Bill Kluge
Reviews By Author
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Model Art Special – Japanese Battleship YamatoPublished:
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 historical information and model illustration and building techniques and includes:
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F-5E Tiger IIPublished:
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 earlier ones, provides loads of extra parts and options, including a large CL drop tank, two Sidewinders, two 2000lb LGBs, two Vulcan gun pods, a boarding ladder, numerous additional antenna used on many NATO aircraft, and an RF-5 nose in addition to the standard pointed fighter nose (no flat “shark” nose, however). The kit also includes a very familiar walking pilot figure. Gone is the small PE… more |
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F-5E Tiger II Control LeverPublished:
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 indicated as a replacement for the AFV kit. It appears to mimic the AFV part closely and should fit easily in its place. If you choose to use it as a replacement part for either the Monogram/Revell (as I’ve done) or the ESCI/AMT/Italeri kits (where it’s really needed), you’ll need to do a bit of surgery to these cockpits to fit this part, as the column boot is molded as part of the cockpit floor.… more |
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F7F-3N Tigercat Gun BarrelsPublished:
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 eventually dispensed with its four original 50 caliber machine guns, keeping its remaining four 20mm cannon (necessitated by the installation of its nose-mounted radar, thus displacing the nose-mounted 50s). The 20mm barrels are represented by these Quickboost replacements. Quickboost recommends these replacement gun barrels for the Italeri Tigercat kit, but I suspect that the Italeri and old AMT… more |
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Ki-44 "Tojo" Aces of World War 2Published:
Prior to the outbreak of the Pacific War, the Japanese air force pilots (both Army and Navy) were some of the world’s foremost proponents of dogfighting, and the fighters they flew reflected their demand for aircraft that would give them the edge in that realm of aerial combat. Flying lightweight and agile Type 97 Ki-27 s (“Nates” to the Allies), the Japanese Army Air Force’s pilots easily outmaneuvered their opposition in the skies over China and Manchuria in the late 30s, and during the opening days of World War II, JAAF Ki-43 Hayabusas (“Oscars”) more often than not flew rings around Allied fighters over the Southeast Asian battlefields. Yet even while the superb Hayabusa was being test flown, the JAAF saw the need for a heavy offensive fighter that could fly higher, farther… more |
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Japanese Destroyer AyanamiPublished:
The ShipWhen the Japanese destroyers of the Fubuki class first appeared in 1928, they took the rest of the world’s sea powers completely by surprise, and their combination of large size, high speed and heavy firepower set the standard for other navies to follow for the next decade. Commissioned in 1930, HIJMS Ayanami was the lead ship of an improved Fubuki “Special Type” with its main armament of six 5” guns capable of 75º of elevation, in theory making her the first warship in the world with main guns capable of taking on surface vessels and aircraft. However, her fire control was inadequate to the anti-aircraft task, and these weapons were never effective in that role. Following operations in Chinese waters prior to Pearl Harbor, Ayanami spent the early war period… more |
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F-14 CockpitPublished:
For years Aires has been keeping us detail freaks supplied with upgrade sets for the latest contemporary state-of-the-art kits from the major manufacturers. Now they’re providing us with upgrades where they’re really needed – for older models with interior details that have been surpassed by the quality of more modern kits. That’s exactly the case with this F-14A set. The Academy kit has been around for quite a while, and its interior details, while perhaps adequate for its day, are sorely lacking by today’s standards. This set goes a very long way towards turning the Academy kit into a first class representation of the real thing. This is a complete, multi-media cockpit set. The major components are resin, and these parts are crisply molded and virtually free of flash (I… more |
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U.S. Navy Wheel ChocksPublished:
Product/Stock #
Anyone’s who’s seen the Aires line of detailed aftermarket aircraft parts is well aware of the high quality and attention to detail that goes into all their products. Now, Aries has dug even deeper into scale modeling minutiae with their offering of these 1/48th scale Wheelliant resin wheel chock sets. These ubiquitous pieces of equipment are on hand wherever Naval Aviation is found, on land or at sea. The three sets reviewed here are all representative of modern day Navy polyurethane wheel chocks. All are extremely well cast, with intricate tread… more |
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German Destroyer Z-31 Smart KitPublished:
The Ship: Known officially as the Type 36A class (and by the Allies as the Narvik class), these vessels were Germany’s attempt to improve their individual destroyer’s firepower to compensate for their smaller numbers. To do this, these ships carried 5.9” (150mm) main guns, a caliber usually found on light cruisers. These weapons had no AA capability, as well as having the undesirable effect of weighing the ship down by the bow. Z-31 was designed to carry a twin mount forward, but it wasn’t until late in her life that these were mounted. This model represents the ship in the 1943-44 period with a single mount forward. She was also equipped to carry mines, and many of the class had more success in that role than in any other. By the end of hostilities, several of… more |
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New Curtiss F11C-2/BFC Goshawk VF-1B - UPDATED -Published:
This set provides decals for four Curtiss Goshawk section leader’s aircraft, and includes a few surprises in the way of markings that are pretty rare for the Goshawk. The aircraft covered include:
The first surprise was the inclusion of markings for Enterprise based BFC-2s. I was unaware that the Big E ever carried… more |