Ben Guenther
Reviews By Author
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P-40B/C Propeller w/toolPublished:
Quickboost has been making many types of resin accessories for aircraft for years now, one of which are propellers. This is a review of their P-40B/C propeller which has been faultlessly cast in their grey resin. This product provides three props, one spinner and a tool to assemble these pieces. The spinner has a casting gate on the bottom that was cut off with a razor saw and cleaned up with a file in 5 minutes or less. The props are even easier, they are removed quite easily and had no seam lines to remove, just a little sanding on the base. With the Quickboost tool you can paint the spinner and props separately before hand then assemble the parts into a complete propeller. Now how does the Quickboost spinner/props compare to the Airfix kit parts? The Airfix spinner is a two… more |
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Cold Wind - German Infantry, 1941-1942Published:
Master Box has provided 5 German infantry figures in dynamic poses that reflects the kit label “Cold Wind”. Typical of their products, the box front accurately reflects the final figures and the box rear has pictorial instructions on figure assembly. Pictures of the two sprues are provided on the rear, one is labeled A and the other B. The sprues themselves do not have this marking, but sprue A has parts for three figures and sprue B has parts for two figures. Part count for the sprues is 109 pieces, with 8 parts not being used. The plastic is a yellow/tan color, soft, and glues well with liquid cement. A few general observations are in order at this point. All the figures are wearing the German great coats and, to capture the effects of the blowing wind, the coat’s lower… more |
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Vol.28 Gleisketten-LKWs "Maultier" (Sd.Kfz 3)Published:
Armies cannot conduct military operations without supplies; the German Army had no problems with their supply trucks in the European areas, but found their trucks useless during the Russian spring and autumn “mud” period on the Eastern Front. A quick solution was to equip the rear wheel drive trucks with a tracked running gear. The 3 ton truck was the most widely used in the German Army, so these would be the basis for the fabrication. Four different tracked trucks were built: Opel, Ford, Klockner-Humboldt, and a heavy 4.5 ton truck by Mercedes-Benz. The official designation was Gleisketten-Lastkraftwagen or more often seen as Gleisketten-LKW offen (tracked lorry open) Sd.Kfz 3. The troops referred to all of them as “Maultier,” or mule in German, as it excelled in moving through mud –… more |
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Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGsPublished:
During the Vietnam War, it became apparent that the tactics used by American pilots were not working well. An effort was made to analyze all US vs. MiG engagements, which became known as the Red Baron reports. The study recommended that Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT) was needed and, further, that the Air Force needed to give its fighter pilots realistic training with enemy aircraft or realistic substitutes. Aggressor squadrons were formed, assembled and put to use training and flying T-38s and F-5s to provide the Air Force fighter pilots DACT training. The Navy also formed TOPGUN as an Adversary training squadron to do this same training. The last part of the Red Baron recommendations did come about with the acquisition of MiG assets and American pilots to fly them in realistic… more |
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Opel 3 ton 4x2 Cargo TruckPublished:
Armies cannot operate long without supplies (food, fuel, ammo to start with) delivered to them. The German High Command thought so highly of this Opel truck that the German government nationalized production in 1940, taking it out of the hands of the US GM owners. The Opel Blitz “S” model began production in April, 1937 and by July, 1944, 82,356 3t trucks had been manufactured. The final number is actually over 100,000 when specialized vehicles built on this chassis are included. To further emphasize how valuable this truck was to Germany, in late 1945 the US Military allowed Opel to reopen the production facilities for the 3t truck to aid post-war recovery. This is Dragon’s second kit of what they call the German 3t 4x2 cargo truck (early type platform), also known as the Opel… more |
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Polish Wings 11 Mig-29 pt.1Published:
STRATUS Books is continuing its series to publish books on all the aircraft used by the Polish Air Force. This eleventh volume is a pictorial study of the 18 Mig-29s in Polish use from 1989 to 2009. The opening eight pages discuss the history of the purchase and operation of these Mig-29s from Russia and the Czech Republic, as well as the color and markings used by these aircraft. The remainder of the book covers each aircraft with multiple photos, profiles, and, for most of them, color 4-views. Special markings and commemorative schemes are also discussed and illustrated along with badges and other personal markings. There is one chart that lists each aircraft by code number, serial number, camouflage scheme, and notes on each operational history. Another handy chart lists Mig-29 by… more |
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Apollo 11 “Lunar Landing”Published:
On July 21, 1969 the Apollo II astronauts landed on the moon fulfilling President Kennedy’s pledge to land a man on the moon before the decade was complete. Project Apollo was a massive federal program that sparked new technologies, new ideas, new rocket designs and engines that led to this event. Five more flights to the moon resulted in landings that furthered our understanding of that satellite and confirmed new theories on its origins. Apollo captured the imagination of that generation and ones that came after of what could happen when a nation set goals and achieved them. This is the second Apollo model that Dragon has come out with in 1/72 scale and deals specifically with that first landing. It consists of several components; the command module (CM) “Columbia” and the… more |
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Windsock Worldwide, Vol.27, No.3 - May/June 2011Published:
This issue of Windsock’s bi-monthly magazine begins with a five page article on German Halberstadts B.Is captured and used by the Russians in 1915-16 including color 4-view drawings. Next, in the continuing Modelling Master Class by Lance Krieg, is Chapter 5, part 1 on struts and rigging. These five pages cover struts, the different types of materials to use, but also various rigging knots and how to make brass turnbuckles. This reviewer always finds new ideas to use from reading these articles. With this issue a new series of super-detailed color profiles begins, here the subject is the Macchi M.5. A report and photos on Skysport Engineering where a new Avro 504 K is being built to original specs then follows. Next, there are several pages on "Dawn Patrol", a WWI flying model… more |
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Tiger Tank Owners' Workshop ManualPublished:
When people discuss World War II armor certain tanks come to mind for the main combatants. For the United States it would be the Sherman tank, for the Soviet Union it would be the T-34 tank and for Germany the Tiger tank would come to symbolize that country’s armor might. The fame of the Tiger tank far exceeded the number produced or fielded. Certainly, for the average GI Joe the Tiger tank invoked a feeling of trepidation, so much that any German tank they met became the dreaded Tiger tank. Zenith Press has produced a book that is a fine collection of articles written by experts of the Tank Museum at Bovington. Covering the Tiger tank in general this book also covers in detail the restoration and return to operation of the Tiger tank “131” that resides at the Tank… more |
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F-22A Raptor Cockpit SetPublished:
The Revell 1/72 F-22A Raptor model kit has been out several years and I can remember a review of it that mentioned the cockpit would be ripe for the after market resin folks to upgrade. Well, Aires has done just that with this latest release of theirs, comprising 13 resin parts, 14 P.E. parts and one small sheet of film for the HUD. The resin parts are finely cast and I only had three parts that had broken when I opened the package. Once these were glued back in place (with some CA) the real fun began. The cockpit is mainly composed of three resin pieces: the ejection seat, the instrument panel/coaming and the cockpit tub. With all three parts you have very high level of detail that greatly exceeds that of the injected molded parts. As usual with Aires on their blue instruction… more |