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.

RAF and Royal Navy F-4 Phantom, FG.1, FGR.2 & F-4

Published: September 3, 2015
Book Author(s): Andy Evans / Gary Hatcher
Company: SAM Publications

I have several of the Modeler’s Datafiles and they are great reference books so I was looking forward to this one on the British Phantoms. I do have to say that some of the Datafile facts do need to be checked as I have found small errors in a few of them but not enough to detract from the benefit of these books from being a great addition to any reference library

As soon as I started to flick through the book I was impressed. This book has all the information a modeler needs to build a British Phantom, including a kit listing, a decal listing and an accessory/conversion listing.

The table of contents is as follows:

• The British Phantom
• Fleet Defence - Royal Navy Phantoms
• Fighter, Ground Attack and Reconnaissance - The RAF Phantom… more

Gama Goat Detail Set

Published: August 27, 2015
Company: Eduard

This kit contains 2 sheets of photo Etched parts one small one of pre-colored parts and one large sheet of other parts.

The detail quality of a very high as we have come to expect from Eduard.

This set can be used with either of the Tamiya kits 35330 M561 US 6x6 Cargo truck or 35342 M972 US 6x6 Ambulance Truck.

The set provides photo etch to replace the following parts:

Wipers, windscreen surround, gas tank straps, gas tank filler shields, driver instrument panel, cargo bay floor, plus other small details.

It also provides the addition details for the foot pedals, floor vents, drivers compartment placards, ammo boxes, cargo bay folding foot step, etc.

The parts are very easy to install and add a lot more detail to the already detailed kit… more

F-101A/C Voodoo Wheel Bays

Published: August 26, 2015
Company: Aires Hobby Models

This set replaces parts D1-5, D1-7, E37, part of C9 and Part of C10 from Kitty Hawk Kit number KH80115. The detail quality is as to the normal high standard of the all Aires products. As usual there was no flash or other imperfections. The parts once removed from the mold base are ready to install. The parts will make a great improvement on the kit parts which has very little detail in these areas of the kit. A great price for such fine additional details for this kit.

Thanks to Aires for providing these for review.