IPMS Number
45849

Reviews By Author

Product

Mitsubishi A6M Hinomarus Decal Set

Published: January 7, 2024
Company: Lifelike Decals

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… more

Product

Mitsubishi A6M Decal Sets

Published: January 7, 2024
Company: Lifelike Decals

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:

  • Type 21 Akagi Air Group AI-159, Lt. Com. Shiguru Itaya, Dec. 1941
  • Type 21 Kanoya Air Group K-108 Kavieng, Nov. 1942… more

Completed Kit

IJNS Yamato, Part 4, Final Assembly

Published: August 18, 2023
Company: Gallery Models

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… more

Cover

Dreadnoughts and Super-Dreadnoughts

Published: August 2, 2023
Book Author(s): Chris McNab
Company: Casemate Publishers

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… more

Box Art

IJMNS Yamato, Part 3

Published: April 22, 2023
Company: Gallery Models

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… more

Cover

New Jersey Photo Etch Set

Published: January 14, 2023
Company: Squadron

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… more

Cover

IJMNS Yamato, Part 2

Published: December 17, 2022
Company: Gallery Models

Initial Construction

Now 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.… more

Box Art

IJMNS Yamato, Part 1

Published: July 2, 2022
Company: Gallery Models

The Ship

So 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.… more

Product

Tamiya Lacquer Paints

Published: March 2, 2022
Company: Tamiya

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… more

Front Cover

US Combat Aircraft Colors Over Vietnam 1964-1975: vol.1 US Air Force

Published: November 1, 2021
Book Author(s): Jaroslaw Dobrozynski
Company: Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books

This first of a two volume set of US combat aircraft over Vietnam exemplifies the excellence that we’ve come to expect from Mushroom Models Publications White Series aircraft reference books. This heavily illustrated edition covers 14 of the most important fighter, bomber, attack and tactical reconnaissance aircraft flown by the US Air Force in southeast Asia. The second volume will cover Navy… more