures of both tanks. The profile pictures are a particular favorite and awesome source for modelling.

The chapters on the different model builds and kits are of great interest and will provide a good resource when modelling these two tanks.

I was impressed at the amount of information and history found in the pages of this extremely enjoyable book. The… more

Box Art

Riders in the Sky 1945 Limited Edition

Published:
Company: Eduard

Eduard has released a limited edition version of the B-24 Liberator GR Mk VI and GR MK.VIII in the RAF Coastal Command service. The kit is based on the Hasegawa kit plus two additional Eduard sprues, Decals, etc.

In the box is:

  • 11 x grey sprues
  • 2 x clear sprues
  • 4 x poly caps
  • 1 large decal sheet
  • 1 mask sheet
  • 2 x photoetch detail set
  • Riders in the Sky 1945 book
  • 1 instruction booklet
  • 1 box artwork poster

The kit options and decals allow building 13 different aircraft, all the choices are great. I opted for the M version, an RCAF aircraft operated in Canada July 1945. The kit looks awesome in the box and all the additional items make this a great addition to any stash.… more

Package

Karabiner 98K

Published:
Company: Eduard

This is a Brassin resin set to make 8 German WWII Karabiner 98k rifles in 1/35 scale. This was the most common rifle used by the Germans in WWII.

The set contains the following sets:

  • 8 x resin Karabiner 98k’s
  • 8 x resin bayonets
  • 1 colored photoetch sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

The resin parts are very clean and no flash. The resin base part is easy to remove. The photoetch parts form the straps for the rifles and come in three parts each. There is also a mix of dark and light-colored straps for variation.

The parts assemble very easily and give a very realistic rifle when complete. They are idea for adding to figures, as stowed equipment or for dioramas.

Summary

I would recommend this great set… more

Package Front

Spitfire Mk IX Early Löök (Cockpit) Set

Published:
Company: Eduard

This is a Löök set for the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire.

In the Löök set is the following items:

  • 1 photoetch sheet of pre painted seatbelts
  • 1 resin (Brassin) pre painted dashboard (instrument panel)
  • 1 instruction sheet

Construction

  1. The Brassin cockpit instrument part is excellent and is a great replacement for the parts and decals the make up the kit parts gives a realistic looking panel.
  2. The photoetch seat belts are pre-painted which the Tamiya kit ones are not. The finished parts look very good installed and are far better than the kit parts.

Summary

This is a fantastic set for adding a great look to the cockpit when finished. The Tamiya parts are good but the Eduard parts very make… more

Cover

The Vickers Viscount – The World’s First Turboprop Airliner

Published:
Book Author(s): Nick Stroud
Company: Casemate Publishers

The book goes into great detail of the development, service, variants and full history of a classic British Turboprop Airliner the Vickers Viscount. This aircraft has a special place in my heart as its one of the first aircraft I did interior design work on in the early 1980’s, so I jumped at the opportunity to review this. Also it is written by a very professional and knowledgeable author of lots of articles I have read and enjoyed before.

I found this book fascinating and made me aware of a lot of information I have never read before. This aircraft was a very successful aircraft and produced in greater numbers than any other British aircraft of this type.

The chapters on the genesis and development of the aircraft I found very fascinating as it told of the other… more

Box Art

L-39 Evolution Albatros Limited Edition

Published:
Company: Eduard

Eduard has released a limited edition version of the L-39 release before. The main kit is the Special Hobby L-39 with the addition of resin, photoetch, masks and limited edition decals for two special version markings.

In the box is:

  • 3 x light grey sprues (one varies from the illustration in the instructions)
  • 1 clear sprue
  • 1 film sheet
  • 1 large decal sheet
  • 1 mask sheet
  • 1 photoetch detail set
  • 22 x resin parts
  • 1 instruction booklet

The kit consists of 3 main sprues; the sprues are very typical of Special Hobby product and are made from a soft plastic. The decals allow you to finish the aircraft in two different versions, L-39C RA1039K Aero Jet Club (Civilian version from Russia 2005… more

Product Picture

Centurion Mk. III Photoetch Detail Set

Published:
Company: Eduard

This is a photoetch set for Tamiya Centurion Mk III 1.35 Model kit.

The set contains the following sets;

  • 2 x photoetch sheet
  • 1 film
  • 1 instruction sheet

This photoetch set replaces a lot of the simple molded on details and improve the kit immensely.

The parts are very easy to attach and form with only a few issues and points to be aware of being encountered during the complete build. The first one was you need to use Kit part A13 to form the photo etch replacement Item 28. I would also suggest that when attaching the item 109 handles that you pre-drill holes for them sit in. I added a pick axe head as one is not included to replace the one you remove during the build. Remember to fill the holes not required, most are… more

Product Picture

Centurion Mk III Side Skirts Photo-etch Replacements

Published:
Company: Eduard

This is a Photo etch set for Tamiya Centurion Mk III 1.35 Model kit to replace the side skirts.

The set contains the following sets:

  • 2 x photoetch sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

This photoetch set replaces plastic molded side skirts provided with the Tamiya kit which improves the finish kit a lot.

The parts are very easy to attach and form with no issues encountered during the complete build.

Summary

This is a great set for adding additional details for the side skirts to the very old kit from Tamiya. I would recommend this set to everyone who has this kit.

Thanks go to Eduard for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.