Bill Kluge
Reviews By Author
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Mitsubishi A6M Parts 3 & 4 Limited EditionPublished:
These two A6M decal sets from Lifelike continue the series of markings for the A6M Zero provided by earlier sets 48061 and 48062. Part 3 (48063) contains markings for 14 aircraft: 2 Type 11s; 7 Type 21s; 4 Type 52s and 1 A6M2-N Rufe. The specific aircraft include:
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Mitsubishi A6M Hinomarus Decal SetPublished:
Lifelike Decals has released this sheet of decals for Zero fighters to correct what it describes as erroneous sizing of Hinomarus in some manufacturer’s kits. Their website states:
”We noticed that some Zero kits decals etc. do not have correct size Hinomaru marks, so we released “Hinomaru for Zero” sheet separately”.
The Hinomarus come it three distinct types - with the white surround (both wide and thin); without the white surround; and with green overpainted surround, with enough Hinomarus for a half dozen different aircraft. The decals are thin, with minimal carry-over of the carrier film (approx. 1mm). They come off the paper quickly, were easy to adjust into place, and reacted well to Solvaset decal softener to conform to surface bumps and… more |
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Mitsubishi A6M Decal SetsPublished:
These two new A6M decal sets from Lifelike represent a bonanza of marking options for the Zero builder. Part 1 (48061) contains markings for 14 aircraft: 5 Type 21s; 2 Type 22s; 4 Type 32s; 2 Type 52s and 1 A6M2-N Rufe. The specific aircraft include:
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IJNMS Yamato, Part 4, Final AssemblyPublished:
Now that the major subassemblies are complete, it was time to put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together. I naively thought that it would all be downhill from here, even if it was a gently sloping downhill. I didn’t quite realize how many lengthy flat spots there would be along the way. The larger assemblies of superstructure, stack, and main and secondary armament structures fell into place easily with good, secure fitting. I had numerous smaller 25mm AA turrets and directors (all assembled and painted in mass earlier) still to place, as well as many open 25mm triple and single mounts still to assemble and place. By late in the war Yamato had over twenty single mounts placed along the deck, from far aft to astride her main turrets. While the kit offers enough triple mounts, it… more |
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Dreadnoughts and Super-DreadnoughtsPublished:
By the turn of the Twentieth Century, Great Britain was at the height of its industrial and colonial power, with the largest ironclad navy in the world. By 1904, Britain ruled the seas with 45 “pre-dreadnaught” battleships. Each of these carried a main armament usually consisting of four 12- or 13-inch main guns in two twin turrets (one forward and one aft) along with a number of lesser caliber weapons (6”, 12-pounder and 3-pounder) for close in defense. Other navies, primarily Germany, the United States, and after 1905 Japan followed on Great Britain’s heels. The stage was set for an abrupt alteration in the status quo, as industry, technology and the critical thinking of one man combined to change the face of naval power in the decades to come. Author Chris McNab chronicles… more |
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IJMNS Yamato, Part 3Published:
Building a battleship, especially one this large and complex, can easily appear overwhelming. So, as with any large model project, its easiest to tackle it as a series of subassemblies. That’s more or less the way the instruction sequence is arranged, and it simplifies painting, if nothing else (I found out the hard way that the Tamiya spray can and the bottle lacquer are not the same shade of Kure Grey - too different to use the two together). So everything on this model is painted from the bottle through the airbrush. Otherwise, the Tamiya lacquer goes on beautifully. The hull and deck were masked and painted the appropriate grey and wood tan, with the night safety deck markings (white rectangles spaced along the deck edge) then added. I decided to darken the deck before… more |
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New Jersey Photo Etch SetPublished:
Loren Perry’s recent retirement and subsequent closing down of the Gold Medal Models photo etch line produced many long faces in the modeling world, particularly in the model shipbuilding community. For many of us, Gold Medal photo etch was, and is, the “gold standard” for ship detailing sets. When Squadron Hobbies purchased Gold Medal Models remaining stock, and announced resumed production of Gold Medal sets, there was, as they say, much rejoicing. This particular set is for Tamiya’s modernized USS New Jersey kit, primarily the 1982 version. Parts are also included for the 1968 version of the ship, but major kit modifications would be needed for that incarnation. The 6 3/4” x 9 3/4” brass sheet includes standard ship features such as vertical and inclined ladders, watertight… more |
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IJMNS Yamato, Part 2Published:
Initial ConstructionNow that I had the kit in hand, I had to once and for all decide into what time frame to build it. Most of the parts you need to build the ship at any point in her career are in the box, but much of the build will be determined by what point in time you choose to place the ship. I finally decided to depict Yamato during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October, 1944. I had good references that showed her differences at various points in her service history, with illustrations highlighting in particular her deck and superstructure arrangement of small and medium caliber weapons. The kit instructions would have you build Yamato at the time of her final voyage. I was able to make the necessary changes to depict her six months earlier. This mainly involved… more |
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IJMNS Yamato, Part 1Published:
The ShipSo much has been written about the battleship Yamato that anyone familiar with the Pacific War will know of the Japanese super battleship. Realizing that they could not compete one-on-one with the U.S.Navy, from the mid-1930s the Japanese shipbuilding philosophy was to build each of their new warships to be individually superior to any competing USN warship design. Commissioned into the IJN in late 1941 and early 1942 respectively, the Yamato and her sister-ship, Musashi represented the epitome of this philosophy. Weighing in at nearly 70,000 tons fully loaded, they were the largest battleships ever built and were not superseded in warship size until the advent of the U.S. Navy’s super carriers in the 1950s. As powerful as they were, Yamato and her sister spent much… more |
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Tamiya Lacquer PaintsPublished:
While Tamiya has long been a producer of acrylic model paints, they have recently entered the market of bottled solvent-based paints with a line of lacquer paints with the new “LP” prefix heading. As of this writing, there are 80 listed “colors” of lacquer paints in the Tamiya catalog, but that total includes such items as Thinner, a Flat Base, 5 Clears plus a Clear Yellow, Clear Orange, Clear Red and Clear Blue, 6 Blacks and 4 Whites. The colors are not labeled with any other specific description, such as US FS (federal stock) number or Luftwaffe RLM number, although the “pearl”, “mica” and metallic colors are primarily directed towards automotive modelers. The complete chart of available colors is available at the Tamiya website, and is being added to regularly. The paints come in 1/… more |