Bill O'Malley
Reviews By Author
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Railroad Water CranePublished:
The water crane is the type used at German railyards during World War II and will be an excellent addition to railroad dioramas. This is another great kit from MiniArt with fine detail and excellent fit of the parts. The kit comes in a 4.75 x 15.25 x 1.75 end opening box. It includes three gray plastic sprues and two clear plastic sprues with 50 parts. There is also a length of thread included for the water crane pulley rope. The model will measure 175 mm (6 7/8”) tall. My package did not include sprue Af which is the light bulbs for the two lanterns. I sent an email off to MiniArt and got a quick reply that a replacement was on its way. Great customer service by MiniArt! Paint colors are called in AMMO MIG, Vallejo, Testor, Tamiya, Humbrol, Revell, Mr. Color, and… more |
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Railway SemaphorePublished:
MiniArt’s Railway Semaphore is a nicely detailed kit with great fit of the parts, and will be a great addition to railroad dioramas. This kit is a model of a railway semaphore of the type used by Germany in WWII, and is part of MiniArt’s Building and Accessories Series. The German Imperial Railway, (Deutsche Reichsbahn), used a signaling system, the H/V system semaphores, which signaled trains whether to proceed or not. The semaphores arms were painted white and red with a circle on their track side. One arm projected horizontally meant stop, and projected upwards at 45 degrees meant proceed. The semaphore in this kit is a two-aspect type with two moveable signal arms. The lights were gas operated.… more |
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RLM Military ColorsPublished:
Model Car World is a model company that specializes in resin car bodies and paint finishes matched to automotive colors. MCW was purchased by Wings Wheels and Waves in 2015, and they have since expanded their paint line to include military colors. This review includes the following paints:
MCW Paint Finishes are gloss lacquer paints. The paints come in 1 oz. bottles that have a BB inside to facilitate mixing. The paints are pre-thinned for airbrush and MCW strongly recommends applying the paints over a primer. The paint should be thoroughly stirred or shaken before spraying. MCW also provides a thinner to be used with their paints, although I… more |
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Gray Primer LacquerPublished:
Model Car World is a model company that specializes in resin car bodies and paint finishes matched to automotive colors. MCW was purchased by Wings Wheels and Waves in 2015 and they have expanded their paint line to include military colors. The primer comes in 1oz. bottles that have a bb inside to facilitate mixing. The primer is pre-thinned for airbrush and is recommended by MCW for their finish paints The primer is very thin and should be thoroughly shaken before spraying. MCW provides a thinner to be used with their paints, but the primer was pre-thinned and did not require additional thinning. The paint should be applied in thin wet coats, and the lacquer dries very fast. The airbrush should be 2 – 3 in. from the surface to obtain a wet coat. After shaking,… more |
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VBL MilanPublished:
The Panhard VBL is a French light armored reconnaissance vehicle developed by the Panhard company with a steel-armored body and bulletproof glass. The VBL can also run on water with a propeller which is part of the rear axle. This version of the VBL includes a roof mounted Milan Anti-Tank Missile Launcher. This kit is a reissue of Tiger Model's kit of the Panhard VBL light armored reconnaissance vehicle with 7.62 mm machine gun, #4603. Tiger has also produced a version with a 12.7 mm M2 machine gun, #4619. All six of the kit’s vehicle hatches can be modeled open or closed. The kit includes a complete interior with weapons, gear, and communication equipment. The tires can rotate. The kit also includes a metal tow cable and missile launcher with six spare missiles. The roof… more |
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US Army TractorPublished:
This is a wonderful kit that I enjoyed building. The model has nice detail, great fit of the parts, and makes a fantastic little model of a unique military vehicle. It’s very small, with some finely cast prices, so experience with small parts will be helpful. Thunder Model is a new Chinese model maker and this is their first release. The kit was released in September 2016, and will be followed by a loader version of the same tractor. During World War II the Case tractor company produced more than 1.3 million howitzer shells, 200 sets of bomber aircraft wings, and 20,000 specialized war tractors and engines. From 1941 to 1945 the factory built over 15,000 special military tractors in roughly 40 variants, and over 4,000 tractor engines for the U.S. Army and the Allies were… more |
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Yamaha YZR500 (OWA8) "Team Lucky Strike Roberts 1989"Published:
This is a great kit with lots of detail and fit of the parts is excellent. The assembly is complex, but the instruction are clear so it’s a fun modeling challenge. Hasegawa's Yamaha YZR500 was released in 2014 and is a rebox of a kit first issued in 2012, The kit has been released several times since then, mostly with new decals. The kit comes on four gray plastic sprues, three white plastic sprues, plus a loose front cowl, one bag with black and clear hoses, one bag with metal screws and spring, one clear plastic sprue with the windshield, and two rubber tires. The detail on the plastic parts is very good and there aren’t any blemishes on the smooth body parts. Flash isn't significant, but there are some mold seams. The kit also includes one large decal sheet and one… more |
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D9R DOOBI w/ Armor SlatsPublished:
This is a large photoetch set that adds lots of detail to Meng’s D9R Dozer, particularly in the interior and with replacements for the exterior maintenance platforms. The Cooling Slats are tedious to assemble, but will add a battle-damaged look to the dozer. Soldering is highly recommended for assembling this photoetch set. This Eduard BIG ED photo etch set is intended for the Meng D9R DOOBI w/ armor slats kit. Like other Edward BIG ED sets, the D9R set is a combination of several photoetch sets that are also available individually, and includes:
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US Jerry Can HoldersPublished:
This is a nice set of jerry can holders that can replace the usually over-scaled plastic holders on military vehicles. The photoetch comes on one small fret that is about 1 ½ in. x 1 5/8 in. Four holders are provided with the photoetch. Each holder consists of seven parts: the holder, four bolts, and two straps for the jerry cans. The bolt heads are actually six-sided hexagons and are microscopic. I soldered the first bolt head into place, but the solder obscured the shape of the head. The subsequent bolt heads were glued into place with superglue, which worked much better. Folding the holder worked well. The corners of the holder are rounded so I bent them around a 1/16-in. drill bit, which worked pretty well. Hauler provides tabs for the bottom and side edges of the… more |
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Kenworth W-900 WreckerPublished:
This is a nice kit, with good detail and nice fitting parts. There is some cleanup for seams and flash, but it’s a fun kit to assemble. The Revell Kenworth has been around since 1996 and has been reissued in several configurations. It has included different sleepers, a previous wrecker, and even a dump truck. It appears that the only difference in this version of the wrecker are the decals. This behemoth of a kit comes in a huge box that is 14 x 20 x 5" tall. The kit is part of Revell's Historic Series and is listed a skill level five for ages 14+. The kit is 14 inches long and includes 411 parts, many of them very large. The kit includes eight large white sprues, three large chrome sprues, two small clear plastic sprues, one bag of rubber tires, one bag with a… more |