J35S Draken Finnish Special

Published: October 18, 2012
Company: Hasegawa

The Hasegawa quarter-inch scale Draken kit has been around for several years now, released in the markings of all of the European countries that flew it, including a number of special anniversary schemes for Swedish, Danish, and Austrian aircraft to commemorate the aircraft’s decades of service. This kit provides decals for the Finnish anniversary scheme to highlight the aircraft’s 28 years… more

USN 8in/55 Mk9, 10, 11, 13, 14 Gun Barrels

Published: September 4, 2012
Company: Master Model

This set of finely turned stainless steel gun barrels for early U.S. Navy 8” gunned cruisers and carriers is the latest in a long line of superb replacement parts for 1/350 naval vessels. Each of the open-ended barrels is slightly tapered with very finely defined segmentations. The short stubs at the end of the barrel allows for easy insertion into the kit’s turret or blast bag. The… more

Yamato Super Detail Set

Published: August 28, 2012
Company: Lion Roar

Anyone who’s seen or even heard about the new Tamiya Yamato knows that this is one of the largest, most complex model kits yet to hit the hobby store shelves. So it almost goes without saying that this new super detail set from Lion Roar would be equally large and complex. Using the bulk of this set, or even a portion of it, is not for the faint of heart.

This multi media set contains… more

WW2 IJN Ship Guard Rails

Published: July 13, 2012
Company: Lion Roar

Lion Roar has been providing ship modelers with extensive sets of ship-specific photo etch for some time, and now offers generic railings for nearly any WWII era Japanese vessel. The package contains two identical sets of stainless steel rails, each containing three different types of rails. One type is the “drooping chain” type that is usually found on the main deck (as well as the second… more

IJN Chokai Railings and Details

Published: July 5, 2012
Company: Eduard

• Railings -- Stock # 53054, $32.95
• Details -- Stock # 53055, $49.95

Having made a variety of generic PE sets for 1/700 and 1/350 scale ship kits, Eduard is now providing us with dedicated complete sets for specific ships. These two sets will provide complete (or nearly complete) coverage of the Aoshima Chokai, and probably for the Fujimi Chokai as well. The set is… more

Northrop BT-1

Published: June 22, 2012
Book Author(s): Steve Ginter
Company: Ginter Books

Coming at a time of rapid technical development in the aviation industry as the United States began to ramp up for its entry into the Second World War, the Northrop BT-1 was truly a transitional and transformative aircraft. Dive bombing was seen as the most potent anti-ship weapon in the arsenal of carrier aviation, and the BT-1 gave the U.S. Navy a sleek new dive bomber that held the promise… more

Model Art Special – Japanese Battleship Yamato

Published: March 28, 2012
Company: Model Art

This Model Art Special edition exclusively covers the battleship Yamato (and, in a limited fashion, her sister Musashi). With the exception of one short translated section covering the operational history of Yamato, the text is entirely in Japanese. However, the beautiful photography and numerous illustrations speak for themselves. The selection of articles is roughly divided between… more

F-5E Tiger II

Published: March 19, 2012
Company: Revell, Inc.

This kit is another of the classic Revell/Monogram releases that has been around for almost thirty years and has been released and re-released in numerous guises. Many have regarded it as “the best 1/48th scale F-5 around” for almost as long. Until recently, its only competition has been the Esci/AMT version. It does accurately capture the shape of the Tiger II, and this release, like so many… more

F-5E Tiger II Control Lever

Published: February 10, 2012
Company: Quickboost

While the control stick is a small detail in any aircraft cockpit, it is one of the more obvious ones. This control column from Quickboost is minutely detailed for such a small part, from the canvas boot at the bottom to the buttons on the handgrip. The tiny lever on the front of the grip is even there.

Three individual control columns are included in the package, and this part is… more

F7F-3N Tigercat Gun Barrels

Published: December 8, 2011
Company: Quickboost

The Grumman Tigercat was the epitome of WWII US-designed, twin-engined fighters, and was an exceedingly heavily armed aircraft for its size, either for the fighter or strike role. As a night fighter, it shared similar attributes with its Air Force cousin, the P-61 Black Widow, not the least of which was a reduction of its built-in armament as it evolved. As with the Widow, the Tigercat… more