Heinkel He111 P-2

Published: December 22, 2015
Company: Airfix

Airfix has created a smashing new Heinkel 111 P2 kit, and this one is well worth getting if you like the HE111. The detail and high quality of this product is fantastic.

In the box:

• 5 x light grey sprues
• 1 clear sprue
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

All the sprues are well molded with no flash at all.

The detail is very fine and crisp. The panel lines on the He111 P-2 are all very well defined.

Construction

First based on the order in the instruction booklet, we start on the interior of the fuselage, which like the cockpit on this kit is extremely well-detailed for a 1/72 kit. In fact the amount of detail is better that a lot of 1/48 kits I have built.

The fuselage halves are… more

Pilot BAC Lightning

Published: December 1, 2015
Company: Plusmodel

One of my favorite aircraft is the BAC (English Electric) Lightning and having a few in my stash I jumped at the opportunity to have this pilot figure.

This resin figure is very well detailed and molded with very little flash as is the norm with PlusModels products.

I do not normally get figures as I am not very good at painting faces so avoid it at all cost normally. But this figure was so good so I decided to do a full paint job as best as I could. When finished, I was pleasantly surprised how it turned although the quality of the figure was the reason it looks good not my painting skills when it comes to figures.

This is an excellent figure and I will get more by PlusModel.

Thanks go to Plus Models for providing this kit to review and IPMS USA for… more

Battle of Britain – Ready for Battle Gift Set

Published: November 22, 2015
Company: Airfix

Airfix continues to impress everybody with the increasingly detailed and high quality of their products. This is a great gift set that can be made and used in a very detailed diorama of a typical RAF World War 2 airfield during the period of the battle of Britain.

In the box is:

• 1 Hawker Hurricane Mk.I - L200 x W255; Pieces 127
• 1 Albion AM463 3-Point Fueller - L118 x W45; Pieces 113
• 1 Bedford MWD - L89 x W41; Pieces 95
• 10 x Ground Crew Figures and Accessories - H38; Pieces 108
• 12 x acrylic paints
• 2 x brushes
• 2 x poly cement
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The kits are all bagged individually which helps with assembly; the sprues are well molded with no flash.

Bristol F.2B Fighter (ProfiPack edition)

Published: November 4, 2015
Company: Eduard

I have always liked the look of this British WWI fighter and this kit is the best available version on the market.

In the box is:

• 4 sprues molded in light grey
• 1 film sheet
• 1 photoetch parts sheet
• 1 masking sheet
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues are well molded with only very minor flash, well positioned ejector pin marks. The detail is very fine and crisp. The panels are all great. The instruction book is great as usual for Eduard kits. There a few parts on the sprues that are no required for this build and are full defined in the instruction sheet. There are a few optional assembly decisions that you should make before you start and this is based in the aircraft version you want to… more

Vickers Vanguard

Published: October 10, 2015
Company: Airfix

Airfix originally released this kit back in 1962 and I remember building this as a kid. The re-releases has a new box and Decal sheet but the model its self is un-changed from the kit 50 years ago. Some will find the kit un-refined by today’s standards but to many it’s a classic and should be considered as one.

In the box is:

• 4 sprues molded in light grey
• 1 clear sprue
• 4 Wing halves
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues molded in the customary slightly soft grey plastic, the panel lines are raised and all the details are basic. There is some flash but not too much considering the age of the kit. There is no interior to the aircraft but that is the norm for this age of kit and at this scale does not… more

St. Chamond Late Type French Heavy Tank

Published: October 7, 2015
Company: Takom

This is the first Takom kit I have built, and I must say I was most impressed once I opened the box and got into the build.

In the box is:

• 8 sprues
• 1 hull
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues are well molded with very crisp details on all the parts with no flash. The plastic itself seemed very soft. The sprue lay out is a dream and makes it extremely easy to find parts as needed.

Construction

Construction starts with the upper Hull. This is very easy to assemble with few or no issues at all. My only personal comment is the total lack of interior detail, which would have added a lot to the kit, and allowed for the various hatches and doors to be built open. The machine gun and cannon sub-… more

HE 111-P2 Interior PE Set

Published: October 5, 2015
Company: Eduard

This set contains 2 sheet of Photo Etch parts, one of which is self-adhesive. These parts are used to add a lot of detail to the cockpit, and the rest of the interior of Airfix’s latest HE 111-P2 kit.

These sets from Eduard the details are great and add a lot of realism to the finished kit.

A great price for such fine additional detail.

HE 111P-2 Exterior Photoetch Set

Published: October 4, 2015
Company: Eduard

This set contains 1 large sheet of photoetch parts. These parts are used to add a lot of detail to the engine cowlings, bomb bay, and landing gear for Airfix’s latest HE 111-P2 kit.

As with these sets from Eduard the details are great and add a lot of realism to the finished kit.

A great price for such fine additional detail especially to the bomb bay.

Many thanks for Eduard providing these for us to review.

Bf109E-4B Warbirds Series

Published: September 18, 2015
Company: Dragon Models

This is the first aircraft kit I have built made by Dragon and I must say I was most impressed once I cracked open the box. In the box is:

• 8 sprues molded in light grey
• 1 clear sprue
• 2 small sheets of Photo etch parts
• Two rubber wheel bay housings
• 1 decal sheet
• 1 instruction booklet

The sprues are well molded with no visible flash, well positioned ejector pin marks. The detail is very fine and crisp. The panels are all great and even vary in depth at the right places on the parts.

Construction

As with most aircraft the construction begins with the cockpit which is extremely well detailed. The only thing that was not clear was the exact positioning of the levers (items F39 and F40). I… more

Spitfire Mk. XVI Gun Bays

Published: September 17, 2015
Company: Eduard

This set contains I sheet of Phot etch parts and 21 resin parts. These parts are used to add complete and very details gun bays to the kit which has no detail in these areas. The addition of these really does add a great display of the guns and the bays to an already very detailed kit.

As with these kits from Eduard there is no flash or other imperfection. The detail of the parts is exceptional. The parts once removed from the mold base are ready to install

A great price for such fine additional detail for the already fantastic Eduard kit.

Thanks to Eduard for providing the detail set, and to IPMS USA for letting me review it.