Bill O'Malley
Reviews By Author
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U.S. Motor Grader - Part 1Published:
This is a first look ‘In the Box’ review of PlusModel’s new U.S. Grader resin kit. A subsequent review will review the detailed assembly of the kit. The kit appears to be a very complete, nicely detailed, high quality kit of a unique vehicle from WWII. The U.S. Grader follows PlusModel’s excellent dozer models. The kit comes in a sturdy 10.5 x 7.5 x 2.5" deep corrugated cardboard box. First out of the box are a photo CD, 6” x 8.25" stapled instruction booklet with 28 pages, a small bag with decals, photoetch fret, and a length of copper wire. Next are six sealed bags of 231 gray resin parts. The parts have crisp detail and no air bubbles are apparent. The large grader blade appears straight with no visible defects. The radiator is nicely detailed with raised letters for… more |
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57 Chevy Funny CarPublished:
This is a very nice kit. Simple enough to be the first ‘glued’ kit for someone moving up from snap-kits, but also a well-made kit that more experienced modelers can build into a great scale model. The kit’s one-piece body and one-piece frame are both very nicely molded parts. Tom “Mongoose” McEwen is a drag racer best known for is legendary races against Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. McEwen’s “Mongoose” moniker even was a reference to Prudhomme’s “The Snake”. In 1968 McEwen introduced a new funny car based on the iconic ’57 Chevy. With runs of less than 6 seconds, this car laid claim to being the fastest ’57 Chevy in the world. Kit comes on three white plastic sprues, a one-piece tubular frame, and a one-piece body. The parts have good detail and only minor areas of flesh… more |
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60-Spoke Wire WheelsPublished:
3D Model Parts is a new U.S. based company that uses 3D printing technology to produce resin ship, automobile, aircraft, and armor detailing accessories. 3D states their printing process produces details with greater precision than either injection molding or resin casting. This set of 1/25 scale wheels certainly lives up to that claim! The spokes have amazingly fine detail, and the wheel rims are extremely thin. The interlacing of the spokes makes the wheels very realistic at this small size. I compared the 3D wheels to wire wheels from a Revell kit and there is no comparison. 3D accurately reproduces the opening between spokes, where many of the openings on the Revell wheels are filled with flash. The set includes 5 - 3D printed wire wheels with separate interlaced… more |
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W.W.II British Airborne Weapon & Equipment SetPublished:
This is a very comprehensive accessory set for British WWII Airborne vehicles or dioramas. The parts are well molded, and have very good detail. There are many very small parts that will require care to assemble, but will result in nice accessories. The kit includes a Welbike that can be assembled unfolded or folded for transport, a Welbike container that can be either open or closed, a collapsible trolley cart, BSA military bicycle that can be assembled either unfolded or folded, No. 18 Wireless Radio, various weapons, pigeon container, PIAT, several PIAT ammo containers, wicker pannier, airborne helmets, airborne rucksack, and type B airborne container. The weapons include Sten MK IVs, PIAT gun and ammo, Webley revolvers, Lee Enfield rifles, and Bren guns. The… more |
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US Diamond T 969A WreckerPublished:
This is a complicated kit to assemble and requires adjusting and fitting lots of parts. This is not a kit that will fall together out of the box on a Sunday afternoon, but approached as a challenging craftsman type kit, experienced modelers will produce an excellent model. Diamond T 969 was a vehicle recovery truck based on a 4 ton 6X6 chassis, powered with a Hercules RXC six-cylinder gasoline engine, and equipped with a five speed overdrive transmission and a direct and under drive transfer, manufactured from roughly 1940 until 1945 by the Diamond T Motor Car Company in Chicago. From 1943 on most trucks were fitted with an open cab. This model includes the hard top. Mirror also has a model of the soft top version, as well as a Diamond T cargo truck. The wrecker was… more |
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Assortment Shutters, Type 1Published:
These shutters make a very nice diorama accessory and are a nice addition to building windows. The package includes 10 cast resin parts, 2 pairs each of 5 deferent shutter styles. The styles include two pairs of louvered wood shutters, two pairs of metal shutters, and two pairs each of 3 different wood style shutters. Each set of shutters includes two shutters molded in the closed position, as if closed over a window. All but one of the shutter sets includes center astragals over the joint between the two shutters. The astragal will need to be dealt with if the shutters are cut apart and placed on each side of the window in an open position. The pair of shutters measure 1-3/4” tall by 1-1/16” inch wide, or 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide at 1/35 scale. The shutters all have… more |
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Precolored Roof TilesPublished:
The kit includes approximately 325 ceramic tiles prefinished with a light terra-cotta color. The color of the roof tiles is nicely mottled and would be ideally suited for Southern Europe or Mediterranean buildings. The tiles in this sample are much lighter than the illustration on the package. There are 3 shapes to the tile - the typical field tile, a shorter field tile, and a shape with an extended edge for a roof eave or cap. There are few bubbles in the casting, some chipped edges, and some flash that can easily be chipped off. All these add to the nice texture of the tile. The ceramic material is very fine grained, integrally colored so any chipping will blend in, and can easily be trimmed with a hobby knife or sanding stick. No instructions are provided. The tiles… more |
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Scale Modeling Quarterly – Winter 2014Published:
Scale Modeling Quarterly is an interesting new magazine that nice variety of subjects of interest to many modelers. This is the second edition of the relatively new modeling magazine by Hobbyscale Press. The magazine is described is a journal for and by scale modelers. The magazine is published quarterly and costs $7.99 per issue. The magazine is 8.5” x 11”, printed on a gloss paper and is 52 pages including covers. The typeface is large, easy to read, and colors are used to accentuate paragraph headings and titles. The photographs are sharp and are all printed in color. The magazine includes a nice mix of editorial articles, modeler profiles, build articles, and modeling techniques. Contents of this issue include:
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US 250 Lb. BombsPublished:
The kit includes six resin bombs, resin tailfins, photoetch for the nose fuse and rear arming vanes, 1 decal sheet, and instructions. I compared the Brassin 250 lb. bomb to a 500 lb. bomb from Revell’s B-17F Memphis Belle. The Brassin bomb has much thinner tail fins and greater detail with the flanges on each of the fins. The nose fuse on the Brassin bomb has a more accurate projection, and the suspension lugs have nice definition. The Revell bomb only includes a slot for attachment without the suspension lugs. The rear arming vanes on the Brassin bomb are obviously much greater detail, as they are not included with the Revell bomb. The Brassin bomb his only very slight mold seams, which are easily corrected, compared to the larger glue joint and sprue attachments on… more |
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Bomber Aircraft of 305 SquadronPublished:
Bomber Aircraft of 305 Squadron is a photographic history of the 305 Weilkopolski Polish bomber squadron. The book is dedicated to Gabriel Milosz, who served as a photographer for the 305 squadron from its formation until its disbandment. Milosz's photographs capture the aircraft used by the 305 Squadron as well as the crews before and after the, often tragic, missions. He also captured the mechanics, armorers, and daily life of the Polish squadron. The photographs are black-and-white, while the illustrated aircraft profiles are in full-color. From the back of the book:
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